Happy New Year to All

Wow, another year has passed. It seems they go by faster every year. My hope for my family, friends, including my blog friends is for good health and happiness througout the coming year.

No formal resolutions this year, but we should all try to find one thing to laugh about each day.

So to start the New Year off right - I found this little image that reminded me of myself on a few New Year mornings of years gone by. (Not this year - as I will be a good little angel tonight!)

Soooo, if this is what you look like tomorrow morning........Yeah!!!! I'm so glad you had fun!

I had good intentions...

But we all know how that goes! I fully intended to catch up on the Monthly Reflections Rug Challenge over the holidays. Yesturday was supposed to be the day. I was going to start hooking the October theme.

If your house is like mine, you tend to tuck things away, out of sight, for the holidays. When I dug out the burlap, I had forgotten how BIG this rug was. Its huge and it seemed to take up half the room. Soooooo, I stuffed it back behind the sofa until the New Year. I have been busying myself with knitting while I'm idle. So I'm still being crafty, just not hooking. After Friday when I take down the tree and but the decorations away, I'll drag Monthly out again.

AND, on the advice of my blogger friends Sally, Anne and Jan I decided to forget the stupid idea to stop eating all the goodies. I'll re-visit that idea after Friday too!

We awoke this morning to a nasty blast of winter. It was pretty.......for about 10 seconds and then I groaned. I hate winter weather and it is still snowy and blowing and the temp is dropping fast! Time to put the fireplace on and grab the knitting needles for a cozy night in.

Make me stop......

I need an alternative use for my hands........instead of shovelling food into my mouth! It seems like ALL I have done the past week is EAT.

There is soooo much good stuff around. Lots of our friends sent baskets full of baked goods - shortbreads, donuts, gumdrop cakes, peanut butter balls, cherry surprise.......and I have no willpower.

But, in my defense (OK I realize this is a weak excuse...) Wouldn't it be a shame if I let it spoil and had to throw it away? LOL Sooo, really, I'm being a good person by eating all the food. (Yeah - I'm not falling for that either!)

I think they might have to roll me out the door by next week! I think I might dig out the hooking frame this afternoon so I can keep my hands busy. And MAYBE, I might even fire up the Wii Fit machine tonight! Wow - wouldn't that be something? Of course I may have to wipe the inch of dust off it first, since I haven't used it for awhile.

Hmmmm, maybe I should have a cookie first - You know.....just to build up my strength for hooking........Hehehehe

Post Christmas Purge

Its not a diet related post. There is still LOTS of yummy leftovers around, and I fully intend to eat them. I'm talking about a annual ritual of purging all the excess crap in my world.

The last few months have been crazy and I have allowed my bedroom to become a dumping ground. It was driving me crazy but I kept using the excuse of Christmas coming and I had no spare time. Well - today that excuse failed. I have spent the past 5 hours purging clothes.

The end result - 5 large garbage bags!! (GASP!) Yes I said FIVE!

I went through my closet with NO MERCY! I had a pile of keeps, pack-aways, and donate-able. I learned a neat trick. If you take a bottle of wine with you........this chore is ALOT more enjoyable!

I will take the garbage bags to the drop off depot for the Adult Bridge Workshop, which is a work program for mentally challenged adults and includes a bakery, laundry and used clothing store. So, not only is my room cleaner and neater, but my efforts should also generate a little income for a good cause. I'll drop them off tomorrow (since I actually did drink a bottle of wine!) I shouldn't get in the car!

Today was clothes, but tomorrow I think I'll attack the other crap lying around. I'm sure I can easily fill another few bags.

We had a lovely quiet Christmas Day. I cooked a huge meal and then we all just relaxed. We needed the break. As I do each Christmas Day - I stole a few hours for myself. Cuddled up by the tree with some wine and a new book. Honestly - it was the best present - a little quiet time.

Merry Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at last! A day full of traditions. My day started with the exchange of gifts with a few work friends and a "special" coffee. Well, I'm sure it was Noon somewhere in the world! Nothing like a little caffeine and Baileys to get the day started!
Now its time to put a gigantic turkey in the oven for tomorrow's dinner. This evening the family will head out to the Candlelight service at our Church. Numerous friends and relatives will then follow us home for a little socializing. This will be the first year that Auntie Vi will not be here. She passed away quietly 2 weeks ago at the age of 92.
To all my friends, far and near, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Snowmen

The next few days will be a whirlwind of activity but I did manage to finish 2 snowmen. The one of the left was my first and I learned a few tricks after the construction. I'm going to keep him - crooked nose and all. The one on the right is part of a gift. The recipients are arriving this morning so I was up until after midnight finishing him. They are a cute and fun project, so next year I will start earlier and make several of them for gifts. (Oh yeah - if you noticed they don't have arms yet. Too wet to forage in the backyard for twigs!)

Its my first day of vacation and I have a list of to-do's a mile long. After lunch I have to head to the airport to deliver another Aunt and Uncle to their children in Ontario for Christmas, pick up the turkey, finishing shopping, wrapping, grocery store, wine store (obviously these are not in order of priority! LOL) etc.

You get the idea.

Ho Ho friggin Ho! It will soon be over so I am trying to enjoy the process.

Sound the trumpets.....The tree is decorated!

It took too many days but the tree is decorated. And it is still very thirsty. I'm a little worried that by the end of next week there may not be a needle left on it. You just sneeze nearby the darn thing and you can hear needles falling. Its actually much prettier lit up, but the camera didn't seem to want to catch the lights and I don't have the patience to mess with all the camera settings.

My tree looks almost the same every year. It is a family/memory tree. Its not trendy, or themey, or going to grace the cover of any decorating magazine. But it is filled with decades of memories which we relive each year as we hang the ornaments - many passed down from my grandparents. Each year another one or two get broken or simply crumble from old age.

Here are a couple of my favorites.

This Santa was from an original set of 6 purchased by my grandfather about 50 years ago. He was a big burly man - except at Christmas - when he morphed into a little child. He loved all things Christmas. There are still 3 remaining ( but most of the white paint is long gone) and we always think of him and share a story as we find a perfect branch for Santa.

This little bell was a favorite of Grandma. There is a little clapper inside, so it jingles. It reminds me of my favorite movie "Its a Wonderful Life". And yes, I do say the famous line every year when I hang it.

My cold is a little better. It slowed me down but didn't knock me out. But on a positive note - I only have 1 more day of work and then 2 weeks vacation! Eeeeeeeeee, I can handly contain myself!

Thirsty??

I seriously believe that my Christmas tree went out on a huge party before it ended up at the tree lot.

Holy Moly - is it ever acting hungover!

THIRSTY!! I have filled the water reservoir to the top for 3 nights in a row and the next morning it is bone dry again!

All I can say is it must have been one heck of a bender.

Oh yeah - and Day 3 and the tree is STILL bare. AND I am sick again with a cold. But tonight I have to force myself to at least get the lights on it.

Ho Ho friggin Ho!

Snowmen, Bare Trees and Naked Santa's - Oh My!!

First, I have hooked almost 2 snow people fronts. And at noon today I found some fun yarn to make funky scarfs for them. While these guys looked easy on Fish Eye Rugs Blog - I'm not as skilled at hooking perfect circles. So they might look a little wonky - but time will tell. I am taking a vacation day tomorrow and plan to stop at Michael's to find some fun buttons etc to fancy them up.

Now about the bare tree. Tonight I finally got my tree and it is quite nice (if I do say so myself). But its wet so it is going have to stand bare for a day or so before I can get to the decorating. I am terribly fussy about my tree and I know I drive the guys NUTS at the tree lots. After awhile of rejecting everything they showed me I pointed to this one - "This is my tree". One tiny problem...........it was 9.5 ft and I have 8.5ft ceilings. Hmmmmm "Make it work" I said and they did!

Now - about that Naked Santa. Here he is......... OK I know that this is cheesy and tacky but this shower curtain has hung in my house every Christmas for over 25 years. And it wouldn't be Christmas without it now. I think everyone has some little Christmas thing that lives on way past its cute-date and eventually becomes like part of the family. So I guess that makes it official - Naked Santa is here to stay for a few more years.

I think I finally found the Christmas spirit

It took awhile this year for the spirit of the holidays to hit me. All the everyday stuff was getting in the way and decorating and Christmas primping just wasn't a priority. But yesturday it started to creep in slowly.

It began after lunch when a special annual gift arrived at the door. My Auntie worked for a family construction business for over 40 years before retiring 6 years ago. The matriarch of the family has never forgotten us. Mrs. C is 91 years old and still bakes like a professional. She can no longer do the delivering but her daughter makes the visits. She arrived with a large basket full of 2 apple pies, a large Sultana cake, gumdrop cake, and peanut butter cookies.

Then it was time to go to my first Christmas Party of the season. One of my co-workers and dear friends passed away a year and a half ago to cancer. His family has included me in their annual party for extended family and friends. It is a wonderful event. Lots of friends - old and new - and lots of little ones running around in their sparkly dresses. A large beautifully decorated tree. And the FOOD - WOW......Chili, clam chowder, seafood chowder, chow mein, sweet and sour pork, chinese rice, And then a dining room table covered completely in cheese/crackers, chocolates, fudge and assorted sweets. I was so stuffed when I got home I had to lay down and take a Zantac. LOL Always the sign of a good party, eh!

Oh and the little picture of the ornament is what Mrs. L slipped in my hand as I was leaving. She had made a few ornaments for special guests. I love because it was made by Tim's mom, for me.

Ho Ho Ho - I found my Christmas Mojo!

Waiting for the Weekend

This has been a looong week. One more work day with one more big meeting then its done for a few days. Chores are piling up again.
I want to start making (or trying to make) one of the hooked snow people. I nagged Corinne (Momz Wool) to hit the dye pots for some pale shades to add some flavor to these little guys. (I'm not sure - but she may be getting fed up with my wierd shade requests!) LOL Not really - but she does laugh at me alot! I often point to strange things in her house or my office and say - "Look - make me THAT color" . Oooh I just re-read that - I don't mean that she has strange things in her house! hehehe
Anyway I need to make some notes for my meeting tomorrow where I am going to try and talk the BIG Boss into a new program idea. Wish me luck and lets hope nobody gets into his office before me with bad news.
Kim

A simple note

Sometimes we forget the significance of a small, old fashioned gesture like a Thank You card. With all our technology - emails, e-cards, text messages etc - we sometimes go for the instant gratification that technology provides.

Do you remember when you were a kid and your Mom nagged you for days to write those notes? All the grumbling and fuss, as this little chore was interrupting important things like playing or watching cartoons. But as we all know now......Mom did know best! Because there is nothing like a hand written thank you note!

Today I was the recipient of such a treasure. A little note from Sheri at Shabby Sheep. She made my day. And reminded me again that small gestures mean big things. And hand written thank you notes are a rarity these days. So the next time someone does something thoughtful and/or un-expected, I will write a note. Plus, isn't it nice to get something in the mail that is not a bill!!

Angel Rug

She is finally finished. I love how she turned out. So much so that I almost hate to give her away! But she is going to a great new home in time for Christmas. The rug measures 34 x 19 so it is a good size and was fun to do.

Now.......what next?

I think I might try one of the Snow Folks at Fish Eye Rugs for my next project. If it works out, that will be another present done.

Ooooh Noooo, IT'S Here

This is the sad view I had this morning from the back door. SNOW - and the wet messy kind too!
Oh well, it was inevitable. Little Millie was not pleased either. She doesn't like to get her feet wet! (pathetic - I know)
A good day for hooking. I have the angel almost all whipped. I'll have her finished today. Stay tuned. I will post her later.

Now I have to go dig around and find my snow brush for the car.

Meet my new blogging buddy

I would like you to meet "Pinky" - My Christmas present to myself. A new Mini 10 inch laptop. Sooooo cute! Of course, this is a completely frivolous and un-neccesary purchase. Aren't those the BEST KIND??

And I figure, if you are buying something frivilous - it should be in a fun and funky color. What's more fun than bright pink??

Its so tiny and compact, you can slip it in your purse. It even has a web cam built in. I thought I would test it out tonight with a blog post. Working fabulous.

Merry Christmas to me!!!