December 26th, boxing day but here it's messy day

Presents were received, presents were given. That's the way it is. It was wonderful, really how could it not be. Now I sit here, my home looking a bit like a small bomb went off and I'm ignoring it sufficiently. I'll get around to it. Perhaps I should go out and take advantage of the after Christmas sales. I still do have a bit of shopping to finish for our December 30th version of Family Christmas. Perhaps I should tackle the small mountain of dishes waiting in the sink. Let's not even mention the mildew that is having it's own party in the shower. Please.
But all I seem to be able to muster is sitting here, amongst all the mess and quiet in my ratty pajamas and Christmas sweatshirt. That's about all the ambition I have for today. For now, anyway. I'm getting sick in a not so good way. I've been fighting a cold for a week and half and just starting to lose the battle. It seems to be settling into my chest in a not so flattering way. I will wait it out another day but I do believe this is a bronchitis relapse. I was never so sick as when bronchitis set in last winter and I will not be stubborn enough to wait as long as I did to go to the doctor. Did you hear that? I won't be stubborn and wait too long. Raise your needles if you believe me!
I hope yours was wonderful. The highlight of my Christmas day did not have to do with anything wrapped. It was time with my nephew who is going to college in Florida. Time to talk and get to really know that adult that he is turning into. That is a wonderful Christmas.
Now, please, excuse me while I hack up a lung.

The magic that is Christmas Eve

The tree is decorated. The presents wrapped, the food bought. All that's left is to wait.

Fig says, "How LONG do we have to wait? I want my scratching post!" I can never fool him. He knows that is his package.
I wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas. May you find everything you wish for in this special season. If you don't celebrate, Happy DAY to you!

A Friend's Greeting
by Edgar Guest

I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me;
I'd like to be the help that you've been always glad to be;
I'd like to mean as much to you each minute of the day
As you have meant, old friend of mine, to me along the way.

I'd like to do the big things and the splendid things for you,
To brush the gray from out your skies and leave them only blue;
I'd like to say the kindly things that I so oft have heard,
And feel that I could rouse your soul the way that mine you've stirred.

I'd like to give you back the joy that you have given me,
Yet that were wishing you a need I hope will never be;
I'd like to make you feel as rich as I, who travel on
Undaunted in the darkest hours with you to lean upon.

I'm wishing at this Christmas time that I could but repay
A portion of the gladness that you've strewn along my way;
And could I have one wish this year, this only would it be:
I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me.

Favorite things, Tree edition

Last Spring, I had a brilliant idea. Perhaps not brilliant persay, but since I usually have this idea around November, it was brilliant in timing anyway. I thought that if I started knitting socks and putting them aside for the girls that I eat lunch with at work, then perhaps I would have 5 pairs ready for Christmas giving. They watch me knit almost every day and hint for some hand knits. But I cannot knit 5 pair of socks in a month. Impossible. You would have to visit my blog in it's new location, which would be firmly inside the looney bin. Unusual for me to plan that far ahead, but I did. Last night, was gift giving time!

5 pairs of gift socks, no insane last minute knitting. I wonder what got over me?
From the left: Trekking Color 105 Spey Valley Socks
Lana Grossa Meilenweit socks, generic pattern (okay, some socks are from a while ago, they needed homes too you know!)
Socks that Rock, Conwy Pattern
Opal Petticoat, generic pattern
Blackberry Ridge Socks, Autumn Transitions kit In full blog disclosure, I did not want to give these away. But. I could not finish another pair of socks in time. I gave up. Unlike me, but I have accepted the fact that I am not superwoman. I am woman. But I do not have super powers, although they would indeed come in handy. I gave them freely. I can always knit more, right?
They were all received with appropriate joy. Makes a knitter proud!

Wonderful sock bands found here
Favorite Things, Tree edition

Funky Tree picture!
2 of my favorite ornaments have to do with our heritage. As I get older, it means a lot to me to nod to the past.

Embracing the Swedish side of Andy's family. (see Grover peeking on the left? My kids have outgrown Grover, but I have not. Nor will I)

Embracing my Lithuanian side!
My Mom made the Santa that you see on the left side. One of the treasured. Isn't that what is great about taking the ornaments out every year? Every single one is a memory.

Extreme Tree Closeup! TREE CAM!
~~~
The rest of my day will include a gift wrapping fest. I'll be under the mountain of paper!

A few of my favorite things, part 2

To me, Christmas isn't Christmas until I start flinging some flour and butter around. Although this first recipe has neither, it isn't Christmas in my house until the air if fragrant with the aroma of freshly baked Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. And your home should be too.

I found this recipe years and years (and years) ago in a magazine of some sort. My oven has seen them every year since. With only 3 ingredients, these are the easiest and most peanut buttery cookie you will ever have. I hope you give them a try and see for yourself!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
18 ounces smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Mix all ingredients by hand.
Roll about 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball (it's sticky) and yummy, but you didn't hear it from me.
Bake 12-14 minutes until dry and cracked looking on top. Press a Hershey's kiss (Unwrapped, of course) into the top right when cookies come out of oven.
Cool on rack.
Eat one while the kiss is still melty, before the chance gets away from you! YULE love them!
~~~
That's it! I know you are skeptical! No flour??? You are muttering to your computer screen. I know. Try it, though.
And then there's these,

Every year, I look longingly at other people's Spritz cookies. This year, I have a cookie press and know how to use it!
Having little sugary treats on hand helps my Christmas spirit right along!
There will be sugar cookies and some gingerbread men to add to the collection this week!
Cookies for Breakfast anyone?

A Tale of two scarves

Two Irish Hiking Scarves done, one delivered, one going in the mail for special delivery:


And, some fringe benefits:

Details, Details
Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf times 2
Yarn: Morehouse Merino Yarn, 3 strand
Needle Size: US8
Recipients: Each of Bethany's 2 college roommates.
Regrets: If I had to do it all over again, I'd buy more yarn and make them longer. But I didn't. I was emotionally done and they are 51 inches long, stick a fork in them, they are done.
The blue one was received just as any knitter dreams of their handknits being opened as a gift. She was appropriately thrilled and even if she lied, I appreciated it very much.
~~~~
In an effort to remind myself of the wonder of the Christmas season and not get bogged down by the silly stuff, I am going to post here some of my favorite things about the season. I would like to call it the 12 days of Christmas but there are now only 9 days until Christmas. Hey, ideas don't come on a schedule! So, let's call it These are a Few of My Favorite things OR:

Grinchiness is not welcomed here!
I will start with movies or Christmas shows in general. The mother of all mother of Christmas movies,
It's a Wonderful Life. I look forward to seeing it every year. Haven't we all hoped that we have a Clarence Oddbody hanging around us? It happens to be on TV tonight but I canno watch it due to a Christmas Party. That's okay, I planned ahead and netflix hooked me up.
Remember Harry Bailey in that movie? Imagine my surprise when I found out that there were Christmas Village figurines of him floating around in ebay. You can understand, knowing about my love of Hurleyville and The Movie, WHY I had to have me a Harry Bailey to hang around in Hurleyville, don't you? Bid after bid was lost for Mr. Harry. I started to despair. Perhaps Clarence was indeed looking over me when I finally won an auction.
Harry Bailey doesn't live in Bedford Falls anymore, nope!
See him? Hanging around the town Christmas tree and watching the kids play hockey?


Hello, Harry!
Okay, right now, if any of you are wondering WHY ON EARTH Harry Bailey has blond hair? I will answer you with the same answer I gave Andy. "Shut up. Do you HAVE to rain on my parade?"
:)
Only his hairdresser knows.
Cough:cheapknockoff:cough. No wonders no one bid against me on this one! :)
~~
Don't have time for the full movie version? Be sure to catch this 30 second movie: It's A Wonderful Life in 30 Seconds, with bunnies!
But not all Christmas movies are sappy. What would my Christmas be without the annual viewings of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Those Griswolds give me holiday cheer every year.
Or A Christmas Story~ I cannot say "You'll shoot your eye out" without thinking of Ralphie.
Let's not forget the animated specials: Charlie Brown's Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Mr. Grinch!
What are your favorites?

~~~
Tomorrow's version of A Few of My Favorite Things OR: Grinchiness is not Welcomed Here will be sweet.

Grab a cup of tea and relax with me for a couple of minutes

Thanks to Bob that I have done most of my Christmas shopping online because even without fighting the crowds, I still feel stress creeping in. I try to keep the stress of Christmas out of my life. It is not welcome here. But it finds a crack in the foundation and seeps in somehow.
I hum Christmas carols before the Thanksgiving turkey has even left the table. I enjoy decorating the house with a tradition of ornaments gathered through our life together. I eagerly look forward to the beautiful lights outside lighting the night. I love the Christmas season very deeply. And yet it happens every year. Stress.
Online shopping has indeed helped. I will keep fighting that stress with a nightly cup of tea or hot chocolate near my Christmas tree. My annual reading of A Christmas Carol is on hold because I cannot find the book. Let me repeat that. I CANNOT FIND THE BOOK. That ticks me off. It's here. It does not have legs. I miss it but you know, look at THIS wonderful version of the book. Hmm. Now, that is a beautiful book!
And look at this? (watch the little video)
http://www.chia.com/catgrass.html
Does Fig have a commercial career while I'm at work?

This is my over the shoulder, I'm wicked hungry and cute pose. The humans love this one!
And a bit of Christmas Knitting to go with the tree gazing.

Mim's wonderful Simple Trekking Sock pattern.
I got out of work early today to wait for UPS to bring Andy's Christmas present. Raise your right needle and swear not to tell?
Click here:
Andy's Present, I swear I won't call him and tell him, like the grinch I can be.
IMPORTANT STUFF, Still reading??
The wonderful Carole is editing the January Edition of Yarnival. Go ahead and submit some blog writing. Go ahead! You know you want to! Submit, submit, submit.
What are you still here for, aren't you going to submit? Get to it!
Go.

Roomie Scarf times 2

"Pardon me, are my ends showing?"
Another wintertime craptastic picture. Using a flash does nothing to show the cables in this Irish Hiking Scarf, Morehouse merino 3 ply, this time in blues. This is the second roomie scarf.

conversation with an annoying male coworker who's dauther is at the same college as my daughter.
me: Does your daughter like her roommate?
him: She did at first, but all that roommate likes to do all weekend long is knit. Who would want to hang around with someone who KNITS?
.......
..Um. ME?

Salute the day!

Walk with me, or Eye Candy or Tuesday Sky, something.
But when I saw this little cloud peeking through the neighborhood houses, I knew I had to grab this chance and get on down to the waterfront.

Skywatch with me?


See that girl taking pictures while I am taking pictures? We know beauty when we see it. Turns out she is not a she at all. He knows beauty. Oops.


Day is Done, gone the sun!
~~~
Donna asked to see my new Hurleyville residents this year.

Every town needs police men. And a police car. The light on the top flashes red and the headlights glow. Hard to see here, though. Notice the nun feeding the seagulls in back of them? She came here last year. Or perhaps the year before. She is one of my favorite residents. And you can see a peek at the Church on the left and the town's nativity scene on the right.
I have a blast with this every year. It's our first "decoration" to go up and the last to come down.

Look at me, posting on a Saturday, the day notoriously known as "HARDLY ANY COMMENTS DAY" OR: When blogland rolls up it's sidewalks!

There was a big snowstorm this weekend. Not here

but here, in small Hurleyville that resides on top of our entertainment center:

Our weather continues to be a bit on the weird side with very warm and unseasonable temperatures up until last night. Today, the weather people are all talking about today's "COLD" weather but it's still 45 degrees. It is technically colder than it was, but still nice with the sun shining!
Socks that do indeed Rock!

pattern: Conwy Socks from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Socks that rock, Marbles colorway that was gifted to me by the incredibly generous and wonderful Miss Cara. Love you, C!
Needle Size: US1
This is my favorite sock pattern for those of you who have forgotten. But then again, I have not met a Nancy Bush Pattern that I did NOT like!