I swore this morning as I was straightening out the house in preparation for company that I would not forget to take pictures.  You see, our company was Dan,Jean, the boys and the dogs……..and did I take a single picture?  Of course not….agggh!!! 

We had another wonderful visit with Jean and her family while they were up visiting her family a few towns over.  One of these days, I will remember to drag out that camera, but until then I will leave you with this video that Ashley made for her best friend for her birthday.  Pay close attention to the very end of the video……..this is the Ashley that we know and love…LOL.

I didn't ask for much for Christmas this year, but I guess I was a good grrl as Santa brought me the one thing that I had on my list……and I LOVE them! 

Every time I have seen Cheryl this year, she has been sporting a pair of really neat cowboy boots.  Normally I am not a fan of cowboy boots and their pointy toes, but these rounded toe, chunky fatbaby's are so much fun!

Ken had been bugging me for a Christmas list, but I just could not think of anything that I really wanted or needed until I saw Kathy's post.  That was it!  I had forgotten how much I loved Cheryl's boots, so on the list they went and Santa listened.
(of course a link to Zappos was provided…grin).
Thank you Santa!!

Now that the push for Christmas knitting is done, I sat back and worked a bit on my Twisted Vines Sweater. 

The back is completed and the first set of cables on the left front are as well.  I love picking up this sweater when I feel like some mindless knitting and as you all well know there are times when mindless is a good thing, right?

I have a few new things on the to do list that I am looking forward to starting now that the holidays are nearly past.  I will share them with you soon. 🙂

Did you have a nice Christmas?  We had one filled with family and friends…..and it was fun!  As much as I enjoyed Christmas when my children were young, I think I enjoy it even more now that they are older.  As the kids have gotten older, their relationships have becomes stronger…….it's fun to see them enjoying each other's company.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from last night and this morning…..

Hannah giving her Nana a Santa Hug….

Sisters who now enjoy hugging a bit more than squabbling 🙂

McKayla with her American Girl Doll
(finally a girl who I can spoil with a doll!)

Miles had fun this year playing Santa…..

………….and my most favorite picture of the day………..

It's a rare thing when you can completely surprise kids these days, but I think we succeeded this year 🙂

I hope that your day was filled with family, wonder and joy too!

Christmas eve day is a very very busy day here, so I will leave you with my 2 Christmas favorites to enjoy 🙂

This little ditty ALWAYS makes me smile!

Every year on Christmas Eve we have a family gathering, and the one thing that everyone looks forward to every year is my Homemade Eggnog, so as in previous years, I will share it with you again.

EGG~NOG

12 eggs (separated)
1pint heavy cream
1/2 gallon milk
1cup rum (more or less)..we like more 🙂
1 1/2 c. sugar
3tsp. vanilla
                                    dashes of nutmeg
Beat
yolks & sugar in large bowl.  Beat whites in another bowl and beat
cream in yet another bowl.  Slowly beat milk into yolk mixture, then
fold in whites and cream.  (I actually beat the whites and cream in, so
that it is well mixed).  Add your rum and then top off with lots of
nutmeg  ~YUM

Bottoms Up grrls……….Cheers~

Pattern:  Spiralucious
Yarn:  Opulence ~ Robin's Nest
Needles:  US size 3 (16 inch Addi's)
Modification:  Extra repeat on second chart

As much as I love Poinsettia, I think I like this pattern even more.  There is a little more room in the neck area to throw over a sweater under a jacket…..and I LOVE the dainty little lace edging.  So Victorian!

 

Stacey loves it enough to want one for herself in Sugar Plum (definitely a pink kind of grrl)…and I am going to do one for myself in some sort of teal color with matching mitts.

Whew……….birthday hat…check!  GF gift…..check!  Now if I could tell you that I got all of my Christmas cards out…..my name would be Pinocchio. 😉

I thought I was going to have a finished item to show you today, but the lace edging is taking a wee bit longer than I thought it would, so I will finish it up this evening.  This is a fun knit!  Watching the dainty edging grow as you bind off is so interesting.  I had my doubts that I had it right at first, but after 2 repeats…I saw that I had it. 🙂

I am working on Spiralucious for my son's girlfriend. (No, she doesn't read the blog that I am aware of, so it's safe to discuss).  I dyed the colors to match both of the gifts that Miles bought for her…..a dark brown jacket and a light blue fleece from Northface.  She is very fair, so I dug into those pastels that I usually steer away from…..I went for a very soft blue and taupey brown.  The blue is actually much softer than in the picture.  The only modification I have done was to make it a bit longer by adding an extra repeat on the second chart.

I will hopefully get it blocked and modeled by one of my grrls tomorrow 🙂

Back in November, just before Hannah's birthday party, I picked up this sign to put by our back door.  I'll admit, it's a bit tacky, but I just loved those happy snowmen faces. 🙂

After the 7 inches we received here on Friday and the 18 inches we are well on our way to getting today, Ken asked me if I would consider taking that sign down… 😉

I think he likes it. 🙂

Pattern:  My own
Yarn:  Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Wool, Harmony and Handspun Angora
Needles:  US size 7

 …. inside….. and

…..out………… 

Have a safe and warm Friday!

Well, I left Aidan's hat alone for a few days to cogitate on it a little.  I really didn't want to knit the same hat all over again, but I did contemplate the suggestion to pull it back and start the decreases a bit sooner or pull it back and add some stripes.

The postman made my decision for me. :)  The little fleece  was delivered the other day and the red that I was using was not even close to the red in the fleece.  The red flannel is a blue red and the fleece was definitely an orange red.  So…..I dug deep into my pile and found some left over Harmony sock yarn in just the right shade of red.  Doubled that with some handspun black angora/merino and completely switched patterns and reduced the stitch count.  I have knit this hat enough times to know that I will be able to get the entire hat finished.  I may however throw in a couple of stripes for good luck.

I am off to hopefully finish this little hat tonight watching Grays Anatomy 🙂