Foggy, Foggy, Foggy

Today is a foggy, dreary day. Yesterday I was going to try to take some more pictures, but it rained all day long. It turned out to be a good day to play Zelda - which L did. Spin on a spinning wheel - which R did. Look over wood carving books - which RL did. Look at new knitting and sewing books - which I did. Some laundry was washed, dryed and put away. A quick trip to the grocery store between the raindrops was made. E-mails and blog reading were the highlight of the day. Sometimes you just need a day or two like that!

Since I haven't gone by Mom and Daddy's to take pictures of Mom's new socks and since I can't find L's new hat, I will have to satisfy you with a picture of my new craft library:

Also, my new pincushion that R made for me.

Since I love Gnomes, this is the perfect pincushion for me!

Want to see what Santa brought?

Sure you do! L sure did...note the excited kid on the left. Does he look 17? Nope, not to me either. He looks more like five. Christmas morning does that to a person, doesn't it?

See this wonderful little basket of goodies? RL and R went to JoAnns and found the vinyl container and then filled it with wonderful yarn from Knit Picks and one of our LYS. All of it is SOCK yarn. Can you tell I'm excited? And what was in the little green frog in the basket? This adorable stamp that RL found and these beautiful stitch markers that R made. She made them from some beads she bought at the Gem and Mineral show in September.
Here's a better look...I think the mini crochet hook from Patternworks is a hint! R told me it would help me pick up my dropped stitches. Does that mean she doesn't want to pick them up for me anymore? Maybe she just wanted a neat little crochet hook to pick them up with! Yeah, that's it. Below is a better view of some of the sock yarn from the LYS.

Oh how I wanted these needles! Every time a Knit Picks catalog would come I would drool on the needle page. R was paying attention! She's a good elf! I didn't think I was getting them after all the presents were unwrapped. Then she handed me my stocking and they were right on top. Totally made my day. I cannot wait to use them! They do look a little like lethal weapons, don't they?

This was at the bottom of my stocking. Yarn that was spun just for me! She's really getting the hang of this spinning thang!


Here's a different angle....

And I cannot forget these beautiful fingerless mitts that R made for me under the cloak of darkness! What a warm and great surprise.

Now, don't think L didn't do anything because, believe me, he did! He and RL were so busy going back and forth to Florida to wait for my father-in-law's surgery, that he didn't really have a lot of time for Christmas shopping. The self appointed elf took orders from everybody and bought what they requested. So, L got me my favorite movie, "Music and Lyrics." It was his own idea! I'm very pleased with that! Then he had R order "Pontoon" by Garrison Keillor. I had been dropping hints like lead balloons around here about that book and NOBODY picked up on them. Well, somebody did and he made sure that I got it! L told R to order it and she wanted to know why on earth? He told her about all the hints I had been dropping. What a good and observant husband he'll make one day!

That's not all the loot though! You'll have to wait until I take pictures of all the socks I made for Mom. The hat I made for L. The mittens R made for her grandparents. The pincushion R made for me. Whew! Just tune in again.....it'll be worth it!

Merry Christmas!

Can you see that Kilroy image of R? L snapped this picture of her hiding behind the couch, but it sums up how we all feel right now. Ready or not, here it comes! You cannot hide! It's finally here...Christmas Eve now and Christmas tomorrow! What could be finished is finished. What couldn't be finished is either in kit form under the tree or comes with a promise of being finished in 2008. Some of those promises will be kept and some will be forgotten, I'm sure. R makes a lot of promises, but then again, she is the creative genius when it comes to the domestic arts and her promises are better than nothing. She did ask what I wanted for Christmas this year and I threw a half knitted hat to her that she started for me two Christmases ago. She didn't jump on it, so maybe next year. L has been sneaky and asking for a ruler. I think he wants to measure a box. He is trying to figure out just what is inside one particular present with his name on it. He's sure he knows what it is. I finally broke down and asked him the other day, after hours and hours of his asking, "Do you really want to know or are you just trying to drive me crazy!?!?!?" Turns out he was going for the crazy part, which is useless because I'm already there!

Here's our droopy tree. I've been trying for days to get a good picture, but this is the best. I opted for the 'no flash' shot. The tree is drooping because R put so many lights on it! When we finally take the tree down, those branches are probably going to spring straight up or sigh with a major sigh of relief!

L took this picture of me hiding behind appropriate fabric for the evening! CAUTION! The extra hand is Rs. She was helping. I think she likes to get her picture taken as much as I do!

Mom and Daddy will be here soon. They have spent the night with us every Christmas Eve since we've lived up here, except for the one we spent with them. We have a nice meal fixed by RL, master chef extraordinaire! He and the kids go for a ride through town to see all the lights and Mom and I have a marathon wrapping session. Daddy is the smartest of the bunch and sits in the recliner to watch television!

So, whatever you are up to tonight and tomorrow, I hope you at least get to talk to one person who loves you, that is if you don't get to see them in person. Be safe in your travels. Remember what Christmas is all about. Last but not least, please pray for our soldiers and loved ones who can't be home for Christmas....that means you - PJ and Sam!

There's a Spinner in the House!

Yesterday we all went our separate ways for the afternoon. L had a birthday party from 2:00 to 7:00. RL and R went Christmas shopping. I was all alone. That does not happen very often around here! What to do, what to do!?!?!?!?! I had a book I needed to take to Mom and Daddy, so I went there after I dropped L off. I ended up staying. I have a tendency to do that, but they don't seem to mind. We talked about Christmas, the kids, RL and what all he's going to do on his Christmas break. Did I mention that he's on a two week Christmas break? YIPPEE! It's always nice to have him home. Good news - he's home for two weeks. Bad news - he's going on a business trip three days after he returns to work. Good news - he's going to Ireland. Bad news - it's during Rs birthday. She is NOT happy. Oh well. We'll just celebrate the day after her birthday, when he gets back home. One day shouldn't be too painful. She's going to be 20, so I guess she can act a little adult and suck it up! Back to yesterday - Mom and I went to the bank and grocery store. She picked up basics. I picked up fun stuff - all my baking supplies and Chex mix supplies too. No sooner had I gotten home then the phone rang. It was our friend who had gotten R the spinning wheel. She wanted to 'rendezvous' at our local grocery store parking lot. I got there a little earlier than she did and started looking around the parking lot. She has a new car and I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was! So, I started driving around the parking lot. I was positive somebody would think I was casing the joint and call the cops! Luckily she got there a few minutes later and saved me from an explanation to the local authorities as to why I was looking in vans! Turns out the box, which was about 3 1/2 ft. tall, wouldn't fit in her van and she had to take her husband's truck. I gave her the book "Shall I Knit You a Hat" and the little hat I made for her daughter. She gave me the wheel. I definitely think I got the better end of the deal although she made me feel like she did. People like her at rare. Unfortunately, there was no sneaking a box of that magnitude into the house. RL and R had just gotten home, so R knew what we were up to. Oh well. She got to help put it together, which really didn't consist of doing much on her part. It was just a screw or two here and there. The wheel was just the wheel - which is what Jan suspected - so I had gotten everything extra R was going to need to spin. However, that is for Christmas, so she has to wait a week! She did have some roving she had gotten for her drop spindle, so she at least had something to spin. She did pretty good! I had to ignore the puppy dog eyes though when it came to the rest of the spinning stuff!

Here is her first attempt. I have been informed that now I have to buy some fleece instead of yarn. I made the mistake of asking if I could have the yarn she currently has. Note: NEVER ask a knitter that! Although she has officially added 'spinner' to her talents, knitter is still way, way up there!

Shall I Knit You a Hat?

Have you read "Shall I Knit You a Hat?" by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise? It's an adorable book about a Mother rabbit and her little rabbit. There's a blizzard coming and Mother rabbit asks little rabbit if he would like for her to knit him a hat. While he's at school Mother knits it. Then the little rabbit gets concerned about all their friends getting cold and what they can do to help them. On the inside back cover is a pattern to knit little rabbit's hat. R and I bought a copy of the book for ourselves and loved it. Who could we give a copy of the book and also knit the hat? We decided to knit the hat for Kate. Her Mom is the wonderful woman who is giving R the spinning wheel for Christmas. I didn't use the colors it called for, but I was pleased with the end result.I like it better with the points straight up, but they do have a tendency to droop from time to time. Since we have had a rabbit, I know their ears tend to droop sometimes too, so I'm just going to leave it the way it is. I sure hope it fits Kate. She'll soon be six and she has curly, curly red hair. I think it will be adorable!

Want to see something cute?

We went to the World Market the other day to buy stocking stuffers and to check out whatever else they had. While the kids went one way, RL and I went the other. I saw these ADORABLE little ornaments for 25% off. I couldn't decide which color to get....naturally I wanted both of them. I asked RL which one he liked the best. Being the sweet and smart husband that he is, he said he just couldn't decide. I asked him if maybe we should buy both of them. He agreed, maybe we should. So, maybe we did! They were only $1.99 each and that was before the discount. Aren't they cute???? I'm afraid they will have to stay out all year long. Anything that cute needs to be seen as often as possible.

We got some excellent news on Monday. RLs Dad was released from the hospital! We could not believe how quickly it all happened! The power of prayer is quite strong. Even his doctor told him he had never had a patient to recover that quickly!

My Mom and Dad had their fair share of excitement today! Daddy's wedding ring has been stuck on his finger for about a week or so. His knuckle was so swollen we couldn't get it to come off. We tried everything - Windex (yes, Windex. Check Google and you'll see it suggested. Kind of reminds me of the Dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding!), ice, pulling, twisting and even Preparation H. Nothing worked! Mom took him to the doctor today who, in turn, called the fire department. When Mom and Daddy were relaying all this to me, it sounded like our doctor was more excited about the firemen coming than a five year old! They managed to get the ring off with a snip of their snippers and his finger is on the mend. I guess it was a mess under the ring. All is well now!

The Way We Decorate Our Tree

For some reason, unknown to me, this is how the top of our tree has looked for the past two years. After it has been decorated and it's time to put the star on top, we always realize the tree needs to be trimmed at the top. So, we're not rocket scientists, okay?!?!?! Last year I just let the kids leave it that way. Why argue? They liked it, said it looked 'Seussical' and we left it at that. This year when I went to get RL to trim the top they reminded me of last year. So I guess we are destined to have a tree that is too tall, but still insists on a topper.
R and I (mainly R) decided last year that we would knit a stocking for every day before Christmas - kind of like an advent thing. I think she made one, we had one my sister made years ago and I made about six of them before I gave up. This is one I made.
This is the stocking my sister made. We learned how to fold the stars a couple of Christmases ago. We got a kit for them at Old Salem. They are frustrating until you learn the tricks and then you can't stop making them! I believe R made these and dipped them in wax to make them sturdier.
Since we are originally from Florida our tree reflects that. This little ornament is one of my favorites. We got it a couple of years ago from Ron Jon's in Cocoa Beach.
This is a very blurry and bleached out picture of our starfish snowman.This is Santa Starfish.
I just can't explain this. Every year R and L point the camera at the tree and move it as fast as possible while they snap the picture. It's always a challenge to get the most movement, color and to be the first photographer of the year.

Another Florida ornament from a little craft store we frequent when we go back to Melbourne.
So, there you have some of our favorite ornaments and wacky traditions we have!

We had sleet last night! R was Christmas shopping on-line and heard it. I was almost zonked out - I am not the night owl she is - and she thought she heard rain or sleet. She ran to the front door and flung it up - at 2:00 a.m. - and sure enough it was sleeting. L was jealous. He's in Florida with RL and they have been soaking up sun and 80 temps. L loves dreary, wintery days just like his Granny. He'll be home tomorrow night, so hopefully we'll have some big time winter weather to make him happy!

The Surgery Was a Success!

I heard from my boys in Florida a couple of hours ago and my father-in-laws surgery was a success! Yippee! Thank you to everybody who said a prayer on his behalf. He'll be in ICU for up to three days and then in the hospital for about a week. Turns out the aneurysm was quite large and 'funky' shaped - to quote my husband!

R and I are keeping ourselves busy. Every year she likes to wear a different knitted hat to the Christmas parade. This is last years hat.

Some man who was in the parade stopped and yelled, "Great hat!" I think it took her by surprise. This year she is working on a red and white striped stocking cap. At the rate she is knitting, I think she will be finished in time to wear it.

While RL and L were home this weekend, between trips to Florida, we got some leaf raking finished. Wouldn't you know the wind kicked up after we had most of the yard done?

It doesn't look like much, but there are three big piles of leaves on the edge of the drive. To give you an idea of how big the piles are - L is almost 6 ft. tall and he was buried almost to his waist in the pile closest to the road. Of course the drive needs to be raked too, but since the wind, the whole yard needs to be raked all over again! Oh well, it will keep us busy. Hopefully the burning ban will be lifted soon so we can burn all these leaves. Meanwhile we will have quite an impressive burn pile in the back yard!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Daddy (on the left) and his older brother Shannon
Today is my Dad's 75th birthday. He doesn't act a day older than he ever did. I guess you could say he's 'immature' for his age - in a good way! The above picture was sent to us by some family members. I love this picture! After I saw it for the first time, I finally realized who I looked like in all of my baby pictures. I hope you have a great day Daddy and we love you!

As for everything else around here - well, it's a mess. RL's Dad, Mom and Brother, Tim, are currently in Gainesville waiting for surgery. They had a consultation with a doctor there on Friday. On Monday he has some tests and Tuesday they have an appointment with the anesthesiologist. Wednesday is surgery day. So, RL and L are once again headed for Florida. The surgery should take four to five hours and might require his kidney to be removed to get to the aneurysm. They are hoping that won't happen, but they have been warned it could. We just want him to come out of this okay. He'll be in ICU for three to four days and then in the hospital for a week after that. It's a big 'hurry up and wait' situation.

R finally got the lights on the tree. This year I bought as many lights as she wanted to use. Normally we limit her to 1,000 lights. However, she always says, "Well, Martha Stewart says that you should have this many lights per foot of tree. Martha says this. Martha says that." So, I took her to Target to get four more boxes and she put two more in the buggy. Now our tree has 1,600 lights on it. I was amazed it didn't go up in flames when she plugged it in last night. It really looks pretty and doesn't look like it needs one ornament on it. But, since we have been buying Hallmark ornaments since they first went on sale this year and have a ton of ornaments from day one, we will be putting ornaments on this tree! We told our neighbors last night that since the tree had soooooo many lights on it, is next to four bookshelves full of books, is a real tree, is on wooden floors and is strategically placed under a heating vent, if they saw a flame from that corner of our house to immediately call 911. They said they would do their part. It's so nice to have neighbors that care. Of course they also wanted to borrow about five of our DVDs, so they might have been willing to agree to anything.

So, when the tree is finished I'll post some pictures of all the neat little ornaments that are our favorites and the beautiful tree itself. In the meantime.....Have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!