I’ve been working away on my Christmas bears over the last week or so… So far, I’ve knitted six heads (triangle-shaped), six pairs of boots, and (almost) six hats. My thanks go to K for making the six tiny pompoms for the hats!
Christmas Bears – heads, hats and boots
That’s all from me today, but please do check out WIP Wednesday at Tami’s Amis and Ginny’s Yarn Along to see what everyone else has been up to!
1) The relief on my friend’s face when the news broke that the Ineos plant was no longer going to close…
2) An unexpected dinner invitation for this evening.
3) I’ve finally found time to make my Christmas mincemeat, and now the whole house is filled with the warm spicy aroma which reminds me of dark winter evenings, warm cosy houses, and family and friends.
I have a couple of Christmas knits to show you today…
First up, remember these NOEL letters, from my Knitter’s Year project? K finally had a chance to make them up while he was in New Zealand last month. Don’t they look great?
As a Christmas present for my sister-in-law, I knitted a zig-zag moebius cowl. This was such fun to knit – I loved learning the moebius cast-on, and it was pretty straightforward once I got the hang of it (and found a pair of circs that were actually long enough!). It was knitted in Sirdar Click Chunky with Wool, on size 6mm needles.
To see more of today’s Finished Objects, check out Finished Object Friday, over at Tami’s Amis…
1) As we leave the house this morning I notice something strange about the pavements and roads – they are grey in colour, rather than black! It takes me a moment to realise that this is because it hasn’t rained for long enough for the ground to become dry!!*
2) A walk in the Devilla Forest. We parked at the edge of the forest, walked in, round a pretty loch, and looped back round to the car. After a few initial complaints of sore legs, the kids settled in and enjoyed the walk as much as we did.
3) To take down the Christmas tree, and reclaim the space 🙂 .
* It didn’t stay that way for long, but it was nice while it lasted 🙂 .
1) The weirdest Christmas day ever, in which I didn’t receive a single present (by choice, I hasten to add!). The children opened their presents, but I chose to wait until K returned to open mine.
2) A lovely walk up at Beecraigs, with the kids, my dad and my brother. Then Dad took M home in the car, and the remainder of us explored the new path down through the fields and back to the house.
3) Reunion: a trip to the airport on Boxing Day to pick K up 🙂 .
4) An afternoon spent playing with the pipes and valves trying to figure out why we had no hot water. This also included two trips to the local DIY shop. And, while we correctly diagnosed the problem, we still couldn’t fix it.
5) Family arrived, and a meal for 17 followed in the evening. Great fun, and so lovely to see everyone again.
6) A morning of present opening with the extended family (although poor jet-lagged K slept through most of it). Lots of very excited and happy children 🙂 .
7) A lovely relaxed, games-filled, visit from friends at the weekend.
8) Sunday School wasn’t on on Sunday, so a friend and I took all the kids out during the sermon, and spent half-an-hour running games in the hall.
9) A couple of days of catching up, teaching the kids to play Cluedo, and generally relaxing.
10) Hogmanay celebrations – a wonderful Rajasthani white curry and accompaniments (tarka naan, rose and raisin chutney, and Gobi Aloo) as our last meal of 2012.
11) As the New Year arrived, so did sad news. Our thoughts and prayers are with our family on the other side of the world.
12) A walk along the canal on New Year’s Day, followed by a feast of a meal with friends.
13) A play date, followed by a family dinner at another friend’s place on the 2nd.
And now, back to normality, time to relax, catch up, and get ready for 2013.
1) My two small people were in the church Nativity play this morning… M made a beautiful and solemn Mary, A was positively angelic (Gabriel). In typical A fashion, he had his back to the camera the whole time…
2) After church, Mum takes A and M off for the afternoon to go for their annual trip on the steam railway – the Santa Express. It’s lovely to have an afternoon of solitude after the busyness of the last few days.
3) I’m taking a quick tea break from gradually work my way through the house, preparing, washing, baking, tidying. It’s not quite there yet, but it will be, and then I intend to go over to my parent’s house and relax.
1) I pop by to give some Christmas gifts to a friend. She was surrounded by bags and boxes, getting ready to go on holiday. But we snatched a quick half hour for a cuppa and catch-up (which included a delicious baby cuddle, and a toddler chat). It was good.
2) To go for coffee with a friend (she lives on another continent and I haven’t seen her in many years), and to meet her gorgeous little girl for the very first time.
3) It’s late, and M is still awake. She’s missing her Daddy too much to sleep 🙁 . The computer is on, so I hit Call on the Skype screen. A few moments later K answered the call and she had a lovely chat – I don’t think she had quite realised that, despite the distance and time difference, talking to Daddy could be that simple and immediate. She went back to bed a much happier little girl 🙂 .
1) Continuing with the theme of the week, I went to A’s school assembly this morning. They did a super version of the Nativity, incorporating Little Donkey, the Calypso Carol and, of course, Away in a Manger. A’s part in the production was to play a verse of the latter on the glockenspiel, and I was really impressed. All the kids did a fab job, and really brought home the real meaning of Christmas 🙂 .
2) Somewhat against the odds (or at least it’s felt that way), I finished baking, covering, and decorating the Christmas cakes today.
3) We three sit on the floor and play Bananagrams. The kids both came up with some pretty good words… but I won 😉 .
1) To remember today that there had been another beautiful occurence yesterday (and yes, another proud Mummy moment). A has been going to Rotakids this term (an after-school club run by the school, with links to Rotary) and yesterday they went carol-singing to one of the local nursing homes. As part of the concert, A gave his first ever piano recital (“Away in a Manger”) in public. For obvious reasons I wasn’t there to hear it, but it apparently received lots of applause and, more importantly, he was really chuffed with how well it had gone 🙂 .
2) On my way to pick the kids up from school, I popped in to see a friend. Her Christmas tree was just beautiful.
3) Rice, meatballs, and veg for dinner. It’s M’s current favourite meal. Followed by icecream, caramel sauce, and sprinkles.
1) The hairdresser brings me a hot cup of tea. She remembered how I take from the last time I was there.
2) The kids and I decorate our Christmas tree – I think it’s the first time I’ve seen them really take care of how they placed the decorations, trying to work out the nicest branch on which to hang them, and not to overload the tree with baubles. They’ve done a lovely job!
3) I spend the evening wrapping presents. I don’t think I’ve been this organised in years!