Merry Christmas!

May the peace and joy of this season be with you and your family and may the new year bring happiness and good fortune.

Christmas is Coming

The last two batches of Cranberry Pecan Chex Mix are finished and cooling. Will take them to the farm today where my sister, Nancy, Mom and I will package them up for the Christmas baskets. 

Everyone in the family decided that this would be a more simple holiday this year. We are only exchanging food gifts. So, we have fixed fruitcakes, fruitcake cookies, fudge, penuche, regular Chex mix, Cranberry Pecan Chex Mix, wedding cookies, pecan nut logs, and cheese straws. Most of these are gluten free this year. I doubt anyone can tell. 

Okay, Okay, Get the Picture Taken Already!

Packages have been shipped to NYC and Pennsylvania and they have arrived!  The December birthdays have come and gone with lots of cake and ice cream and singing.  

The tree is trimmed, the few presents wrapped and the Christmas knitting done! Guess Christmas can happen now.  hee hee.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Peaceful Kwanzaa and Eid.

I am going to go work on my December socks. ;~)

Cowling, Cowling, Now We Go. Christmas Bell Are Ringing

Only 9 days until Christmas. Instead of caroling, I have been cowling. heehee. Four made with two more to go. I can hear the Christmas bells ringing. They are getting closer.

I am using bulky yarn and a size US 11 (8mm) 16 inch circular needle.  It takes about 4 hours to make a cowl. I am using the Thick and Quick Ribbed Cowl by Naomi Adams, a free pattern on Ravelry.  I like the cowls better when I only cast on 72 stitches.  Pictures are on my Ravelry project page. I will post them here after Christmas.

I also bought some beautiful shawl pins to give with the cowls. I also have finished a Mossy Pebbles Scarf and am still working on the Encompassing Midnight circular shawl. 

My Alpaca Icelandic Yoke Sweater is on hold for now. I plan to work on it on the train when we head to NYC after Christmas to visit with our daughter and her family.  Should have plenty of time as we are on the train for 15 hours. Have never ridden on the train, so this will be an adventure. We understand that all the stations should have their Christmas decoration up and we are looking forward to seeing them.

Even if you are not cowling, I hope you are caroling or at least humming as you go about your preparations for Christmas or the holiday you celebrate. In our busy lives we need to remember to find joy in the little things so that we don’t get overwhelmed. 

Preparing

Feeling better after being on antibiotics for 10 days. Can finally breath without pain or coughing. 

Good thing I feel better as I am on staff for a women’s retreat this weekend. The retreat is supposed to be a respite in the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas.  While that sounds great, it’s not much of a respite for those preparing for the retreat. I will spend most of tomorrow finishing and printing the booklet to be used as a journal during the retreat. 

Once that is printed, folded and stapled, I can work on my presentations. Thankfully, I only have three and the other presenters are great. Everything will work well once we get started. It’s just hectic getting everything in place before everyone arrives. 

I am looking forward to Sunday. We plan to start decorating the house for Christmas. This year, I have no other commitments (after the retreat) except attending parties, baking, buying and wrapping presents and enjoying the season.

Since I am doing no Christmas knitting this year, I plan to work on my Encompassing Midnight Cowl and my Alpaca Icelandic Yoke Sweater.

I hope your preparations are going well.