Happy Birthday to My Mom and Virtual Advent Tour 2019

Happy December!  Today would be my mother's 101st birthday, and though I wish she could be here to celebrate, I also cannot imagine her being that old!  I do miss her every day, but have so many good memories that I feel her with me.

Because her birthday was December 2, we never ever did any major decorating for Christmas until afterwards - though there were always some things that came out on December 1, because to quote my mother, "It's the first day of Christmastime, we're not going to ignore it altogether!"  Actually, I always liked doing it this way - you had the fun of getting started, but didn't have to have everything done right away.

The Tim and I still do that - well, I do it, I'm 99% sure he doesn't necessarily pay strict attention.  Though when he sees it, he always smiles and says, "Well, here we go!"  ;-)

Anyway, I have usually put away the fall and Thanksgiving decorations by the end of November.  And then, every single year like clockwork, December 1 means the displaying of the cardboard Christmas wreath on the inside of the front door:

(That's the peephole on the door in the middle there, in case you were wondering ...)

This wreath is probably one of the first, if not the very first, Christmas decorations we bought when we first got married.  Until last year, you could see the sticker on the back that said, "15 cents," which is a pretty good deal - then and now!  We put it on our *outside* door then, as we lived in a small apartment building where you came in through a main entrance and then walked up to each door.  It was our first apartment, in married student housing at the University of Notre Dame, where The Tim was in graduate school and I worked in the main library.  We had a really nice one-bedroom apartment with a little patio, and we were determined to decorate for Christmas, in spite of not having much money or much room!

And every year since then, this cardboard wreath is pulled out and put onto the front door on the first day of December - now on the inside, so the weather doesn't destroy it.  As you can see if you look closely, there are some spots where the cardboard has gotten a small fold, or started to separate from the color image a bit.  But that only makes it more valuable.  It's a reminder of our first Christmas together, our first apartment, and that you can have a very festive space for just a little bit of money.  Yes, we have quite a few more elegant or nicer things as part of our Christmas decor, but this is the one that started it all, and still does.  :-)

I think remembering your beginnings is important, not just in life, but whenever you are able to find something that still makes you smile after 40+ years.

This post is also part of sprite's Virtual Advent Tour for 2019 - check it out, and join us if you like - it's really lovely and a nice way to enjoy the season.

Have a good week, everyone!

First Sunday of Advent 2019

Saturday FO: The Last of the Official Gift Knits

I am feeling very proud of myself - last weekend, I finished the last of the "official" gift knits for this year.  What, you may ask is an "official" gift knit?  Well, that is a gift knit that you planned in advance for a specific date - in this case, Christmas - and finished and is ready to gift.

Here they are - finished, with all of the ends woven in as of Sunday, November 24, which I might point out is a full month before they needed to be ready.  This is a new record for me.  Granted, in the past, I have put aside knitting for The Tim until the very last minute, so finishing and weaving in ends late on Christmas Eve and then hurrying to wrap the gift has in fact happened.

But not this year.

Project:  Christmas Vacation Socks
Pattern:  Generic Vanilla Sock pattern in my brain
Needles:  US size 1
Yarn:  Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso, in the "Oh Clark!" colorway
Modifications:  Nope.
Notes:  As I mentioned here once before, our family has a ridiculous and wonderful connection to the National Lampoon movies, especially the Christmas Vacation one.  So when I saw the name of this colorway, I decided to break my no-buy and get the yarn to make socks for The Tim.  These were fun to knit, watching the stripes and speckles show up.  They went quickly since there was no real pattern to concentrate on, so I was able to work on them while watching TV, or listening to music, watching a podcast, etc.  I also worked on these while The Tim was around, and I am 99% sure that he will nonetheless be compeletely surprised with them on Christmas morning.  :-)

The only concern I have is that this yarn seems like it might not be too sturdy.  I hope I'm wrong, but I just got that feeling while I was knitting.  It didn't give me problems while knitting, it just didn't feel like a lot of other sock yarns.  We'll see.

Now, my big decision is whether or not I want to start any other quick projects and still call them potential gifts.  I am seriously considering starting something and not calling it a gift, or calling it a gift for myself.  We'll see.  I also want to cast on 1,000 things, so I just really need to narrow it all down and start something and just enjoy the knitting.  That's the whole reason for doing it in the first place anway, right?

In Which I Create a List That Is Especially Pleasing

How was your Thanksgiving?  I hope you had a chance to enjoy the holiday, rather than have one that was tense or unpleasant.  Every time a holiday comes up where family gets together, I realize how lucky I am.  Whereas I know people who are trying to figure out ways that they can avoid getting together with their family, or who are dreading it all, I'm someone who wishes I could see my family.  We truly have such a good time together, and truly enjoy things as a group.  Due to work schedules and distance, we no longer get to see anyone during the fall and winter holidays, and though The Tim and I enjoy our own traditions, it would be fun to get to see others at least occasionally.

Anyway.  That was a huge digression, just to say I hope your holiday was full of good food and good people and good animals.  :-)

*****

A week ago this Sunday, two things diverged that led to the subject of this post.  The day itself - November 24 - was the 50th anniversary of my father's death.  Always a bittersweet day, since he was a holiday lover like me and it seems unfair that he died during his favorite time of year.  Of course, it's unlikely that even if he had been healthy, he'd still be here as it would mean he would be 103 years old.  Anyway, he was especially close to me that day, and then I was reading some blogs and came across a person who was sharing their Christmas Bucket List.  Hers was more about being organized, what gifts to buy, etc., but it was an interesting idea to me.

For whatever reason, I am in especially good stead this year as far as holiday gifts are concerned.  Not because I consciously decided to do X by X day, but more just because I was thinking about what I might want to make/do/buy for individuals.  So I don't need a list of what is left to do, since almost everything is done in that area.  I decided to make my own Christmas Bucket List, with my own spin on it.  Normally, I would wait until today or tomorrow to make it - but since in my OCD way, I wanted it to look good as well as anything else, I spent way too much time last weekend getting it to "look nice."  Because I guess you could say that's my thing - I love lists, but I want them to be pretty too.

(This looks nice to me.  Because this is as "artistic" as I get.)

Anyway, I finally got it to look the way I wanted it to, and I am ridiculously excited to share it with you.  This is a list of things I would like to do, and though they have been "assigned" certain days - it's more like a list of reminders and activities that I enjoy rather than instructions for particular things on specific days.  And some things are more than one day - for instance, I do baking on more than on day.  The only one that will be done on the day it is listed is the first one - "Put up cardboard wreath," because that is something I do every year on December 1st.  :-)

Anyway, here's what is on my list:

1.  Put up cardboard wreath. 2.  Baking! 3.  Listen to Christmas music. 4.  Make a decoration. 5.  Make holiday cheeseball. 6.  Decorate the house. 7.  Put up/decorate tree. 8.  Neighborhood walk to see lights/decorations. 9.  Have some eggnog. 10.  Pay someone a compliment. 11.  Participate in Giving Tree at church. 12.  Watch cheesy Christmas movie. 13.  Have some hot chocolate. 14.  Wrap gifts. 15.  Attend holiday event (play, concert, etc.). 16.  Donate to an animal shelter. 17.  Mail cards/gifts. 18.  Enjoy some quiet. 19.  Walk every day. 20.  Take something to security guard at work. 21.  Stocking stuffers! 22.  Buy a Wawa gift card for a homeless/needy person. 23.  Enjoy it all! 24.  Light some candles.

I posted this on Instagram, and mentioned that it combined two of my favorite things - lists and Christmas!  I think it will be fun to have this guideline, and be able to mark things off as they are done.

If you know me at all, you know I love to find ways to enjoy Christmastime and the whole holiday season.  This, for me, is actually a list that I am looking forward to using, and I hope that I can check off every single thing - and maybe think of things to add next year!  I am also sure that my dad would approve ...

I'll keep you posted - and if you decide to join me, let me know!

Here's hoping that the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend is relaxing, fun, and enjoyable in anyway you might like it to be.

Thanksgiving Day

To my American readers, no matter where you are located, have a wonderful holiday.  

For everyone else, I hope your Thursday is a good one.

I saw the quote below the other day, and though I don't remember who said it, I think

it is something worth keeping in mind.

Enjoy!

"Be thankful for what you have.  Your life is someone else's fairy tale."