Almost a Wrap

 

It's true. In a couple of days, we'll say goodbye to 2023, whether or not we want to do that. Whether it's been a good year, a bad year, or just a regular year, the next one is coming and will bring its own packaging along with it.

But before that happens, today is my niece Amanda's 50th birthday! She will be celebrating with her husband just the way she wants to, with a weekend in Rehoboth Beach. They have some favorite places there, and she said that rather than a party, going there was the best way she could imagine to welcome her fiftieth year. This pleases me, because she deserves to spend a special birthday in a special place. When you have a birthday so soon after Christmas, a lot of people just forget about it, because they are over celebrations, or they are busy looking forward to New Year's Eve. So I can't wait to hear about her wonderful birthday weekend!

Also today is Holiday Cheeseball making day! I usually make it during the week between Christmas and New Year's, and since I finally found some nice blue cheese (why was that so hard this year??), today it will happen and it will have a couple of days to blend the flavors before we break into it for New Year's Eve.

Am I happy to see the year end? This year has been a mix of good and bad, but the most important and best part of it is that we have been together all year, and we added Miss Esmeralda to our family. Any year that we are all still together is a good year, no matter what else does or does not happen. So I'm not necessarily happy to move on to the new year because there are no guarantees it will be the same in that regard. We have to hope for the best.

Having said that, no year is all good or all bad, so 2024 will bring what it wants to bring. I hope it will be mostly good things, but I have no expectations that it will be perfect. I already know of a couple of things that I am happily anticipating, and that's always a good way to start a new year.

Here's hoping that the remainder of 2023 will be kind to you and that at a minimum, most of 2024 will have good things coming your way.

Oh and also - enjoy New Year's Eve, because:

12/31/23

Right??? 

The State of the Gift Knitting

Isn't this a pretty candle? I bought this to support a local rescue and it is so nice! First of all, the scent is called "Christmas Tails" which I love, and the scent is nice and subtle. I lit this first thing on Christmas morning, and have used it a lot since then, and there is still a good amount of candle left. I'm so glad I was able to make a small contribution to this rescue, and I'm also glad the candle is such a good one.

So. Gift Knitting. Well, it started out in an excellent fashion. Do you remember this FO from early in the summer:

This is the beret I knit using some fingering weight and some mohair. Originally, I knit this for me. But then The Tim said, "You know, when I see that, I immediately think of Annie. It would be a good gift for her, and then you would already have one gift finished." Annie is one of my nieces, and I had to admit that he was right. So I decided this one would be a Christmas gift for her, and at some point I'd knit another one for me (I have enough of both yarns left). This also made me decide that Annie's family would all be getting knitted gifts this year.

So next up, I knit a Musselburgh hat for her partner:

And for his fifteen year old son AJ, I made fingerless mitts:

And I knit an Antler Toque for 10 year old Jan, and just now realized that I failed to take a photo before sending it! But it turned out really well, and hopefully will fit her.

And so, figuratively speaking, I was on fire! All that was left was to make the pair of fingerless mitts for The Tim when he lost one of the ones I'd made for him years ago. And I decided I wanted to knit him a scarf, and collected the yarns for that.

The first fingerless mitt happened pretty quickly. So I thought, well, I'll concentrate on the scarf for a while. I was feeling pretty good about getting both things finished by Christmas. 

And then.

Going along swimmingly on the scarf, I realized well into it that I had misread the pattern and made a MAJOR mistake. This really threw me for a loop, and I just had to walk away for a while. And it also meant that I didn't want to knit. At.All.Period.

So how did it all end up? Well, the good news is that I wrapped up the single fingerless mitt, and The Tim was thrilled because according to him, it was *exactly* the same color, etc. of the one he still had from his old set. I told him I would still make the second one, and he said, "Why do I need another one, now that I have a pair again?" Which on the one hand, I appreciated, but I told him I was still going to make the other one, and that way if he lost a single mitt again, he'd already have a replacement. So I cast that on last night, and managed to knit the cuff.

As for the scarf. I was so disappointed that I wasn't going to have it for Christmas for him. But after thinking about it, I decided that I can do a variation of the pattern and finish it and maybe even end up with a scarf I like better than the original design. He may receive a scarf for Valentine's Day, or ... well, Christmas comes every year, you know ... 😊

So on the one hand, I did very well with my gift knitting, finishing things in plenty of time for them to be mailed to the intended recipients. Then on the other hand (if my mother was still alive, right now she would interject, "she had warts" which amused me but also drove me nuts), I didn't finish two gifts I had been really excited to make for The Tim. I am thrilled that he was really only wanting a single mitt to go with the one he still had, because it made me feel like he received an actual gift. 

But I'm also not beating myself up at not quite meeting my goals. Both projects will still happen, and he'll receive them, so it isn't like things were a total fail. I'm more annoyed with myself than anything else, for missing a key instruction in the scarf pattern. Such is life though, and no one died, so it's all good.

The good news is that I've gotten over not wanting to knit at all and that's the best feeling. I already have approximately 4,590,270 things in mind that I would like to knit in 2024, so all that's left is to narrow it down to maybe 5 things. 

I'll keep you posted.

The Fun of Christmas Day

Christmas Day was a good one at our house. It was clear when we came downstairs that Santa had decided the kitties were good in the past year - look at this haul!

Christmas morning, I lit the candle I had purchased from a local rescue group - look at the name of the scent, Christmas Tails! 😊

 

Alfie and Pip were up first, and giving us the stink-eye to come and help them open their packages.

Pip inspected everything, and then went and sat next to his stocking!

Everything was a big hit, but the most exciting kitty gift was this cardboard Christmas barn, where the floors were scratching pads. (It was very poorly put together by me. Fortunately, cats don't care.)

Pip checked it out first.

Then Milo took a turn.

Then both of them were in there!

At various points in the day, there were different combinations of cats in the Christmas barn. A few skirmishes, when someone would decide they wanted it all to themselves, but nothing major. And there were plenty of other distractions to keep everyone occupied.

Esme: Well, crap he's in there, I can't go in. (If you look closely, you can see Milo's face in the upper window.)'

Disapproving girl.

Everyone had a wonderful day, and the nicest thing is that we all had the chance to be together the whole time. The Tim and I also did well, gift-wise, and we agreed it was a nice, long, relaxing day and an overall success. 

Today it's rainy here, so very conducive to just staying inside and enjoying Christmastime. I'll probably do a few smallish things that I want to accomplish, but otherwise, I'm just going to enjoy a quiet, cozy, rainy day. 

Interrupted occasionally by disagreements over who gets to be inside the Christmas barn when ... 😉

Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve 2023 - Love

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."

- Roy L. Smith

Wishes

 

"If wishes were fishes and cattle were kings, 

The world would be full of wonderful things."

- Unknown

I'm sure that plenty of you are busy today - either at your job (last day before the holiday weekend!), or preparing for guests, packing for a trip, etc. But no matter what, here is what I wish for you in the following days.

IF you are traveling, may your trip be uneventful and safe.

IF you are expecting guests, may your house be as good-looking as you want it to be, and may you be looking forward to seeing those on their way.

IF you are cooking and baking, may every recipe be a success, and may your stove and dishwasher be in good repair.

IF you are responsible for some event - a holiday concert, and cookie swap, a food drive - may it be a success and as stress-free as possible.

IF you still have gifts to wrap or put together, may you have a lot of coffee to keep you going until that is accomplished.

IF you still have gifts to buy, may you have good luck.

IF you have to work on the holiday, may the workday go by quickly and be as quiet as possible.

IF you are lonely, may you find a friend, even if it's just a childhood stuffed animal who shares your memories.

IF you are sad, may the day land gently.

IF you are missing someone, may memories of them comfort you.

IF you are alone, may your own company keep you company.

IF you are excited, may you enjoy every minute of anticipation.

IF you are dreading being around people that you don't like, may they have to cancel their plans.

IF you are feeling overwhelmed, may you find a few moments to gather yourself.

IF you are surrounded by dumbasses, may they all go home early.

IF you are feeling loved, may you enjoy the warmth of its embrace.

IF you are feeling happy, may you always.

IF you don't celebrate Christmas, may you at least enjoy a spirit of good-will towards others, and hopefully a long weekend.

IF you feel that the past year was awful, may the next one be better.

IF you are still able to be present, enjoy your life, and celebrate that you are above ground, may all the happiness in the world be yours.

IF you have read this far, may this weekend and the coming days be what you want, when you want it, and may your happiness stay with you long after.