Christmas revisited

I hope everyone's holiday season is going well. For those who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a very wonderful day yesterday. We had an extended Christmas this year because we were able to celebrate both of our family's traditions. We openned up presents on Christmas Eve with B's family (via iSight), had a nice dinner and watched It's A Wonderful Life. I find it really amazing that I have lived almost 31 years and had never seen this movie. I now unerstand why it is a Christmas classic. One thing that I was surprised about, is that the movie was nothing like what I thought it was. In my head, I thought it was kind of like A Christmas Carol, only the really grouchy guy kills himself and then most of the movie is like seeing Christmas Future. Then he feels bad, so he gets a do-over. So, you can imagine my surprise when it wasn't like that at all! It was so funny and the characters were great. It was one of those movies you catch yourself watching with a big smile on your face.

Christmas Eve was also knitting night. Being the mom of two knitters, my mother-in-law spoiled me and my sister-in-law with goodies from Knit Picks. Seen here from left to right is Paint Your Own merino (each hank it 880 yards!), Sock Landscape in Spring Prairie (I have been warned that this sock yarn doesn't ware well as socks, so I will probably use it for something else - I love the colorway though!), a Lantern Moon project bag, and enough Andean Silk to make Grace from knitty.


She also fed my Freedom Wool addiction with enough cream Freedom Wool to make that loopy jacket I've had my eye on. It's pictured on the cover of the Freedom Wool pattern book shown below.


Christmas Day we went up to my parents where we had Christmas morning with my parents, my grandma and my brother and his wife. The "kids" exchanged stockings this year in an effort to give my mom a break from having to come up with stocking stuffers for 4 grown adults - some traditions never die. We had a lot of fun with our stocking goodies which included a "nerf-like" door basketball hoop and a balloon animal kit. Fun! My grandma said she had never seen so many toys given to grown-ups before and giggled. What can we say, the four of us have never given up our appreciation for toys and having fun. The stocking exchange gave us a chance to go all out - and with a $10 limit no less! Yay, dollar bins!

I also gave my sister-in-law the One Skein Wonder that I made her using Lang Polar in an eggplant purple (0090). I love this yarn and since it's thick/thin it makes a nubby pantern in the fabric. I was worried that it would be too big, but I think it fits her nicely and should be easier to wear over cap sleaves since the arms holes aren't super tight.


We ate all day long and in the afternoon, we put together a puzzle. This has become a holiday tradition for my family because it gives us something to do together while we are hanging out. This year though, I think we may have exceeded the focused involvement usually experienced. B said on the way home that he was a little scared at how into the puzzle he got. It wasn't just him though. (This was an entirely candid snap shot.)


The only one who didn't have a good time was Jenny. Except for having fun with her stuffed kitties, she was pretty much miserable the whole day. We had a fire going in the living room that crackled, hissed and spit, which she hates. We opened gifts making lots of scary noise with the wrapping paper, which she hates. We made balloon animals with scary squeeky balloons, which she hates. We played with those clanky noisy scary metal brain teaser games, which she hates. Overall, not a happy camper. When it was time to go, I asked her if she was ready to go home (a term she knows) to which she promptly ran to the front door and waited for us to leave.

But perhaps the most special part of Christmas for me this year was my grandma. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she turned 90 this year. She has been living with my parents for the past few years and we have watched her slow down. She is an amazingly happy person, but physically, she just doesn't have the stamina she used to. I know that my time with her is limited and I think she felt truly blessed to be able to spend this holiday with her family. She had tears in her eyes when she hugged everyone goodnight before she went to bed. She also was tickled that I made her a neck cozy. She said - at least one of my grandkids knows how to knit! That made me smile, but I was especially touched later on when I was showing her how it fit together. She gave me a big hug and had tears in her eyes when she pulled away. This is why I knit.