Yikes!

Not a terribly descriptive blog post title but one that seemed to fit when I thought about how I might organize my thoughts for this post.  I think I'll actually have to do multiple posts for the sake of clarity and sanity.

Let's do a little holiday wrap-up.

The ladyfriend and I invited some strays, as I ended up calling our friends who weren't seeing family for Christmas, over for Christmas dinner, which we had on Christmas Eve in order to accommodate everyone.  It was quite the feast and lovely to share with friends.  Christmas Day we spend quietly together eating leftovers.  Pretty awesome.

My parents and the boy came on the 30th, and we all celebrated a new year together.  A lesson I learned, however, is that you can either go to a party on the 31st or throw a party on the 1st - I call it the "Go or throw" rule.  I did both, and it wasn't the best decision I've made, but both parties were fun.

Feel Me, Read Me, Eat Me, Make Me

Thursday is the new Friday, at least for this week.  Lots of fun and exciting things to share.

Firstly is the new blog Carefully Worn, a project by Amanda Farquharson, which she envisions as a resource for people who care about making sound decisions around clothing.  As she wrote in her blog post introducing the new site, "By mending what we have, buying things second-hand, making our own clothes and purchasing new items from sustainable and ethical companies, we can be the voice of change and cause governments and companies to listen and adapt. We can also BE the change, by treating our garments as treasures, not as disposable discount items, and reducing our own carbon footprints as well."

I'm so excited about this, and I think I love her!

Secondly, readers of this blog (hi, Dad!) know that I have a thing for Alabama Chanin.  They're starting a Build a Wardrobe subscription/program, which will focus on finessing garment fit and construction as one builds their wardrobe (Can you hear my little heart sing?  Can you feel my panic over not having enough time to make & craft as it is?! No matter.)  Four times a year they'll send you an exclusive pattern, directions, fabric to complete it, and all the notions.

Next up, I'm totally loving this hat and am wondering if I can squeeze making one into the already-packed schedule (see panic note above).   It's a pattern from the Seamen's Church Institute's Christmas at Sea program (is there a Hannukah on Land program somewhere?). I'd love to think my hat was sailing the seas on the head of some lucky mariner, and I'm sure I have the yarn for it.

Onions au gratin are sounding pretty yummy to me, and I think I may be able to fit them into one of my holiday menus.  As well as the Desmond Mince Pies (I used to always make fruitcake, and it's fallen off the radar the past few years - sigh) and Lebkuchen, which I'm totally going to make for my parents and the boy when they come up for New Year's.

Finally, the latest podcast from Woolful is up.  I just listened to the previous episode, which featured the fabulous Pam Allen, and found myself a little teary-eyed because it makes me happy to hear the conversations "fiber folk," as Ashley Yousling, the woman behind Woolful, calls us, have.  Little things mean a lot.

We're getting our tree tomorrow!  Yay!  The ladyfriend really wants to go all out on the decorations this year (as though we haven't before).  Stay tuned!

On My Mind Mondays: A New Kind of Holiday Season

Ah, the Monday before Christmas, the day after solstice.  We're looking forward to things settling down a bit before we get back to it in January.  In the meantime, there are things occupying the frontal lobe (whether that's anatomically correct or not).

1. New holiday traditions:  I have probably mentioned that our family decided during our last get-together for the holidays to not require anyone to travel anywhere for Christmas.  I'd been looking forward to starting some of our own traditions although it's hard for us not to have the boy here with us.  Last night we had a Solstice party, which was a lot of fun.  I'd had ideas about how I wanted the party to go, but in the end, I just decided to let it be, and let my friends celebrate the season in whatever way they saw fit.  With the few remaining guests, we lit sparklers at midnight in our backyard.  I think I'll keep that "ritual."
2. Longstanding traditions:  My parents sent us a package with gifts and lots of great German chocolate.  I do not have a Bunte Teller here - a festive plate where my goodies go (my parents have one for me at their house), so I'm looking at our collection of vintage serving platters to see if there's a smaller one I can use.  Who knew I'd miss having my own Bunte Teller?  The other major tradition I have is that we eat potato salad and wursts on Christmas Eve* and then open our presents.  The ladyfriend may have complicated that plan by making plans with another friend, but I think we've gotten it back on track.  I did say that I'd consider moving the potato salad meal to Boxing Day, but I'm hoping that's not necessary.
3. Too many "sale" emails:  I've found myself unsubscribing from email lists almost daily because I'm tired of the appeals to buy, buy, buy, and more, more, more.  Sure, some of them I read and consider (Alabama Chanin is having a sale after Christmas...hmmmm), but for the most part I resent what feels like a desperate cry to shop and consume.  I just sent off the boy's holiday gift, which means I'm essentially done!  Yay!  I'd just like a little reprieve from the solicitations.
4. My newly organized and cleaned office:  It's been a long time coming, but I finally managed to make my tiny office on the main floor (I have two "half" offices - spaces that are shared with other objects or purposes) work.  I got a shelf from Ikea, and now I have places to put things.  We moved a chair from the living room into it (ostensibly to make room for the Christmas tree), and I love sitting in it and just looking at my books or knitting.  I'm hoping that I can find a chair to replace this one after the holidays.  It's amazing how a fresh and organized space can do so much for you.
5. A gift for the reader:  Here's the recipe for the punch I made last night.  I love that the printout has my writing, in blue highlighter, saying "Yummy."  It is, but let me warn you - it can sneak up on you.

It's Beginning to Look...

 To say we've been busy is a grand understatement, but all around us evidence of the holidays is gathering despite our involvement in the leftover business of 2012.  I've already consumed the above-pictured stollen, and there's another one waiting for the arrival of my parents.  I'm almost finished with holiday shopping (although I was surprised today by a brief jag of bidding on things online), and I've kept holiday crafting to a minimum this year.  Sometimes you need a break from the holiday craftory.  I think I still have it in me to make puttanesca sauce for our food gifts.  I'm hoping that the ladyfriend and I have some time to enjoy some of the holiday build-up this weekend.  The boy arrives on the 25th (super huge "yay!") and the 'rents (hi Dad! hi Mom!) arrive on the 27th.  Soon all the concerns of today will be forgotten in the midst of celebrating with loved ones.

The Holidays: Simple and Slow

 I've always loved the holiday season, and in years past (particularly while I worked on Wall Street), I was quite organized and had a schedule of when I'd make fruitcake (really misunderstood food), send out holiday cards, and craft my little heart out.  But it's gotten harder and harder to find the time or frankly, the energy to plan or even conceive the narrative arc of my holidays.  I had a lot more time when I worked on Wall Street.

Anyway, I was unnecessarily starting to worry that Christmas would whiz by and leave me discombobulated on the side of the road.  I think that not having a lot of things to make for gifts this year has left me worried that I've forgotten something (as opposed to having made the decision that I don't need to throw myself into the craftory* this season).  But I realize that if I slow down and just take notice, the things I love about the holidays are revealing themselves around me.  So, when I saw this post on the Alabama Chanin blog on Wednesday, I thought - hey, that could be an easy gift to make for someone - and got excited.

Shoe of the Week: Snow Kickers!

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but these are rubber boots.  My parents gave them to me for Christmas, and I have to say - at first, I wasn't so sure.  But I decided to try them out, and they have won me over.  Not surprisingly, they elicit a lot of responses - all good so far.  I have yet to wear them with a dress or skirt, but that is not far away on the horizon.  I'd like to take some more risks this year with pattern mixing, and I think these will be good for that.

Failure of Imagination

As we're having a rather nontraditional Christmas (multiple Christmas events to include various family members), we (the nuclear family of three) went out in search of Chinese food and a movie yesterday.  We found Thai and Tron.