resolutions

i have some health-type new year's resolutions (getting proper sleep, exercise, nutrition, blah blah), but this morning on my walk to work (exercise!) i thought, what about resolutions in other areas? like...

1. finishing one project before starting another (so terrible at that)

2. getting a super-early head start on any deadline-ish projects (hello, birthdays and xmas)

and the biggie:

3. no buying new materials except for storage-related items! we have a "storage room" that is an absolute disaster - i really need to bite the bullet and get it sorted. get rid of things that we will never ever need or use, and come up with a proper system to organise the "keepers." i already have ideas dancing in my head for a system of crates that could be stacked out of the way against the wall, or hooked together to form the base for an inflatable mattress if we have guests over (because really, it is crazy that we have an entire extra room but still make guests sleep on the sofa!) but of course all of that involves work... i think until i make some headway on this, there must be no new non-storage-related projects. except for gifts of course. and finishing things i've already started.

linky link

just noticed this link to my knitted kodama from threadbanger - there are lots of other great items linked as well! knitted eyeballs and celery anyone?

merry xmas!

big day! done and done! we served a lovely dinner for nine - turkey, stuffing, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, braised chestnuts, squash & chard, home-made bread, and a buche de noel - everything but the turkey was vegan!




then i hit some quilt stores with my friend jen. regina quilting was... an industrial quilting factory, kind of a bust. sew sisters, i didn't get to see because the boy was asleep in the car. but cock-a-doodle quilts was a hit! flannel for next year's xmas jammies (this year's only got done on the 23 december, eep) and some of the number's fabric that matches the boy's quilt, so i can make a spare sheet and pillow case!



then, we added the finishing touches to our gingerbread house - or "cookie cottage" as the boy calls it - a few fir trees...




... a christmas tree for inside...



... and an attack by godzilla!

it's almost here!

can you believe that tomorrow is christmas eve? and i'm almost ready! i'm never 100% ready for anything it seems, but i'm pretty close. and i think the broken foot/chest infection/braces headache misery should play well as excuses. today is my last day at work before 5 days off, and tonight and tomorrow i'll be cooking and crafting up a storm. i have everything i need for dinner, i just have to do the prep. aside from the traditional turkey, everything will be vegan - the stuffing, the sides (mashed potatoes, squash & greens gratin, braised chestnuts, & brussel sprouts), the bread, the dessert: bûche de noël. i found a whipped icing recipe that i successfully veganised before, and this time i am upping the ante a bit with cocoa butter instead of margarine. should be super yummy! recipes & pics to follow after boxing day!

now, i just have to finish all of those knitted gifts, and pyjamas for the bambino...

why didn't i know about this before?

advent calendar lace scarf! every day of advent, a different lace chart to knit. wish i had known about this in november, and wish i had been more on top of things anyway so i'd have time for it! will have to make a note to remember for next year...

ugh.

i'm home sick and feeling a wee bit sorry for myself when i can work up the mental energy for it. the rest of the time, i am watching season 4 of mad men (the clothing! the furniture!) and devoting my hands to the mindless task of running in the endless ends and otherwise assembling the felted wreath i knit last year (or was it the year before?) it's incredibly boring, but i don't have to angst about making/fixing errors, and it's about as much as i can concentrate on right now.

and, the results so far are pretty nice.

tree is up!

and the ginger bread house is still standing! i told my son that we still have to add the trees etc. - didn't have time for it before our tree-trimming party on saturday. i didn't even get to assemble my mincemeat tarts, but there was still so much food... i guess we will have them on christmas eve!

productive = happy

this is my big week, the week i've taken three days off to see to some appointments and get ready for our holiday party. so far i've assembled and sent about two dozen greeting cards, repainted the living room, got the piano tuned, got a haircut, made two kinds of dip (artichoke and herb-curry), picked up a couple of presents that i worked on a couple of years ago, picked up a bunch of groceries for the weekend (including these awesome compostable wooden forks), went to mccall's and fell in love with the total awesomeness (what is kransekake? i want to make one!) and bought some supplies for a gingerbread house, took the boy to see a play, bought some kid-style musical instruments (finger cymbals, jingle bells, a triangle), had lunch with a friend, etc. tomorrow we are shooting a video that chs will use for fundraising, getting a tree, baking & building a gingerbread house, and generally cooking and baking and cleaning all day.

phew!

and for your viewing pleasure, here are just two of the wow-i-never-knew-that-existed things i saw at mccalls:

cardapalooza

how did i go from feeling so far ahead of the game to so far behind? happens every year i guess. didn't get a lot done on the weekend - the knitting continues (there is nothing better than knitting xmas gifts on an old-fashioned train rumbling across the snowy countryside with family, friends, and santa himself on board!), and i bought more yarn, to tie up the jams i made (are they supposed to be a secret? i don't think my coworkers check my blog... whoops).

foolishly i kept putting off the cards - hadn't even thought of what to put on them, and then yesterday i thought "maybe i will just get some tree-shaped rubber stamps and go crazy with that" and then i thought "maybe i could get a tree stamp and a pear stamp and a partridge stamp" and then i just went ahead and did a drawing of a the tree i wanted. for the ones i send out, there will be glueing (that word looks wrong no matter how i spell it) and stamping, but i've put a version here as well for anyone else who wants to send them out!




the cards i did last year and the year before are available too: santa baby and cookie wonderland.