You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2008.
gluten free poppyseed cake (I always have poppyseed cake on my birthday)
girls were kept busy with new playmobil from nana, giving me time to crochet and daddy time to read
lots and lots of snuggling up on the windowseat, reading books, watching the pelicans, seeing the boats go by, or saying hello to the sea lions poking up their noses in the bay
a totally unbelievable morning of 60 degree weather on the beach- no wind, sunny, gorgeous.
What a divine birthday. My husband is the sort of person that knows I love my birthday, and so he drags it out longer and longer each year. I get lots of early birthday pampering, amazing birthday trips, and post-birthday presents. Aren’t I blessed? My birthday is my favorite time of year.
Now comes the reflection that hits afterwards- looking ahead to the new year and wondering what it will bring, planning, scheming, making lists, and feeling hopeful.
See you in 2009!
More things on the knitting list- we’ll see what gets done.
- a February Baby Sweater
- maybe a BSJ, too- they’re so much fun to knit!
- hats, like this one (I’ve knit this one before and it’s very sweet)? this one? this one? this one? this one is darling. (any good hat pattern suggestions out there?)
- some sock booties
- this cardigan? or maybe this one? what about this one? I’ve always loved this one.
Ah, so much to knit, so little time ;)
What else should I be knitting up for a new little one? Bunny and Birdie each have their own knitted blankets (Bee’s, as you see, is crocheted). Thinking about some leggings, too, but those are so easy to make up the pattern for. I’ve never used a legging pattern.
Tomorrow is my birthday, and we’re off to the coast to celebrate. See you when we get home!
A little ripple (Ravelry link) for the little Bee with Cashmerino scraps left over from last year’s big ripple, plus a few new colors.
So, although we got our Christmas tree ahead of time, we didn’t actually put it up until Christmas Eve. Which turned out to be a very good decision after all- when we put it up, Bunny told Birdie that this meant that tomorrow would be Christmas! During my entire childhood, my family was the one that had a fresh tree from the farm up nearly the day after Thanksgiving, so it’s actually quite a change for me, but it’s nice to feel our little family is creating our own traditions.
Some new decorations this year:
And some old ones:
Vintage miniature balls
Handmade by me, aged 9
The new ones were a gift from my mom, aren’t they sweet? I am definitely going to copy that mousie with a scarf for next year. The one next to her is a bunny with felt ears. Eek! I was thinking I’d really like to do some more cross-stitched ones for next year, too. I have a bunch of different ones I did when I was 7-10 years old, my major cross-stitch years. I have a sampler I did during that time period, too- I’ll have to find it. I think it’s still hanging at my mom’s house.
More things to do next year that didn’t get done this year:
- make a gingerbread house
- make an advent calendar- did you see this one? Or this one? Or this amazing solstice one?
- knit something for the girls for Christmas
- make cinnamon applesauce ornaments
- make straw ornaments
- make pomanders (this was the first Christmas in 20 years I haven’t!)
I’m sure there are more things, but it will be nice to have this list next year to jog the memory.
Hope your Christmas was just as wonderful as ours.
I was so hoping for snow on Solstice this year, but it just didn’t happen. It was cloudy all morning, and I thought that our bi-annual Solstice bonfire might still be in the works, but then at about 2 in the afternoon it started pouring rain and didn’t let up until long after the girls were in bed. Ah, well.
We made the best of things anyway, dyeing playsilks, their Yule gift this year:
And playing with them-
(there’s that Gyo again)
I got the silks from Dharma Trading and used koolaid to dye. The girls were surprised by the very strong scents of the koolaid, but had fun nonetheless. I tried to make a brown, partially successfully, by using cherry, orange, and grape. It’s sort of a burgundy-brown, can you see it in the top photo next to the red? We already had purple (and a few other colors that have been loved, literally, to shreds), so I ended up doing two each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and brown. I dipped one scarf first, then quickly put in the next scarf before the dye was exhausted, which made one stronger-colored and one lighter-colored of each hue. Some of them came out mottled, but all of them turned out beautiful. :)
The girls really adore their playsilks- I know I don’t have to tell you Waldorf mamas this- they immediately put some babies in playsilk slings, packed picnics in playsilk bundles, and cooked out over a playsilk fire. So fun.
After dinner, we had a Solstice cake (from this recipe- definitely a Treat), blazing with 12 beeswax candles, one for each month of the year. We sang our usual candle blessing:
Here is a spark
Of Father Sun’s light
See how it keeps us
So warm and bright!
And talked a little bit about Father Sun’s return. Such a lovely, simple celebration. I hope that your Yule was beautiful, too!
I recently came across this pattern on ebay and couldn’t resist buying it, even though it will be a long time before I’m unpregnant enough to wear it:
I love, love, love this.
Not least because it reminds me so much of a dress that I’ve been coveting for years at Old Town Clothing. Isn’t it lovely? I am very much one of those people who wears the same thing every day. When I find something that I even remotely like, I immediately go back and buy it in every color available. But being pregnant so often has led to an entire wardrobe composed of stretchy pants and stretchy shirts and stretchy skirts and stretchy dresses. Frankly, I’m getting tired of wearing things made out of knits. Even my nightgowns (I can only wear nightgowns when pregnant, pajama bottoms drive me nuts) are made out of stretchy cotton.
In my dream world I wear dresses like the one above, with blouses underneath, and cable-knit stockings, and Wellies (or these heavenly shoes), and I wear my hair like this. And in the summer the same dress different fabric, without the blouse or stockings, and some of these.
Sadly, my calves have always been too, um, muscular for Wellies. But there are always my beloved red patent leather Dansko clogs. :)
Outside:
And inside:
