I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We were blessed with family and festivities and all the Christmas season is supposed to be.  A time of joy, peace and blessings.  Now we are settling in for the rest of the winter.  Cold, dreary days.  Firelight flickering.  Candles glowing.  The days for soups, chili, and comfort food. Baking bread.    The days for enjoying our Christmas gifts, if we got any, or just enjoying being inside and working on our indoor chores and hobbies.

I am in a sock knitting obsession.  I started a pair of socks in the last couple of weeks.

My first time ever to knit on circular needles.

Very tiny circular needles.   I found I liked the knitting part of it, but was dreading turning the heel.  I think I worried about it so much I dropped stitches as I was trying to knit the heel flap, got all impatient about picking up the stitches and ended up tearing out the whole sock and now am using the yarn to knit yet another scarf.  So I am back to square one in starting a pair of socks.  I think I am going to order some different yarn as this yarn is acrylic and not really sock yarn and I did not like the stiffness of it as I was knitting.  Maybe it was a good thing I dropped those stitches.  David said, “you spent hours knitting that sock,” and I said, ” I can start again.  I am determined to knit socks.”  I won’t give up.  If millions of women can knit socks, so can I.

I did get this for Christmas.

I am not so sure this will be any easier as there is a CD to watch and all kinds of things one needs to know before one starts.  How can a simple sock be so hard?   I know people who knit hats on looms like this, so it cannot be that hard.  Anyway, that is what I tell myself.

Meanwhile, I told David I wanted to learn to crochet this year, also, which made him get out his crochet needles and proceed to crochet a scarf.

He use to crochet all the time and even crocheted a huge afghan.  If David can do it, surely I can.  He says it’s easy.  Sure it is.  When you know how to do it!

We had an informal table this year at Christmas. I didn’t want to be spending the time doing dishes on Christmas day.

We used paper plates, but I did find these vintage looking ones with napkins to match at Hobby Lobby.

Kids are what make Christmas so much fun.

Even grumpy snowmen are fun.  Our oldest son modeling one of his gifts.  As one can see, it made our grandson laugh.

Another gift I received was this adult coloring book.  It has brought out the kid in me.  I can’t stay away from it.  I collected all my coloring pencils and got to work.

The pages are all these black and white drawings, but as you color you turn the pages into…

Little works of art.

I am having way too much fun with this book.

Other signs of the season are these…..

Birds at the bird feeders.  A titmouse.  We haven’t seen titmice for years at our feeder so this was a wonderful thing to see.  I hope we get lots more of these pretty little birds.

The winter garden is still wonderful to see.  There is beauty everywhere.  These flowers only bloom in the winter.  This is the first year I have had them and I plan to get some more as it is a joy to see flowers in December outdoors.

As we come to the close of yet another year, I pray for peace, for happiness, for health, and for the love of family and friends in 2016. I wish it all for you, too. Bye.