merry happy everything--the after-Christmas post
December 29, 2015A few days ago:
The week after Christmas I have a special knack for overlooking the fact that my house looks like the bottom of a parrot cage. The other 51 weeks I am a ruthless cleaner-upper of messes and devoted organizer. But after Christmas, I just don't have the energy: people, I am pooped. You are too, right? Here at Casa Knitionary, activities are being kept to a minimum. On Saturday I walked downtown in a half-hearted attempt to take advantage of the day-after sales and came home with nothing but a few packets of paper cocktail napkins for next year--it really was just an excuse for a walk in the fresh air. On Sunday I went to the mall with my husband as he was determined to get some new duds. Success! After three pairs of pants and a sports coat he wanted to go out to lunch and I moaned, please don't make me eat again, take me home, my tummy needs to rest and anyway, we have those leftovers. Back home I barely had the energy to click the needles together. Haha, you know I'm kidding--I've been knitting like a maniac while binge watching Grand Hotel. Can you believe my husband has never had the unique pleasure of binge watching? After 6 episodes of diabolical intrigue, I informed him we had a mere 60 episodes to go! You should have heard the groan!
As for Christmas week--it was a great success with lovely visits with family and friends. I'm happy to say that as a knitter, I received the best gift of all: my hand-knitted gifts were giant hits; my daughter loved her poncho, son his vest and granddaughter her hats, scarf and wrist-warmers. Annie left with a new project on the needles; a hat for her best friend. As for the kind of gifts you actually open on Christmas morn, I did manage to talk my lovelies into giving me yarny gifts even though they are worried I won't live long enough to knit my Christmas gift yarn, let alone the rest of my stash, and they haven't even seen the half of it.
Today:
I started this post and never got around to adding my pictures so I thought I'd add a postscript: It's amazing what a few days of lazy will do. I am a new person with energy to spare! Yesterday morning I hopped out of bed and attacked the Christmas clutter. It's mostly gone now, but I kept a little bit of the shiny and twinkly up, just for January. My houseplants had been banished to a guest room and are now gathered together in a sunny kitchen window and look very happy. My yarn is stored away for now--until the right project comes along. Here are some random shots of the past week.
Today:
I started this post and never got around to adding my pictures so I thought I'd add a postscript: It's amazing what a few days of lazy will do. I am a new person with energy to spare! Yesterday morning I hopped out of bed and attacked the Christmas clutter. It's mostly gone now, but I kept a little bit of the shiny and twinkly up, just for January. My houseplants had been banished to a guest room and are now gathered together in a sunny kitchen window and look very happy. My yarn is stored away for now--until the right project comes along. Here are some random shots of the past week.
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| Meet the choir girls, or the church ladies as we sometimes call ourselves. My long-time girlfriends and I host a party every year after our last Christmas concert. We met when we had toddlers, now we are grandmothers! |
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| Annie came to visit. Remember when she was teensy? Now she is 15! |
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| We stayed one night at the Fairmont, and my son upgraded us to a pretty nice suite! |
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| Annie loved her fingerless mitts and hat. More on that later. |
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| There is a Christmas tree on top of that crane! |
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| My son and his girlfriend. |
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| With my husband at a Christmas party. We didn't know there was a photographer station until we were heading out the door! |
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| Here and below--my favorite kind of gift! |
Right now we are headed out the door to see Brooklyn. We hear it's fantastic!
Until next year,
15 Comments
Loved that movie--was so sad when it ended! Wish they made more good movies like that!
ReplyDeleteWe loved it! I was so cheering on the main character (Ellis, sp?) and so proud of her for making a success of her life in her new world. What a love story! Oh sigh, I could have stayed on and watched it again.
DeleteI love your display of greenery on the table. It's such a fresh look for this time of year. Merry Happy Everything to you too and I look forward to your 2016 posts!
ReplyDeleteIn truth I felt sorry for them. All month long they had been banished to a quiet, dark room, and now they see the light!
DeleteMerry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too! I always enjoy reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteLmecoll on Ravelry
Awww, thank you so much. I'm flattered. Happy New Year!
DeleteHappy New Year, Kristen! Enjoy the rest of your holidays.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, and you too!
DeleteMerry everything to you too Kristin! I have so enjoyed your blog this year, so many of your projects have inspired me. After recovering from a hysterectomy and cancer scare in January (currently cancer free!) I have kept my needles going. I made lots of hats and scarves for family and friends and two vests for my husband all while working full time and attending school at night. My motto is "if I'm sittin' I'm knittin' ! Knitting is such a stress reliever. Can't wait to see what this next year brings!
ReplyDeleteFantastic news to hear you are now cancer free. I've read that the calming repetition of knitting releases endorphins. When we are relaxed, we give our bodies a chance to recuperate and heal. "if I'm sittin', I'm knitti'", love it, and going to steal it!
DeleteMy family is with yours they don't think I will ever live long enough to use up all my yarn. I blame this on you, ha ha. You inspire me with most of your posts, even the ones about your entertaining. I have used some of the recipes you have.
ReplyDeleteThank you for inspiring me and your lovely posts. Oh and I made the sweater for the Amer. Doll Yikes it was harder than I thought. I have made many children's sweaters but that little bugger sent me wild. I pulled it out 3 times, but it finally turned out very cute.
Hi Debbie, I am happy to take the blame. I tell my husband, there are worse vices than collecting yarn and knitting it up--I could be out carousing around, but instead he finds me home, knitting to a book on tape! (gulp, I sound like a real dud!)
DeleteI'm glad you made Huckleberry and had success! I love that little sweater and I hope you add it to Rav. I'll go check it out now.
Happy New Year, Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of the Rowan yarns. I love the hat and the fingerless gloves. My daughter is a photographer and has asked me to knit gloves with the thumb and the pointer finger, fingerless, to point and shoot. I just may knit them up for her.
Thanks for sharing your Christmas pictures of your family.
Take care,
Leslie
Thank you Leslie. The fingerless gloves are so handy and will be perfect for your daughter. I knit mine flat as I hate dpn's with a passion. The pattern I used was Easy Ava Mitts that used worsted weight yarn. I used DK weight and just had to adjust the pattern a wee bit. Very nice pattern and well written.
DeleteI love this post. The choir girls, Annie arriving, you and Terry at the Christmas party, etc.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year.
Carole
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