Words in 2015

 Oh, I do like New Year's Eve.  We stay home and go to bed early, but I've been feeling very kindly toward 2015 and I look forward to saying, "Here we go!" when I wake up tomorrow morning.  

 I have concluded that I have too many interests and it is often hard to narrow down the choices.  I've decided I LIKE to make things but I LOVE to read and write and draw.  I like to mess around with pens and paper, and computer keyboards!  I like to turn paper pages of fine books and I like to read books on my iPad, too.  So this year, I'm going to focus on words first.

 This book is one of my Christmas gifts (thank you for checking my Amazon Wish List, sweet Bill!) It's written by a British preacher in the early 1900's.  SOMEBODY wrote about it on their blog, but now I can't remember who!

 This book contains many fun writing exercises. I've had it for almost ten years and I like it.

I'm happy to aim for bookish pursuits this year.  I cleaned off my table/desk and it's still messy but workable.  
What are you looking forward to doing in 2015? 

Good Ordinary Day

 I've been enjoying my second gnome book.  Jeff asked, "Did you WANT that for Christmas?"  Ha ha ha!  YES! I love reading about gnomes.  You can learn a lot from them, you know.

 Kim and Julia could learn about wool dying.  Smile.

 You MIGHT be able to successfully perform acupuncture.  Well, don't try it.

 If you could enlist some bee-help (MK?) you could build yourself a cabinet or two!

 Did I ever tell you that I keep a lot of bowls in the entry way?  Yup!  In the doll house cast off from a friend's basement!  It works!

 I LOVE my new glass tea kettle!  It's fragile so I can't be careless (a bit of a problem) and I can see inside.  I fear inner tea kettle scum.

 Aw!  The gnomes and their gear are still out on the picnic table and it is FREEZING here in Colorado at the moment!

 I was looking through my old photos and it's a pretty cheerful thing to do when the cold wind blows because I can be assured that flowers will grow again and the grass will be green.  This lily is what's left of a bouquet (the cheapest one available) I bought for the Christmas tables.

 So January and the new year are just around the corner and garden planning is a good idea.  We took all the ornaments off the tree, but the tree is still standing in the living room because the lights are nice in the morning (and all day for that matter!)  I have NO IDEA what my camera dial can do, but this is fun, right?

 You all say that Christmas lasts until the 6th, so I think our tree can stand for a few more days.

 I made a meatloaf for dinner and I always bake it in this loaf pan I received as a wedding gift.  Isn't it pretty?  It makes me happy that my taste hasn't changed much in 36 years!  At least I still like all the pottery I've been hoarding for so long.

 Yes, it's really winter around here.  We're warm at night between our polar fleece sheets, but it's nippy in the morning.  Tomorrow the high temperature is predicted to be 3 degrees.  Brrrrrrrrr!

I wore a pretty posy to church on Sunday.  Heather from Blackberry Rambles made it.  I wear a posy almost every day.  Cheerful.

 Jenny gave us this water pitcher that fills the water with fruity goodness.  YUM!

 This is what I had for breakfast (well, half of it) because I could eat fish for every meal and the grocery store noodles are scrumptious!

Well, I've blah, blah, blah-ed long enough so I'll leave you with our Saturday morning breakfast date!  Teeth!  He's a happy boy!

Take care, good reader.  Thank you for looking in on me.  

The meatloaf smells good!  A white sweet potato to share, peas with mushrooms, and a crunchy salad.  Ordinary days are good, too.  Don't you agree?

Post Christmas Planning

Six family members fit in this house just fine, but our growing family bumps into each other, so the tree is coming down today.  Party pooper, huh?

 I never quite got the finishing touches put on the tree.  I was distracted by the cleaning and cooking.  Kelli's family gave me the twiggy bird ornament below. Isn't it charming? I love twigs.

 We had a little tea party before Christmas, so with that and the Christmas meals I repeatedly pulled the table linens off, washed and dried them, and put them back on.  

 And the snow has arrived.

 See?  Once again, set up, take down, set up, eat.

 Did you have a Christmas dress every year?  We did!  How did my mother have time to sew during the holidays?  She also did LOTS of work at church around that time as well.  Miracle worker, I say!

 Grampy held James while his parents ate!  It's hard to eat when you have a baby!  He gets lots of cuddles.

 Look at Sam!  Eating rice!  We had Chinese take-out on Christmas eve.  The kids are always roaring around having fun, but I feel like I must start considering their preferences.  I always focus on what the grown ups want to eat.  Must figure this out.

 Little zebra legs found her happy place!

 Red, red, and more red!  

 I like it when the house is full of the kids' stuff and the kids!

 And now we push snow around and try to stay warm!  I hope your Christmas was wonderful.  I am happy that ours was nice and I am happy that now we can move on, think about having time to do things in the house, plan our gardens, and knit.  I have not done any knitting for a few days. I have lots of reading to do, too. Do you?
I have three new books (another gnome book, a devotional, and a novel) AND I have two book club books to read.  I have a new sheep skin to put on my desk chair.  Cozy!

I am brewing up a plan to launch Mr. Badger off to Belfast and I will fill you in on that adventure, soon.  In the meantime, have you read The Wind in the Willows?  It's a scrumptious read. 
Off to iron, make the bed, layer on some warm clothes, and eat leftover salmon for breakfast.
Thank you for popping in, good visitor!

Merriest of Wishes to YOU!

 Merry Christmas to you!  I am hurrying because Bill and I have to go to the mall (gasp!) and pick up the cheesecake for Christmas Day dessert, but I wanted to say hello and wish you well!

 Susan Branch (she drew and painted the tree above) posted today!  I was worried about her and missed her lovely posts!  She had the flu!  Boo!  

I tried to bake a chocolate cake today and it was a disaster.  It overflowed and caught fire! Ha!  Our house is borderline smoky!  Oh well!
We'll have store bought lemon cake and cookies for dessert tonight!
Light the candles!  Sing at the top of your lungs!
Rejoice!

Pause zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 Here are two sugar plum fairies.  I like holiday puffs and sparkles! Not on ME, though.

 These days I LOVE the faces of our eight kids (counting the inlaws/inloves) and their kids!  

 Bill gave me an early Christmas gift.  A gnome book!  It's adorable and full of secrets that I might tell you later.

 I found out that little girls like watching "how to" videos of crafts and cake baking!  

 I am saturating our sense of smell with all kinds of Christmas scents.  

 And we have been making "not perfect" batches of colorful cookies.  The other day Jeff commented on all the sweets that are piling up around here.  He isn't a big sweet eater, but he is the one who loves the pickles I made in August.  Whew!  Somebody likes my pickles!

Kelli and Bryan's girls spent the night last night.  Here's all their baggage.  Ha ha!

Now for my Pause in Advent (don't hold your breath)

I'm tired and I don't mean sleepy tired, but just happily tired from a lot of goings on.  I do need to go out into the fray tomorrow and buy a few things (like the beef for Christmas dinner!) but I think I would like to wear my favorite outfit all day (the one pictured below).

 I don't have anything real spiritual to say (sorry!) but I do feel a constant surge of gratitude for many sweet blessings.  

I wish all of you some quiet and private moments to listen to the Creator and to feel cherished.  I hope your special holiday food tastes good and that you get a warm squeeze or two from someone you love.  I hope you help yourself to a little grace and don't try to be SUPER WOMAN.  I hope your rest at night is warm, snug and peaceful.  
Thank you for stopping by. 
Here's the Pause in Advent link.