December Knitting

I did lots of knitting in December but had a hard time finding models for some of my projects. Mowgli had very little choice but he cooperated beautifully when nobody else wanted to get up to model the newest neck warmer that I made for myself. I do like this one and have worn it lots.

I made this scarf for Ashley when I realized that she was still wearing the one that I made for her during her sophomore year of college. I bought a bulky yarn and it went very fast but its thick and heavy. I got this photo of Ashley when she returned from walking the dog.

Jay requested something to keep his neck warm while disc golfing in the winter. After showing him several options he decided on something that would wrap around twice. I bought some black yarn, made it quickly and delivered it to him on the 23rd. When I got home I was so disappointed that I didn't get a photo! I need to have a better picture than this one to post on my Ravelry.com projects! I am really loving the knitting and have started another project too!

December Thaw

A high temperature of 61 degrees today melted all that pretty Christmas snow. By the time that the sun set there was very little snow left on the ground. It's a nice fresh canvas for the next snow fall and a nice break from winter too.

Bread Making

There is nothing like warm homemade bread; the smell, the warmth and the taste! It's been years but I used to make bread often. For some reason I decided to buy some yeast when getting groceries for our family Christmas. I found a french bread recipe and we added herbs to the dough. I would like to bake bread more often again but I would also like to work on my fitness and health more. I guess I could do both, in moderation. Moderation is the challenge.

White Christmas

We got our White Christmas and it's been just gorgeous all week! This photo is from the heavy frost caused by some fog and lots of ice crystals. Sadly I had to work all day and didn't have time to go out and play with my camera. This is a shot from the parking lot at work. Christmas Eve day was a beautiful gentle snowfall in Mason City. I was safely in town before the snow started and spent the night with my dear friend, Ann. It was just so cozy and beautiful to sit with her in the living room, drink a couple of pots of coffee and watch about ten inches of snow fall. I didn't even bother to get up to grab my camera on that day either. Spending time with family is always the Christmas plan for me. Getting time with dear friends was an extra blessing. I have been friends with Ann since 1966. Yes, we were both children! I also got to spend time with Kelly, another very dear friend who goes way back. I think we met in 1971. Today I feel blessed by the beauty of winter nature and the warmth, love and joy from life-long friendships! These gifts fill me with gratitude!

Christmas in North Iowa

This year I was determined to make it up to Mason City and Clear Lake for family Christmases regardless of the awful forecast. Dale and I left before the snow hit and had a safe drive. I did not want to miss the Nonnweiler family Christmas like I did last year. It's a house full of family, food and noise and it's always on the twenty-third. This year we had two new babies. Weston and his Uncle Jake are pictured above.

Izzie is Weston's big sister, both belong to my nephew, Jeff and his wife, Tiff. It is wonderful to see the little ones and really wonderful to watch the "kids" with their babies. Our newest babe is little Brecken who belongs to my niece, Kaley and her husband Scott. They were all very good at sharing so I got some nice snuggle time with my "great niece and nephews." There were many smiling faces at the party but the little ones were just so precious!

On Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Wreghitts before heading back home. I just love hanging out with my cousins, aunts and uncle. It's fun to gather in Aunt Snooks' basement just like we did when we were little. It brings back memories!

Our family has not spread out very far geographically but Randy does travel from NYC and its always a treat to spend time with him. He is the furthest away but never misses a Christmas or Fourth of July. I feel blessed to enjoy my family so much and the holidays are a great time to gather. I am grateful that everyone had safe travel even with some record snow falls on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to All!

May the joy and warmth of the season brighten our lives like the sparkle in Santa's eye or the star over Bethlehem. May the love of God brighten all of our days!

Family Christmas

The kids came for Christmas last weekend and we had a wonderful time. The blessing in having an early Christmas is that nobody had other commitments and tight schedules. We had lots of time to relax and just be together.

We have lots of fun cooking and enjoy simple things like lasagna, individual pizzas or nachos. We peeled lots of garlic and went through pounds of cheese too!

After the caramel corn was all gone we decided to make a batch so that Travis and Briana could take some to their family Christmas celebrations. Ashley and I always enjoy making caramel corn and this time we had help from Travis too. I was most grateful that Dale stopped at the store for one missing ingredient so I didn't have to leave the house!

Besides eating and cooking, we spend lot of time relaxing which often means electronic devices. We had three or four laptops going often. With the entire weekend there was plenty of time for cooking, relaxing and going to a movie. It was an excellent Christmas celebration.

Christmas Glow

My home is quiet and clean; too quiet and too clean. Jay, Briana, Travis, Ashley and Mowgli left this afternoon. We made some very good meals and ran the dishwasher several times. We squished together on the couch and bumped into each other in the kitchen. It was great! Now the sheets are washed the the towels are ready for the next visitor. Our Christmas celebration is done but the Christmas glow remains. This lamp was a gift from all of the kids; a wonderful reminder of the warmth and love that we share. I will probably burn out the light bulbs quickly because I just love the glow! It is a joy to share the holiday season and to have the kids at home. It was a wonderful celebration and the glow continues!

Our Christmas

It's our Christmas! The kids are all here and Mowgli too! Tomorrow will be our Christmas morning. The celebration has begun! Yea!!

Christmas Preparations

Christmas preparation with Ashley has become one of my favorite weekends of the year. As I have mentioned, we bake, shop, wrap, cook and relax. We also play with our cameras and I had a great time playing with Ashley's macro lens. You can look at her blog to see her post about our Christmas prep.

Cookie Time

I could be a cookie monster. I have always loved cookies. When the kids were still at home I made more kinds of cookies for Christmas but have settled on a couple of favorites. I miss the frosted sugar cookies but they were so much work and ended up not being anybody's favorite. My sisters will make some of those. Ashley and I made these two varieties during our Christmas prep weekend.

I love cookie dough as much more more than the cookies but a warm cookie is very good too!

Caramel Day

Although I love chocolate I love caramel even more! Christmas preparation always includes caramel corn and caramels. I don't think my kids would mind if I skipped the caramels but Sandi and I would really miss them. One year I got too busy to make caramels and ended up making them in January and mailing a box to each of my siblings. I would never get tired of the caramel corn. It would taste great to me even if I made it once a month but it's probably a good thing that we only make it at Christmas. My home smells like caramel and vanilla today. . . oh so yummy!

Won Ton Sausage Stars

A family favorite for the holidays is Won Ton Sausage Stars. I got this recipe from my friend, Troyce more than ten years ago. I made them for parties or church gatherings at my house. Then I made them for our Nonnweiler family Christmas. Now I make them when the kids come too. Ashley and I have made a triple batch of the filling and it's safely in the freezer awaiting three parties and even some extra to serve with soup for winter meals. We are half done baking the won ton wrappers and will finish today. We put them together just before baking and serving. The photo was our lunch yesterday. It takes time but it is a favorite! It's cheesy and crunchy. We love that!

First Snow

Today was our first snowfall. Following rain we got some icy snow and I pulled on my snow boots, tightened the belt on my robe and took my camera to my little garden area where the chives and the ornamental cabbage were catching the cold crystals.

Blue Eyelash

At Thanksgiving my sister, Sandi asked if I could make something out of the yarn that she had purchased but never knitted. I said that I would try and she offered me her favorite scarf to use as an example. I guess I could have looked for a similar pattern but since that didn't enter my mind at the time, I just looked closely at the old scarf and made it up as I went along. I have never used this "eyelash" yarn so that was a new experience. It's just a simple scarf knit on large needles with an opening on one end so that you can thread the end of the scarf through the hole. I started the project on a very quiet and cold Sunday and finished it before bedtime. It was a fun challenge!

Question

When God created so many beautiful plants, fruits and vegetables that are full of nutrients and low in calories; why do I still prefer cookies? Why, God, why?

Cotton Dishcloths

This year I have really enjoyed knitting lots of different things. I even joined Ravelry.com to document my knitting projects and get more ideas from other knitters. I started knitting dishcloths because I like to use them. Then I discovered that they were easy projects for long car trips with Dale. I sent some dishcloths to friends, gave them to my kids, took them as hostess gifts and will gladly share more with anyone that wants a couple! I know that knitting dishcloths may seem like an "old lady" thing, but I will risk it! Recently my friend, Kymm was sorting through her yarn and offered me some cotton that she wasn't going to use so I made more dishcloths. Anybody want some hand knit cotton dishcloths?

Relaxing Holiday Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was filled with food, family and fun. I drove to Mason City then got back in the car and drove to Cedar Falls/Waterloo before heading back to Des Moines. It was a busy time but it was also very relaxing. I always feel so comfortable just relaxing and hanging out at Ashley and Travis' house. I get settled into "my room" and enjoy the comforts of home. It gets even better when Mowgli snuggles up with me. He never gets on the furniture or beds unless he is invited. I always invite him up with me. He will jump into bed with me when I wake up in the morning and he will curl up with me on the couch too. It's been over twenty years since I had a dog in my house but I just love the comfort, affection and companionship from Mowgli when I visit his home. It's been a wonderful relaxing weekend filled with love and family.

Kris Kringle Trees

Sometimes I wonder if my kids will appreciate the traditions and understand the value that I saw in our family activities. Saturday I had a wonderful opportunity to see Jay convey that appreciation and tradition to Briana. Jay was so excited to go out and cut down a live Christmas tree even though Briana would have enjoyed an artificial tree. I have grown to appreciate the value of an artificial tree but I do love the romance and tradition of the tree cutting.

After direction and instruction from Jay; Briana, Ashley and I set out to find a great tree. Jay started the sawing process then encouraged Briana to finish the sawing and share in his excitement. She did a great job and we all got into the project. Ashley and I were official photographers, passing the camera back and forth.

We headed back to the store and enjoyed cider, cookies and Santa while Jay and Briana's tree was shaken and bagged for transport. I am so glad that Jay invited us to go with them. It brought back wonderful memories and warmed my heart to see the tradition alive.

New Traditions

I traveled to the kids after my traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner with my sisters. On Friday Jay, Briana, Ashley, Travis and I all gathered for our own holiday. As we discussed the menu possibilities, we decided that an appetizer buffet could be fun and fit our varied taste buds. We found recipes, got groceries and cooked. We ended up grazing the entire afternoon. We would make something then eat as we went. We had many things but the baked brie (Brie en Croute) was the most photogenic. The meatballs were delicious but not as pretty! The garlic dip and the chicken buffalo dip were wonderful too. My camera stayed upstairs most of the day. We really didn't take photos but we did have a nice time just being together and celebrating Thanksgiving in a new way. It could become a tradition.