I simply cannot believe that Christmas is in seven days. Why to the days of December seem to fly by 
twice as fast as those of any other month? It's like the year is rushing to get on with it! I, for one, wish this month would go a bit slower. Need a more relaxed pace so I can enjoy it more.
Christmas is my very favorite time of year. From the smells to the lights. Everything just seems brighter to me. And, when the snow falls --- well, it just makes things even better.
My birthday is in December and when my mother was pregnant with me, she bought my first Christmas ornament. I have quite a collection! These ornaments decorated my tree each year - first the small one in my bedroom as I grew up and then 
our family tree. Our boys each had a tree in their bedrooms with their own collection of ornaments.
Several years ago, I made a change. I LOVE snowmen and decided that they would be my holiday decoration of choice. Now, I have a wonderful collection of the frosty men (and women!) everywhere in my house - on the tree, tables, windows, beds, chairs, refrigerator, front porch, etc. They range from stuffed snowmen to magnets to ornaments to figurines to stained glass window hangers to a spoon rest on the stove, to 
mugs, to dish towels, etc.
I LOVE them! They never fail to make me smile! They are always happy and help me to be, also.
Here is a sampling of the tree crew. They range from snowwomen in bikinis with a snowman in an intertube with a drink balanced on his substantial belly to a snowman gripping a pipe between his teeth.
In addition to the snowmen and ladies on the tree, I have snowflakes and red Christmas balls. I love the red and white color combo with other colors thrown in for good measure. If you look closely, 
you'll see a glittery red ball. That's a glass ball filled with red novelty yarn. They look great on the tree!
There is one ornament hanging on the tree that isn't a snowflake, a snowman, or snow anything. You see, I was diagnosed and had surgery to remove a pancreatic tumor in 1993. A very major surgery where they took my spleen, also. It was a frightening time. I spent 12 days at Duke University Medical Center and three months out of work. Our boys were 8 and 10 years old. My mother gave me an angel that year.
The angel reminds me that someone was looking out for me. Someone very special. She makes me smile, too, because I know I'm lucky and blessed. She reminds me that life is short and no day should be taken for granted because you might not get another one.
Knitting was great yesterday at Dorothy Lane. I was late getting there due to my class at Main Street Yarns in Mason. I finished up a beginner class yesterday so there are now 6 more knitters in the world. Some of my Panera knitting group visited us at Dorothy Lane and liked it so much that they are going to join us regularly! That's great for me - now I'll have both of my great groups together as one. Dorothy Lane Market is really a nice place to meet. It's spacious, lots of parking, samples on Saturdays, Boston Stoker coffee and tea, a wide variety of things to have for lunch, plus you can grab a few groceries as you leave. 
Sara and Diana were there and they each had knit a gorgeous shawl. Sara's 
was such a beautiful shade of green and she had incorporated beads. Just lovely!
Diana's pattern had the most interesting top edge. Usually the top edges are plain but this one had nupps or bobbles (not sure which) which really added a nice touch. I also loved the shape of it - curved so that it would wrap nicely and not tend to fall off the shoulders. This mother-daughter duo are so mega-
talented! We are really lucky to have them 
as part of our group. 
Donna had finished a beautiful ruffle scarf. What a pretty shade of pink -- HOT pink!
Christie had one sock completed for her
grandson, Max. The second one 
was on her needles and will be done in plenty of time for Christmas. Max loves his grandmother's handknits!
I had completed a Wrap Thingie out of Taos for my mother to keep her warm in the Ohio cold when she comes for 
Christmas. It looks like a blue blob in this picture. It's kind of like a cross between a very short poncho and cowl. It's actually a long rectangle and you fold it so that one end meets the other side and then sew it closed. You slip it over your head and it stands up around your neck and ears.
I also finished stocking caps for both grandbabies. Landen's is red and red/green and Blakeney's is red and white. I used Encore yarn and love working with it for children's things. The red/green in Landen's cap is a variegated yarn and works well with the solid red. The white in Blakeney's hat has some glitz in it and is called Holiday Lights. The pattern for these caps is from 
Susan Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats - a GREAT book!
I also finished Blakeney's snowman hat. I sewed on the eyes and mouth last night.
Everything is now boxed up and ready to ship to our boys and their families in Virginia and South Carolina to hopefully make their Christmases merry and bright.
I made rocky road and peppermint bark this morning and dipped pretzel rods last night. The pretzel rods were fun and looked really cool. I meant to take a picture of them but forgot and packaged them up without photographing them. I want to do more of 
those. I dipped them in melted milk chocolate and sprinkled them with a variety of different things - butterscotch bits, mini-chocolate chips, chopped pecans, candy sprinkles, green and red sugar, and snowflake sprinkles. I bagged them individually and will hand them out to folks from now until Christmas - post office workers, mail carriers, store clerks I come in contact with, etc. Love giving little things to people!
Well, all the knitting I had to finish by Christmas is done. The knitting I wanted to finish by Christmas is not. Oh well, gives me lots to work on!
Hope this pre-Christmas week goes smoothly for you all.
