White Christmas! (Well, Day After Christmas!)

Scenes from a Christmas Snow! It started snowing last night ... and it's still snowing today, December 26!

I Miss My MOM!

I switched out the fall decorations on my Mom's grave and put some winter/Christmas ones in the vase. I really don't visit the cemetery very much because I've never felt my Mom is there ... I know her body may be there, but she's safely in heaven ... and her presence is with me all the time. And this is a good thing because I can't help but think about her all the time, anyhow ...and talk to her all the time ... as she was such a huge part of my life ... but right now, during this season of Christmas, I miss her SO much that it hurts.
Today is December 8 ... a Holy Day ... the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Every year, we would go to Mass and then go out Christmas shopping on this day. It was like the official start of the season. Well, at least the official start of our Christmas shopping! While I was at Mass this morning, it was all I could do to hold back my tears. I really hate crying in church, but that's one of the places I always feel like crying these days! I so wish my Mom could be here.
Last year, we went to Macy's for our Christmas shopping ... a few days after December 8, in fact! I remember there was a lot going on last December. Anyhow, we had a really good day, even though it was cold and drizzly and my Dad wasn't doing that well. Mom wanted to make sure she had presents for everyone. She gave my sister and me cozy, flannel pajamas ... a wallet for Kent (something he always wanted and it still looks pretty good a year later!), those super-soft warm blankets with sleeves for Colette and Amelia and a pair of warm-up pants with pockets for Randy ... she got boxes for every gift, too. She sped around Macy's with her walker, looking so cute in her white wool coat and little red gloves. Gosh, I had no idea last year, as we did such a simple thing as head to the mall, that that would be the last Christmas shopping I'd ever do with my Mom.
One day last week, I was out driving past my parents' old neighborhood, and "We Need A Little Christmas" played on the radio. That became my Mom's favorite Christmas song over the years. It seemed to sum everything up so perfectly, especially the line, "For I've grown a little leaner; grown a little colder; grown a little sadder; grown a little older ... And I need a little angel, sitting on my shoulder ..."

Baking Day!

Festive Felted Chain Garland Pattern

Let's decorate!

Izzy and Brown Bear are getting ready to decorate for a birthday party ... and Snowman and Gingerbread Man already have the Christmas spirit! Whether you want to decorate for Christmas or anytime of year, the knitted/felted festive garland pattern will be just right! I also used a very thin, lace-weight yarn held together with some Gold Rush sparkle and came up with little links perfect for a small garland or even a fashionable necklace!

Each link in the garland chain is knit within the next, so there are no seams to worry about and nothing to come apart! Give it a try! You can find it at the Pattern Box in the holiday section. Go there now!

Fall at the Cemetery ... My Mom's Grave ... and the BENCH

My Mom's grave in the Fall ...

Here is the rather expensive bench that everybody thought everybody else really wanted ... but, in the end, nobody really did. But by the time we realized this, it was too late to cancel! So here it is.

View from Our Back Yard and Visitors!

Look at this! This is a tiny flower on the flowering almond shrub a friend from my swimming class gave me last April after my Mom died. She said it would bloom every April. I guess it decided to bloom now that my Dad has moved in! It's probably just a coincidence, but it feels like my Mom is sending us her love and approval.

Meanwhile, two of my brothers came for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and we had a great time! They were able to see my Dad's addition for the first time ... and we had fabulous weather.

My brother Chris loves to cook ... so the first night he was here, he made shrimp scampi.

The second night he was here, he made a pork roast with apple, currant and hard apple cider stuffing. See the sage sprigs on top? Here it is going into the oven.

And ... VOILA ... here it is, finished. It was perfect. It tasted fabulous, but it took him all day to chop the fruits, saute various things at various times, cook the stuffing until the hard cider was absorbed, butterfly the pork roast, pound it flat, stuff it and roll and tie it up. PHEW! I was feeling pretty guilty by the time we sat down to eat. He had been cooking for two days straight and then had to drive back 8 hours the next day. We all decided that, next time, we'll order take out! (But it was delicious, I have to say ... he really needs his own tv show: Cookin' with Chris!)

Dad and I in front of the koi pond. (Pay no attention to the beverages on the pond wall!)

Here's a photo of part of the stone patio and path.

It's really great having my Dad here. It feels like he's finally home.

My Chow Hand Puppet Is on Knitty!

Sometimes, it seems, mouths have minds of their own! In this case, it's true! Chow is knit in the round, then felted in your washing machine. The teeth are I-cord and shaped by dental-floss stitching.
I hope you'll visit Knitty's Deep Fall 2010 issue, now LIVE! and give my free Chow pattern a try and, as always, if you run into any trouble spots, or just want to say, "hi," please email me!