The light was so beautiful this morning from my favorite spot in the Garden Room.
It’s the “shortest” day of the year, and it had a brilliant start. I’m looking forward to lengthening daylight hours.
Happy Solstice!
12.21
Month: December 2024
12.20: Jólabókaflóð
I think this is the 10th year I’ve participated in a Jólabókaflóð exchange with a group of friends — some old, some new, some known to me & some not — and it’s always so much fun!
Shipping stuff at this time of year is always a little nerve-wracking, but USPS says that the parcel I sent was delivered this morning!
Mine arrived a couple of days ago… and, wow! That’s a generous gift & I can’t wait to see what’s inside all those packages. Well, I already know what’s in one of them. After all of yesterday’s work (& snow), I decided I deserved a treat… so I did the “shake test” on the above and discovered a box of delicious Italian chocolate truffles. Yum.
12.19
Well, it’s snowy, but not as snowy as predicted. Book club was still canceled.
I cleaned Ann’s & readied for guests arriving tomorrow. Ann, herself, is boarding a plane in Lima tomorrow night, arriving in Wisconsin on Saturday, and I’ll see her on Monday.
In addition to making beds & cleaning, it was time for the tree! It’s pre-lit, but of course I had to add a string of lights… which worked out great because the pre-lit string was end-to-end, until the top (so stupid), and the cord on the lighted star topper wasn’t long enough to reach a receptacle (also stupid). So it all worked out. The “ornaments” are be-ribboned pinecones that I made YEARS ago when my mom still had the antique mall in downtown Appleton (at her request).
And as long as I was working…
…I kept on going, laying down a new rug pad & rug for the living room. I’m so happy! I adore the old rug (and was this >< close to ordering the same but larger) (it will find a new home in the adjacent living area), but it was too small & always shifting. This one pretty much fills the room — 10×13, anchored under furniture, a more modern design. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a LONG time, and was spurred by Carole’s wonderful living room re-do (and new rug), so, along with a nice holiday bonus at work… YAY!
12.18: 2018
I deep cleaned one of the kitchen countertops on Saturday — which turned out to be a Pajama Day (first one in a while)! There was recent evidence of a mouse in the house elsewhere and, well, there’s almost always evidence there. I wasn’t wrong. I soaked lots of cotton balls with peppermint oil (a repellent), stuffed them in little spaces, and now the kitchen smells like Christmas! (Rusty also set some traps.)
We (Rusty & Kate) recently finished a little update/clean-out/rearrange of the basement stairwell area, too, which made room for moving, say, the Instant Pot (a used, but not oft-used appliance) off the countertop & onto a nearby shelf. Yay for less clutter!
Anyway (and speaking of tinsel), while cleaning, I took a moment to enjoy one of my favorite Christmas cards ever…
He gets it now!
A few years ago I bought a goofy “stacking cat” game that I thought the kids would enjoy but was instead kind of a PITA… and the cats scattered. We find them everywhere… obviously, I found a couple… and was INSPIRED! It’s uncanny how perfect they are. haha!
I posted that photo on the social medias on Saturday and wasn’t sure I’d share it again here, but I was a little stumped for blog fodder today. It’s the last official Unraveled Wednesday of the year, but my knitting has been suffering a serious lack of mojo lately, and the reading… phffft… so that’s out.
Well, I thought I’d take a look at my Google Photos and see what popped up when I searched December 18. Turns out, that Christmas card first appeared on December 18, 2018, and it was from Viv!! She & Maddy were here for a Christmas visit that year. I love it so much that it’s been on permanent display in the kitchen ever since!
Also…
That’s Lenny Kravitz level!
MKAL underway.That one was/is a favorite!
I have begun this year’s Mystery Gnome, Gnana’s Visit , but the going is very slow… I have a couple of clues underway but haven’t finished one yet.
That snowy picture of Jün reminds me that we have a winter storm watch pretty much all day tomorrow — 5 to 8 inches of snow possible! I happen to have tomorrow off, and a few things on my list that have to be done (I’ll have to get an early start)… but I bet book club will be canceled!
12.17: 14
1960-2010
I miss you every day, my seestor. xo