Category: NaBloPoMo 2014

NaBloPoMo 2014

The end

Vicki9 Comments

It's the end of November. The prospect of December and January has me really looking for someplace warm to go in February.

It's the end of NaBloPoMo. It's been fun!

I am so, so sad that it's the end of a really great 5-day weekend! I spent most of it with family (a little or a lot), and fairly low-key and unplugged, except for a daily blog post and a few Facebook posts/shares.

I did some knitting, a lot of cleaning, a little cooking (I smoked up the house real good).

The tree is up and mostly lit (decorations will wait). I had to buy a few new strings of lights and LED are all that's available now, so they don't exactly match, but I don't think it'll matter much once it's all done.

I've been doing a little Christmas shopping, too! Nothing too major, but gathering ideas and getting a grip on things… it feels like it's coming together!

I really have no idea what we're actually doing for Christmas, but I'm sure that'll come together, too.

The company party is on Friday, and I'm looking forward to that.

Vicki_saltire-yourself

Meanwhile, Happy St. Andrew's Day!!

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Thanks for reading, folks.

 

NaBloPoMo 2014

Getting there…

Vicki6 Comments

IMG_20141129_130153

After two days, I've finally cleared the space for our Christmas tree! I've done a lot of other things, too! There have been lots of distractions. Sorting (and alphabetizing) albums, pulling out the Christmas vinyl; stashing the knitting machines/parts; reorganizing *stuff.*

We'll haul the tree up this afternoon and then, I suppose, decorate tomorrow… or maybe start tonight. I'm not sure I want to haul trimmings down right now. I finished knitting a gift hat last night (Craft Friday!) and have some other quick gift knits that I'm anxious to start. We'll see.

Hope you're having a fantastic Saturday!

 

NaBloPoMo 2014

Craft Friday

Vicki4 Comments

So far, my Craft Friday has involved a lot more cleaning & rearranging than crafting! I’m trying to make room for the Christmas tree.

I also spent some time visiting with my sister, her husband, and mine this afternoon; and setting the boys up for some drawing.

And pumpkin pie.

NaBloPoMo 2014 · Throwback Thursday

Thanksgiving

Vicki8 Comments

Thanksgiving_turkey

We found some Thanksgiving decor. And we did some cooking. We wished aloud for Mother's expertise at nearly every turn — where's the right pan for this, the correct dish for that? She'd know in an instant where to look, and — even after all these years — we did not. We did the best we could, and we had a very nice (if not perfectly executed) celebration with our stepdad at their home.

Thanksgiving_roasted-veggies

I ended up going home to get my own pan for roasting veggies, giving my brother-in-law pause prior to it going into the oven, making him wonder if I was ready for psychoanalysis! Haha. I was inspired. It's a big pan, so my quantities were different (more); from the left it's carrots (about a dozen), parsnips (around 9), beets (3 large), celery root (1 large), and sweet potato (2 large), with a red onion, too. That's a lot of chopping and it was totally worth it — absolutely delicious.

Annie made turkey & stuffing, Brian made mashed potatoes, Katie made Mom's traditional corn pudding, Ali made cranberry sauce and chocolate chip cookies (also provider of chocolate milk and eggnog!), Maddy made cornbread (also for last night's soup supper), I made the roasted veggies, Rusty made an apple and a pumpkin pie… and it was all pretty fabulous.

Thanksgiving_moms-tree

Meanwhile, Joe and Brian located the tree and put it up, along with some wreaths for the front window & door. Annie strung the lights and began decorating, and the girls continued when they arrived. My mother has enough decorations for at least three enormous trees. I swear. We used barely a fraction.

Grampa

#tbt

This morning I finalized a ScanCafe order that's been pending. This isn't the exact photo of my grandpa I was looking for amongst them to post today, and it wasn't even Thanksgiving — it was probably June, and definitely at the cabin — but it is one of the times in my life when I truly felt thankfulness. My grandfather, recovering from a stroke, was re-learning to read; here he's reading one of our all-time favorites, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, to Ali (on his lap), my cousin's stepdaughter, and Katie (far right) — my girls are probably 3 and 5. That recovery was difficult for my grandpa, but this was a huge milestone — he loved his grandkids and great grandkids so much, and he was so happy to be able to read to them.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving/Thursday, as the case may be.