christmas morning

Am I only just now getting to pictures of Christmas morning?  My goodness did we all have such a great time.  These are just a few of the pictures...I'm sure I'll find more to share tomorrow.

oh, what a time it has been

We had the most incredible of Christmas weeks.  Wednesday was Garden of Lights at the local botanic garden and we had such a lovely time.  I think it'll take me the rest of the week to go through my pictures to show some of my favorite moments.  Needless to say, much time has been spent paying with new toys, gadgets, being cozy on the couch and just loving each other.  Slowly, slowly, the words and pictures will come. 

in gratitude

In gratitude for reminders every day about what this holiday is really about (yes, that's a picture that Nate drew of Jesus, Nate believes He was a very tall man).  Merry Christmas! 

gifting

Sometimes things come together exactly as you would hope and this time it was with our gift wrap.  Last year I found bunches of fabric in my stash that were various 'holiday' prints (a very loose term in my mind, really anything that is colorful, bonus points if it's red, white or green). 

I took some time to sew up bags and was able to wrap most of our presents with that and some scrap yarn.  This year, I was able to pull out those bags to use again (the beauty of reuse!) and only had to make about 10 replacements/additions to complete our gift wrapping.  I found a stash of gift tags (thanks to some good clean up of my 'teaching cupboard' this fall), got a to/from stamp on sale at Joanne's, found tons of 50 cent real ribbon at Michael's and my wrapping was complete. 

I am so very in love with the way all the gifts come together under the tree and the ease with which all of us, even Jed :), can wrap a present with ease. 

And even better?  Folding up the bags, rolling up the ribbon and using them again next year!  I'm currently in the market for some fun ideas for the gift tags.  I have an idea of a wreath, with the tags circling around, flower side out...we'll see! 

music monday

Well, of course it's more Christmas music.  I have to admit that I'm hard pressed this week to choose just one so there's a (very) good chance I'll have to add one or two more videos as the week goes by.  But if I had to choose, A Fine Frenzy's version of Winter Wonderland tops my list today:

let it rain, let it pour

We had the most marvelous couple days of rain.  It was drizzling, it was raining, it was cloudy, it was wet.  And it smelled so good and it felt so good and, oh, did it ever put me in a holiday frame of mind.  But, I will admit that in the whirl of this fantastic holiday season, I didn't slow down for one picture.  Not-a-one of Nate dressed up in his rain gear (oh that boy loves rain gear, from his fireman rain slicker to his Lightning McQueen rain boots to mama's old J.Crew rain hat), nothing of jumping over, around and into puddles in our driveway, nothing of trees dripping fat drops of water to wet ground below, nothing of rose petals on the ground, pushed by those first drops of rain that so rarely seem to make it this far south.

Yet, I take heart that I saw it all.  I took moments here and there to notice.  But I was so focused on getting to the next thing that I couldn't take time to pull out the camera.  And be still for the amount of time it might take me to take a picture that I loved, or at least liked.  And, yes, I finished all of the gifting on my list, I was able to get together with some of my favorite ladies for a brunch, chat it up and work at my volunteering gig and enjoy Nate's first play(!) but, in hindsight, I see what I may have missed in the between moments too.  But there will be more rain (even here in the southlands) and even more moments and that is the lovely part about life.

Here's something that came to my inbox today that got me thinking about those 'in between' spaces...a reminder that even though I am reveling and enjoying and am having way too much fun being busy, to remember to really see what's going on- even during the pauses may give me a glimpse into another world.  I like the question it asks- Can we see better?

We miss a lot, almost everything, in fact, in our world. Our task-focused filters take care of that, selecting only what we need.  We need to get to work. Have some lunch. Find that report. Water the garden. Go out on a date. We see what we need to see, often for purposes of survival -- or survival of the species. Gregory Bateson, speaking of beauty, said aesthetic judgment is selection of a fact.  We create the sight even as we become conscious of it. We do not simply see it. In our daily lives, who or what is doing the selecting? And why? Is this predetermined? Can we -- in the here and now – make a change?  Can we see further?  Can we see better?  Can we  even better our world?

Opening our vision is a first step in Everyday Creativity.  

--Ruth Richards, in Everyday Creativity

I'm glad for the reminder, smack dab in the middle of this busy time, to really ask myself: Can I see better?  Can I see further?  And along the way, try to remember to bring the camera.  

color!

What happens when some lovely friends decide to drop in one afternoon with a box of dyes and some beautiful silk scarves?  Color!   My first foray into dyeing silks was so very much fun.  I only had three pieces to work on but in the future I will be making many more.  I have a few ideas I'm tucking away for a cloudy day...vibrant sheer curtain panels, silky skirts, gift wrap.  One month is far to short for all of the creative goodness I find bubbling up inside me these days, I may have to continue gifting into the winter :)

parade-a-rific

This has been the month of parades for our family, from watching to hosting to being in them, we can't seem to get enough.  We decided to enter our first ever boat parade this year.  The last couple years we have gone down to Oceanside Harbor to enjoy the parade from the back of my parent's boat.  Last year's was a small affair, just a few boats that circled the harbor a couple time.  When I saw the flyer just after Thanksgiving advertising this year's parade I (accidentally?) said outloud, "We should enter!"  to my family.  Well, a couple weeks later my mom lets me know that she found some strings of battery operated lights so get thinking about other boat decorations we might need. 

And, thus was born "Santa's Workshop."  The kids were elves, Matt was Santa and Jed tried to make sure the kids kept waving and stayed inside the boat. 

They did awesome!  The boat couldn't have had more decorations on it without sinking.  The kids couldn't have been more enthusiastic and adorable and the men couldn't have had more fun. 

My favorite part was watching a stream of boats from 30-70' long go past us and then right in the middle was our little 13' dinghy with the most spirited and adorable gang aboard.

Happy holidays indeed!

oh so busy

 We have been oh so busy.  And, yes, maybe I over-schedule us, but at this point we are loving it.  As much as I read and hear- keep it simple, less is more, and all those lovely mantras, I've come to realize that's just not me.  I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  I like stretching my socializing a bit more during December and it makes me happy to be busy and connecting with such a wide variety of people and projects.  So, I will keep on keeping on being busy because, right now, it's making me so darn happy.  And so very soon it will pass and it will be quiet and it will be slow again.  And I will embrace that as well.  In the meantime, bring on the projects, bring on the parties, bring on the crafts, bring on the gifting...woohoo!

our 'new' chalkboard door.  love it!

a gift for jed for our anniversary on the 26th

the project nate and i made for 'create something beautiful' (day 2 of advent)

a surprise :)

more surprises :)

the banner I created for jed was transformed into a december wish banner...yep, nate wishes for more art!

it has begun!

Today is the first day of of December, the beginning of advent and truly the most wonderful time of the year.  I had hoped to include a picture of the advent calendar that I made for Nate but then I realized that I wouldn't get pictures until after we set it up and (here's the big secret) I normally write my posts the night before you see them so no pictures yet :)  We'll see if I get them together by tonight...you never know.  Pictures are now up!!!

It was SO very much fun to create this project.  I started with the idea that I wanted to make an advent calendar with a different activity each day.  I knew the activities and the calendar itself had to be simple or I wouldn't follow through in making it, let alone completing the activities each day.  At the same time I had in the back of my mind the idea of the Jesse Tree.  I had come across a story about the Jesse Tree a few years ago and was intrigued.  The idea of a Jesse tree comes from the Bible:

The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots."  It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. .  link

So...I decided to make a Jesse Tree Advent Calendar.  I found a great example for choosing ornaments to hang each day as well as the corresponding Bible stories from Nate's children's Bible at this site. I used the outline that she created and then matched each day with an activity for Nate to do that would reinforce the Bible verse/lesson that we read that morning.  So, on December 2, Nate will open the envelope with a 2 on it, find a sun ornament and a label telling him what the activity is for the day.  We'll learn that today is 'Creation' and will read Genesis 1.  Then we'll create something beautiful to share with others.

Oh, I am so beside myself with excitement to see how Nate receives this calendar.  I love that it's more than a countdown to Christmas presents and that each day can serve as a reminder of God's love for us and our love for each other.  That we will get to take time each day working on projects that will serve a greater purpose than just mere 'decorations' or 'holiday decorations.'  Oh joy!  It has truly begun.

paper projects

 

I haven't felt drawn to knit or sew lately but in a need to create I found some awesome paper crafts (here and here) to work on instead... I could make these all night long.  Some minis?  Some jumbos?  Some multi-colored?  Oh the possibilities are endless.  We'll see what happens!

projects in progress

I've found myself in a mini-flurry of creating lately.  A little for me, a little for others. 

I pre-ordered this sweet pattern book a couple months ago, completely forgetting about it after it was ordered.  When it arrived last week, it was just the thing to set my clothing making heart a-flutter.  Patiently working on a shirt for myself, oh so slowly, to avoid ripping out any seams. 

I have begun sewing the advent calendar.  I'm making one for Nate and one for my sister's family.  I am so beside myself with excitement about this one.  It deserves its own whole post once I'm closer to finishing it up.  December 1st is creeping up faster than I could have imagined!

A bag.  A friend asked me to design a bag for her.  And I came up with this one.  It speaks to me about her on so many different levels and reminds me that we are all the shelter of someone's heart- whether we know it or not.

Finally a hat.  As a knitter who makes gifts for people, I try not to post them here before I give them away because I don't want the spoil the surprise.  As this one has not been gifted yet, that's all I'll say- a hat :)

essential question

Are we destroying the essential for the superfluous?  

This is a question posed in a video I watched this week.  It's a beautiful video about the importance the forest and trees play in all of our lives, realized or not.  I've begun my holiday crafting, another year, another promise to stick with handmade and local.  I always seem to make it to the final week before Christmas, feeling good about all the things I've made and then I start worrying.  Is what I made nice enough?  Is it something that the recipient wants or would they rather I bought something?  Shouldn't I get them one more little thing? At which point I end up over spending, buying things that I wouldn't have even considered in the sanity of November. 

So, here I am in November, making a pledge to myself to remember the essential above the superfluous.

To remember what these holidays are really about and to spend time being thankful each moment for everything I am so very blessed with. 

People are essential, relationships are essential, gratitude is essential, love is essential..oh I could go on and on. And they are all free.  And they are all accessible.  And they are all possible if I just remember to take the time to pause, breathe and look at the trees.


Video from KarmaTube

the most wonderful time of the year

I thought I could settle into fall a little bit longer.  It is, by far, my most favorite season.  Yet, a small home improvement necessitated a trip to Lowe's whereupon I was greeted by rows of shiny plastic trees and waving Santas.  This jarred me back to reality and the crafter/creator in me was suddenly overcome: it's almost Christmas!  While fall is my favorite season, it is definitely Christmas that holds my holiday heart.  Just last night Nate and I were in the car and he asked if I could find Christmas carols on the radio and I was sad to not have my ipod with me to fulfill the request. 

Yet, there's something within in me: tradition?  stubbornness?  naivete? that's refuses to begin true Christmas crafting until after Halloween.  (As full disclosure: I was able to sneak in making one present while spending hours on airplanes this month.)  And, inevitably, there will be a flurry of making and ripping out and joyous creation during the next few months.  And I just can't wait.  In the meantime, I will start allowing myself to peruse favorite crafting sites/ravelry/etc to begin my gifting lists. 

Here are my beginnings of inspiration...

Sew Mama Sew :: Pear Tree Advent Calendar

Christine Fromm Designs = magic with upcycled sweaters

Fish Hat by Thelma Egberts