Post Christmas Wrap-up

I trust you all had a memorable Christmas? Ours was very different. My husband was on call, which is par usual. But he was not called out, which is anything but usual. Christmas Day from 1984 on has meant that the kids and I spend much of the day waiting for Dad to come home. Not this time. It was the strangest thing... But it was a good strange. If he does it again next year, we might even get used to it! :)

Opening gifts is often a leisurely affair, and he took a break to examine one of the boy's gifts to another. You can click on it to make the picture bigger, but I'll warn you in advance: The title of the book is "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." yeah. The book's cover art lets you know that the title is not a misprint.

Under the tree, Malcolm looked for something desirable. It was found inside a small box, addressed to "Kitty." It was a mouse toy, made from rabbit fur. He likes it almost as much as string. Note the drum in the foreground. I purchased it earlier this year, at World Handcrafts in Reedley. It was a popular item.

For dinner I tried something new. The color is a bit off, but we've got filet mignon with sauteed mushrooms and bleu cheese, Hawaiian sweet rolls, garlic-stuffed olives, salad, and mashed potatoes. It was quite tasty, if I do say so myself. It was my first successful grilling of filet mignon. I may have to do it again sometime.

Today found me running errands. I returned a few gifts (extra calendar, sunglasses too small to fit the face, etc.), I got a new windshield: snow + defrost = great big crack, and I found time to run up to Reedley. World Handcrafts/Mennonite Quilt Center is having their annual clearance sale through tomorrow. I meant to take my camera along with me, but it stayed behind. sigh.

Instead you'll just have to imagine the treasures they sell. Everything was 25% off. I decided to pass on the fabric, and focused on the world-wide treasures. They don't show well, but I brought home a pretty lacquered box and two paperweights with brilliant orange goldfish.

If you click on the photo, you can probably see the blossoming fruit tree note cards and the Rebecca Barker notepad that also came home with me. To the right is another drum. It's different from the Christmas drum, but I like it almost as much.

Here it is from the side. It was made in Indonesia, and the bottom is hollow. It has a very nice sound to it, when tapped with the fingers.

Christmas may be over, but for some reason I found myself humming "The Little Drummer Boy" for much of my drive home.

As to sewing or quilting? It hasn't happened. But I've almost found the floor to the Studio, so that bodes well for the coming week. Stay tuned to see how it plays out...