Wii Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Despite my worries about not getting all of my Christmas knitting projects done in time, I finished with plenty of time to dawdle....before quickly (but reluctantly) sewing the zipper into my Grandmother's vest on Christmas Eve. I had the day off, so I did some of my favorite things like clean the house, go out to lunch with an old friend, do some baking (mmmm coffee cake for Christmas morning!) and finish knitting and sewing while the coffee cake baked. Not a minute too soon, I set down the vest and Dennis came home for work, ready to head to my family's house for Christmas Eve celebrating.

This year was a bit different. My dad had to work until 11pm, and Dennis's parents are in MA now, so we improvised. And by improvised, I mean we had a Wii sports tournament and finger foods at my parents' house! Dennis made delicious asparagus bundles wrapped in bacon, and we made pigs-in-a-blanket together, and my dad's best friend, Mike, brought his Death by Chocolate - we beg him for it every year.

Wii was fun, even Grammy got into it! It was a riot. After a drink or two, the usually quiet and conservative Mike even started trash-talking my sister!


Christmas day was full of fun and generosity. My stocking was filled with yarn, and under the tree were needles and books (guess what my apartment is filled to the brim with!). My family also all chipped in for a new iPod Nano for me (probably so I mind my own business, and leave them alone)....and Santa also brought me a nice warm down comforter that I have been asking for for years! My knitted gifts were well received. My sister proudly wore her new slippers, and even toted them with her to wear at family's house. Mom loved her socks, and Gram was gushing about the vest. I have been worried since I was about 30% into it that it would be too small, but it fits p.e.r.f.e.c.t!

From my sister Emily, I received a small label maker. I can't wait to use that thing! My goal for this week of vacation is to clean and organize the basement! Now that Christmas is over, I want to start 2009 with a new and organized beginning!

Shipping up to Boston

Dennis and I spent our Sunday in a most delightful, leisurely way. We slept in late, and then drove through the Northeaster CT countryside to a small goat farm. They serve breakfast and lunch in a small rustic dining room that is seemingly attached to their house, which is attached to the barn. We had homemade feta omelets and canadian bacon and watched the snow come down in fluffy flakes outside.

We then headed up to Boston, for what was supposed to be a Free State Project get-together to walk the Freedom Trail. We waited for an hour in the commons, but nobody showed (later, when we got home, we saw a post online canceling the event. It had been posted after we left the house.)

While we were waiting for the group, though, we got to see the city's sights. Right across the street, there was apparently a fire (though I didn't see any smoke or flames), and we got to see fire engines (yah, like I need to see any more of those!) and a firefighter climb a big ladder.





And these little sparrows all lined up on the fence, eyeing a french fry made me giggle.


It didn't work out as we had planned, but it was still fun to spend the day together anyway. We don't get to do that too much anymore!