On to the New Year!

I have so much to do, I'm glad I have a whole new year to do it in!

I've got fleeces to sort and wash and comb/card/possibly dye, and then spin. I've got several knitting projects in the queue, I've got some herbal products to make, and I've got my Etsy shop to put in order. The Esty shop is in vacation mode until Jan. 9th, but I'll probably be pushing the date back. I've got product pictures to take and descriptions to write, and other things to sort out. It all takes time.

And then there's my husbands department party, held at my house, coming up. And of course he told everyone that I went to cooking school in Paris, so they are now expecting pasrtries and croissants.

And the problem is, I'm sooo tired. I could probably sleep until the New Year is rung in. Well, it's better to be busy than not, I suppose.

I hope everyone is enjoying the afterglow of the holiday season and is looking forward to the new year. I think I'll enjoy the afterglow with one more cup of coffee, some Christmas carols, the Christmas tree lights, the dog laying nearby and a cat in my lap.

A little something to take away the humbugs.

A young girl from my nice little town, blind from birth, wrote and sings this Christmas song, Night of Our Lives:



Merry Christmas!

Going on a little trip

I'll be gone for a while. Hubby and I are getting away for a couple of weeks starting tomorrow. He'll be working part of the time, but I'll be sightseeing for the whole of it and he will join me when he can : )

Some of the places we'll visit are Paris, the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, and the medieval walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I'm so excited to see these places during the holiday season. And I'm so looking forward to lebkuchen in Nuremberg!

If we happen to have Internet access while we're away, I'll post some pictures when I'm able. So far, the weather over there looks about like what it is here - 40's and rainy.

Well, off to pack now and run last-minute errands!

Me with my Christmas book in The Learned Owl Bookshop

My husband and I went out to eat in our quaint little downtown the other night. After our meal we strolled down Main Street to The Learned Owl Bookshop where we found my Christmas book on display in their holiday section. I was so excited, I had hubby snap a photo with his phone:

In other news, I planted 26 cloves of garlic yesterday in hopes of a good garlic crop next spring and summer. I bought the bulbs of garlic from an organic garlic grower at the farmer's market this past summer. Last year I planted about nine cloves, only to have six of them dug up that same night by some animal because I forgot to put a thick layer of mulch over top. I mulched them really good this time!

Merry Christmas!

May you find joy today and everyday throughout the coming new year.

I love the holidays!

My daughter and her boyfriend made this gingerbread Christmas tree:

The house smelled sooo good when the gingerbread was baking.

Breaks

There have been a lot of breaks around here lately:

• Winter Break, from school
• Elbow Break, my son's (a slip & fall accident)
• Thumb Break, my daughter's (a shut-in-the-car-door accident)
• Sunshine Break (nothing but clouds and snow for us lately)

This has lead me to consider another break - a small one from blogging. Not a bleak, no blogging break. More of a blogging slow-down. With a newly re-built computer gracing the desk in the office room of our house, I'm trying to get back into my writing. In order to do that, I need to concentrate on the blank page and not my blog page.

So, I'll still be posting, but perhaps not quite as often. If there is a real dearth of posts, you'll know my writing is going well. If I'm posting fairly regularly, then tell me to get back to writing!!

I'm leaving you with a picture my husband took over the holidays. I know Christmas is over, but I really liked this picture of our quaint little downtown on a snowy night just after Christmas:

I'm sure I'll be in touch again soon!

Lebkuchen II - or - My cookies are so good they deserve a special box

I talked about making my own lebkuchen in the last post. I must report that they turned out very yummy. I sealed them up with sliced-up oranges for a few days, and they are now so spicy and Christmas-y that I am over the top with taste happiness.

In fact, they're so good, they almost deserve their own special box, like this one from Nuremberg which came stuffed with German lebkuchen and pfeffernusse:
The red sock is a failed felted slipper that I was attempting to make for my son a couple of years ago. It came out HUGE. My son has big feet, but not that big. So we saved it and now put it out with the Christmas decorations and call it, "Santa's Sock." I did consequently make him slippers that fit, and all in grey (although I must point out that red and white were his original color choices).

Here is a shot of the inside of the tin's lid - all in German, of course:

Here's wishing you all a Frohliche Weihnachten!

While searching for a Christmasey banner picture...

I came across this:

That's me in tears with my more composed, older sisters circa the early 1960's.

I'm okay with Santa now : )