2010h

I'm considering taking on a project that on the surface doesn't seem a big deal, but when you throw in to the mix that I'll be in school full time and working and need to keep a happy home life with my hubbens, it could prove challenging. There is also what my husband pointed out, what about all the other books I want to read and will want to read in the coming year?

What is the idea??

Reading the complete works of Charles Dickens over the course of the year 2010. Yes, I could do that easily enough, but I want to really dig into them. As a teenager I read the works of Shakespeare and filled the book with notes and such. I'm dying to do that again. I know, right, I do that for school. But I want to do it for fun! We'll see how much fun it turns out to be.

I'm currently reading Atlas Shrugged, because my husband loves it and thinks it's relevant and that I will like it too. I don't think I can finish it by Friday...but I will try. David Perdue had an informative and interesting website about Dickens, his life and work.

Will I do it? I'm leaning pretty heavily toward yes. But we shall see at weeks end.

Ah, Christmas

This is my favorite Santa this year. He's so sweet, and innocent, very child-like. I know that is not what St. Nick was or that it is what Christmas is about, but that innocent joy and unabashed love are so endearing and very much a part of my Christmas memories.

I dread the day when Joella's kids are too old to want stories. Every year I find ornaments for each of them and come up with a story for each one. Aiden's have been ongoing and about the same main character who I thought up because as a baby he never wanted to be still. We rocked and bounced constantly and that seemed to sooth him, which made me think he'd have good sea legs and so stories about a sailor have be a recurring theme for him. The girls' tales tend to have a fairy tale element in them, and I like to have some sort of moral, or at least sentiment in there as well. This year is no different. I hope at least one of them likes to read. I'll have quite a book to give each of them someday, full of stories writ just for them.

Merry Christmas all!

Christmas Eve

Is't this the cutest Santa? His little legs are just slightly bowed. Too cute. Again, from Meredith :)

Having no school and no babysitting I've been busy sewing to finish x-mas stuff for folks I love. The quilts, oh the quilts. They are not what I had envisioned when I started last summer, but they are cool none the less. I've also been knitting up a storm, and in amongst all this I sit down and practice. I think I've averaged an hour and a half a day, but I do 20 or 30 min. then get up and do something else and go back later for more. I am so determined, resolved to give my best.

I must admit though, I can't wait till I'm done with all these projects for others. I want so badly to work on something that is for me. Just me! Hopefully that day will come next week.

Peace.

Progressions of Santa's

I found this guy at a Christmas shop in VA while visiting my sis this past fall. I love how he looks carved of a log with the bark peeled back as his coat! This one holds a tea light, which I love, and he has a bell on his hat. Both of these Santa's are new this year. I am just posting Santa pics like crazy this week. I've been avoiding things these last few months. It would be nice if work (head work especially) could be done, and then you move on and it's back there where you got it done. But somethings are always there, I hope by continually dealing with them even though they don't completely vanish, I will get so good at dealing that they don't disrupt heaven and earth anymore. Wow. That was a bit cryptic. But I suspect that there are less than 4 people who read this, so I'm good.

Peace.

Happy Yule!

These guys came to me last year via Meredith's mom, Pam. She was my piano teacher from the age of 12 to 18ish. And most of those years I thought of her as one of my best friends too. Her opinion of me was always so important to me. I wasn't always the best student. I had my share of teenage attitudes, but she was always, and still is, very supportive of me and has helped me as I embark on the journey of life in all it's twists and curves. Becoming close friends with her daughter has been a joy and has had more of an impact than I imagine either of them know.

The quilts for the kids are turning out great! I will post pictures soon.

Good Times

These are the first two Santa's Meredith gave me. She's good at picking the one's with that "something" in their faces. I'm going to have such a hard time putting these guys away!

Christmas at the Sinco's went well. That was the label I put on the smallish x-mas party Jason and I had last night. There was good food and good friends, what more can a person want? Preparation for the festivities were more labor intensive than we'd thought they would be, but also were completely worth it. We decided to rearrange a few things in the guest room and study, which we both tend to call my room. Originally we were going to have a room were we'd have all the books and a couple comfy chairs and our desks. but the room is really too small to do that justice and I had to have a place for my sewing and crafting things and doings. Thus the rearranging. Now the books are mostly in the guest room and looking quite nice I must add. Jason found some nice shelves for a steal at a flea market and we cleaned them up and he made extra shelves to fit inside them and viola! It is a beautiful site.

I also learned a valuable lesson. I'm only as neurotic as I let myself be. I have always, and I do mean always, had the freedom to organize and arrange my books the way I wanted, which really only makes sense to me. Friends have looked had my arrangement and wondered aloud what the pattern or sense is to it. So when we actually got to combine our libraries and organize the books, I was having a hard time letting go of my way of doing it, much less successfully explaining it. I won't go into the following details other than to say that my husband is a very loving and patient man and that I realized that he'd never organized his books before and was looking forward to the experience, and after all, they are JUST BOOKS. He did a beautiful job and I think we both feel a lot better about it.

Now, most of the crafting stuff is in the study and I have to get it organized and put away so I can finish some quilts. I will be taking photos of that to post here. I hope I continue to be proud of myself concerning the quilts. We shall soon see! Now, I have work to do, my sister will be here in less than a week!!!

Ho Ho Ho

Santa and wine!! Genius really. This is the most recent addition to my collection. Most of which have come from my friend Meredith, she likes to feed collections and has pretty incredible taste if I do say so. I am still doing the journal, but I want to post pictures of my Santa's for a while. Jason and I worked on some stockings and stuffing them, I'm still working on the last part of that, making gifts while working on finals is fun! Actually it is good, I don't get burnt out on either thing.

This house is feeling like Christmas central! My sister and her family will be here for a couple days after the big day and we are both trying to make sure they have a good time while here. I am so looking forward to having the semester firmly behind me and just focus on family and friends and all the projects I've been saving for these short weeks!

Finals and I'm crazy

Well it's here. Crunch time, the time when I find out how much I've put off and how little I can do about it. Time when I know my heart hates me because I'm so stressed and tense and don't exercise (who has time?). I'd really like to be here. In this picture. Either right now at the ocean, or back in time to when I took the picture. I'd like to think that if I could do that I would come home and plan ahead and stick with those plans. But we all know about the best laid plans of mice and men...

So I'll just take a bit to stop and write about this time, it's vastly more interesting to me right now than what I should be writing about. Which isn't fair, I am looking forward to finishing these papers, not just because they'll be done, but also because I like what I get to write about. Guess that is my cue to get back to it. :)