The sky is grey;
 it's rainy today.
So I do sit,
And think a bit
Of merry happenings
From stories old,
While I drink tea
And shiver from cold.

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long! I will as soon as I can.

Christmas Crafts

As I have said, I made about 89% of my Christmas gifts. I've lost exact count, but I think I ended up crocheting 22 hats, knitting a scarf, crocheting two eyeglass cases, making 8 pairs of earrings and 6 necklaces. That's a whole lot of work and took the better part of November and December (though I have to admit, I only finished up the scarf. It was a former project). Here are a few of the hats (the pictures aren't very good- the colors were gorgeous):

Here are some of the necklaces:

These are the first earrings I made... the rest were mostly better, but I didn't get any pictures of them.

Breakfast

Do you ever have a breakfast that just makes you happy? I love breakfast- it has the potential to be the cheeriest meal of the day. I had an awfully nice one last week. It consisted of coffee, a mom-made muffin, and the last of the Christmas clementines. I love clementines. They are tiny and perfect, and oh so sweet and juicy. No seeds to get in the way, and only takes about 10 seconds to peel (and it can all come off in one piece- no getting rind stuck under your fingernails for days). Definitely my favorite citrus fruit.

                             Altogether, a very satisfactory meal.

A late Christmas post

 Little Brother was overjoyed Christmas morning when he saw that good St. Nick had left him a train! It is a beautiful train, with a red engine, three cars, and a caboose.

Once I got it all assembled and correctly wired (which took ages, as I'm not mechanically inclined), he spent hours running it around and carefully putting the cars back on the track when they fell off.

The two of us on Christmas Eve.

... And a happy new year!

Well, New Year's was actually fun! Despite my Scrooge-ish feelings. I played Scrabble with the parentals, and we saluted the coming year with cocoa and sparkling grape juice (more easily attainable than champagne). We had a rolicking good time, and stayed up way too late. Despite the dire warnings that Dad would cream us (as is usual when we play scrabble), he finished last, and, lo and behold, I left them both in the dust! Thanks to my 57 point word (!). It was a good night. I'm glad I was home.