Merry Christmas

Not only has Saturday snuck up on me again — but so has Christmas! As I type this, I have breakfast casseroles in the oven and we’re waiting for two guests to arrive to open gifts. We’re expecting ice and snow today, so we will try to stay cozy inside with good food and movies. But I think I have some time to catch you up on this week, so let’s see what I can manage to write before I get pulled away?

It was another interesting week around here. My two youngest were sick throughout and Colton didn’t attend any of his programs. And now I’m pretty behind with the prep for today! But I managed to get everything wrapped last night and groceries bought for today’s meal, which we’re just replicating from last year to keep things simple. At least we were able to pawn off dessert on someone else this year!!

I finished Christmas on Shelves last Sunday! Sorry about the wonky picture — this is sitting on my lap so there’s a curve to it, ha. This was such a sweet and easy stitch and I love how much practice it gave me. This was my first time with French knots! I’m not sure how I’ll fully finish it… perhaps put it in an embroidery hoop to hang? I don’t keep a lot of seasonal decorations but that might change as I cross stitch more and more. So I’ll have to figure out how to store things like this. There’s always something else, isn’t there?

I started Winter Rose Manor about a week earlier than I had anticipated! I was planning to start it today but the opportunity arose after I finished Christmas on Shelves and I went for it. This is my first time stitching with just one thread on the needle and I am loving it – it’s making such a clean and neat stitch! The linen is 36 count and somehow I’m managing just fine without my magnification visor despite my awful vision. I’ve spent the last few days trying to get a lot outlined so that I could just settle down with fill in stitches while I watch The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society tonight after the kids are in bed – which has been my little tradition the last couple of years. Pictures of Winter Rose Manor next week?

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That’s about all I can manage today. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a happy holiday season. I plan to be back on Tuesday with my last Stillness update of the year! Take good care! (and sorry for the typos I won’t be able to catch)