Happy New Year!

My goodness, how time flies by! Here is our dinner table on Christmas Eve, before the food was set out.Our table looked very much the same tonight. Every New Year's Eve, we make a lot of appetizers and finger foods and nibble the night away until midnight. It's such a festive way to end the year! And it will be the last time that I can enjoy my holiday dishes until next December rolls around.
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I've been in the dye pots today, dyeing up reds and golden yellows. The colors created a bright spot on such a cloudy, gray day. I don't make any New Year Resolutions because there is no purpose to them except to make you feel bad when you don't stick to your goal. But I tried to think of some habit that I'd really like to change or improve upon for next year. I think it is the fact that I don't write down my dye recipes as regularly as I should. Oh yes, 95% of the time, I do write down my dye colors and measurements. But every once in a while, I'll come up with some lovely color by throwing in a little of this dye and a pinch of that dye or just tweaking and adjusting a current dye recipe. Or I'm just in a hurry. I think that certainly I'll remember those changes in the future (it just seems obvious at the time!)....but months later, I'm kicking myself that I can't remember and I didn't write it down. So my promise to myself is to take the time to write down better notes! Not such a bad resolution for 2009, eh?
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And here is my wish and my toast to you...for 2009....
" In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want" ~ Traditional Irish Toast
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May God bless you and give you enough in 2009

Merry Christmas from all us Woolly Critters!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I've gotten a brand new computer! It's been a little work to get everything back up and running the way I'm used to ... and a few things still need some tweaking....but now I have a much faster machine! While I was without a computer, I baked Christmas cookies, wrapped presents, cleaned the house and finished decorating, shoveled LOTS of snow, and managed to sneak in a few precious hours of rug hooking.

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I've visited some of my friends' blogs and they have posted wonderful pictures of their holiday trees and home decorating. I thought I'd show you a couple of our wreaths! This one is made from Princess Pine and it is hanging on my front door. I love this wreath because it looks so feathery and delicate. We've added a sprig of fresh holly...and Mother Nature added the dusting of fresh snow (more about the snow later....)

Here is the wreath hanging on the door to my studio. It is one of my favorite holiday decorations! Ken and I made this wreath last year and we used lots of vintage glass Christmas ornaments. I purchased some of them at rummage sales and some were old family Shiny Brights. It didn't matter if a few were broken - we just glued the broken side to another ornament! It took quite a few ornaments of all different sizes and it was fun to throw in a few odd shapes like the bell.

Last Friday, we got dumped with 9" of snow, giving us a total of about 12" on the ground. When we get that much snow, not only do we have to shovel the driveway, but we also have to shovel a path down to the barn and the animal pens. And since the goats and sheep have a hard time moving around with that much snow...it's up to their bellies in most spots...I shoveled paths and areas in their pens so they can get out of their shelters and move around. Despite the paths that I provided, Lumi plowed through the snow like a bulldozer and Emma leapt through the drifts like a long-legged deer! They both like the snow...and they love to eat it! We actually have more than 12" of snow right now but the temperatures will be warming up overnight and we will get freezing rain/sleet tomorrow so I'm sure we will lose some of the accumulation.

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We always have Christmas Eve dinner here with my in-laws. It is quite a ceremony to get out the Christmas dishes for our guests. When my boys were small, part of their Christmas tradition was to help Mom get out the special Christmas dishes and set the table. Stephen has volunteered to help me this year...I'll share some pictures of our Holiday table tomorrow!

Taking a little break....

I have to take a little break from blogging....for just about one week....my computer is going into the shop tomorrow and the computer guy says I won't get it back until next week (yes, he is THAT busy). Isn't it simply crazy how we totally depend on our computers? I kept thinking "what on earth am I going to do if I can't get on the internet or check my e-mails?" LOL!!! I think I'm going to sit down and seriously work on my rug hooking for one week!!! And maybe bake some Christmas cookies.....

I'll be back blogging again before Christmas.

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P.S. The phrase "Hyvaa Joulua" means "Merry Christmas" in Finnish!

In The Meadow We Can Build A Snowman....

Hmmm...looks like my son has toooo much time on his hands....that, and he has a weird sense of humor (like all the other members of my family)!!! Last night, he built a snowman in the goat pen for the goats to enjoy. And you know what? They DID enjoy it!

This is a not your ordinary, everyday snowman; it is a snowgoat (note the stick-horns on top of its head).

Looks like Sequoia is giving his new friend a kiss. More likely he's trying to pull the nose out!

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The sheep also got a regular snowman built in their pen. Before I could get outside to snap a picture this morning, Emma had pulled out the stick-arms and chewed on the snow body. That's typical Emma!