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!