Festive Holiday Housewarming

Our niece and her husband married and moved in together in October of this year. To celebrate and share their new place with family and friends, they hosted a Festive Holiday Housewarming Open House on Sunday afternoon. We were excited to visit and see their new home.

Their house is spacious, welcoming and nicely decorated. I couldn't resist taking photos of some of the festive features decorating their home. 

A basket of delectable mint smoothies greeted guests at the front door.

I love their snowman Advent calendar counting down to Christmas. 

This whimsical stripey hat atop white fluff is adorable and Christmassy.

A string of lights and Christmas stockings create a festive fireplace.

Their Christmas tree looks spectacular. Our niece was pleased with this garage sale find including a handy-dandy storage bag for only $20.

Our niece's Gramma (our Mum) helped with prepping food for the party. There were so many tasty treats being served. 

Our niece's Mom was busy in the kitchen prepping even more food. 

I love this hand-sewn button Christmas tree decoration made by a friend. 

My husband sampled from an assortment of yummy sweets. The red licorice was labeled "Twiz the Season". Love the word play.

Our niece and her husband - the newlyweds - paused to pose for a photo.

Many thanks to our niece and her husband for hosting a fun and festive Holiday Housewarming. 

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Back to Crochet

I stopped crocheting in May when I started sitting on the floor to improve functional strength and flexibility. I wrote more about my reasons here if you're interested. I still believe more natural movement and floor sitting are important for longterm health and mobility. Unfortunately, I cannot crochet properly while sitting on the floor.

I also cannot read books or watch TV for any length of time from the floor. It is way too uncomfortable for me even after months of practice. A couple months ago, I relaxed my rules around floor sitting to read books and watch TV in the evenings. Reading and TV are pleasant pasttimes, but do not satisfy my creativity. 

A week ago I finally felt like buying new yarn. I wanted to make simple cotton dishcloths to build up my supply of hand-made gifts. I bought three large balls of Bernat Handicrafter cotton yarn in white, off white and fruit punch (mix of purple, blue, green and white). I decided to crochet despite the risks associated with sitting for extended periods. 

It took me a week to work through one ball of white yarn. I made seventeen dishcloths with very little yarn left over. Twine wrapped around two folded dishcloths makes a practical little gift for Christmas or any other occasion. They look pretty with our whimsical Christmas elf.

It takes me about an hour to make just one dishcloth including weaving in the ends. That's 17 hours of crochet in a week and a lot of extra sitting.

I plan to carry on making dishcloths with these two remaining balls of yarn before completing this little crochet doll I started months ago. Progress has been slow because of my self-imposed floor-sitting rule. 

I am happy to be Back to Crochet on my comfy cozy couch despite the hazards and associated risks.

My favourite easy-to-make dishcloth pattern is provided below in case you might like to make some too. Word of warning though, crochet can be addictive and possibly hazardous to your health.

DISHCLOTH

Supplies Used:

Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn

5.5 mm crochet hook

yarn needle

scissors

Stitches used:

ch (chain)

sc (single crochet)

flsc (front loop single crochet)

blsc (back loop single crochet)

Starting chain - 25

R1 - sc in 2nd ch from hook (24) 

Note: I like to crochet in back bump of starting chain as shown here.

R2 - ch1 turn, sc in 1st sc, flsc, blsc (repeat across), sc in last sc

R2 - ch1 turn, sc in 1st sc, flsc, blsc (repeat across), sc in last sc

Continue until dish cloth is square (fold diagonally to check)

Border: sc around, 3 sc in corners, finish off and weave in ends

Finished size: 7" x 7"

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Christmas Decorating

I have been very slow getting around to Christmas decorating this year. Somehow it has not felt much like Christmas. I blame the weather. It has been relatively mild with only one snowy weekend in November.

On Saturday with only two weeks to go, I finally felt like decorating. First I needed to clean. A thorough vacuuming, dusting and mopping was in order after a few weeks of minimal efforts around the house. To further complicate things, I decided to rearrange the furniture in our family room, living room and hallway. It took all afternoon to prep the house. Once I got started, there was no stopping.

After dinner, I pulled out our Christmas bins from under the stairs in the basement, brought them upstairs and set about making the house look a little more festive. 

I took a few photos of our simple Christmas decorations. Enjoy the tour.

We don't have a proper Christmas tree this year, but we do have a little singing tree - very LOUD, cheerful and fun. There are also quite a few crochet bits and bobs scattered throughout the house.  

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

   

 

I want to wrap our banister in twine and hang these cards, but everything else is done. Even the weather is cooperating with plenty of snow making a beautiful white winter wonderland outside. It feels great to finally feel excited and ready for Christmas. 

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First Snowfall

Saturday night and Sunday, we got our first snowfall of the season. It snowed enough to cover everything in a thick blanket of white. When it snows, we love walking to Thames Valley Golf Course with our poodle. 

Winter is my favourite time of year to visit golf courses. Golf courses are great for walking, cross county skiing, snow shoeing and sledding. 

Our poodle thoroughly enjoyed running around the golf course Sunday afternoon bounding through snow, up and down hills. She ran extra fast whenever she spied a squirrel. Squirrels are fun to chase. 

Flags and rakes have not been put away for the season. Funny to think golfers were out on Friday playing in warm 20 C weather. 

Snow clings to poodle fur. Her legs were covered in snowballs. It looked uncomfortable, but didn't slow her down much. Bundled up to keep warm, we ALL enjoyed the fresh air and exercise tramping through the snow. 

I am so happy we got out to enjoy our First Snowfall of the season on Sunday. The snow probably won't last long as rain is in the forecast. 

Let's make a wish for more snow and less extreme cold this winter. We're overdue for a winter full of fun outdoor activities. 

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Dinner and a Book Club

My mom invited me to join her and a friend at the PC Cooking School Dinner and a Book Club held this week at Loblaws near Masonville Mall. 

She praised the book "The Golden Son" by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. The story is based in rural India, so the menu was to include classic Indian dishes. Intrigued by both the book and the lure of delicious Indian food, I readily accepted my mom's invitation. 

"The Golden Son" had a long list of holds at the library, so I borrowed my mom's Nook for the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I was looking forward to our evening out.

The menu included the following Indian dishes, Aloo Tikki (Indian potato pancakes) with Tamarind Chutney; Pepper Chicken Masala with Lemon Rice; Tarka Dhal (stewed lentils/split peas) with Green Beans and Coconut; Naan Bread; and creamy Mango Lassi (yogurt-based shake) for dessert. Dinner was delicious. 

We were given copies of the PC Cooking School recipes listed above and instructed on how to prepare each dish. I transcribed the recipes including the chef's alterations into a pdf document. You can find the recipes here if you would like to try them too.

In between dishes we discussed the book. Our book club moderator was knowledgeable keeping our discussion lively and interesting. She also recommended other books I would love to read. I've listed them below if you're interested.

"The Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

"The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai

"A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry

"Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill

"The Illegal" by Lawrence Hill

"Can You Hear the Night Bird Call" by Anita Rau Badami

"His Whole Life" by Elizabeth Hay

"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman

"The Wonder" by Emma Donoghue

"Room" by Emma Donoghue

"Incontinent on the Continent" by Jane Christmas

All-in-all it was a fabulous evening. I wouldn't hesitate to sign up for another PC Dinner and a Book Club event. I highly recommend it as an enjoyable evening out for $15 $30 per person.

Thanks Mom for the invitation. I had fun.

Correction: This dinner was actually $30 per person. I signed up for the PC Cooking School Holiday Insiders Collection dinner. That one is only $15 per person. I mistakenly assumed they cost the same. Thanks again Mom.

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Dorchester Mill Pond

Fair weather Saturday afternoon prompted us to take a drive in the convertible. Our poodle loves joining us in the Z4 with the top down. Without a specific destination in mind, we made our way east to Dorchester. I had a vague sense the Mill Pond was a good place to walk.

Dorchester Mill Pond exceeded my expectations. We enjoyed a leisurely 3.3 km hike stroll around the pond on clearly marked trails taking photos along the way. The Mill Pond truly is an "Oasis of Peace and Beauty" just like their website states. We have biked or driven through Dorchester many times over the years. I am so happy we finally stopped to explore.

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Reading for Pleasure

Reading for Pleasure has become my new favourite pastime. 

My evenings and weekends used to be full of crochet. For the past five years, I spent many happy hours crocheting all sorts of fun things. I stopped crocheting in May when I started sitting on the floor at home. I spent the summer getting comfortable with floor sitting and walking wearing minimal flat shoes. I am pleased with my progress so far.

Recently I joined a Book Club and rediscovered the joy of reading. I love getting lost in stories. I read two books for book club before getting more from the library. The time I used to devote to crochet is now spent reading. Unfortunately, I prefer to sit comfortably while reading. Since floor sitting is still important to me, my laptop is set up on the floor.

On weekends, my husband makes me delicious decaf cappucino to enjoy while reading. I loved his fancy leaf design on this one. 

 

 

I made a bit of progress with this little crochet doll over the past few weeks. I hope to finish her eventually. I am working on her head next then hair, pants and shoes. As always, I will share photos when (if) I finish.

Have a wonderful weekend doing whatever makes you happy. 

Book Club Books:
The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian (enjoyed)
Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott (enjoyed)
Girl on the Train by Paul Hawkins (read this in Cuba - loved it)

Other books:
Saving Grace by Jane Green (enjoyed)
Always Watching by Lynette Eason (enjoyed)
Winter Stroll by  Elin Hildebrand (enjoyed)
Second Nature by Alice Hoffman (enjoyed)
The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell (just started)
The Perfect Witness by Iris Johansen (up next)

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