Full House for the Holidays

This year we had a Full House for the Holidays. Our daughter and her family flew in from Boulder arriving late in the day December 23rd for a two-week visit. Our son and his dog drove from Guelph the same day staying through to January 1st. Our son had school the first week of January, but managed to get back to London for another couple days before our daughter and her family had to leave January 7th.

It has been five years since our daughter last joined us for Christmas. We planned to include all our favourite Christmas traditions for this new generation of grandchildren to enjoy.

I put a lot of effort into decorating and gift wrapping to make Christmas special for the kids. Our new tree did not have a pointy top to hold our Christmas angel, so I improvised adding a teddy as a tree topper instead. 

Christmas Eve we all headed over to my parents for their Open House a much loved annual party for family and friends. Our grandson loves to dress 'fancy', so borrowed a tie for the occasion ... good choice.

Before the party, we drove by this house in Oakridge. Nothing better than a good dose of 'over-the-top' decorations at Christmas. 

My cousin from Ottawa managed to make it to the party Christmas Eve. She spent a bit of time acting as a reindeer carrying our grandson around the table picking up treats ... such fun.

After all the festivities, our grandson lost a tooth Christmas Eve. He was upset he bled on his new Christmas pj's, but happy to find money tucked under his pillow the next morning.

Christmas morning did not disappoint. The kids were excited to open their gifts then spend the rest of the day happily playing with their new things. 

After gifts, my husband and I got busy preparing dinner. My husband was in charge of the turkey and ham while I made most of the side dishes. My daughter volunteered to do mashed potatoes and my mum-in-law brought dessert. Feeding fifteen for dinner is easier when everybody helps.

Guests arrived with more gifts for the kids ... so lucky.

We needed two tables to fit all fifteen of us for our Christmas feast.

After dinner, we posed for a group shot. Our daughter took the photos using a tripod and timer. It's tough getting everybody to look normal for photos. I think she did a great job.

Our niece and her husband announced they are expecting a baby. My guess is they're having a boy. Either way, I'm looking forward to welcoming another little one into the family.

With Christmas over, we spent the rest of the week relaxing and hanging out at home with the kids. I used up the rest of my vacation for the year only working one day between Christmas and New Years and two days the following week. 

With extreme cold weather, it was difficult to get outside much. The kids entertained themselves with indoor activities. Our grandson was happy to dress up in his new suit (purchased after Christmas). We didn't really have a special occasion so the kids put on their finery to 'dance' and play indoors. I think it's amazing that our grandson likes to dress up, especially as I'm totally into all things comfortable and casual.

By the end of the week, we planned a shopping trip just my mom, my daughter and me. My daughter needed a hair cut plus we needed to get winter boots for our grandson. He doesn't wear boots in Boulder, but shoes were definitely not warm enough for winter here.

I always enjoy getting out with my Mom and daughter. We took the baby with us. He was no problem. I love that it's so easy to get him to smile.

On the first Saturday after Christmas, we took the kids skating at Storybook Gardens. We were excited to try out their new skates and helmets and introduce them to a popular Canadian winter activity ... outdoor skating. Skating was fun despite the cold weather which turned into a proper blizzard with whiteouts by the time we headed for home.

While it was snowy and blowy outside, there were plenty of fun things to do back at the house.

I walked the Sifton Bog a couple of times ... once in deep snow with my son and his dog then again with my husband and the dog all the way to the Sifton Bog pond which had totally frozen over. Somebody had taken a shovel and cleared the ice. If only we had taken our skates.

Another day, our grandchildren enjoyed exploring my Mom's extensive costume jewelry collection.

They always enjoy visits with GG and Other GG.

We braved the cold on New Year's Day to ski around the golf course once.

While I was busy at work, the kids visited their great grandparents.

 

 

Our daughter took the kids skating at Storybook Gardens one more time.

They also joined my parents for dinner one more time. Our granddaughter was excited to see my Uncle Bill again. She loved chatting and listening to his stories ... so cute.

 

I showed our grandson how to play Yahtzee. He seemed to have fun, but really his favourite game was Monopoly ... a game I refused to play. I really don't get the appeal. 

With such cold weather, we had a thick coating of frost on our windows.

Our son said his final goodbyes and headed for home the night before they packed to leave. He was wise to leave a little early thus avoiding the travel day stress complicated by influenza b making the rounds. 

Our house was a crazy chaotic holiday house full of noise, fun and stuff ... lots of stuff everywhere for two weeks while our kids were home. It was unfortunate our time together ended with almost everybody getting sick. Influenza b was not fun ... fevers, body aches and coughing for days. 

I rarely get sick, but was home for three days doing nothing but lay on the sofa. My husband was sick this past weekend ... he spent three days on the sofa as well. 

I am looking forward to feeling energetic again soon. In the meantime, I am happy to have finally sorted through our photos. I love writing these posts capturing highlights from our time together ... truly a treasure.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.

Crochet for Christmas

There are so many fun things to Crochet for Christmas. I would love to make more, but settle with choosing a few of my favourites given limited free time leading up to Christmas. 

This year I made five Christmas Gnomes plus a few festive things for our table. I wrote about the Christmas Gnomes here if you missed it.

For our Christmas table, I made cork hot pad covers in festive Christmas colours using Bernat Handicrafter Holidays Christmas yarn. I made four hot pad covers total - two 8" and two 7". 

I love how they look a bit like Christmas mints.  

If you're looking for a quick and easy crochet project, this free hot pad cover pattern by blogger Atty van Norel is perfect. 

Note: For the 8" hot pad, I increased for six rows then worked three more rows without increasing to stretch over the edge. I made the 7" hot pad exactly the same except increased for only five rows. 

To complete our Christmas table I made rustic Christmas tree ornaments crocheting stars, hearts and a maple leaf using jute twine. I thought they would make pretty table favours to attach place cards. 

I followed free patterns by blogger Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous for the hearts and stars. For the maple leaf, I followed this free pattern by blogger Michelle at The Painted Hinge. 

With one small ball of jute I managed to make seven stars, nine hearts and one maple leaf - more than enough. 

The maple leaf was for our daughter who lives in the US and maintains a sentimental attachment to the maple leaf as a symbol of Canada. Hearts were for gals and stars for guys. Initially, I had written our list of names and assigned hearts to guys and stars to gals. Our 7 year old grandson found the list and switched it around scribbling out my symbols and drawing new ones below ... so sweet he noticed and cared.

I took a couple photos of our Christmas tables ... ready and waiting to feed fifteen for dinner. I like to think my Christmas crochet creations added a personal touch not readily available everywhere. 

Merry Christmas with love and smiles from meo my crochet.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below

Snowy Owl Hats

I was trying to decide what to make for our grandchildren when I found this free pattern for Snowy Owl Hats created by blogger Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me. It was perfect. I made two - one for our youngest grandson (6/12 months size) and one for our granddaughter (2/4 years size). 

I love how they turned out. Aren't they just the cutest Snowy Owl Hats? 

Our daughter assures me this hat was a great choice as our granddaughter is totally into polar bears and snowy owls at the moment. So much so that she asked for snowy owl and polar bear costumes for Christmas. How exciting is that? I can't wait to see her face when she gets her new hat.

If you would like to make one too, check out Sarah's free pattern here. You're sure to have a hoot if you do. Smiles from meo my crochet.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below

Crochet Zebra

Early in July, our daughter sent me a photo of this toy zebra. The one shown below for $14.99. Our oldest grandson was totally into zebras and would love if I could make him one. 

An extensive Google search for a free crochet pattern turned up absolutely nothing. Since creating a pattern from scratch would take more time and since not a lot of crochet happens here in the summer anyway, I added this to my list for later. A zebra would make a perfect Christmas gift if I could figure out how to make one before then.

By the time I was ready to make a Crochet Zebra for our grandson, I was thrilled to discover a free pattern had been shared later in July by one of my favourite bloggers Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me. 

I made a few changes to Sarah's pattern so my zebra would look a little more like the one above. Her zebra was made with gray and white stripes and a loopy mane in solid gray. My zebra sports black and white stripes with a spiky mane in black and white to mimic the stripes you would see on a real zebra. I reversed the ears so the black is facing forward, used buttons instead of safety eyes and added a little red scarf with a fluffy black, white and red fringe in keeping with the season.

This Crochet Zebra made with love for our grandson was happy to pose for photos. I think he looks quite dapper in his red winter scarf. Don't you?

If you would like to make a Crochet Zebra, you can find Sarah's free pattern here. 

This scarf is super simple to make too. Crochet a starting chain in a length that looks about right (determined by wrapping it around the neck) then work eight rows of slip stitch. Work the first row of slip stitch into the back bumps of the starting chain (to create a nice edge) and the remainder of the rows in the front loops only. For the fringe cut 6" strands of yarn in red, black and white and knot them in four groups of three strands (one of each colour) along each end. Use a wire brush to fluff the fringe on the scarf and the tail too. And there you have it ... easy peasy.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below

Love My Djembe

When I was growing up I did not consider myself to be musically inclined. I couldn't carry a tune and never played a musical instrument. Yet I love dance, movement and drumming. I especially love primal tribal beats. 

About a year ago, I looked into getting a Djembe (pronounced "JEM-bay") thinking it might be fun to join a drumming circle. I watched videos and practiced on an empty bin, but with no real drumming knowledge, I couldn't decide what to buy. Plus I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it enough to justify the cost. In the end, I decided to wait ... still interested, just not actively looking.

Last weekend, one of our favourite local artists Mary Louise White hosted an Open House showcasing her new glass sculptures. In July, Mary Louise returned from Australia where she spent five months completing her Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts at the ANU School of Art and Design, concentrating on casting glass. We love Mary Louise's artwork, so were excited to see her new sculptures. 

My husband and I had a fabulous time at Mary Louise's Open House. There were so many beautiful pieces, we easily spent two hours admiring everything and chatting. I also noticed a few Djembes with price tags, so asked and was thrilled to discover Mary Louise used to teach drumming. She was selling her drums now that she no longer teaches. 

I trusted her advice picking my favourite from the few she was offering. It is a mahogany and goat skin 13" Djembe made by Joe Platz, a teacher, drum maker and performer from Massachusetts. It is beautiful and sounds absolutely amazing. I Love My Djembe and practice almost every day.  

When I am not using my Djembe I keep it tucked away in this green canvas bag to protect it from our cat. Maggie may look sweet, but her sharp cat claws could do serious damage to a Djembe. Thanks Mary Louise for this Djembe and handy-dandy storage bag ... so much appreciated.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.