May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

Ahh well. We have climbed the glittering peak that is the week before Christmas and are now taking in the view from the other side. And what a view it is - with a 2 day visit from youngest sister - with whom I have spent very little time over the past 5 years. She is an out of state sister with a busy life. Whenever she's visited before she's stayed with Daddy and I have driven over to Richmond to share a brief few moments with her. But Dad was the focus so we had little time to catch up. This time, though she spent her days with Mama and doing City Stuff, she made the long trek to my house for dinner and music and talk. Turns out, she's a dawn prowler too so personal computer time those days was extremely limited. I'm on vacation this week so work was extremely demanding as I crammed every last thing I could think to do in 2011 into the short 3 and a half days I had left. The county gave us Friday off and I skipped out early on Thursday to go to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens' Festival of Lights.

This trip had been postponed from the previous Friday due to rain but the only day that promised dry weather when we rescheduled it was Thursday the 22. Promised, that is, by weather dot com guys - who got it wrong.  Fortunately, about 20 intrepid carolers stood in the rain, beneath sheltering umbrellas gleaned from half a dozen car trunks and serenaded each other ... there were no crowds, of course.




It was never a deluge - just rain - and there were indoor delights to enjoy as well and even some happy bright lights on the drive home.

Cousin C came home with me and stayed Friday and half of Saturday. Her dad and brother showed up Friday for Oyster Pie and deer hunting on Christmas Eve. Hunting was the operative word - finding never happened. Deer are smart - the not only know which parts of the forest are flooded, they know which pieces are posted.

Cousin C loves to make things with TheQueen. We share that fiddly craftiness and both of us are handy in the kitchen too. In fact, she blended the biscuit dough as well as any pro - cutting the fat into the flour till it was perfect. Everyone raved about her biscuit crust on the oyster pie and there was not a crumb left! She also helped with the candied grapefruit peel - a true seasonal delicacy - because I can't stop eating the stuff. I only make it once a year and only at Christmas time, even though grapefruit will be available for several months.

As darkness fell, BD and I cozied up together while I knitted on his Christmas gift ... which he did not realize was for him ... I'm 'always knitting' so whatever's in my lap at any given moment is 'just more of that knitting stuff'. Thus I never try to hide what I'm making from him. He's still surprised when it's finished and, fortunately, glad when he finds out it's for him. There was music. There were the chapters from Luke and Mathew. There was the climb up the stairs to bed....




And then it was Christmas Morning and he did! He did come - leaving presents under the tree - filling stockings. And either Santa understands or Mrs. Clause is a knitter because the longed for set of Knitters Pride Dreamz Interchangeable needles was underneath the tree along with some knitting books, a new blank journal, and blue pens! It was a very bookish Christmas - for TheQueen has access to secret stores of literary treasure and of course, she listens to what ThePrince Himself says throughout the year - and when he expresses a wish, she notes it down. She is a Very Good TheQueen.  Somebody will have hours and hours of armchair sailing this winter.

There was a Christmas morning phone call from LD who is spending the month abroad visiting a special friend. We miss him, but he generously sends us photos of his travels through quaint European villages and deep into their swept and tidy forests. There were more phone calls, from and to family who are also far away. There was BH to join us for our traditional stupor producing Christmas Feast of standing rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, peas and broccoli.

Released from gift knitting I picked up Bricca with new enthusiasm and a new game plan too. I'm making this one longer than I'd planned - not tunic length, but certainly more traditionally long - 28 inches probably. With my new needles and a box of oatmeal colored tweed upstairs in the guest room - I am determined to finish Bricca by the New Year. It's almost all stockinette knitting - it should zip along nicely. There will be photos.

And so - we have climbed the mountain that is Christmas and ahead of me lies the beautiful plain of Vacation - I'm off till the 3rd. Today I'll visit Mama. Tomorrow I will go to the gym. One day this week there will be a trip to F'burg with knitter friends because I want to look inside the new yarn shop on Williams Street. Whatever time is left will be spent watching all the Christmas movies I was unable to see before the big day. I'm still humming Christmas music and still wishing that, for all of you, may your days be merry and bright.