The tree went up last weekend and we decorated. It was an equal balance of kids helping and Mama pulling rank and relegating certain holiday items to the play area downstairs. The girls decorated the tree all by themselves (only 3 broken glass balls) and we taller humans finished up on the out-of-reach areas.
A simple mantel.
Here's a better shot of the room and you can see the penny rug above the mantel.
Okay, the holidays are heating up around here. I feel like I am doing a crazy two-step dance of making homemade gifts and having fun holiday activities (going to plays, seeing lights, outdoor events, etc.) while not over-scheduling. I actually think that I have cleared our social obligations/events after this week completely. I feel so good about it getting less busy before Christmas/Solstice than more busy. We shall see if this can be maintained. I am my own worst enemy here.
Randoms:
- I will be on AM Northwest again this Thursday (this is our local morning show on channel 2 KATU) between the hour of 9-10am. I will be adapting a technique from my new book to embellish holiday napkins. Hopefully hilarity will ensure. Or at least, disaster will be avoided. There will be bleach involved. Chemical burn potential + live television = total comedy, right?
- The newest Tie One On gallery is up over here on flickr showing all the amazing Peppermint Candy aprons. They are divine and so festive. Please take a look and leave a comment. I will post the next theme after the New Year, and if you have a good ideas, let me know—
- I really really want to get this game for the girls, Wildcraft
. It's a game for learning how to pick and prepare wild herbs for medicinal uses. Um, my awesome alarm just went haywire. You can also get it at Mountain Rose Herbs. I have yet to find it locally here in a shop, so I may just have to order it. Update** You can also get it direct from the makers, Learning Herbs.
- We celebrate Solstice here, big time, and only handmade gifts are exchanged—ones the girls decide to make for each other, with help from us. I am so stoked that this year Delia will be making Sadie stilts (using the tool box full of real tools that her uncle got her for her birthday) and Sadie is making Delia a doll quilt (which she has already started with Grammie's help.) Baby is getting a bear, made by the two of them. Listening to them try to NOT tell each other what they are making is pretty funny. Like last year, when Delia said her Solstice gift for Sadie was a secret, but she would say it was "doll shaped."
