Counting Down

Well, last week at the Salmon Lake Workshop was a blur. But in the end, the output was good - two mini shawls, two cowls, two pairs of prairie boot slippers, a mini runner and a batch of ornaments.

I also spent most of this weekend in the car - to Oakville on Saturday - to Toronto - to Peterborough -  then back to Toronto -  then back to Parry Sound yesterday. It was Rick's mom's 86th birthday and since we aren't seeing her for Christmas, it gave us a chance to get together. The Toronto leg of the trip was to pick up both kids and then take them back again.

I managed to get 1.5 socks knit, so it was a good use of sitting time. Socks are the perfect car project.

Since I haven't pulled a loop in a few weeks, I decided to share my Christmas home with you.
I have an ulterior motive, since this will be my memory of what I did when I pull everything out again next year. I enjoy seeing pictures of what others have done, so hope this is not too self-serving to post these here.

This is the mantle over the fireplace, which has the garland from the old front hall. Rick found some battery-powered lights, but they are the LED ones, so they don't really "twinkle". But better than nothing.

My snowman collection ended up in the front hallway, as the seasonal welcoming committee They are a collection from various aspects of my life, including the little paper mache one that I made with Matt's class in grade 2 - he's 24 now. And there's one hooked fellow in there, who I just remembered needs new arms.

The tree ended up going upstairs in the loft, because the logical place next to the fireplace would have blocked access to the deck which we have to clear of snow. Benefit of being up there is that you can see it from below too and we will get to sit on the living room furniture from the old house to open our presents. A bit of the old and new combined.

The windows in the great room got a bit of green behind the old lamps.

The kitchen window sill got a primitive santa and trees - sorry for the weird angle, the light was too strong behind the glass.

The driftwood Santa collection ended up bookending the fireplace.

The sconce decorations from the old house ended up finding new homes - these ones on some hooks on the powder room door.

The other two went into the kitchen.

The creche my sister Nancy made for me is nestled among pics of the kids on the birch sideboard.

And some other little cut out wood figures are keeping a moose lamp company in the hall.

I will put some "live" greenery around some of these pieces on Christmas Eve. That way, we'll get the wonderful smells without too many needles ahead of time.

Nearly everything found a new spot. A few wreaths got left out, but I'm sure I'll come up with some new ideas next year. Can't wait for the kids to see it all.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and All the Best for 2011 from me to you. Thanks for stopping by and reading. It's fun sharing the stories with the folks who enjoy them. I'll post again next Monday and report on the Santa escapades.