So Christmas was yesterday, and despite no naps, everyone had a great time, although Elsa and Chase were just about conked out on their feet by 8pm last night. We only had a couple of minor meltdowns. :) I think everyone enjoyed their presents, and I certainly enjoyed mine. We had fabulous baked gluten-free macaroni & cheese, baked beans, and Honeybaked Ham, plus peach and apple/cranberry pie. I brought home lots of leftovers, too.
Since I'm off today, all my usual Sunday stuff got pushed to today, so I am doing laundry and baking bread (sourdough!) today in preparation for the week ahead. One of these years, I will take off the week between Christmas and New Year's, just for the novelty of it.
So anyway, every year I make a list of presents I received so that in later years, I can remember when I received them. Thus the only reason why I know I received my 3-in-1 crockpot for Christmas in 2007, and my cordless drill is from Christmas 2005. That's honestly the only reason why I remember such things. :)
(And that probably explains why the cordless drill's battery seems to not hold a charge for very long lately.)
This year is no exception, but I have a story to tell about one of the gifts I received. My goal this year was to not buy myself anything when I purchased Christmas gifts. I'm really bad about that; I'll add something to my cart for myself just because it's on sale, or whatever. I have many justifications, and I'm very good at justifying purchases.
So my goal this year was no gifts for myself. I did pretty well; I think the only thing I actually bought for myself was a knife sharpener and knife set, and that wasn't terribly expensive.
Way back in September, I got it in my head that I needed a new pair of slippers, a new pair of sandals, and a new pair of clogs. This is all true. My slippers are dying, my summer sandals are dead, and I'm afraid of wearing out my clogs, which I love, and not be able to replace them.
But what ended up in my cart were boots. Reasonably priced boots, yes, and in a color I desperately need (dark grey, to go with black) but I really didn't need to spend that money on myself, so I took them out of my cart and ended up not buying any shoes at all. I'll still have to find a pair of sandals before summer, and I've been wearing my slippers even though I don't dare wear them out in public (and I got a pair of slipper boots for Christmas, so that should help anyway), and I'll look for a new pair of clogs eventually.
Well, my sister Emily bought me that very same pair of boots for Christmas. And I had to laugh when I opened them, because they were the exact same color I chose, correct size, and everything. What a perfect present. :) And since my other pair of Teva boots are from 2004, I hope these last just as long.
I also received a Dremel! Now, this should be a fun tool to use. I can foresee all sorts of interesting uses for it. I also got a selection of woodworking tools that I actually had Dad bid on for me at an auction, and then when I went to pay him for them, he said they were wrapped, so I said yay! There's one mystery tool that's really kind of cool, but the book I'm going to use my Amazon giftcard for should help with an identification.
I received a couple of books from my wishlist on Amazon--one on Root Cellars, one on Wilderness Survival, and one on growing whole grains. Jess also got me a cookbook from a local author as well.
Since I told Mom I didn't need any pajamas (she likes to buy everyone pajamas every year, but I have so many pajamas that I really can't fit any more in the trunk I store them in) she bought me a cute sweater instead, which will be nice to wear to work. She also bought me a flowering teapot, with tea; Emily bought one for Mom as well, so we tried hers out last night. It was neat!
Bekah was very creative this year and made everyone soap--she's going to maybe sell soap at the craft shows next year. She also did the cookie mix in a jar, which should be tasty; I'm thinking I'll make my cookies over New Year's weekend. Yum. And she also bought me a set of custard tarts and a pie plate in the Country Kitchen pattern by Royal Worcester. Found, of course, in the best place of all, Goodwill.
Jess bought me an art doll "woodland fairy", which she found at a craft show, and who will grace the top of my desk with my handcarved monk and my Beanie Baby Vulture. (My muses, you realize.) She also got me some plum colored Romney roving to spin. Dad found a cane with a carved rattlesnake at an auction and wrapped it for me--it's really neat--and also a snake-shaped hand-wrought cast iron hook to hand on my wall somewhere. I will have to figure out a place to put it.
There were other things as well, including giftcards, but this post is getting long and I have yet to eat lunch (leftovers, of course) so I'll end by saying it was a good Christmas, an exhausting Christmas, but a good one. And I came home late last night (past 9:30pm!) and unpacked the car, and decided not to even turn on the computer, so I went upstairs and read the book I'm reading on my Nook (I'm actually rereading the complete works of Agatha Christie, and this one's The Secret Adversary) and then I went to bed.
Whew!
Since I'm off today, all my usual Sunday stuff got pushed to today, so I am doing laundry and baking bread (sourdough!) today in preparation for the week ahead. One of these years, I will take off the week between Christmas and New Year's, just for the novelty of it.
So anyway, every year I make a list of presents I received so that in later years, I can remember when I received them. Thus the only reason why I know I received my 3-in-1 crockpot for Christmas in 2007, and my cordless drill is from Christmas 2005. That's honestly the only reason why I remember such things. :)
(And that probably explains why the cordless drill's battery seems to not hold a charge for very long lately.)
This year is no exception, but I have a story to tell about one of the gifts I received. My goal this year was to not buy myself anything when I purchased Christmas gifts. I'm really bad about that; I'll add something to my cart for myself just because it's on sale, or whatever. I have many justifications, and I'm very good at justifying purchases.
So my goal this year was no gifts for myself. I did pretty well; I think the only thing I actually bought for myself was a knife sharpener and knife set, and that wasn't terribly expensive.
Way back in September, I got it in my head that I needed a new pair of slippers, a new pair of sandals, and a new pair of clogs. This is all true. My slippers are dying, my summer sandals are dead, and I'm afraid of wearing out my clogs, which I love, and not be able to replace them.
But what ended up in my cart were boots. Reasonably priced boots, yes, and in a color I desperately need (dark grey, to go with black) but I really didn't need to spend that money on myself, so I took them out of my cart and ended up not buying any shoes at all. I'll still have to find a pair of sandals before summer, and I've been wearing my slippers even though I don't dare wear them out in public (and I got a pair of slipper boots for Christmas, so that should help anyway), and I'll look for a new pair of clogs eventually.
Well, my sister Emily bought me that very same pair of boots for Christmas. And I had to laugh when I opened them, because they were the exact same color I chose, correct size, and everything. What a perfect present. :) And since my other pair of Teva boots are from 2004, I hope these last just as long.
I also received a Dremel! Now, this should be a fun tool to use. I can foresee all sorts of interesting uses for it. I also got a selection of woodworking tools that I actually had Dad bid on for me at an auction, and then when I went to pay him for them, he said they were wrapped, so I said yay! There's one mystery tool that's really kind of cool, but the book I'm going to use my Amazon giftcard for should help with an identification.
I received a couple of books from my wishlist on Amazon--one on Root Cellars, one on Wilderness Survival, and one on growing whole grains. Jess also got me a cookbook from a local author as well.
Since I told Mom I didn't need any pajamas (she likes to buy everyone pajamas every year, but I have so many pajamas that I really can't fit any more in the trunk I store them in) she bought me a cute sweater instead, which will be nice to wear to work. She also bought me a flowering teapot, with tea; Emily bought one for Mom as well, so we tried hers out last night. It was neat!
Bekah was very creative this year and made everyone soap--she's going to maybe sell soap at the craft shows next year. She also did the cookie mix in a jar, which should be tasty; I'm thinking I'll make my cookies over New Year's weekend. Yum. And she also bought me a set of custard tarts and a pie plate in the Country Kitchen pattern by Royal Worcester. Found, of course, in the best place of all, Goodwill.
Jess bought me an art doll "woodland fairy", which she found at a craft show, and who will grace the top of my desk with my handcarved monk and my Beanie Baby Vulture. (My muses, you realize.) She also got me some plum colored Romney roving to spin. Dad found a cane with a carved rattlesnake at an auction and wrapped it for me--it's really neat--and also a snake-shaped hand-wrought cast iron hook to hand on my wall somewhere. I will have to figure out a place to put it.
There were other things as well, including giftcards, but this post is getting long and I have yet to eat lunch (leftovers, of course) so I'll end by saying it was a good Christmas, an exhausting Christmas, but a good one. And I came home late last night (past 9:30pm!) and unpacked the car, and decided not to even turn on the computer, so I went upstairs and read the book I'm reading on my Nook (I'm actually rereading the complete works of Agatha Christie, and this one's The Secret Adversary) and then I went to bed.
Whew!
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