It was a very Merry Christmas

I hope your holiday was happy and peaceful as was ours!  We laughed.  We cried.  We told funny stories.  Just like it's supposed to be. 

I cooked.  I cooked a lot.  We do food right!  We had Bubble bread and coffee while we opened gifts. 

And, I made an apple pie...before baking.

And, after baking!  It was real good.  Could have used a tad more sugar and could have baked ten more minutes.  But, it was still good. 

I don't know why Sydney looks surprised.  She knew we were taking pictures.  I did take my apron off before we ate.  It was restraining around the middle...couldn't have that. 

Always done right.  If I want the kid to know my traditions, I have to do them for her...no matter how much trouble they are.  We had a wonderful Christmas.  Family and love in abundance.  Even the kid was pleasant.  And, we all know how difficult that can be for a teenager.  I think she was surprised I didn't make her help.  But, honestly, I decided it was good for her to be left out.  I'm trying to make her appreciate what I have to offer.  And, sometimes that means making her help.  And, sometimes, it means waiting for her to want to help.  (Okay, I know that may not work...but please don't burst my bubble)

On Saturday, I cleaned.  I washed dishes that have been in cabinets for a while, and put them away, clean and usable again.  I did that most of the day.  It was a great, low stress way to spend the day after Christmas.  I'm pretty sure this whole cleaning and organizing thing is related to the end of the year.  I sure hope so.  I've hit a cabinet or two every day or so, just emptying it, throwing crap away, and putting it back together in an accessible way.  I own too much stuff and am taking a hard look at it.  On Christmas eve, I pulled out all the table cloths and tried them on the table.  If they didn't fit, they either became drawer liners or are headed to Goodwill.  I need to do the same with my closet.  But, that's a task for another day.  Cleaning is good.  Cleaning is change.  Cleaning is healing.  For me anyway.  It's a good sign.  Rob always knows that when I start cleaning, things are going to get better.  And, they were pretty darn good before.  But, healing is good, too.  The holidays are always emotional.  Some good and some bad.  And, moving past the bad stuff is always good.  Rob and I have spent a lot of time getting to know one another lately.  And, some of telling about ourselves means we are moving past the hold those things have on us.  For me, that often means saying things, then walking away and feeling about them when I'm alone.  And, washing dishes and cleaning cabinets means two things.  I'm thinking about things and getting better.  And, my house is clean enough that I can clean the places company doesn't ever get to see.  (very big smile)

And, between the cooking and the cleaning and the loving and the family time, I quilted.  I hand quilted until my fingers hurt.  I have almost finished the sashing.  After that, there are just some straight lines along one edge, and then I can go back and "fix" things that aren't right.  And, that's okay because this is a full sized hand quilted quilt and my skills got better over the years I've been working on it, and the importance of the project has grown as it's gotten better and better.  So, a little re-doing is a good thing.

And, speaking of redoing, I have this quilt out.  You can barely see it, but between the off-white flying geese border and the two sizes of squares border, there is an eighth inch line between two strips of black.  That line was a mess.  So, I took off those two borders and yesterday afternoon, I remade the narrow strip (better!) and put both borders back on.  Again, rework that was worth it.  Now, I'm trying to decide what happens next.  I've got the final border laid in, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the final border yet.  We will have to see.  The quilt show isn't until September so I have plenty of time to decide.

Everybody enjoy the last Monday of the year!  A new year.  It's a great time for a change.  Great chances to make things better. 

Lane