A Handmade Christmas 2014

Blogging!

Wait… how do you do this again?

Oh yeah, start with some sort of catchy intro, type thing…

So, um, hey readers! Long time no chat! 

 Ugh, I'm out of practice! :P

I’m not here to make apologies about that, though. I’m here to be my classy, witty, glamorous self! ;)
...Actually, that’s not true either (well, everything but the witty part, hehe!).

I’m here to share with you the best Christmas ever! And naturally, that’s whichever Christmas was latest. In this case, the wonderful Christmas 2014.

In previous years, our handmade Christmases have been rather chaotic affairs, mostly taking place on Christmas Eve due to our handmade toy shop being so busy during the Christmas season. However, this year, we weren't busy quite so close to Christmas and the handmade part went very smoothly. In fact, the handmade aspect to our Christmas was exceptionally enjoyable this year, methought.

Mom and Lizzy largely outdid themselves on the treat table this year. So many varieties! Mom remarked that there seem to be quite a bit of leftover cookies this year, to which Andrew replied, "we're trying!" haha, and we are!

 Our handmade gift opening, as usual, was such an exciting celebratory affair!

Can you tell what I got? I couldn't.
I think I was still palming it and trying to figure out what it was in this picture...

There were probably a lot of little girls getting Frozen dolls for Christmas this year, and while Donna was one of them, I tend to think her handmade dolls were cuter than the ones the stores offer!

Okay, so without further teasing, I'll show you all the handmade gifts that we unwrapped... 

Donna got Elsa and Anna Frozen dolls from her big sisters. Annie made the dolls, hand painted the faces, and spent two days brushing yarn out and making their wigs. I sewed their dresses.

Johnny got a three foot long Toothless dragon stuffed animal from the How to Train Your Dragon movies (of which he's a massive fan) as well as the original book series to the movies. I made him using a wonderful free pattern I found online here.

Lizzy got a wooden art easel that expands up to six feet tall and is largely adjustable in every direction. Andrew made it from his own design. She was very happy!

Mike's gift probably had the most girl hours in it, mostly from Theresa. It's a football field quilt that seem to expand in size and detail as it went along, until it was super nice and accidentally out-shining the rest of our gifts. Oops!

 

In return, Mike made Theresa two large produce gathering baskets. The produce can be washed in the basket's wide mesh before even coming in the house. Mike laminated maple together to make the bent handles. These are as pretty as they are practical!

Steve got a light up sign for his bedroom door, with his youtube logo painted on by Lizzy. The light alerts this noisy family to be quiet when Steve is recording tutorials for his channel.

Stephen made Annie a beautiful jewelery box with a rounded lid, magnet closer and multi-colored wood types. It was complete with several lovely pieces of jewelry.

Turns out my gift was a new bookshelf, with a rounded curvature that means you don't need to use bookends to hold up the books! It's pieced with different colored wood mixed in, and has little compartments underneath. I'm way beyond happy with it. It's beautiful, unique, practical, and exactly what I didn't know I wanted!

 

In return, I sewed up Andrew some insulated curtains to warm up and brighten his music studio room. 

 Mom got some comfy crocheted slippers from Annie, complete with jute soles and rustic buttons. Just what she wanted! :)

And a produce bowl from Andrew, which is said to keep produce fresher longer with it's air flow-y design.

 I thoroughly enjoyed making Dad a big minions couch pillow. He has a thing for minions, particularly this scene, but then, who doesn't? But it may have been this Christmas short that set him off. :D

 And Johnny made Dad this beautiful wooden version of the computer game, Pong--his own design and creation! He was very excited to gift it and we were all quite proud of our little brother. :)

Finally, the boys had a big family gift: a new chess set! Mom had been asking for one for some time. It's far bigger and beautifuler than any expectation, and we were all surprised that Steven and Andrew had time to spare on extra family gifts. We're so spoiled! :D

 The rest of our Christmas was spent relaxing in snowy landscapes with critters. For Liz, it was horses and for me, a quiet walk by the river with the dogs.

The next day the Porkies finally opened!!! Whoop whoop! 

 Let the snowboarding begin!!!

The timing was perfect after our busy season, and now we've been spending every day this week tumbling down those snow covered hills, more or less gracefully. (Some of us have style, others: bruises. Stylish bruises. Since I can barely walk, I guess I fall in the latter category... probably headfirst, but I'll work that out with style! ;)

Finally, here's our 2014 Christmas picture:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Push, Push, Push!

Even though I'm in so much denial right now that I would sooner acknowledge a person as color blind than admit that the trees were changing color, it's hard not to notice that things are starting to get busy. As Mom said, the days are getting into "push, push, push" mode (...though that sounds more like a labor/delivery room chant, haha!).

 It's a sobering kind of busy, where the nip of cool air in the mornings sets a subtle urgency for the rest of the day's tasks. The firewood has to get stacked, the potatoes harvested, the cellar cleaned, the apples juiced, the beans snapped, the animal shelter repaired, and so many other fall chores that come with owning a homestead.

 

 (Juicing apples with a washing machine. Yes, it's as cool as it sounds!)

 It's hard not to become overwhelmed (actually, I'll go ahead and admit that I'm quite overwhelmed certain days). It's those times that I can be grateful for the daily chores that have become monotonous routine over the years. Things like milking, dishes, and folding laundry provide a certain monotonous background for the mind to work on solving other issues.

Collecting seed heads. 

Growing barley grass (for animals) veg, fish (experimental aquaponics system) and other stuff in the green house. It all requires a lot of attention before winter...

 

If you're concerning yourself that we're overworking ourselves, you needn't be. ;) We're quite skilled in the art of recreation as well, and rarely miss an evening horseback ride or some game of sports.

Donna getting riding lessons from Theresa.

 That smile...

Here's Sammy Bear, case you were wondering how she's grown...

..And yeah... that's a goat...

 

Look at this picture!

 I had to take a moment to appreciate the special bond between horses and their girl's as I studied that one... but maybe that's just me. :)

 BFF horse selfie!

Another horse selfie.

 

  Beach night. Trying to drag summer out just a little longer!

 Hope you're all doing well and getting your fall chores done. Stay positive!

 

Happy Places

Everyone has their happy place. 

I think mine is somewhere between a freshly bloomed lily and a happy wild mess of zinnas.

For some, it might be sitting by your best friend in a sunny pasture.

Others might find it in the satisfaction of hard work turned into a year's supply of garlic.

 

Or in that miniscule space between sky and ground at the top of a mountain.

 

 

 Or maybe between the four legs of a colt you've raised.

 (Who recognizes this little boy, Guster, from last winter?)

All grown up now!

 And lots of people (myself included) discover it in the diminishing light of a setting sun across crashing waves.

Or in that ring of slightly warmer sand around a beach fire.

 

 Wherever your happy places are, I hope this summer is providing you lots of time to enjoy them and explore new ones!