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Christmas felt almost anticlimactic after our big advent calendar/music/cookie/movie/reading selection lead-in!  We had a quiet morning of gift-opening and board games (and A Christmas Story, of course!).  I was finally able to reveal Todd's big gift:  a hand-knitted Star Wars sweater!  I found the basic design  in a database of Star Wars patterns, tweaked it very slightly...

...and added the characters to a plain men's sweater.  I think the final result was a winner!

Before starting this sweater, I had basically stopped knitting.  My fingers would get so sore after just a few days because of my "death grip" issues.  Sure enough, this sweater was a real labor of love.  As I knitted slowly and painfully over the course of several weeks, I decided that I would discard my cobbled-together method of knitting forever.  I would learn a way that worked for me, without finger pain.  The research began...

...and I think I've settled on an unusual method called Portuguese knitting (tried once before but ended up defaulting to my incorrect style after a while).  With Portuguese knitting, you drape the yarn strand around your neck, so there's no finger-squeezing to worry about.  I'm knitting a scarf/shawl wrap now that's made up of simple knits and purls, so I'm excited to switch to this new method to see how it works in a practical setting.  One New Year's goal already accomplished!

I did try something new for Christmas Eve that I'd love to become a tradition for us.  I made homemade biscotti and whipped hot chocolate, which is basically regular whipped cream with cocoa powder added.  I overfilled our cups with hot milk and made a huge mess...

...but it was still delicious.  Here's the official "glamour shot" from the website, which is apparently how it would've looked if I hadn't filled the mugs so much:

Photo courtesy of Hummingbird on High

Now Christmas is over and we can focus on a bright and shining new year!  So far we've had cold weather with no snow but beautiful blue skies.

It's been cold enough to keep the ponds frozen...or at least semi-frozen.

Sometimes you can see interesting patterns on ice as well as snow.  On our front pond, there's a line of tiny steps, and then a long, sweeping slide.  Was it a cat?  Muskrat?  Fox?  I couldn't get a good angle of sight, but I'm so curious!

We took a nice hike around the property on Christmas day.

Lots of wildlife.  ;)

It's been nice to be out and about, although I'd love a good snowstorm!  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying thc cold, sunny days.  The sunrises, in particular, have been amazing.  It's wonderful to sit at my office computer and watch the skies change.  First it's dramatic and dark...

...and then it slowly begins to lighten and turn golden.  

I had a beautiful "winter view" from my office at our old place in South Carolina, too.  Contemplating the beauty of nature in these tiny ways has really helped me learn to notice and appreciate the small, everyday things in life.  One of the keys to happiness, I believe!

Have a great week!