an Alien concept...

 Christmas!

It's been a busy season.  It was a rush, but I did get a couple of Christmas gifts made.  First, this hat/glove set (Beeswax)...a real delight to knit, even if knitting anything with cables automatically doubles the knitting time.

The second was a fun project for Todd.  Our plastic Scrabble tile bag is in shreds, so I decided to make a new one with fun fabric.  This bag was a real challenge for me, since I have a terrible time following written directions and there were several new techniques involved...but...I love the finished product.

The bottom has pleats (!!!) so that it will sit nicely.

It's lined, and has drawstrings at the top to keep the tiles contained.  I love this bag.

A lot of usual Christmas traditions here.  A different-flavored Christmas cookie each night in the week leading up to Christmas, all flavored from a basic sugar cookie dough:

A week of Elf on the Shelf, culminating in one of my favorites...an Alien-themed scene.  Todd and I are huge fans of the (first two) movies, and it didn't take long to stitch the basic Facehugger shape out of felt a couple of days before Christmas Eve.  Our "household Elf" is fairly sinister, so this is a fitting ending for his week!  :)

We watched loads of Christmas movies, spent Christmas day in pajamas, and had some delicious homemade sweet bread.

What we Midwesterners call Mexican Wedding Cakes, but Todd calls Russian Tea Cakes...

A slightly stuffed...but happy!...day!

The kittens loved the huge piles of wrapping paper, although we were infringing on their territory a bit.  They've claimed the floor space by the window, both cramming into a small dog bed there.  It's so sweet, though, that we don't mind a bit.  Kitten love!!

There's quite a lot to see, and always nice to have a snuggle buddy!  It's become the popular hangout spot in the house.  Even Borga wants in on the action!

Just one more day of leisure before we get back to the daily grind.  Temperatures have been cold here, although we missed the big snowfall that other places received.  Still, it was harsh enough outside to keep us inside!

Looking forward to a final vacation day today...tidying up the Christmas mess, eating leftovers, and curling up in front of the fire with a good book.

Hope you had a great holiday season!

gorn adorn

 It's been a long two weeks but CHRISTMAS TREE UP!

Mantle was simple, tree boughs from our fir trees.

Bring on the ornaments!  Old favorites...

And we always add new ones each year.  This year, I bought a possum ornament for Todd, in honor of our nightly guest:

Todd topped me by finding this Star Trek Gorn ornament, which I love so much that I'm going to keep it out all year.  I've been reading a lot about/trying to defeat my own "lizard brain" so this is especially perfect.

taken from this scene...

The cats have shown some interest in the tree...

...but seem more interested in the displaced chair that we moved to accommodate the tree.

♩♪Saturday night's alright for fighting...♪♪

Most of the photos I've taken lately have been strictly cats...

...because I was sick for over a week and very slow to move past it.  I had a low-key birthday...I did make it out for a Christmas choir performance, and had a delicious brownie at home.

I don't believe in cutting corners on birthday treats, but this year's cake was no sugar...no flour...no oil...no butter...no egg...no dairy.  I'd made it the week before and it was so delicious, I wanted it again.

The World's Healthiest Brownie

(modified from Chocolate Covered Katie)

1 cup pumpkin puree

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar substitute (I used Swerve)

1/4 cup chocolate chips (so, a little sugar...)

Mix it all together, bake it at 325 in a standard pie dish for 20 minutes, and put it in the refrigerator to firm it up.  Top it with some lightly sweetened cream cheese if you don't mind dairy and it's ready to go!  It's really rich and delicious.  

Birthday done, Christmas cards out, tree is up, and now we're focusing on our Christmas rush at work.  It's a lovely time of year and I'm hoping to rally within a few days to really get our massive Christmas week planned out properly.  I can't wait!

Have a great week!

i believe in miracles, since you came along...you kitten thing

 More freaky weather, with wildly fluctuating temperatures.  Gorgeous, dramatic sunrises...

...and strange December fogs.

Just like last week, our muskrats frisked whenever the temperature crept into the upper fifties.

I have binoculars in the living room so that I can easily watch their antics.  

We've been a bit slow to get our Christmas decorations up, but things are finally moving along.  Although the real Christmas celebration doesn't start until December 15th, the tree is up and mostly decorated.  It's smaller than our usual tree, but fits the space well.

I love seeing my favorite ornaments.  Some high notes:

This year, I decided to finally put up the candles that I purchased in Germany close to 20 years ago.  They are real candles...

...in little tin basins.  The clips are tiny pinecones!

Todd says that we absolutely, positively, unequivocally must not light these candles.  Some crazy talk about FIRE (eye roll)...but I'm enjoying them in their current state, too!  

Speaking of pinecones, I saw these cookies on Sprinklebakes...

photo courtesy of Sprinklebakes

...and had to buy the mold.  

You push a nice stout dough (like gingerbread) into the mold and peel out the shaped cookie.  It holds the shape nicely when it bakes.  This is great for fall AND winter!

In other news, here we grow again.

Yes, we are trying again with a THIRD cat.  After we lost our dear Bosewichte in February, I've felt his absence terribly.  It's funny...I didn't own a cat growing up, although I 've found several photos of myself with them in childhood.

That must have planted a seed, because when I finally got my first cat in my late 20s, it was instant love.  It didn't take me long to go from having one cat to two.  With a concession to Todd's allergies, we remained a two-cat household.  Returning to just one cat after Bosewichte's death felt...wrong.  

It didn't work out with the first two cats that we tried post-Bosewichte.  Both were young males and highly aggressive toward Tabitha, their relationships finally degenerating into constant biting and scratching after weeks of trying to keep the peace.  After Tabitha started stress-licking huge bald spots on her body, we had to return them both (and both were happily adopted within a week!).  I said, NO MORE CATS.  Tabitha is too small, and creeping into her later years.  She's also grumpy and territorial, and just doesn't like other animals.  Bosewichte was special, but now she's destined to be an only cat. 

But...cats.

So I decided to try again, with a twist.  Instead of a young male, we adopted an older female.  She's around Tabitha's age, and so incredibly sweet.  She cuddles in the bed all night and trots along beside us during the day, never missing an opportunity to rub against our ankles.  She was declawed by a previous owner, and tiny - maybe only six pounds.  She is the epitome of harmless and inoffensive.

Tabitha doesn't like her.  

So far it's been outraged looks, lots of hissing, and one cat fight (likely instigated by Tabitha).  I'm holding out hope that they will settle into an uneasy truce, but I've also held off on naming her.  I want both cats to have a happy home, so we will have to wait and see if neutral coexistence is possible.

But just look at that face!

I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle here.

Have a great week!  

dozing by the dozer...

I think I'm enjoying this year's Advent calendar even more than Todd!  I couldn't wait for him to open these new Star Wars snowflakes that I made for one recent Advent gift:  the Rancor, the Wampa, and R2-D2.

This rounds out our "collection" nicely!

I'm a total sucker for December.  I love when it's sunny, because the skies are so gorgeous!

The trees and sky reflected in the pond...

When it's sunny, the horses are out...

...and we're out, too, taking a little jaunt around the property.

Of course, we've usually got company.

Claudia hunts more on sunny days, I've noticed.  I can see her working the fields from my office window.

A few moments, later, I usually hear a yowling from the front porch.  She's sharing her bounty...and that's the Christmas spirit, isn't it?

Sunny days are great...but to be honest, I prefer overcast winter days.  I turn on all the Christmas lights, and leave them on.  Sometimes we have a fire (and ALWAYS a cat)...

...and it's so cozy in contrast to the grey outdoors. I love seeing all of our beloved ornaments illuminated.  They all have some sort of meaning.  Animals that we've had a special connection to, like Pepito and Pepita from South Carolina...

One of our old cats, Clotilde...

...and various milestones, such as a new house.

I didn't want 2020's ornament to bring up memories of a less-than-stellar year, so I decided to make a felt bulldozer, to remind us of all that we've accomplished in rehabbing this property.  We've definitely had a few bulldozers around!

Hmmm...maybe I should've made the ornament orange and white?

I also love seeing beloved ornaments from my childhood, and favorite ornaments that I've made, like this felt wool coat from the 1940s with teeny attached gloves...

...and the large Scandinavian mitten ornament that I cross-stitched a few years ago.

No matter what kind of weather we're having, the sunrises are amazing.  I have the perfect view from my office window, and they're always different.

I look forward to it every morning.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the lights right now, even if you're stuck at home.

Have a great week!