On the Second Day of Christmas

We had a beautiful, quiet and snowy Christmas day.  We missed being with some of our family – some due to distance, some due to the foot or so of snow we got, but phone calls and face time and Skype came into service.

The children were able to decipher all their clues to figure out the tags on the gifts.  We had our traditional homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and our newer traditional lasagna for supper.

The day after Christmas always leaves me feeling a little lost.  After spending so much time preparing and making and prepping and baking and wrapping and shipping, the second day of Christmas is so much less busy that I never know exactly what to do with myself.  So I spent a little time cleaning up and a little time keeping my hands busy.

I fixed the bedskirt for Emma’s bed.  It had torn a little some weeks ago and I hadn’t had time to fix it.  While I was at it, I put a line of stitches right down the middle to shorten the width from a full bed size to a twin bed size.  It didn’t take long at all, but it was good to get it done and back on her bed.

I also finished the sweater that I started for Emma some months ago.  I blocked it last night and just need to pick up a few buttons.  I’m determined to do that this week.

And I broke out the needle felting tools my family gave me.  I’ve been itching to try needle felting for some years, but never had the tools to do it, as you need special needles that are barbed to make the wool felt together.  I had no idea what I was going to make, I just started playing with the wool, wanting to keep things small so I wouldn’t “waste” the roving.  In the end, I have a little gnome.  His hair is made from yarn I spun quite some time ago – perfect for his little handmade self.  I have no idea what I’ll do with him, but Sophie decided that he needs a family, so it looks like I’ve been assigned a project.

I wasn’t the only one busy making – Husband and Zach worked in the garage on a project for a friend of Zach’s, finally having time at home together to do it.  Emma and Sophie turned to the sewing machine to make pillows, mattresses and quilts for mini dolls gifted to them by their oldest sister.  Maddie broke out her new sketch books and spent some time drawing after being rather uninspired for a long time.  (There’s something about new supplies that can be so inspiring, isn’t there?)

We all enjoyed the sparkle and glitter of ice on the trees and newly fallen snow on the ground, pausing to peer out the windows to enjoy the view.  We’re in for a cold snap this week, so I think we’ll continue on staying in and quiet (except for those who must go out to earn their pay).

We won’t be taking down all our decorations yet.  The last few years we’ve been lightly observing the twelve days of Christmas – enjoying these days after Christmas Day to linger in the celebration, and since our tree is still alive and well and not drying at all (a bonus of cutting it fresh ourselves), there’s no need to remove it yet.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, my friends!