Countdown to Christmas

 I had planned to do a series of short posts leading up to Christmas, but my ten year old iPad had other ideas. :-( It went kaput early last week, and I wasn’t able to replace it until the other day.

So, what have I been up to? Well, last Sunday I attended a holiday concert at the school where my young cousin, the lovely Miss L goes. The Holiday Pops Concert featured the Parkway Concert Orchestra, and the school’s chorus of which she is a member also performed. It was lovely, but it wasn’t lovely coming out to find it was snowing. Snow is one thing, but slippery, treacherous roads are another. A car two cars ahead of me on the highway onramp slid right into the guardrail. Thank goodness folks on the highway were keeping their speeds down. The snow was coming down so hard, that they didn’t really have much choice. I thankfully made it home safely, and this is what I saw as I pulled into my driveway. Wasn’t it pretty?

Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend either quilt guild’s holiday meeting, but on Thursday, I went out to lunch with friends. After lunch, we went to our friend Kathy’s new home for dessert. Her home was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

I, too, love decorating for Christmas, and this year made some changes. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was inspired after watching Deb’s holiday home tour on the Country Stitchers flosstube channel on Youtube.

Usually, the nativity figures are displayed on the mantel, but I love this new look. Note: that little red wooden sleigh on the end is older than I am! I don’t remember the last time that sled has made it out of the cellar to join the rest of the decorations. :-) 

This beautiful set which had belonged to my aunts is this year displayed on the bookcase. 

My aunts used to let me set up the figures, and this camel was always my favorite. :-)

Remember how big and boxy TV sets used to be? It used to be so much easier to find a place to really spread out the figures. :-)

I am cross stitching my share of Santas, but I also thought it important to stitch this little piece. It’s a design from Crocette a gogo on Etsy. It’s mounted on a board from the Dollar Store. When I found the unfinished piece, I thought the shape resembled a stable. . . all it needed was a bit of brown paint. (Update:  I follow this Italian designer’s blog and today she posted an adorable free Christmas chart for all who would like it. There’s no time to stitch it for this year, but I will definitely download it to add to my chart stash. . . Actually, it’s so cute . . .  I just might try to squeeze it in this season.)

Yesterday, I attended a family party and getting there took longer than expected. Everyone seemed to be rushing somewhere on the highway. H’mmm, where could everyone be going the week before Christmas???

In my next post, I’ll show you some of my other cross stitch finishes. Tomorrow, I need to concentrate on binding my young cousin, Miss T’s quilt. Yes, I picked it up from the longarmer on Tuesday and now I have to hustle to get it finished by Christmas. What a colorful collection of fun, fancy fowls it is!!!  

Keep calm. No stress allowed. You’ll get everything done as you always do .