It’s my father-in-law’s shed again, this time with snow. A pretty picture for the  last Eye Candy Friday of the year, I think.

Happy New Year and see you in 2011!

I finished my last pair of socks for 2010 on Monday night. They are my usual pattern and knit from Knitterly Things Vesper Sock yarn in the color Lovely Lollipop Sky from the Summer 2008 Sock Club and they are for Hannah.

She loves them. In fact, she says these are her favorite pair of sock. Ever. That’s saying something, considering all the socks I’ve knit for her over the years.

While I didn’t finish them in time for Christmas, I did finish them in time to reward Hannah for achieving excellent marks in her first semester of college. Allow me to brag for a moment and tell you that her GPA is 3.48. Yay!

Hand knit socks in exchange for good grades is a deal I am willing to honor over the next four years. I sure hope Hannah keeps her end of this bargain.

Christmas seems like weeks ago but I still need to write a blog post about this year’s holiday – if for no other reason than knowing that I will want to go back and read about it next year.

On Christmas Eve we had our usual gathering of family and friends at our home. I served my traditional buffet which includes some Swedish treats along with a baked ham, mac ‘n cheese, and finger sandwiches. There were lots of cookies, too.

Dale read Twas the Night Before Christmas, as he always does.

And we had 3 out of 4 kids in attendance. That’s not bad but we really miss Brant, Heather and Ambrynn at Christmas time.

On Christmas morning the kids all came back to open gifts. We ate shrimp and swapped presents and played with new toys.

And on Christmas afternoon Dale, Hannah and I headed to his brother Randy’s log cabin in the woods for Christmas dinner. It’s only about 1/2 mile behind our house but it feels like light years away from our little suburban town.

We took the dogs for a walk down Randy’s snowy road. I commented more than once that I felt like we were the Waltons but I meant it in a very good way.

When we came back to the house Randy’s wife Mary was setting out snacks for us. She made these frozen bowls for the shrimp and cocktail sauce – she’s a clever one, my sister-in-law.

It wasn’t long before we all sat down to a delicious dinner of grilled striped bass and venison, wild rice, squash casserole, and an absolutely wonderful green bean casserole from Martha Stewart Living. Before dinner Mary made me read the lyrics to the song I posted here last week and we mostly all got through it without crying.

Over dessert (I made chocolate cream pie) my father-in-law shared stories that made us all laugh and cry. It was such an enjoyable evening! The setting, the food, the family, the sharing and laughing and enjoying – it was just as I hoped it would be.

I highly recommend Christmas with family, in a log cabin, if you can manage it.

It’s the last Tuesday of 2010. That makes it perfect for today’s topic: 10 Intentions for the New Year. In my world, these are not resolutions because resolutions are vehicles for failure – to me, anyway. But intentions feel like goals and that makes them positive and easier to do. At least, that’s the theory. Let’s go!

1. Exercise. Seriously, it’s time to get off my ass at least 3 times a week and Just.Do.It.
2. Work on portion control. I eat good food, I just eat too much of it.
3. Spin more frequently. I may even take up 10 minutes a day again.
4. Read more books. More reading has decreased significantly since knitting took over my life. I love my Kindle, though, and it makes reading more fun.
5. Listen to more audiobooks. I’ve been listening to the FDR biography for 2 months. I like it but I’m sick of it and need to finish up so I can move on to something else.
6. Continue with Project 365. I contemplated giving up on this but I’ve seen significant improvement in my photos over the past year and I think it’s because I’ve taken at least one photo every day – it hardly seems appropriate to give up on this considering the benefits.
7. Take more pictures of people. I tend to shoot mostly still life stuff and flowers and landscapes but I need to put myself out there and take photos of my family and friends.
8. Take care of my skin. I’m not as young as I used to be and it’s time to be proactive about those little lines and dry patches.
9. Allow myself to be happy. This can be difficult for me, I think mostly due to the major losses I have had in my life. I think somehow my mind gets all twisted and believes that if I am too happy something bad will happen – so I look for problems. It’s unconscious but I’d like to be more conscious about it and just allow myself to feel happiness without worrying about what will happen next.
10. Live in the moment. This goes hand in hand with #9.

I hope we all have great success with our intentions!

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

We’re in the midst of a blizzard here but since Christmas fell on Saturday the library is closed and  today is a work holiday for me, Dale is on school vacation, and Hannah is home for winter break.

Sometimes being snowed is in a good thing.

I will confess that when people post song lyrics on their blog I don’t generally read them. That said, today I am posting the lyrics to Rebea McEntire’s Til the Season Comes Round Again. It sums up perfectly how I feel about gathering with friends and family to celebrate the holiday.

Come and gather ’round at the table
In the spirit of family and friends
And we’ll all join hands and remember this moment
‘Til the season comes ’round again

So let us smile for the picture
And we’ll hold it as long as we can
May it carry us through should we ever get lonely
‘Til the season comes ’round again

One night, holy and bright
Shining with love from our hearts
By a warm fire let’s lift our hands high
And be thankful we’re here ’til this time next year

May the new year be blessed with good tidings
‘Til the next time I see you again
If we must say goodbye let the spirit go with you
‘Til the season comes ’round again

One night, holy and bright
Shining with love from our hearts
By a warm fire let’s lift our hands high
And be thankful were here ’til this time next year

May this new year be blessed with good tidings
‘Til the next time I see you again
We’ll all join hands and remember this moment
And we’ll love and we’ll laugh in the time that we have
‘Til the season comes ’round again

I wish you all a weekend full of family, friends, food and celebration. As my Swedish ancestors would say: God Jul!

If you’ve read this blog for a while you know that I bake cookies at Christmas. I have already shared my favorites, Polish Tea Cakes, so today I will share Hannah’s favorites.

Neapolitan Cookies

Ingredients

Christmas is only a few days away and I’m sure there are some of you who haven’t finished your shopping yet. In that spirit, let’s talk about 10 Last Minute Gift Ideas.

1. Bake something. Cookies, breads, heck even Chex Party Mix, make great gifts. Nothing says love like homemade.
2. Knit something. Okay, you know that I don’t knit for Christmas but it’s not too late for those of you that do. I wouldn’t recommend something complex but there’s still time for a chunky hat or fingerless mitts.
3. Re-gift. I’m hesitant to put this on here because I have mixed feelings about it. Nevertheless, in a pinch something from your yarn stash for another knitter isn’t a horrible idea.
4. Amazon.com. Yes, they can still ship things in time for Christmas. And if you aren’t sure what to buy you can get an Amazon gift certificate to download instantly.
5. Dinner in a basket. Go to the grocery store and buy some quality pasta sauce, a pound of pasta, a box of bread sticks, and a bottle of wine. You could also include some pretty napkins and a candle. Put it all in a basket, throw a bow around it and you’ve got a thoughtful gift.
6. Coffee. Around here, Dunkin Donuts is big and a gift card or a couple of pounds of coffee are always a welcome gift.
7. Lottery tickets. Personally, I do not give these as gifts because I couldn’t bear it if I gave someone a ticket and they won instead of me. But they are easy to buy and readily available and many people like to give and receive them.
8. Booze. Make it seasonal, though, and get a nice bottle of champagne or the Nouveau Beaujolais or something like that. Then again, tequila is always welcome.
9. Movie money. Make sure you get enough to cover the movie, the popcorn, and a drink.
10. Make a charitable donation in someone’s name. We give to our Visiting Nurse’s Association rather than buying gifts for Dale’s brother and his wife. The VNA uses this money to put together food baskets for those in need in our community. I also recommend your local Kiwanis group or Heifer International or Doctor’s Without Borders.

That’s my list and none of those things involve a trip to the mall – a definite bonus!

On Saturday Dale and I went to Trinity Church in Boston for their free Candlelight Carols concert. It’s the 3rd year in a row that we have gone and I think this concert was the best one yet.

They start with a prelude of 15 minutes of Latin carols and harp music. And then the choir processes into the church while singing “Once in Royal David’s City.” It’s a wonderful moment as they pass by, carrying candles. You can hear each choir member’s voice strong and clear and beautiful.

The concert then continues with a mixture of carols and readings, some classic and some modern.  And, while everyone loves the moment when the lights are dimmed and candles are carried throughout the church while the choir sings “Silent Night,” nothing is more beautiful to me than when the choir rises and processes through the church singing “O Come All Ye Faithful.” It is loud, it is bold, and it is beautiful and it makes me cry.

It’s wonderful to be in this spiritual setting the week before Christmas. For 2 hours you can relax and forget about shopping and wrapping, baking and cooking, and all the work that has to be done and instead just enjoy the music and glory of the season. I’m so glad we discovered this a few year’s back and I’m thrilled that it is now part of our annual Christmas celebration.

In closing, allow me to share my favorite reading from this year’s service. It is called “Christmas Poem” by Jim Strathdee.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the magi and the shepherds have found their way home,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost and lonely one,
To heal the broken soul with love,
To feed the hungry children with warmth and good food,
To feel the earth below, the sky above!
To free the prisoner from all chains,
To make the powerful care,
To rebuild the nations with strength of good will,
To see God’s children everywhere!
To bring hope to every task you do,
To dance at a baby’s new birth,
To make music in an old person’s heart,
And to sing to the colors of the earth!