Christmas Hangover

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~From the movie Annie

After all the presents were open and food inhaled, #1 son and his gf went home late Saturday evening.  #1 daughter and Sir T left for their home yesterday.  Sir T, #1 son and the man have returned to work today.  After such a whorlwind of activities leading up to Christmas, it is so quiet now.  Part of me embraces that quiet as I get more done and I am slightly saner.  The other part wants to run from it, call them all back, and languish in the noise and mass confusion that is our family.  It all went too fast eventhough we made it a two day affair.  It is a different feeling you get being together at Christmas that isn't there the rest of the year. Similar to the difference between being covered with an afghan vs. being engulfed in one and being so warm you are drowsy from it.  Now I have to wait 363 more days.

But it was a wonderful Christmas.  The kids got spoiled and were all happy with their gifts.  And now I can show what I was working on that was giving me fits....

nereid fingerless mitts for #1 daughter.  When I finally read (!) the instructions, things worked just like they were suppose to work and they moved merrily along.  Then the week of Christmas she calls me up and tells me she doesn't wear hats and is there any way I can make her something to cover her ears with the same yarn I made her gloves from last year.  I tell her to go on to Ravelry and pick something out and she picked out the braided ear warmer.

 

Luckily I did have more yarn, but it was thinner then recommended so the ear warmer was no where near as wide as their's but it is wide enough to cover #1's ears.

Now it is a known fact that my family spoils me and I love it!  Oh come on, who wouldn't?!  I got so many exellent gifts I don't know where to start so I will start with the oldest which came two weeks ago when #1 son called and said to meet him at the barn in 20 minutes.  He and his gf bought me a 9 month old ram. 

He heard me say I was thinking of locating a ram to do the deed with my ladies. My ladies are all Finn.  #1 son has a friend that has animals and he asked him to find him a ram.  The friend knew people with sheep and called son up and said he found a ram.

#1 son was told it is a Finn/Romney cross, but it cannot be because neither of those breeds have horns and Jonathon Rambo does.  He maybe part Finn/Romney but there is something more mixed in there.  But he is beautiful and when allowed to finally go out with the ladies went right to "work."  His fiber is as soft as, if not softer than my finn, with approximately the same crimp and luster.  Other things to note..he is a short tail breed.  Like the Romney his hooves are black but unlike them his nose is pink.  He has no hair on the poll but has some on his cheeks and forehead unlike my Finn.  He has no hair on his legs like my Finn.  It was said he was a bottle baby and he is very friendly and well behaved.  Bozo knows he can't do the "job" so was not upset taking a back seat.  #1 Son doesn't know it yet, but he will be helping to put up new fences in March/April...When is Mother's Day as that would be a great gift!?  Then again, maybe the rolls of fencing did give him a clue.

But on to my other gifts....did I ever tell you how much I love Christmas!  I got a Cuisanart coffee pot, pj's, lottery tickets, wireless router, 6.5 quart enamel lined dutch oven, stainless steel teapot, slippers and after years (and I do mean years and years of asking) I got pictures of my kids together.  While I was gone one day, they dressed up and took pictures.  Some have just the four of them, others have my four with the b/gf's, and some are the kids with the man.  So so so so awesome.  I cried of course and then #1 daughter gave me this to unwrap ... 

#1 daughter wanted me to read it out loud but I couldn't.  She has this innate ability to know just how to pull all of my springs.  She knew although it would make me cry, it would also be something that I would truly love.  It reads "I thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday and days before that too" ~~~ "I think of you in silence, I often speak your name.  All I have are memories and your picture in a frame. ~~~ "Your memory is my keepsake, for which I'll never part, God has you in his keeping, but I have you in my heart"  Once the snow melts this will be going in my mom garden which my mother helped me dig filled with all the plants she shared with me.  And now that I have cried again I will move on to other topics...like friends spoil me too!  I got a pattern for Green Thumb Fingerless Gloves. 

I pulled out some green earthy yarn and made them.  The yarn while nice, does not do the mitt justice.  It blurs out the beautiful leaf design on the thumb gusset.  They are quick and easy and will be something that will be made again and again.

And in between all the family, gifts, and eating, I have been spinning!

I spun up both of these since Christmas Eve (posing with another present).  Nothing spectacular just stuff I had laying around that I had played with but it felt good to spin....I need to do more of it as the backlog of fleece/roving is getting out of hand.  I have a shetland fleece just calling to me which I might have to start working on later today.  Right now I have to clean up the mess left by six kids, four of which aren't mine.