Black agate necklace with sterling silver spiral and red beads, and matching bracelet and earrings by Tammy Vitale

I had every intention of making more jewelry today but the design was flummoxed by wire that’s too big or bead holes (very nice garnet teardrops) that are too small.  Tricia of Bead Boutique says that there is smaller wire, but I guess that will have to wait until we get together.

So I started wrapping Christmas presents.  Got Husband’s and Daughter’s done.  Hours there.  It’ll take a day for Grandson’s – well, no, not really, as Santa doesn’t require wrapping (thank goodness!), but Daughter’s SO’s presents still must be done and that will fall to me.  Fair since Husband does all the baking.

We put the tree up yesterday, and although smaller than last year’s, it still held all the ornaments.  It’s like unpacking our life as we buy ornaments each year and date them.  Daughter has trundled her ornaments to her own place, but son’s are still here (may be forever), and even though he isn’t, we still buy a yearly ornament to add to his collection because you just never know when he might settle down enough to collect them and keep them for his own tree.  Our oldest dated ornament is 1956 and we inherited that with the house we bought in 1984, left by former owners.  A pink ball with silver numbers on it in amazingly good shape for being 51 years (!) old.  We started our own collection in 85 or 86 and have been at it ever since.  Son is nutcrackers and drummer boys, daughter is penguins, grandson is whatever strikes us at the moment and ours are eclectic and include ornaments I made from dough as far back as 1976 (but most of them have fallen apart by now…I keep the pieces, just because).  I have my parent’s glass ornaments which definitely date back to the 1950s but aren’t dated so you can’t tell (although I have a picture of me at about 8 with those very ornaments hanging off my fingers). 

In addition to the tree, we have a ceramic tree made by the kids’ birth grandma, who did lovely cast ceramic work, and several pieces from Husband’s collection over the years. 

We bought a fir this year, and between it and Husband’s lollies the house smells delicious. 

Since I’m pretty much totally focused on the holidays and getting ready and not getting crazy, I’ll just share my pictures and we’ll have to say that all my creativity is aimed at trees and cookies and presents right now.  Works for me! 

In order here:  The tree completed; the tree with the start of presents around it; all our stocking (this includes Husband’s from childhood, Son’s which will be used by Daughter’s SO this year, mine from childhood, Grandson’s and Daughter’s, and then a closeup of Daughter’s.  Son’s, Daughter’s and Grandson’s are made by me back when I was crazy quilting (I think early 1990s).  Grandson’s was an extra (and I have several more girly extras) that worked out just fine for him.  I don’t even know if I still know how to piece like this!

Is everyone ready for the holidays?  Solstice is coming up quickly and the light will come back.  Woohoo!!!!

thought for the day:  Women’s values are gradually beginning to shift the zeitgeist in this country, though, not just through political action, but through doing what women do naturally, relation to other women…Midlife women are thoroughly engaged in the process of life evaluation, emptying, and moving toward authenticity…Jane O’Reilly..said, ‘Fifty is not a delayed forty.  let there be less marveling at our wonderful preservation and more respect for the maturity of our minds and spirit.  Joan Borysenko, PhD, A Woman’s Book of Life:  The Biology, Psychology, and Spirituality of the Feminine Life Cycle