Happy Winter :)

It's snowing! Finally!!! We live in an area of the country that is pretty dependent on the snow for it's fiscal well-being, so I'm sure that I'm not the only one around here that's happy to see the stuff. There's just something about those big fluffy flakes that makes me smile. I love pulling out the winter boots and hats and scarfs and mittens. And dressing Sydney like she's a snowman. Gotta keep warm up here! Snow makes it all worth it. Cold for a reason :)

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzah! The holiday craziness is now past and it's time to regroup and play in the snow! It's been nice taking off a few days to pick up around the house, put away some of the holiday gifts and simply enjoy some family time. I've got a ton of stuff to post and I'll do my best to keep it short.

Oh! I forgot to thank you all for your concern re: my finger! I have reached the point of being able to take off the bandaid, but now I have a hole in the middle of my fingernail that will probably just have to grow off. The healing capabilities of the body are simply amazing... Speaking of bodies, if you ever have the chance to see Gunther von Hagen's BODY WORLDS 2, you've got to go! We went to the show in Boston on X-mas eve morning and loved it - it's an exceptional exhibit that words can't describe!

Looking back at this past week, I have to say it was a fun one. A childhood friend, Sara, came up to visit and we did lots of baking, shopping, and catching up. She's Jewish, so I'm not sure that she's actually been exposed to the pre-Christmas craziness in the average household... Here's some samplings of the yummies:

Peanut Butter Blossoms (a tried-and-true holiday favorite):















Scandinavian Almond Cookies (sinfully delicious! Thanks for the recipe link Mom!)














With help from some house-hold props, I was able to take pictures of most of the hand-made goodies for my husband's side of the family (we celebrated with my side in NJ earlier in the month).

Apron for Stacy (From Amy Butler's IN STITCHES book) - the apron that I was working on when my machine attacked!







































Zippered pouch for Auntie Lou (the picture was taken when she was 16!)
















Scarf for Auntie Re (Thanks for posing Higgy!)
















Frank's mom was the recipient of the patchwork purse in my last post, and his sis received some belts in handmade pouches. I loved making all of this stuff, but next year I'm going to start earlier. Yeah, right?!

Santa was good to us too - Syd received lots of educational toys and cute clothes to grow into, Frank got some warm outdoors clothes and gift cards, and I got some warm clothes as well and some lovely home-made treats from Frank's sis, Linda. Frank and I usually don't exchange gifts, but this year has been a special one, so we decided to buck tradition and get something for eachother. I had a quilt made for him from his old weight-lifting t-shirts and it is AMAZING!! I highly recommend Jill (click on her name for the EBAY link)- her communication was great and her turn-around time was really impressive. I'll take a picture of the quilt the next time I head down-stairs. As for me, Frank *really* treated me well - I've been itching for a pair of diamond stud earrings for a while, but not any more! I feel so spoiled :) (and love it!)

For Christmas day, we celebrated with some friends (Frank was on call, so we stayed local) and had a fantastic time! I've been wanting to make another brined turkey and stuffing, so I was happy to bring those along. *AND* I finally got to have my turkey leftover sandwich (I made sure to buy a HUGE bird so we'd have plenty of leftovers). Ahhh... pure bliss :) Frank thinks I'm nuts, but this is seriously one of my favorite treats of the year.

As for what's next on the agenda, I'm back to making more gifts (baby gifts seem to make up most of my TO DO list - Nappy bags, bibs, wet bags, nursing covers...) and hopefully some scrub hats for Frank. It's been a while, so I'm sure he'll appreciate some new ones.


One last thing! I'm trying my hand at forcing some paperwhite bulbs and so far, so good! I bought a kit at TARGET last month and it was super easy. It'll be nice to have some springtime in winter :)