That's All She Wrote

The Christmas season is pretty much over now except for a couple more bowl games. I took the ornaments off the tree and denuded the house of the rest of the decorations. Now I just need to put them away. Skip will help me get the tree downstairs during some interval from football.

Our Christmas cactus bloomed right after Christmas as did the amaryllis I planted in November.

















Here's a closeup:



This bulb was a double so the second stem will bloom any day now.






I have started a second washcloth. I got the pattern here. I should have it finished tonight and will publish a photo.

My dear friend, MaryAnne, who lives in Georgia wrote in her blog yesterday about her Mommy group's substitute for new years resolutions. Instead, they individually made an "I would like to" list for 2008. I thought it was a great idea. So I have formulated a list of my own:

In 2008, I would like to:
- learn to cook several more dishes for our everyday eating (as opposed to exotic dishes).
- work out enough to begin losing some weight.
- attend another NCAA football game possibly at Michigan State.
- make a big dent in getting rid of a lot of clutter in my house. I don't think I could dedicate myself to de-cluttering the whole house but if I make a big dent, it should motivate me further.
- keep up with my blogging and posting on Ravelry (an online knitter's community or as some describe it "Facebook for knitters").
- take another 'big' trip - possibly to Europe - possibly to Northern Italy or Greece or both.

I have the luxury of having big blocks of time to do things now that I am retired. And I realize what I don't get done can be done the next day.

I have one more picture to post. Last year the wonderful people at Hallmark put out a miniature Peanuts nativity set. I managed to get one on eBay. I put it out this year but had no manger. One of Skip's former students from Japan, Akari Tenaka, sent him a lovely pop-up seasonal card of the Ginkakuji (Golden) Temple in Kyoto. It was perfect size as a backdrop for my wee Peanuts characters. Now, I know Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the three Magi were nowhere near Japan but to me, the temple was a great backdrop. The figures are about an inch tall. Click on the picture to see their cute little faces.




As they say in Japan, "Kawaii" (how cute)!