Not a creature was stirring - take two.....

There is a huge plus to having teens. Yes, I said that. No, I am not crazy (that's probably a lie - I am a little nuts). I remember being so excited about Christmas as a little girl. Up early to see what was under the tree. Then those teen years hit and all you really want to do is sleep. Then you grow up and become the responsible party. You know - the Mom.

We had our girls and there were many many years of rolling out of bed - way before dawn for the Santa HoHo dance. Complete with those high pitched girly squeals. Now - my girls are teens and we had to get them up on Christmas morning - just barely still morning might I add. Both of them just snuggled deeper in the covers when they realized it was light outside. So Christmas was laid back and relaxed. We were well rested, ate junk food (just like every other morning) and generally were lazy sloths all day. I stayed in my pj's literally all day. As did my blonde princess - see below.


You can see that she did try on the jacket Santa brought - let's not discuss how much Santa piad for that hoodie. Right over those said jammies. She is WATCHING Molly open the gifts. Molly even opened Abby's stocking stuff. Too much fun. You can see behind her the gifts I got. Light fixtures and ceiling tiles for the studio.

The island separates the living and dining rooms. Right now it is full of craft stuff - surprise. Look closely at the top - it is made from the slate off a pool table. The oak corners are still intact and I left all the mounting holes in the slate. I still have two pieces of the slate, just waiting for inspiration. This is one of my favorite pieces and stories in my house. When we renovated, the toilet bowl was so nasty that we changed the toilet. I was working with a homeowner at her house, and tripped over the slate. Before I was set to leave, the plumber broke the tank of her toilet, a 1940's toilet exactly like the one I had just taken out of our house. I traded a used toilet tank for these three pieces of slate. I really think I got the best of that deal.

I am starting to take down the few decorations we did get out and I wanted to share this one with you. I adore nativity sets. I have many, many of them. I have very formal ornate ones. I have ornaments. I have childish ones. I have handcrafted ones. I adore each and every one. This wooden one was made for me by my little sister. Cut out and woodburned - we used to let the girls play with this one and some other unbreakable ones - over and over they would tell the Christmas story. Those memories are incredibly precious to me.

I am struggling with some post holiday blues this week. Losing Charles uncle through the holiday has been difficult. Realizing that the traditions we consider "normal" - with Molly being a part of them - are about to change are bothering me too. Add to it that we are getting some much needed rain and overcast skies and my mood matches the weather. I am feeling a distinct lack of creativity - I have some things going, but just not much enthusiam for the projects . I am crocheting a baby blanket out of some thread I had stashed in the attic - I have the cowboy quilt that I desperately need to finish - not starting another one until that one is done - and the studio waits patiently for paint. I can tell when everything is flowing smoothly in me, because the ideas tumble out and right now that is just not happening. It will be back, I just need a break. This holiday season was tiring - could a major surgery have had anything to do with it - and I need to rest.

With the way this year has gone, I am glad to move on into 2008.

Have a wonderful day.