Where did the vacation time go???

It went so fast. I was barely ready to return to work today and actually the kids at school took a bit to wake up as well. It wasn't until the afternoon that I felt like I was running on all cylinders and my classes seemed to be the same way.

So where did the time go? Well of course we had Thanksgiving Dinner. We hosted the family. There were only 11 of us. The menu was:

• Picado - cheese, hummus, crackers, olives, mozzerella balls, all the pickin's you could want
  
• Turkey (for those that eat meat... all the le=ftovers were sent home with those folks as well!)
  
• Stuffing (Ditto)
  
• Hash Brown potato casserole - a family favorite
  
• Aunt Roberta's Sweet Potato Casserole - so rich and tasty
  
• Corn casserole - similar to a South American dish I remember from my first trip there
  
• Chinese noodle salad - my sister in-laws specialty
  
• Rolls (which of course I forgot because they were in the side table on the warmer...)
  
• Long necked squash
  
• Steamed broccoli - these last 2 were particularly for the baby
  
• Pumpkin mousse pie
  
• Apple crisp - DH's best!
  
• Apple cranberry pie
  
• Chocolate pecan pie
  

I was truly stuffed and barely ate on Friday as well.

Friday was a blur... I knit the snowmen cloths. We worked a bit outside on some decorations and DH and the older two went downtown to see the lights turn on. We were going to make it a family affair, but the baby decided to take a late nap and sleep through the whole thing, so I stayed home to watch him.

Saturday we picked out a tree at Unangst tree farm. All of the concolors were too tall for our house so we had to settle on a Douglas. It has a nice shape and I think we'll be pleased. It's still in the bucket on the front porch much to DD's chagrin. The day was beautiful. Warm, sunny and clear. Perfect for tree hunting! Of course we had to go on the obligatory hayride to suit the older two. We usually cut down our tree but since we found one already cut we decided to take that without the extra work.
DH also made reservations for us to ride the horse drawn sleigh downtown. DD had gotten the idea into her head earlier on Friday, but the tickets were all sold out. So he promised we'd go on Saturday. It's a beautiful ride through town and particularly nice when the sun is going down and the lights are on. This is probably the only picture of my family you'll see on the blog. I just couldn't resist because it's such a good one of all of the ones I hold dear to my heart. Just a shame I'm not in the picture or we'd use it for our Christmas card. I also love the colors of the sun going down in the background. Such a gorgeous evening.

And here's a shot of the tree by the City Library. It's always a huge one. Downtown is so pretty with all the candles in the windows and the old fashioned street lamps and little trees on every post with little lights... I love this town at Christmas. We started 1 batch of cookies tonight with a small disaster, but everyone is OK.

Sunday we went to visit a dear friend who moved to Moosic. It was an intimate gathering with lots of good food and conversation. Such fun!

And Monday, we shopped for more cookie supplies. Poor DH had to work so it was just the kids and myself. He got home feeling rather punk so took a nap. After dinner I went to my friend's to spin. I haven't spun in ages (since the first time Oct 20, 2006)... and I have a picture of the result of that first ever try at the wheel.

It's from the Peace Fleece roving I bought a while back on ebay. The color is Chickie Masla. Really thick and thin. But it's a start. Last night I spun some Cotswold. The staple was about 6 inches and incredible... I didn't even card it. WHen I picked it I was sure to lay the staple with all the fibers facing the same direction and I spun directly from that. FINALLY, I think I'm getting the hang of it. I was spinning for over 2 hours and did 1 bobbin. But wow it was so cool. The yarn is still at my friend's house but I'll post a picture so you can compare and see if I've improved.

DH is considering purchasing a spinning wheel for me for Christmas... I'm trying to not get too excited about it... But it would be so very cool

OK.. off to hopefully finish the mate to the convertible mitten so I can cast on the Panta and do some more cloths. I've acquired quite the collection of dishcloth patterns... and I'm loving the thought of making each one!

happy crafting