Once again Christmas time is here.  This year I enjoyed the process so very much.  I had all my gift giving done and shipped before December was even upon me,  I was able to visit two of my three daughters and their children, and I have been home to just totally enjoy the process.  This year, since I knew it would be my last year working, I went a bit overboard for Christmas for the grands.  Next year will be a belt tightening again as with retirement comes prudence.  But oh what joy it brought me!

On Saturday, the hubby and Jackson took off to do some shopping which left me to do some sorting in the sewing room.  After a bit of sorting, I  decided to go check out one of the fun vendor malls here.  I am fortunate to have two large malls filled with amazing vendors just down the street.  They are both just packed and go on forever it seems.  I was delighted to find a few treasures and all were on sale so that was just the icing!

Just all way too cute!  But I must stop with the holiday stuff…..

I ordered myself an early Christmas gift.  I have been looking at all the posts in my oily groups of these wonderful shelves.  I finally succumbed to this lovely.  It is so nice to have my oils out and accessible!  I have challenged myself to use my oils in new ways daily.  Is far I have been adding them to my bath with or without Epsom’s salts, I added one of my favorite scents, wintergreen, to my unscented body butter, and I used copaiba on a nasty burn I got from unknowingly microwaving a cheap ceramic cup and sustaining some nasty blisters.  I was amazed at how quickly the copaiba cleared up the burn and blisters!  Now that I can see the oils, I need to make a point to use them!!

Oh the stitching and knitting that I can do now is so wonderful!  I finished up the dishtowel I was working on and started on this project that Becca had begun years ago.  I had forgotten the joy and relaxation that stitching brings.  I am also still knitting away on the little smock dress.  I do need to pick up stitches on the cardigan….  I find that when I come to a technique that I am either not comfortable with or just suck at, I have a tendency to just put the project to the side and leave it languishing away.  As for stitching projects, I love to stitch the projects, but turning the stitchery into a pillow, project, or framing it…not so much…so I have piles of lovely stitched pieces languishing in a drawer.  Now that I have time I may just have to complete those projects or donate them to someone who will!

When my mother passed last year, my sister suggested we purchase a new nativity for the community park.  The old one had been vandalized and destroyed as it was so aged.  It arrived and they put it up.  It is just so lovely and my parents would have loved it!

A nativity is an essential part of the Christmas tradition.  I love the creche that she had commissioned by a local carpenter.  It is all just perfect!

Comes the day and it is Christmas Eve!  I was so excited to open the box that traveled all the way from Ireland!  Oh what delights!!

I adore how the grands art was made into Christmas cards!  So darn cute!!

Look at this!  Harrods lovelies!  It is all just so wonderful!  Every single thing is so special and I love it!!

And there was a Christmas pudding…which has already been eaten on!!

It was nice having a child in the house.  Jackson was excited about his goodies and up early Christmas morning to see what ole St Nick had delivered!

One of his favorite gifts was a survival kit.  It had a fire starter so off he want to burn all the Christmas wrap and any extra boxes or papers that I could manage to find…

I also had these wonderful tarot cards arrive in the mail.

Jackson loves puzzling with his grandma, but when we started this darn puzzle we had no idea what we were in for!  It is dang hard and we only manage to do a bit at a time!!  I am so happy that he enjoys working on a puzzle just like his mom, aunts, and his older siblings and cousins.

And then another Christmas had come and gone.  Another year of festivities and making memories.  And now we are on to yet another new year and more adventures to come!