Life's a Stitch

A Creative Christmas

We are a family with a creative bent, hence the general condition of my house. We have accumulated stashes of yarn, watercolour supplies, oil pastels by the hundred, rough turned wooden bowls, and the spoils of my recent silver smithing/beading adventure. As I write this M and C are experimenting with encaustic painting and the kitchen, barely cleaned from feeding dinner to 36 people in 36 hours, is cluttered with beeswax, oil paints, and scraps of varying texture.

For Christmas C created additions to my sheep collection:

I participated in a marzipan making workshop:

My 22-yr-old film maker added to my Scottie collection with his first attempt at hand sewing. Sweet boy, I hear he had a legion of girls helping him:

I experimented with my new tool, acquired in Rome, which cuts veggies into curlicues. I was a sucker for this gadget, paying far more than the value of its parts, but the demonstrator's sales job (apologies, I couldn't find an English version) made it well worth the price. And this year's Christmas yams were beautiful:

And the family's favourite creation, daughter E and SIL S's baby boy, Rye:

 

 

 

All is calm

Another low key Christmas. All the kids home, three by birth, one by marriage plus their first baby, what joy. Once again, the nativity and the ceramic Christmas tree, all that we need to remind us of the meaning of the holiday. Some unlikely characters in our particular scene, but all with meaning.  I remember placing the two Polish geese as long as I can remember Christmas.

C surprised me with the biggest bouquet I have ever received. There are still surprises after 30 years. He did mention the comment from the guy behind him at the florist. "Boy, you must have done something really bad."

Considering it's 1:00 am, and Santa has done her job, I'd better go to bed. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Life's a stitch - occupational therapy

 

Needing some distraction from ongoing ankle fracture issues I did something that has been on my list for years - a silver smithing course. Over an eight and a half hour day we learned to solder sterling links, craft a toggle clasp, the techniques of hammering and embossing, and bezel setting of a CZ. That is my finished project. Accolades to a wonderful teacher, also a blogger.

Photo therapy also helps me forget the pain. Rye at eight months:

 

Thirty years

December 6th, thirty years of marriage. Where did time go? How did it happen? How do you measure thirty years? 

More than half my life, three talented children, two Scotty dogs, four moves in two countries, all our parents gone, a grandbaby, retirement (ours!) plans, joys and sadness, ups and downs, give and take...

Did I ever tell the story of how we met? I think I did. I took a stained glass course and he was the teacher. After a few dates he said, "If you're going to get serious with me, you have to move to a place called Lions Bay, BC." 

"Oh, OK" this New York-raised-near-the-city girl said. 

And the rest is history.

Santorini - November 2012: