This year it was hosted by my brother Dean and his wife Robin. It was their first time hosting the day and they did a spectacular job! Thanks guys!!
They made a great team and had everything ready for us when we got there. It is an all day event starting with our traditional breakfast and ending with my brother Greg's pies at the end of the day. Lots of food and games in between. Our family is expanding every year (number wise!) so we have to change a few things up here and there, but it is always wonderful.
One thing that is a constant is the job jar where all of the jobs for the day are put on slips of paper and everyone draws to see what their responsibility for the day will be. There are some easy jobs; some loafs; and then the dreaded wash and dry dinner dishes. This year R drew dry dinner dishes and my nephew J drew wash. The only perk for drawing these is you get to sign the apron after you get the job done and have immunity for the next year.
The main lefse meal is a highlight (I can't even imagine changing that tradition!!) and this year was no exception. In fact, the lefse was rolled out fresh that morning and I don't think ever tasted so good.
One thing that is fun is the addition of little ones to the day. Dean and Robin now have two adorable grandsons and my niece was there with her baby girl, who many met for the first time. My dad enjoyed time with his great grand daughter and kept her giggling while her mom ate.
My mom also enjoyed her time with her great grand daughter. She is such a good baby!
After the day we crashed at my brother Gary's house. The kids enjoyed some Rock Band and made such beautiful music. (ha ha). Actually there were some scary sounds coming from the basement!!
Well, there is so much more I could add, but I need to get going with my day. A final shot of my brother's cat Cougar who looks exactly like the cat I had growing up. Isn't he a gorgeous Siamese?
We just got in from a romp in the snow. I don't remember the last time that we have had this much snow on Christmas. It's beautiful. And when seen through the eyes of a puppy.. actually FUN!!
I played against both of them for a bit, but that is a lot of lab to pull against!!
Sumo is doing pretty well trudging through the snow. He has some trouble with some of the deeper drifts, but for the most part does great.
We started out the weekend with SNOW! (Here is Steve trying to get to work Friday morning!) We got over 13 inches from Thursday night into Friday, which delayed our friends a day. (They came Saturday to Monday instead of Friday to Sunday). Worked out well, as the weather yesterday would NOT have been good to travel in. In fact everything was canceled because of the horrible cold and windchill!
Needless to say, we spent most of the weekend inside as it was just too cold to be outside. We did some knitting; played some games and ate. And ate.We knit on the couch....
And we knit at the kitchen table.... All the girls were knitting! M is just learning and once she feels comfortable I'm going to start her on a fun scarf to match her new coat. Everyone was into scarves this weekend!!
Sheri was working on a Noro scarf, so of course I had to start one! I had some Noro Kureyon in my yarn stash, so grabbed some and cast on. You knit/purl for two rows with a yarn and then switch to the other skein. (Knit into the knit stitches and purl into the purl stitches...) I LOVE how it is turning out and it is a fun knit watching all of the colors change etc... I see more of these in my future!! Sheri was using Noro Silk Garden for hers which felt a little softer.
K is working on the yummiest scarf EVER!!! It is Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist knit in the round, so it will be double thick! When she is done, she will seam the ends shut and add fringe. As you can see, she transitioned from gray to green with a fun striping pattern. I cannot even tell you how yummy this feels!!!
Sophie and Sumo LOVED all of the company. Sophie especially loves a full house! She had a little more energy than normal as we just couldn't get in our field walks with the cold weather. She more than once weaseled her way onto peoples' laps on the couch!
Well, that's about it. I think I will head to the store for a few last minute gifts I need to pick up. I leave you with my Little Loopy guys that are now on my kitchen table. Aren't they cute??
Sophie ADORES the snow. She loves to bury her face in it and dig for hidden treasures. She often eats these treasures which totally grosses me out. But I won't talk about that.....
Sumo likes the snow as well, but maybe not quite as much as Sophie. He's not quite as sure footed and has slipped on occasion... Especially when his back legs are being attacked by a pesky little puppy!!
I do have to admit that the snow makes it quite pretty outside. Here is a view from the back field looking towards our house. This is where we take our walks several times a day and where Sophie finds all of those treasures....
We weren't going to put up a tree this year so as not to tempt Sophie, but decided a little one on a coffee table would be safe.
In the knitting department (You can skip this part Michael!) I've been getting some items done. Here are several bowls that I've felted in the last week. These are such a quick knit and I love how they turn out. I picked up some inexpensive glass bowls to put them around so they can be used as candy dishes etc..
I also finished this BallBand bag. I will be giving this to A's girlfriend today for her birthday. The strap had gotten too long, so I cut it and added a few buttons. This way we can make it whatever length she likes. Hope she likes it!
Also working on a pair of fetching gloves out of Crystal Palace Merino 5 from TLE. I LOVE the feel of this yarn. The cables show up better once you put it on your wrist, so I think that I will really like how they come out.
It is hard to believe that tomorrow at this time A will be on his way to Antartica!!! We have been pretty busy around here getting everything lined up and packed. And I decided Thursday that I really wanted to knit him a nice wool hat(pattern here) to take along. I am very happy with how it came out and I think he liked it as well. He will be flying to Ushuaia, Argentina where he will board the expedition cruise ship, The Antartic Dream. What an adventure!! I told him he would be doing a few guest posts here on my blog when he gets home and will share some of his photos. He happily agreed!! So stay tuned......
Almond Frosties
Sophie finds the packing; knitting and baking really cuts into her attention getting and she opts to go take yet another nap. Someday we will get our priorities right and spend the day just playing with her! Wouldn't that be nice?
It started out in the morning with a lefse stick duo with my neighbor Alice, who was hosting the event. Would love to say that I won, but I think it was a tie!
The open house started at noon, but of course there were a few early birds that came and we let them in. From noon to one it was incredibly busy and kept my dad and R quite busy at the cashiers table!
Our neighbor Peggy had a table full of the most wonderful handmade soaps and soy candles. I could have taken the whole lot home! (I bought my fair share!!) They all make wonderful Christmas gifts!!
My mom brought down her wheat weaving and not only had it all set up, but was working on some weaving while people mingled around shopping.
She had a very nice display set up and was in the perfect corner of the house.. very close to all of the yummy treats!! (Which I visited often!!!)
M was there with her jewelry and did very well! She had a great spot right next to the cashiers table, so people got extra looking time at her things while standing in line!! As you can see, all of the workers and vendors had beautiful red scarves on that were woven by Alice.
Alice had quite the selection of hand woven scarves out, along with a few other woven items. Her scarves literally flew out the door!! I think there will be many happy recipients of her scarves Christmas morning!!
K was home for the event and rolled out lefse and provided samples for everyone that came. It also made the house smell really yummy when you walked in! I had made almost 50 packages of lefse before the open house and it all sold! It does mean that I will have to roll out more in the next few weeks!
There were other artists there as well that somehow I didn't capture on film. There were some amazing leaf castings; photographs and drawings and another jeweler. All I can say is the cashiers were kept quite busy all day and everyone did very well.
Sophie was so happy to have all of the kids home and took advantage of them whenever she could, always trying to weasel into a lap. I don't think she gets it that she is a 'labrador' not a 'laprador'.....
We did lots of cooking, baking and eating. One of the first things we needed to do was to roll out some lefse. I have to say that K has become a much better roller than I!!!!
I am not sure that her mind was always on rolling lefse, however!!! Do you think she was missing someone?
A's girlfriend, CB, was here for part of the week and had her first experience eating lefse at our Thanksgiving meal. She caught on quite quickly!!
R & M were around most of the week, which was nice as well. They went out taking Christmas photos on one of the sunny days. Can you believe their one year anniversary is coming up? Wow! Has that year flown!
K also had her friend F from Thailand visit for part of break. She has really enjoyed getting to know several International students down where she goes to school.
Now on to Miss Sophie who as I said before, is growing like a weed!! It's hard to believe that I used to scoop her up with one arm to move her from place to place. Now I can barely lift her!! I guess that's what 6 scoops of dogfood a day will do!!
Her very very very favorite activity is to torture Sumo. Really. She stalks him like a cat would and then pounces!
If he doesn't give her the appropriate attention, she nips at his back legs and then zooms around him. Poor guy! He just hardly stands a chance of any peace.
She has learned to go in and out of the dog door, so even that is not an escape for Sumo! His only saving grace is that she does take some good naps throughout the day!
They were both very excited about the big snow we got Sunday. Sophie especially loves to run and dive into drifts.
And she still can pick on Sumo. So life is good.
