Let the Holidays Begin

This is by far one of the best times of the year.     

It all starts when I can bake that first loaf of pumpkin bread.... the spices that linger in the air.....  mmmmmm..... when that first bit of clove, then nutmeg and ginger........ and mmmmmmm... then finally cinnamon hits my nose - dare I say it - visions of sugarplums start dancing in my head.....  

Okay - so it is not sugarplums..... but I do start thinking about the Christmas ornaments I want to make, and whether I should make a new wreath for the front door, and where will I put the Christmas tree - or should I just get another one for the den.... oh my.... all of these thoughts start taking over every minute of my day!  Then the gifts I want to give start whirling like crazy in my mind.....  what would the oldest want or need, what about the son in law....  It whirls so much I get a little dizzy - which if you knew me - is not hard to do.  

Every year I have said that I will get the Christmas gift shopping and making done by Thanksgiving and this year was no different.  The problem is I have never ever in my whole life been 100% ready for Christmas.  One year, I was putting the fringe on a shawl Christmas Eve morning - about an hour before I was going to see the gift receiver!  Another year, I was still crocheting an afghan for my mom during the ride (my oldest daughter was driving) from my dad's house which is thirty minutes from my mom's.  I actually finished it as we were pulling into her driveway and I wrapped it in the trunk of the car right before we went into the house......  Am I a slave to procrastination -  maybe just a bit - however, I do tend to bite off more than I can chew when it comes to the gifts I want to make.

And then there is the fact that I am not a Black Friday kinda girl.  Actually I am not a big fan of shopping at all.  Oh, I have friends and family that LOVE to shop - both of my daughters are avid fans of shopping.... but that is not one of the gifts they inherited from me.... never really enjoyed it.... 

Sooooooo like most people, I put off what I do not enjoy.........  

BUT... this year, I am almost done with the shopping part.  And can I just tell you that I am so happy.  I would actually like to do "happy hands" right now - but I am typing and my youngest would cringe.   

I have a lot of other activities on my Holiday list this year and that may have motivated me to get my rear end in gear and get the dreaded shopping over with.  And I discovered the benefits of online shopping last year.

So my pin boards are full of fun, creative and very Christmasy projects I want to play with this year.  I have already made some of them and really really happy with the pretty little items that are coming out of my craft/sewing room.   

So it is time to keep pulling out soft fabric from my stash, colorful buttons from my jar, threads, beads, yarn and....... 

oh my......  

I still need to put the tree up, decorate the house...... and absolutely get back in the craft/sewing room to .............

create..........

LOVE.