The Monday List....Christmas Edition!

We had some visitors this weekend, and I was utterly charmed by the quiet evidence of their presence.

My apologies for the spotty posting over the last couple of weeks. December is a crazy month for us - as I'm sure it is for all of you as well. I'll share with you this week a few more pictures of all of the things which have been keeping us busy, promise!

In the meantime, here's a super-special Christmas Edition of the Monday List. What, exactly, is different this week? Well, in honor of the holidays I only have a to-do list of the things that must be done. All else will be left to opportunity and chance.

1. Finish the monkeys! The bodies are done, but need heads, ears, tails, embroidered faces and.....in a rather unforeseen circumstance...clothes. (More on that later this week.)
2. Block the shawl, take pictures of it for posterity's sake and then gift it on Wed. I'll explain the two-day shawl when I post it.
3. Two sessions with my trainer and three sessions on my own. I'm being good to myself, and am not requiring perfection through the next week. Success in December will be maintenance and a more relaxed less-stressful holiday season than last year.
4. Christmas cards - which I'm quite looking forward to!
5. I must go and fetch the children home at some point this week - probably on Tuesday. My parents came to visit on Friday for the Pixie's preschool Christmas program, and they took both girls home with them for a much-anticipated visit. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the few days alone that affords me to work on Christmas projects, but I quite simply must get them back before my parents decide to keep them forever!
6. Finish up the Christmas shopping...which will only take an hour or so tomorrow morning. Easy-peasy.
7. Wrap gifts...recruit husband.
8. Make a decision - by tomorrow AM - as to where exactly we're going to be for Christmas. It's a long, long story, and one that caused a bit of an argument this evening - albeit one that is minor compared to past disagreements in the family. Sigh. It's no wonder that part of me dreads December.
9. In the event that we end up with Christmas here, the kitchen will need to be cleaned thoroughly, and food will need to be prepared.
10. Put together the photo pages for my Dad's little scrapbook. It's the only thing he wanted for Christmas.
11. Try to relax and enjoy the week...in spaces both small and expansive.
    

And just because it was so pretty, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of our backyard this morning. The snow melted off today, but oh....it was beautiful while it lasted!

Have a great week everyone!