Can You Picture This?

[Google isn't working for adding photos. I can't figure out what's wrong, but here's the text, anyway. I put links in to substitute for photos when they were appropriate.]

Update: Was able to add photos using a different device.

Because we were not going to be here for Christmas Day, we didn't set up the big tree. I got out the doll-size tree, which comes with its own lights and is very pretty, but just small. 

It was a busy week, with lots of music. We had extra rehearsals for Lessons and Carols. The service was Sunday afternoon. We also had a rehearsal for The Messiah Singalong, which was fun. The "performance" Saturday afternoon.

Charlie's brother, Jim, came on Friday afternoon. I fixed a tuna casserole on Thursday, because we weren't too sure what time he would get here, and I wanted something that would be easy. He was only here over the weekend, and I was gone a good part of the time, but we manage to have a little Christmas family time Sunday. In the morning, Jim went to the Presbyterian Church he attended when he lived here, and I went to my church. (The choir was singing for that service, too.) After church, Jim adjusted the pressure in the tires of his vehicle, and I changed into what I needed to wear for the Lessons and Carols celebration. Then we opened the gifts we were giving each other. Jim gave me a poodle mug large enough to hold my entire day's supply of coffee. The poodle image looked almost exactly like our Rocky! 

After I came back from church again in the evening, we had dinner: baked salmon, sweet potatoes, salad and cheesecake with a Madroña Riesling. We sat and talked until after 9:00, past Jim's bedtime. The pups did the pre-rinse for the dishes before they went into the dishwasher.

Jim left this morning, but not until I gave him a lesson in feeding sourdough starter, and he took the fed starter with him. (Making bread has become a hobby for him.) Before he left, I opened my birthday present from him: a poodle cap. It's adjustable, so we could make it fit my rather small head.

 

There wasn't much time to knit this past week, but you can see my progress here.

Here’s the Ravelry project page for it. It's all in one piece now, so it will be easy to work on during the trip.

The pups go back to the Tarah Kennels tomorrow, late in the afternoon. We plan to brave the probable snow at Santiam Pass on Christmas Eve to get to Portland. Thursday (Christmas Day) the six of us will get picked up by a shuttle to go to the airport, and we will fly out to spend the rest of the holiday with Karen's family.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry, BlueSky or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon or B&N and search for Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses, More Classic Tales Retold or Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Andean Chullo Hat. The two ear flaps are now connected to the main body of the hat, ready for me to work on during the trip.

What's on my iPhone: Still listening to Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre on the AudiobooksNow app. Not much progress this week.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: One of my favorite poems from Our Favorite Verses is The Week Before Christmas.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog, and they are reproduced in print with a few changes.

The stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less, only 8%, because the vendor takes a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your local library to order the books.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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