Want More Snow? Nah!

The Dolly Does Dinner outfit for Dolly is coming along. Here it is, dress knitting done:

The pattern is “Party Dress for 18” Doll” by Una Hendry. I’m using Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in “Blue Yonder.” I plan to do some embellishments with beads, and of course, the outfit has a little bolero jacket, so watch this space for the completed outfit as it develops. (Dolly lives with me, but all of the clothes I finished before Christmas went to Miss Daphne in Wisconsin, so I had to make something for Dolly, so I wouldn't have a nekkid doll sitting around the house.)

The early part of our week brought more snow than we knew what to do with. I snapped this photo of the plow going by just before 6:00 AM on Tuesday.

By Sunday it had turned "cold," with temps in Park City at well below zero Fahrenheit, and at hour house hovering just above zero. Guess the snow will stick around for a while.

We shared an early Christmas on Tuesday with Daphne and Zachary, and their parents by way of FaceTime. I was able to get some nice screen shots. while they unwrapped their presents.

The doll and all the clothes were a big hit, as were the other presents. Daphne named her doll “Daphne Jr.” Both children had to pick which toys they would take with them to Texas to visit the other grandparents. Daphne Jr. made the cut. Here she is resting in a motel in Blackwell, Oklahoma, about halfway from their home in Wisconsin to their Texas destination. (Clearly, Daphne Jr. needs a bathrobe. She had to use her jacket.)

Christmas Eve was lovely. I sang in the choir at the later two services, and DGD1 sang at the last service with us after DH picked her up at work. We all had a nice dinner between the services with all the people who sang in the choir. We actually had about 14 people, although only our music director and the three sopranos show up here.

We had a nice visit with DH’s brother, who brought a friend of his who didn’t have a place to go for Christmas. DGD1 invited a friend whose family is a long way away in Arkansas.

We had mostly Finnish food, which is a family tradition. The main dish was Lohipiirakka (salmon pie) with Lanttulaatikko (rutabaga casserole) as a side dish. We had homemade garlic bread, roasted vegetables and salad. A guest brought a home-baked apple pie. I had cooked most of the food ahead of time, and only had to roast the vegetables (already cut up), bake the bread and make the salad on Christmas day. Usually DH helps me by vacuuming, but he was tied up with snow removal for a good part of the day.

The pups had a good day. They each got a toy that was a hollow tree with three little squirrels, advertised as hours of fun removing the squirrels. Ha! It may have been hours of fun chewing up the tree, but he squirrels met a quick demise, fortunately before I vacuumed for company. Sunny ended up with six squirrels, and Rocky had to settle for his tree. Later, a stick of butter disappeared from the table without even disturbing the dish it was on or the tablecloth. That had to be Rocky, as he needed to go out a little later, apparently to give back his lunch.

My Christmas haul included enough caffeine to last me well into the new year (imported coffee and tea), Cinderella on Blu-ray, half of a pedometer (from the pups, to share with "Daddy"), real pearl earrings from National Geographic and my very own selfie stick.

The next day was my birthday, which began with breakfast at No Worries and ended with a viewing of Cinderella, which contains some good advice: "Have courage and be kind."

The holidays included either Skype or FaceTime with all three of our children and all the grandkids except the oldest, and we got to enjoy her in person.

Update on DDIL1: She’s doing well. Recovering from major surgery like this isn’t easy, but she’s getting well, and soon she will be back to quilting.

I wish you all a very happy 2016! Watch out for snow falling off the roof.

What's on my needles:  Still the Trickle Socks and the “Dolly Does Dinner” outfit for Dolly, working on the bolero jacket.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting on the last two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app. I haven’t started a new audiobook yet.

What's in my wine glass: Corbett Canyon Chardonnay, not my favorite variety, but I find this a good one, and I enjoy Chardonnay more when I don’t have it so often.

What's my tip of the week: Start your Christmas gifts early in the year. Don’t put it off until December.

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 were harmed during the production of this blog post.