Checking my list

The tree was decorated and gifts wrapped/bagged early one morning last weekend. My son likes to sleep in (I think I've mentioned that a time or two), so I puttered around downstairs doing things I figured wouldn't disrupt his rest. This year, with a good portion of the tree back against the wall, I only decorated three sides - takes less time! I couldn't find my hangers for those ornaments without strings, so a number of the ornaments are merely "stuffed" into the branches. The box with the hangers are in a tub in the garage and I'm too lazy to go looking for them. Since Saku rarely bothers the tree and the ornaments are the unbreakable kind, I'm not worried about losing any.

I haven't yet picked up the gift cards for DeNiece and DeNephew, but the card boxes are tucked under the tree. I'd best not forget! Bags are my friend and I re-use several of them each year by either using it for the same person, or removing the sticker and adding a new one. 

This week I got more Christmas baking done, and there is a full container for my friends K&J in the freezer and a partially filled one for my brother R and his family. I need to bake the third batch of shortbread and a second batch of sugar and spice cookies for their tin, along with one more Christmas'y cake or cookie. I like bars because they take less time and effort, but cookies are always good too.

I did my weekly grocery shop on Wednesday morning. I have really got to get back to every 10 days as I spend less, but there were a few sale items I wanted to pick up for Christmas. That afternoon, I went to stitch and chat, visiting with S as no one else made it this week. We did have company though, as a young man sat in the room with his laptop and ear buds. 

Thursday was my first foray into the world of Mahjongg at the nearby community center. There is a fairly large group of women who play, but this day there were only six including me. They play four people to a hand, and one woman is an instructor of sorts. She plays when there is a seat as they rotate, but seemed to generally be helping others. After I watched a game, she took me to a separate table and explained some of the need to know terminology, as well as the rules of the game. But not all of the rules, because there are far too many to learn at once. When the second hand was complete, she sat with me and I played my first hand with lots of assistance. We played two more hands, and surprisingly I won the second hand I played. Did she ask the others to throw it to me? I don't think so but I'm sure it was her instructions that made the difference. Anyway it was fun (and challenging) and I'll be going back next week. 

At home, I've been working on several projects: crocheted ornaments, a knitted elf hat, and a cross stitch stocking pattern. I couldn't locate my safety eyes in my craft boxes in the garage so had to wait until a new set arrived from Amazon. I don't know why our local Michaels doesn't carry them, even on-line. I finished up on of the Christmas tree ornaments and I'm not entirely happy with it. The elf hat is partially finished, I have a lot of ends to sew in and a pom pom to make to complete it.

I spent most of the day on Friday doing housework, baking buns, watching curling and knitting. The biggest chore was vacuuming the basement and cleaning up the equipment area. We had the water softener removed this week and the area where it sat was filthy with dust and salt. I should have washed the floor but as I finishing I heard a couple of large trucks out front. There was a letter in the mailbox the other day from a pumping company, notifying us they would be cleaning out the sewer lines this week. I scrambled around the house closing sink drains, wrapping the toilet bowls in old towels, closing shower stall doors, and covering the main drain in the basement. According to the letter, the force of the water could come up in the house but thankfully that did not happen. I did, however, listen to the roar of the equipment for almost two hours. 

Today will be a mostly quiet day. There's more curling, more crafts, a jigsaw to work on, and maybe a run out to the hair salon to get my mop cut. 

I'll leave you with a photo of a hare I spotted across the road a few days ago. I'm glad to see we have some wildlife in the area, though hope it stays on this side as we're not far off the highway.

Have a great week ahead, everyone!