New Year’s Eve! Back in the day, we’d be making plans to go and party until the sun came up! Instead, we’re doing some housework, and I decided to crochet an i-pod sock! I haven’t crocheted since I was probably in Junior High. I googled some instructions and picked it right back up. It was really fun and went together SO fast. The body is all single crochet, then i decided to do a row of double/triple crochet to fancy it up a bit. The last 2 steps were to close it up and put a neck strap on it. I figured the strap would make it easy to hold onto when I’m puttering around the airport.

Yeah, the first one is kinda blurry. Shoulda used the tripod! And the color is a bit off – it’s a nice bright apple green. The color looks kinda pastel on my monitor.

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Betsy

The bathroom is coming along very nicely! The wall is repaired, the paint is up, the cabinet is put in, and the toilet is back in! Yay Ed!! He always does such nice work.

The wainscoting and trim is next, then the sinks, faucets, new towel bars, roll holder, caulking, light fixture, and, and, and…lol. This bathroom had chrome fixtures that had seen better days. We decided to go with brushed nickel. I think it will all look so nice!

Ed has his assistant helping today, too. How lucky he is. *meow*. Jake kept stealing the plumbing parts from Ed while he was working. He’s such a funny cat!

NYE tomorrow. Woohoo! There is a big celebration down at the Tower of the Americas. They have a 15 minute long fireworks show that begins at midnight, too. That must cost a pretty penny. We’ll be watching that from the comfort of our rec room, with beverages of our choice and no long drive home. (What an old fuddy duddy, huh?)

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Betsy

That was SO fun! Did you have puzzles when you were a kid? I remember having a few over the years, and had gotten Nick some when he was little. Well, one of the things I asked for, for Christmas, was a puzzle. Ed came through in a BIG way. He got 3 great ones for me. I thought this was a really pretty puzzle! I started putting it together on Christmas day, sitting on the floor in the living room at the coffee table. That was fine and dandy until I tried to get up! CRAMP! Uh-oh. That wasn’t a very good idea!

Ed helped me move it to the dining room table later, and that was SO much better. He and I worked on it leisurely off and on.  Then this morning I finished it. Woohoo! Thanks, Ed!

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Betsy

Man at Work!

Here is the master plumber at work. A few weeks back while we were sitting in the rec room, Ed thought he heard water spraying. He looked high and low for what was spraying or leaking, and finally decided that it was inside the wall between the dining room and Nick’s bathroom. He pulled the cabinet out and saw that the sheetrock was starting to get wet. He had to remove a bunch of sheetrock and then had to cap off the plumbing so that he could get parts. There was just a little pin hole in the copper pipe! The thing that amazed me so much was that Ed heard it – he never hears anything – or is that selective hearing at work? lol

Well, Ed fixed the plumbing right after the leak and now it’s time to put the bathroom back together!

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Betsy

This was Gigi’s signature piece. Yep, it’s real diamonds, and this picture does NOT do it justice. I guess I need good indirect lighting so that there is not so much reflection/blur. I think of her anytime I’ve got it on. I remember being about 10 years old or so, and she came to New Hampshire from Seattle for a visit. I was instantly mesmerized with that ring! I asked her if I could put it on, and she gladly handed it to me. I remember the heft of that ring on my finger. It is definitely weighty. Later when Mom and I lived with her and Bob on the farm in Stanwood, anywhere we went people would comment on how beautiful her ring was. And it is. If I remember correctly, her husband Bob had it made for her. He was friends with Ben Bridge and his brother, and one of the bridge brothers designed it along with Gigi and Bob. How incredible. It’s really nice to see it and think of her. She loved to have fun and enjoy the good things in life. And she deserved to. She worked very hard very early in her life.

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Betsy

Who’s that kid sleeping on my couch? Could it be Beardy-Boy? Nick decided that while he is on Christmas break from school, he would not shave. Fine by me. But gee whiz, how in the world could my little baby boy be physically mature enough to grow all that hair???? Tell me that!

Christmas Day was simply wonderful. I think someone napping on the couch might have stayed up a bit late playing games online Christmas Day. Ya think?

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Betsy

What a truly wonderful Christmas. Traditionally, Ed has gotten the short end of the stick since Nick was born. It was always all about Nick. It was time to catch Ed up a little!

So here he is with my corny handmade shadowbox for his father’s gun. The gun is a very special piece to him, since his Dad died when he was 2, and he has no memory of him.

And here is the other half of the “big” stuff Ed got for Christmas, with his apprentice Jake, ready and reporting for duty!

It’s really bothered me since we moved to TX that Ed no longer has his shop full of all of his woodworking tools to putter around with. So there’s a start. =)

And what a great pile of goodies I got! All sorts of scrapping stuff, stamping stuff and quilting stuff! Woohoo. The best part of all was the tripod that I shot most of the Christmas pics with. That’s a BIG WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Nick’s Christmas involved mostly computer stuff. Right before Christmas, he fried his processor. So we replaced that, as well as the hard drive controller, and the video card. He actually asked for clothes for Christmas, too! So he got a bunch of pairs of pants, a bunch of shirts, and his usual underwear for his stocking.

We took care of the pets, too. They all got treats and new toys. The cats enjoyed the boxes and paper more than anything, though. (Just like kids, huh?)

Ed decided to be chef for the day, and cooked some delicious tenderloin steaks with all our fave fixings. Very yummy.

A satisfying day all around. Like I said a few days back, we are truly blessed.

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Betsy

I can remember the anticipation of Christmas Eve growing up. Presents under the tree had magically multiplied and we would get dressed up for Christmas Eve service at Christmas. Chrissy and I were in the choir, and got to sing. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the true meaning of the season. Then, at midnight, we would get to open presents!!

As a really young child at the house on Russell Street, I can remember hearing the sound of sleigh bells and then Mom and Dad came and woke us up and told us that Santa had been to our house! What joy!

Aunt Gladys, who wasn’t a relative by blood, but a relative by choice, lived across the street. One year before Christmas Mom, Aunt Gladys, Chrissy and I went to a department store and tried on snow suits. Mom and Aunt Gladys told us that Aunt Gladys had 2 nieces about our size, and she wanted to get the right size. So on christmas when we opened them, we were SO excited to find those snow suits in boxes from Aunt Gladys and Uncle Joe. Probably one of my all time favorite Christmas memories. We played and played in those snow suits and were so sad when we grew out of them.

Enjoy the true meaning of the season.

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Betsy

There’s my handsome hubby! Hmmm, looks like it’s time for me to trim that hair, though! And too bad I couldn’t have caught a smile on him!

Still getting things finished up for Christmas! We’re all getting pretty excited watching the pile under the tree grow. Can I get a Woohoo?

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Betsy

Mmmm, cozy. Home for the Holidays. *Way* too many presents under that tree for 3 people. We are truly fortunate.

And Jake loves to pose for the camera.