Christmas has come and gone and now there is only 2 days left of the year. As we sort through the wonderful presents and reflect on the wonderful year, I am already starting to think of my projects for next year. One of them is organizing our house. I'm going to start from the top and work my way down, room by room until there is a bit more order to the chaos.

Also new in 2009 is a different posting place. I started this blog 9 months ago, with the goal of recording memories with photos. Although I didn't get 365 photos, I did capture quite a bit. I am switching over to a new blog, with a new purpose soon...stay tuned.

SNOW!! We got 7" on Saturday...blizzard like all day, so we hunkered down and took a snow day, but I had to get out and play. So I took my cross country skis and skied around the neighborhood! Perfect timing - people were lazy and not shoveling, so the sidewalks were still covered, and now it feels like 35 degrees below zero, so I'm definitely not going ski anywhere. Come to think of it, skiing to work would be great, because I would generate more warmth getting there and my nose wouldn't freeze at the bus stop. I'll let you know if that happens. I may need some more home made hot cocoa. mmmm.

I've got about half the presents wrapped...and now I really miss our Christmas tree. I need some lights to cozy up to on this cold night. Maybe I'll work on stringing up something this weekend. You can never be too late with Christmas cheer...but for now, I'll just admire the lights in our neighborhood.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...Two Turtle Doves. I just read on Wikipedia today that the 12 days of Christmas actually occur AFTER the 25th, so my plan is a bit flawed, but I'm going to keep with the spirit. These are my Christmas doves, perched in their home on the "mantel". Red and gold - my favorite holiday colors.

On the first day of Christmas...
I guess this is our tree this year - I like it because its a very mod tree and it kind of looks like I'm combining Christmas with Hanukkah...so we're just staying hooray for all modern day wintery celebrations. Right now, I'm watching the snow fall behind the twinkle lights. Its covering up the melted, frozen mess left behind from yesterday's high and today's plunging temps. Our nephew was out in the South Dakota Blizzard today...I hope it finally got white and stays that way until we get there!

too cold to take pictures.

Wow - these multi-picture posts are just becoming standard. I wish I had more time to ponder the pictures, but I guess its just another group of favorite things. While snow is one of my favorites, driving in it on a lonely road - not so much.

I love Christmas trees and all of our old ornaments (my mom has them cataloged, so if one goes missing or when we used to fight over who's were who's, we know).

LOVE Grand Marais sunsets.

My parent's dog Teeka is definately one of my favorite things (pets).

And finally, walking in the snow home from work is a favorite thing!

Buttons. Another of my favorite things.

My favorite things. I'm going to do a few posts under the heading of my favorite things.

While there are a lot of things on these shelves, the actual case is one of my favorite things. It was a goodwill find for $25 dollars during a time when that was a lot of money. It was covered in dark, slick varnish and had nasty paneling on the back. So I sent it home in a van to my parents house and refinished it over the summer I was living there. I stripped and sanded and stained it ORANGE. Then I restained for a custom blend. (I liked it so much - I tried to repeat the same "custom" job on our coffee table...) Then I put a new back on it, stained the same. I love the shape - its so 1940's with a curved front. Its been a bookshelf, an nightstand, and now is a buffet for the dining room.

Its a really BIG round-up of overdue posts today, due to the following activities that I was doing instead of blogging. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, wine...food coma....a bit of shopping (nothing traditional - fabric and furniture, no crowds), and the holidazzle parade, riding the bus with the family and standing outside the ice bar. Pretty much sums up the holiday portion of the weekend.

The rest of the weekend I decorated for Christmas (no tree this year - I just can't handle the needles, but plenty of cheer around the house). I also started some projects that are Christmas presents, so no posts yet...

Did you see the planets next to the moon yesterday eve? I made this wall hanging to display holiday cards on.But most of my time in the last few days has been sucked into my newest read. Eat, Pray, Love - great book. You should read it. I always get caught up in books. I pretty much stop doing anything else - sleeping, washing dishes...I have heard "Ree, put the book down and come to dinner" and have contemplated walking down the street with a book. REALLY GOOD BOOK.So, that's pretty much my weekend. How was yours?