Merry Christmas!

 When I was a kid there were little craft kits, I think called Shrink Its, that you could paint and then put in the oven and the design would shrink up and become hard to use as a magnet or key chain.  It used to bother me that people could only do whatever design was purchased and not freestyle something.  Apparently, now you can.  For Christmas Keziah got me some beautiful earrings from a local artist.  The artist paints and then shrinks the design down.  

A female and male cardinal.

I got lots of other things too.  Other happy things from Christmas day:

• Keziah was happy to get the air fryer that I won at work.  We had been looking into getting one when we thought the toaster oven broke (it was a circuit).  She also liked the attachment I got for her Kitchenaid.  I think a general reorganizing of the kitchen will need to happen soon.  
• Zed and Gideon got drones.  The weather was icy and rainy so it was not a good day to take them outside.  They used them inside instead.

• Microspikes were worn today when anyone went outside.  The roads were icy and so were the sidewalks.  There is beauty in ice.

• There was laughter and love in the house today.  We got to talk online with distant family and friends.  It was wonderful to see Bel and Folke through the wonders of modern technology.  

My hope for you, dear reader, is that something made you happy today and every day.  😊

🎄 ☮ 🎄

Currently reading: The Middle Ages: A Graphic History, by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Happy Christmas Eve

 It is 3:30 AM on Christmas morning and I am just going to bed and writing my Christmas Eve Day blog.  Ah, the sleepless times of a Ms Claus.  After Gideon, Zed's mom, and I played at being members of the Claus family (we filled the stockings) I set out to clean the kitchen and wrap one last gift.  Here are some happy things from today:

• My big reason for cleaning the kitchen was to mop the floor.  It was time, but more importantly I purchased one of those mats that is supposed to make it easier to stand and I wanted to put it in front of the sink.  It obviously needed to go onto a clean surface.  Hopefully the family likes it when they wake up in the morning.
• I did work, but it was slow again so I left a little after nine this morning.  That gave me a little over an eight hour day instead of the eleven I was scheduled for.  Next week, when I get paid, I will not be happy, but this week I am glad I was able to leave early. 
• Christmas shopping is where I went after work.  There were just a few last minute ideas I had, including a new mop.  The store was not overly crowded and I didn't have to wait in line.  It was a rather pleasant trip for the day before Christmas.
• TF and I were able to have a nice long conversation about her son and his recent passing.  Tears, laughter, and love.  I remember when we met at a park in Texas.  We had just moved to the area and I had used the internet to find a homeschool park day for my kids.  I knew if I waited, I would procrastinate and not meet new people and then be miserable.  More importantly, my kids wouldn't meet new friends and they would be miserable.  So instead of unpacking, we went to the park.  Keziah and TF's son were almost the same age and Bel and her daughter were almost the same age.  They all got along great.  We only lived there a year and lost touch for a while after, I am so thankful that we didn't completely lose touch and our friendship is strong.  When the kids were little, TF's son and Keziah were almost a 'thing', but they were rather young, around eight years old at the time.  Keziah and her son turned 31 this year.
• We have a Christmas Eve tradition of giving Christmas books on Christmas Eve.  When my kids were little it was the one gift they could open before Christmas morning.  Keziah and Zed have continued this and so I got a new book.  

• The stockings are filled.  As a last minute thing I added some fairy lights.  I think it makes a nice touch.

☮

Currently listening to: The Autobiography of Santa Claus, as told to Jeff Guinn.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.