P & P

I went to see Pride & Prejudice today. I was fully warned that this new movie didn’t adhere strictly to any Jane Austen plot (thanks Hil!) and so I wasn’t disappointed on that score. Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the scenery, the great houses, the interiors, the dance scenes and the costumes. And, there was doll content- as there should be in a household of 5 girls. The dolls were even accurate for the time period- very unusual in my movie watching experience-of the type often referred to as Queen Anne Woodens.

another knitting project

scarf

No dolls lately. I am doing various January things- catching a cold, trying to get my house organized, general fretting about plans for the coming year; you know the drill. On top of that, I’ve been distracted by car stuff and camera shopping. I am at the fantasy stage of shopping for a new digital camera. It’s very time consuming! Anyway, I have been doing some more knitting. The yarn is so pretty and also very soft- I think there is mohair in it, but I’ve lost the label so I’m not sure. I am making another triangle scarf like last year. This one will be bigger though- this yarn came in a 100 gram skein and I’ll just keep knitting until I use it up. I have really liked my other one and have worn it a lot.

adventures and doll show

Yesterday I drove out to Springfield, MA with several people to see the Lisa Lichtenfels show at one of the Springfield Museums. It was the last day and I really didn’t want to miss it. Unfortunately the trip out was a bit more of an adventure then I would have liked- the car broke down 80 miles from home. We had to abandon the car to a VW dealer and rent another car to get us to the show and then back home. Hopefully tomorrow I will find out what the problem is and how expensive it’s going to be. Then I get to drive back out there to pick it up- great fun.

Anyway, the show was amazing. I’ve always wanted to see her work in person. The museum let you take photos, but I felt sort of funny about it. This ia a very bad photo of a very interesting display in the show- the stages of the sculpture

lisa l show

This life size sculpture of Pauline the Ticket Taker was my favorite. I also really liked Princess Arsinoe in the Ostrich Race.

new year

Okay, I’m ready to start because I’ve got my calendar hung up!

calendar

I am finishing up with Christmas- the tree is down and on the curb. The decorations are all packed up and back in the attic. I have finished up a few late projects- a hat for Ben and one for me-

2 hats

and I made Julian a different hat- he is living in Minnesota so he surely needs 2- This exciting picture shows it drying after I washed it.

j hat 2

and here is the great crafty related gift that Eleanor sent me from South Africa- fabric and beads-

gifts

finishing up in 2005

I liked Jess Hutch’s post on old projects– ghosts of crafty past. I have been seeing a lot of my old projects surface while clearing out my parents’ house. It is usually a great relief to heave them into the trash, although a few are special to me. Over Christmas, when I was down in Connecticut again and visiting a very dear friend that I’ve known from childhood, this appeared- yikes! I made this as a beach cover-up in 1970…

shirt

When I got back home I had a package from Australia waiting for me. Aren’t these the best!

pin and mouse

Thanks Hil!

Then, today, a mystery! A package with no return address and no message inside…

wood doll

Thanks so much, whoever you are!

Have a Happy New Year everyone! I am looking forward to a very good year ahead!

Christmas eve

No surprise- it has been crazy around here. I’m not very good at maintaining my sanity around this time of year. There is never enough time, everything seems out of control and this year seemed worse then usual. I always look forward to the first week in January when life returns to normal. Sort of.

I went on a cookie making toot- got to start with chocolate of course… and once I was in the cake decorating store there are so many fun things to look at. I had to get these chenille fir trees- I am sure they’ll come in very useful for something! and the flowers… they even sold edible glitter there!

choc

here is my chocolate melting-

melt

so I can dip the biscotti-

biscotti

some classics- I have great admiration for people who make beautifully decorated sugar frosting cookies- not one of my skills!

sugar

then I found an old issue of Fine Cooking that had some great recipes-

lime nut-

lime

and these spice cookies came out just like in the photo!

spice

there are about 4 other types that I haven’t photographed. These will be our family gifts. I’ve also been knitting, sewing, cooking and cleaning- busy, busy busy. Pictures of the projects will hopefully be posted after Christmas. It will be very strange to have Christmas without Eleanor here. She is experiencing the Holiday in the Southern Hemisphere. WE MISS YOU!!!!

Tonight we will have fondue from Brandy at Loosetooth. The perfect food for teenage boys. Nothing like a new tradition- yum!