December 2018-The Last

Oh my goodness-it is nearly 2019! New Year's Eve in Omaha has largely been cancelled due to the ice storm, sub-zero cold and ferocious wind headed our way tonight. I'm glad the city cancelled the fireworks event downtown because I was NOT looking forward to risking a slip and fall on ice covered streets. At my age a broken hip can be a damn death sentence. Instead, we're staying in, playing board games, listening to music and hopefully getting to bed at a reasonable hour. 

  So, 2018. What a year it was, too. For Danny, it was wonderful finding out he was mis-diagnosed with both a nut allergy and asthma. And yes, I am still mighty annoyed with the old allergist, but am moving on. He has another year of allergy jabs, and then he's pretty much free to just get on with it, and I am so, so happy for him. The rest of the year I could have done without, but I'm going to stay focused on the happy moments. The kid is pretty grown up for fourteen, but I still buy his clothes for him

God bless Shifty Thrifting and their Teespring shop. I'm never at a loss for a creative gift.

 Anyway, here we are, nearly in January and I've barely scratched the surface of my winter wardrobe owing to our strange weather. I used to divide it into Winter I and Winter II with the first part being largely sequins, sparkle, velvet and other gaudy assorted items. This year though, I've had days that would be too warm for velvet and days where woolens aren't nearly enough. It has been very week-to-week. I shudder to think what January and February are going to be like. Sweater/jumper wearing has been light so far without any need to bring out the heavy hitters like the Irish fisherman's sweater or the Norwegian ski sweater. Personally, I kind of hope I don't need them this year although I know it won't be a good sign if I don't.

 This is a vintage piece from the Amana Woolen Mills (though it is acrylic) in Iowa. They no longer produce clothing, but they do make lovely blankets if you are looking for a nice gift. I have several sweaters and even a wool suit, but this piece is my favourite. It doesn't look like much, but I wouldn't want to be without it.

 Some days though, I just want to wear a scratchy wool sweater with a reindeer on it.

The back is solid blue. Less versatile than the Amana piece, it makes me feel ready for fun whenever I wear it. This year, I wore it for a Christmas Day hike around the NRD.

 It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

It was warm enough to go without a coat or sweater if you are a teenager. He's always hot five minutes after starting a hike. Me? I could freeze to death on a 70 degree day.

 We came home and enjoyed our leftover Feast of the Seven Fishes paella from Christmas eve, and had the Christmas cake Danny made back in August (we've been feeding it brandy regularly). I did the icing and decorating, obviously. An angel is traditional on a Christmas cake...

...I really shouldn't be trusted with gingerbread and royal icing. 

After owning this bracelet for years, I finally remembered to wear it. 

I also, at long last plugged in the electric tea kettle I bought ages ago but was too intimidated to use. In my defence it came with a substantial booklet of instructions and everything was labelled, "CAUTION!" I once gave away an unused, expensive espresso maker because it was too scary-and it had a video tape of instructions to go with the booklet!

Sure, go ahead and laugh but I can think of better ways to injure myself than with pressurised steam. 

The boys surprised me with some wonderful textiles. I bought Mr. ETB a much needed wallet, and Danny some tickets to ballgames this summer. Neither make for great photos, but they were pleased with their gifts. Danny will be getting a new camera for birding/nature photography this year, but December isn't the best time to buy that. Hopefully we'll find what he wants at a price we can manage before the crane migration starts in February. 

 If you look closely, you can see thew quilted skirt depicts scenes from The Iliad. The textile designer is Victor Malta who was never a terribly sought after artist until a few years ago. This was a wonderful find, and I'm so happy to have the circle skirt in my collection. it is a very wide skirt, with an unfortunately tiny waist. That's what button extenders are for!

 Years ago I made Danny an embroidered quilt with scenes from the Iliad on it. Some stories just work well on fabric, I guess.

 This vintage tea towel depicting sites along the Freedom Trail in Boston is too nice to use! I'll be framing it and hanging it in the kitchen.

I had a bit of a scare with my vision this year, but after a re-check it looks like everything is fine. The arthritis medication I take can cause eye problems, so it was a bit worrying over the holidays until I went back on the 27th. Now I can relax. I'm still cross-eyed, but that hasn't got worse over the last year either, so good news all around! This photo really drives home why I need big frames as a distraction from my face. If I wore contacts I'd have to devote more than 30 seconds to drawing my eyebrows on evenly...and I think we all know that isn't going to happen😀.

I've been forced by bad outdoor light to take photos indoors and strangely the best light in the house is on the stairs. I can prop up my phone on the piano, set the timer, and manage halfway acceptable snaps without going outside or bothering anyone to take photos. I'm quite pleased with this as I really prefer to do things myself. I'll have to think of ways to dress up the stairs to keep things interesting.

And that's about it for now. I hope you have a wonderful 2019. Thank you all for tagging along with me here. See you after the ice storm!