Snail Spirals

Here are some of the things I meant to post before Christmas, but never got around to. First, we have a crafty endeavor of the botanical kind.



I can't stand to buy a wreath for $25 or more, when every year there are dozens of branches blown down around the house and the Lab that are free for the taking. I'm so cheap that I even reuse the bow, pinecone, wire framework, and wrapping wire from year to year. This year, I got fancy and added some lichen-tufted twigs. I think it looks quite snazzy.

Here's a shot of our inside tree this year:



Emma had quite the haul of presents. Shaun's dad and stepmom always go a little overboard on the gifts. While I'm not a fan of giving excessive presents, just to be giving presents, they did send lots of books and clothes this year. Clothes she can grow into are always appreciated, and I love that she loves to read. I think the prize this year was the paintbox my sister and her boyfriend sent. She absolutely loves it.



The Thursday night before Christmas, I got all inspired and decided to bake a loaf of Christmas bread, to have on Christmas morning. After I got going, I decided that this would also make good presents for the babysitter, the people at the Lab, and to take to a Christmas Eve party. So I went to town with the bread-baking. (it's actually not as much work as it looks like- one recipe makes two loaves.)



This is Julekage, the Norwegian version of Scandinavian Christmas bread, and one of my favorite recipes. It's a sweet bread, made with milk and eggs and cardamom and candied or dried fruit, with drizzly icing, and is entirely yummy. I could eat a whole loaf myself. Actually, I almost did. Shaun and Emma don't like it, so Dad and I polished it off. I should make this more...

Lastly, here's what I did on Wednesday. Start to finish, about eight hours.



Emma and I have both had massive colds (contracted from my dad) this week, so after he left on Wednesday morning, we both camped out on the couch all day. Thank goodness for Winnie-the-Pooh and Maisy DVDs. Between the movies, Emma's afternoon nap, and early bedtime, I finished the entire front of a large hardanger ornament, while trying to forget that I couldn't breathe and my sinuses were about to explode. This will be a present for a woman Shaun works with, because she gave me a big bag of unused spools of pearl cotton in various sizes, found in her mother's things after she passed away.