What happened to Christmas?

Wow...that was a blur. It seems like November 14, the Tracey kick-off to the Christmas season was just yesterday. I can't believe they'll be taking down the lights on Monument Circle in just 9 short days. The lights from Monument Circle are one of the things that I always look forward to at this time of year. I used to hate the darkness of winter; I go to work in the dark and I come home in the dark most of the time. But, my route always takes me past the circle so that I can see the Christmas lights. I've even figured out the exact point when I need to look to the right when I am driving to work through the 65/70 connector through the city. I drive home at street level, so it is much easier to see, but I always look forward to those lights.

This year Trevor and I did our Christmas craft that he gave as gifts to all of his brother's and sister's. We did stepping stones for everyone's gardens, once summer comes. While this was an awkward craft, kind of heavy to be exact, it was one of my favorites to do. While I'm not looking to go on a round 2 of mixing 130 pounds of concrete in my house, I liked that we were able to use bottle caps for the designs, thanks to Goose the Market. Trevor made the designs for each person on his own and painted everything too. I was the concrete mixer and molder. The picture above shows Trevor with a few of the stones that he made.

We actually finished Trevor's craft on December 19 when we wrapped everything and took them to his family Christmas celebration. The good thing for me is that this had inspired me to continue on and make some crafts on my own. I made a couple of gifts this year, which actually haven't gone to their recipients yet, so no pictures yet. And, since I had the sewing machine out, I've been finishing up a craft that has been stuck at it's midpoint indefinitely. I've been sewing all day today, and one more day should do it. And one more trip to a store. More to follow if I do finish this week.

I spent Christmas at my brother Bob's house. It was great to spend Christmas up there. Their house is always so relaxing and the food is fabulous. We had steak for Christmas dinner cooked on the grill. I can't even tell you the last time I had a steak cooked on a grill, but it was probably at Bob's house. Delicious!

It has just all gone so fast. I still have 6 days of vacation, so I'm trying to not think about work at all. It hasn't been difficult.

I hope you all are having a great holiday season.