Merry Day After Christmas!

We had a great time yesterday hosting 19 people at our house (including the two of us). This is the third year in a row that we've hosted and I think we've got the hang of it now (re: we've figured out how to coordinate cooking for and feeding 19 hungry mouths :)).

So many aspects of the day to cover, but this post is dedicated to the gifts I made and haven't been able to post about for the last two months. I had a goal to finish three afghans and one tote bag to give away. I started in September and actually did manage to finish all three afghans but changed the tote bag to a smaller toiletry-sized bag because I realized the tote wasn't really the recipient's style. It was really cool watching everyone open their gifts because they were so excited about the hand-made aspect; really, it was the best set of reactions a crafter could hope for!

Afghan #1 went to my aunt and uncle. This was the hardest one to do because I made it HUUUUGE (68" x 63"!) and the herringbone-style stitch had me stumped for a while. Once I figured it out though it was just a matter of sticking to it until I finished. This one took about a month to complete, and that was with nearly non-stop crocheting because I had a lot of time on my hands.

Afghan #2 went to my cousins. It was funny because this was actually the last one to get opened and before they opened it my cousin kept asking me, "Can we get in the queue for the next one?" This one worked up a lot faster (less than two weeks for a 60" x 58"), partly because it was done in a bulky yarn and partly because I understood the pattern better after having done a similar stitch in the first afghan.

And the last afghan went to another aunt & uncle. This one I wish I'd made a little bigger, but I added a border to make up for it (or at least try to make up for it--I still wish I had just made it wider to start with). It ended up at about 45" x 65" and also took about two weeks to finish.

Finally, here's the little bobble bag I made for my mom and gave to her as a stocking stuffer. I didn't do a great job of sewing the zipper on as it was the first time I've ever worked with a zipper, but it works. I want to learn how to line this with fabric, too.

That was it for Xmas '09! I'll definitely have to get around to making that tote bag as I've wanted to do it forever and now I actually have the yarn to make two of them so I'd better get on it. Who wants one? :)

Merry Christmas Eve! My fingers are about to fall off :P

Whew, it's been a whirlwind of holiday prep the last couple of days! We're hosting again this year for a crowd of somewhere between 17 and 21 people. I never did post the ginormous menu I made last year (5 entrees alone, never mind the bazillion sides, desserts, appetizers, etc.), but I think my family felt bad for me after seeing everything I made because this year they all volunteered to bring big dishes rather than just sides like they did last year. Or they just hated the food I made last year :P

Anyway, even though I'm only contributing one main dish--a phyllo-wrapped salmon--I've been prepping and cooking for the last two days. Willy has been doing a great job on errand and cleaning duty, freeing me up to focus on working in the kitchen.

I actually made my first items a few days ago, molasses sugar cookies which I gave to the neighbors (they're sooooo good!). Yesterday I made pumpkin bread and chocolate pots, and cleaned and chopped a lot of veggies in preparation for tomorrow. Today I made corn chowder, honey corn bread, stuffing, two apples pies, rice krispy treats, and sangria. Tomorrow I'll do mashed potatoes, pasta salad, baked brie (which will be served with a Wensleydale cheese too), Vietnamese cold noodles, sugar snap peas, and yu choy (had to have something traditionally Chinese for Grandpa). Oh, and the phyllo-wrapped salmon of course :)

So what's the family bringing? A roast, a ham, a turkey, mini cheesecakes, mini brownies, green & yellow beans w/mushrooms, kimchi pancakes, and probably more. Yeah, we eat a lot when we get together.

My hands are feeling the effects of constant dish and hand washing, but otherwise things have been pretty painless this year. I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow and start the celebration!

Aaaaand now it's snowing

2-4" predicted. 2 days after we had weather in the high 60s. See where the saying, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute" comes from?

Ah. global warming

I don't know how anyone can argue that global warming isn't a very real phenomenon. We had temps in the high 60s today...in December...in Boston. I'll admit though that I loved every second of it :) Got to walk around with no coat on and we even took the motorcycle out to dinner. Good times!