Ah, Christmas...

What a lovely, relaxing day. I'm SO glad I'm not one of those travel-'til-you-drop Christmas crazies anymore! When I was in my 20s, I used to hit 4 celebrations in 24 hours, spanning 2 counties! Work in Orange County retail hell 'til 6pm on Christmas Eve, quick change into presentable duds then drive to Dad & his family's place in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley for Christmas Eve dinner/Christmas morning brunch and pressies, then on to ex's brother's in Long Beach for Christmas lunch with the in-laws and their whole fam-damily, back in the car, drive to Santa Ana (back in the OC) for Christmas dinner with my mom and my sister; then, just when we thought we couldn't hold one more slice of ham or turkey, we'd pile back in the car yet again and head to the beach, where we'd spread a blanket at sunset, pop a bottle of champagne, and savor the lack of family, lack of traffic, and presents for one another. Lovely memories, but what a pain in the ass!

Now I get to stay in one place and savor the quiet comforts of a Christmas at home. Like our Christmas lights? Cole started a new Christmas Eve tradition last night that I highly recommend: WAFFLES! Lip-smackin'. They hit the spot around 9pm when he busted 'em out.

Up 'til 2am finishing Cole's Xmas socks, but it's not as bad as it sounds as that is my usual turning in time. They were finished, even re-knit one of the toes when I decided one sock was too short (we wear the same size shoe, so I can always custom-fit his socks, no problemo), wrapped, and under the tree by 2:15, but I actually couldn't bring myself to go to sleep 'til the sappy Lifetime movie I was watching concluded. I got totally sucked into the Fa-la-la-la-Lifetime vortex.

This morning, we slept in a bit before Cole made our daily coffee, I turned on the 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS, and we sat down to open the 3 packages under the tree (despite the fact that the rinky-dink string of lights I put on the tree apparently shorted out; bah humbug). As you can see, Cole loved his socks. I think the bike helmet ear warmers would have had a bigger effect if they were finished, but we'll see. Ravelers who want more details can check the project pages for Xmas Socks '08 and Can You Hear Me Now?.

He made me these gorgeous DPN knitting needles, made from bloodwood from South Africa. (Ooh, Wikipedia says its sap is often used in dyeing; a fibery connection!) Unfortunately, I apparently did a piss-poor job of explaining to him that DPNs aren't like straight needles: 2 just won't do! So he's going to complete the set next week.
(More sock & needle pics in our holiday set on Flickr.)

Here are side-by-side pics of our beautiful handmade gifties:




In addition to the handknits & the woodworking, we got a bottle of homemade ginger vodka from my friend from grad school, Reuben, and cookies from Bea - we had a truly DIY Christmas. I sipped that vodka all day long; it's addictive.

Got a call from Kerry, Cole's step-dad, and one from my Dad, and one from Varuna & Michelle, the bro- and sis-in-law (waves). Nice to connect with family without needing to brave weather or spend lots on gas or airplane flights.

We finished up with a big dinner Cole prepared: cheese ravioli, purple potatos, steamed asparagus & spinach, and frozen veggies. Now I'm about to cast on for StonerJaywalker sock #2, and maybe, just maybe, have one more glass of ginger vodka.

Hope your holiday was filled with all the love you could ever want. Merry Christmas!

Tags: christmas, holidays, knitting, presents, vodka