But I battled on, put up some decorations, and hoped that the ice would clear up in time for the champagne brunch planned for Christmas day. Last year it got postponed until New Years because we still had five inches of snow on the ground, and the small cars my family drives would not make it up and over the little hill to get to our driveway. I was afraid this year was going to end up being a repeat, this time due to ice. It also occurred to me that, since the weather in December is usually dicey, and our road even dicier, maybe it would be a better idea if we did Christmas in July instead. I could pull out the holiday dishes and we could serve BBQ chicken instead of baked ham.
Mother Nature decided to give us a break, the temps rose to a balmy 45 (I was tempted to break out my shorts!), and the ice finally melted. The brunch was still a "go." And it turned out to be a lovely family get-together. Everyone contributed to the meal, we drank mimosas, and after the food, we all sat in front of the television and watched Holiday Inn with Fred Astair and Bing Crosby. This was a real breakthrough, since my family tend to be hit-and-run eaters. Show up for dinner, eat, and bail out before even the sauce on the empty plates has congealed. For them to hang around for almost three hours talking, and then watching (and some sleeping through) a movie was a real feather in my holiday cap.
Here is a photo of the table, before everyone sat down to eat. It's a bit cramped, since my table was originally designed to seat only six. With a little scooching, I can sit eight, but there were nine of us, so I ended up sitting on the end, with a table leg between my knees. Now that the holiday feasting is over, my dining room will revert back to a sewing room.
In the back corner is Inara, wearing my Spanish surcoat, made 30+ years ago. I have pulled it out of retirement and am making an under-dress to wear with it. I used to wear a shirt and long skirt with it, but the shirt fell apart, and the skirt is too tight (and is black with miles of gathers, sewn with black thread, and the thought of ripping all that out and trying to resew it gave me a headache), so I am making a lovely, off-white linen under-dress, which is what the garment would originally have been worn with anyway. That whole project is for an SCA Hogmanay feast (traditional Scottish New Year celebration) coming up January 4th.
As for the coming new year, I suspect it will be pretty much a repeat of 2013 = riding and mounted archery, sewing, beading, drawing, jewelry making, and going to various SCA and horse events. Maybe adding in some experiments with new art techniques or supplies. I have more costumes ideas in the works as well (too much time spent on Pinterest looking at costume eye-candy is to blame), to replace or supplement the old costumes we are still wearing, some of them looking pretty shabby.
So Happy New Year to those who stop by, and wishing you all the best in the coming months.
