Another Christmas Eve is upon us...

It's been a bit busy here today as DH and I get ready to have our family (and a few extra people) Christmas Eve dinner. It's become a bit of a family tradition to celebrate on this night and it's always a fun, sometimes noisy celebration. For a few years we've had a BBQ dinner but I know that everyone prefers a hot roast dinner, so that's what we're having tonight. I've been very fortunate that the day isn't nearly as hot as the previous days. The plan had been to cook the beef in the slow cooker on the verandah but it's cool enough to have it on the kitchen bench.

 He hehe...our doors look like they have one round eye and one rectangular one!

 This little fellow greets all our guests as they come through the doors...my friend painted him for me about 25 years ago. He emerges from his tissue paper each December, looking as good as new! lol

Over the years I've come to really love the poinsettia as a symbol of Christmas.... 

If our guests come in the back gate, we have a wreath at the back steps to greet them as well...

This photo only shows some of the gifts for our 12 guests tonight...

My friend Pamela made me 2 new tablecloths for Christmas and added some lovely deer table decorations...

Lastly I would like to wish everyone who reads my blog, the very best for a wonderful Christmas. May your Christmas be filled with peace, joy and love. Thank you to those of you who leave comments; they really make my day when you do... Here's a card that I did especially for all of you. (the site is safe)

That same friend also made me this wreath in 2 of my favourite colours (hand dyed with silk paints)

Still being 'spoiled' and another 'finish'.

Firstly some more goodies in the Advent swap...The day that I opened up the parcel and found the Gail Pan pattern was a lovely surprise because only a few days before I had been looking at her patterns online and thinking how nice they were and that maybe I should order one to try...so how opportune was Cheryl's gift??

Now I feel a bit like a spoiled, over-indulged child but here are some photos of some of the goodies that I got from Liz in Canberra in another Christmas Swap; this one was organised through Elfster. Liz wrote in her card that she thought that a 'pamper' basket was the way to go at this busy time of year...and I readily agree! lol 

Look at these lovely wine glass markers in the shape of Christmas baubles...

 Then there was a  reusable coffee mug (with a lid) with a flavoured coffee...

 The pampering continues with some lovely green tea facial wipes (so gentle), some guest soaps that smell yummy enough to eat! a lovely body lotion, a tulle sponge and some tissues, all resting on a hand towel and washer set of the softest towelling.

 The basket had been wrapped in a beautiful linen Christmas tea towel...

 And look at these beautiful tree decorations and that gorgeous red ribbon with white stars that decorated the basket.

Thank you Liz for my beautiful pamper basket; I love it!

Now way back on November 30, posting day for this swap, I forgot to take a photo of what I sent Liz. Here's the parcel all sealed up ready for the post bag. I 'toyed' with opening it up when I realised I'd forgotten to photograph it, but because I'd used my last sheet of tissue paper at that moment, (I like to first wrap craft projects in tissue, then gift wrap) and I knew it would tear if I tried to undo it, I let it go. It was a banner made with felt letters (about 6 inches in height) which were padded and decorated and spelled out Merry Christmas. As I admitted to Liz, I didn't make it but instead bought it from the Karuna Hospice Christmas Markets.

Any way Liz reported that she and her 5 children loved the banner so it's found a good home!

Last Wednesday, I went to my last Knit and Natter for 2012 and by knitting under the fan the previous weekend, I was able to take along 'a knitting experiment' all finished. I'd often mused over whether it was possible to make an interesting looking knitted throw just using garter stitch. Some interesting/fancy yarns had been donated to K4BN in recent months and I had taken a few odd balls of these to see what I could come up with.

Now I knew that that old favourite of mine, the chevron , by its very nature, pulled in the width of the knitting somewhat, so I expected to get a wider piece of knitting with plain garter stitch. Hah hah! But I wasn't to know just how much wider it would be! I cast on the same 198 stitches as for the chevron and it soon became obvious that this was going to be much wider...it was 1.68m wide rather than the 1.2-1.3m of the usual chevron despite being the same number of cast on stitches.

The width of the throw nearly covers my large outdoor table...

It wasn't long before I decided that when finished, I would turn the throw so that the strips ran down not across as usual :-)
As well as the lovely donated yarns, I also used some 'leftovers' from the throw that I made for the parish Art Show in July.

Lots of colour and texture in my old favourite (but discontinued) Patons' loopy

As I mentioned, I decided to rotate the throw so the stripes run up and down. But the recipient can turn it any way he/she likes! lol

I know that Karen (the founder and organiser of K4BN) reads this blog and I bet as she reads this, she's already thinking of where 'its new home' may be. The girls at the K&N on Wednesday have said that my experiment has been, in their opinion, a success :-) . And I'm pleased that I got the effect I was hoping for by using those fancy yarns mixed with plain.

It's certainly beginning to look like Christmas...

Yes Christmas is fast approaching. The menu seems to be finalised and the guest list is growing as family members remember people they would like to bring along to our place on Monday night. DH and I will do most of the shopping for food items on the weekend with just the ice for the esky holding the drinks to be picked up on Monday. There's a few more presents to be wrapped and some vouchers to be purchased online to be popped into greeting cards. All the Christmas cards have been posted, as have parcels to relatives  and friends interstate or even just across to the other side of our city. Becky got the little parcel of 'Australiana' that I sent her a few weeks ago as did another US friend,Claudia.

Claudia's cat, CC, sitting beside the 'kangaroo' Christmas stocking and the face washer with a cross stitched kangaroo.

The few shops that I've been into have been having big markdowns and one wonders how they manage to do this. I'm not complaining, as some of my (almost) last minute gift buying have been absolute bargains.

Yesterday a former colleague came over for lunch and of course we exchanged gifts! 

Great minds think alike...we gave each some towels as well as some other things. And Lee also gave me some very special mini Christmas puddings made by another friend of hers. They contain sugar but I'm still going to eat some! lol

And having fun pulling out all those decorations has continued...

Since this photo was taken, the tree skirt has been added and a number of wrapped gifts...

 The tall narrow set of shelves in the corner of the lounge room normally holds family photos and DH's golf trophies. I cleared out 3 of the shelves and put in some Christmas decorations....

The beaded Santa was a gift from a student in 2004. He had saved up to buy it for me...how humbling is that :-) Naturally I treasure it!

A close up of my knitted Nativity which I bought many years ago  at a craft market

A little tree covered in baubles that my SIL made me about 5 or 6 years ago...the runner on the bench was a gift from my SIL (from my first marriage)

Even the coffee table wasn't safe from my decorating fervour... in the bowl is actually an old hanging ornie which had a few scratches etc on it from its long years of service. You can't see the marks when it's surrounded by tinsel and sitting in the bowl :-) The tablecloth was on special at Spotlight about 10 years ago!

This was a fabric wreath that my SIL gave me in the early 1980s. Marlene was involved with a mothers' group that made items for the school fete where her children went. She bought this for me from their stall. It originally had some gum nuts as decoration but they had eventually disintegrated and the ribbons were a bit worse for wear. So I washed and ironed the ribbon, wiped over the dusty wreath, found some fancy gold ribbon I had bought for $1 for the roll and added a decoration that had been on a Christmas hamper that I received one year. 

 So now it's hanging up again, just like new.

Just got a text from DD1, there is someone else she would like to come for dinner on Christmas Eve :-) Hmmm another male...might have to re think how big the pieces of meat that I plan to roast  should be! lol

Some more decorating...'old friends'

In a previous post I mentioned that I have sorted through all the boxes of stored Christmas decorations and have found decorations that I'd completely forgotten about, just like this one... 

I don't know for sure which DD made this but it would have been in her primary school years; possibly at After School Care. My daughters both attended ASC because I was the coordinator of the centre at their school. The paddlepop sticks have been glued to a piece of card and then the message written on with crayon pens. What a treasure and I had forgotten all about it!

Now the next 'forgotten' decoration also has a bit of a story attached to it. It is worked on plastic canvas and the lady who made it, is now no longer with us...she passed away about 5 years ago.

 Audrey was a retired kindergarten teacher who was really 'into craft'. When some funds were needed in our parish, she stitched these wall hangings to sell to raise funds. I bought 4 and gave 3 away as gifts...leaving this one for our family Christmases. I had also forgotten about it and it just sat in one of the boxes in the cupboard. It's brought back lots of happy memories.

A close-up of the stitching

Now the next item has been out on display at Christmas, the last 2 years after I found it all wrapped up in tissue paper at the bottom of a box of decorations.  And it has a bit of a story attached to it as well :-)

Quite a few years ago I saw the plate in a magazine ad and 'just had to have it', but it was being sold through the 'Bradford Exchange' which is similar to the Franklin Mint. These companies sell 'collectibles' but once you buy something, they pester you for ever with mail outs and offers. I ended up buying the plate as I thought that it was so cute and my DDs and I are all cat lovers. There are some real personalities amongst those cats, including some herald angels! These companies sell far too many of each item for them to be valuable, but I didn't buy it as an investment, so that's alright :-)  .

  

'Bibs and bobs' or what's been happening around here...

Firstly some photos of the Advent swap, although not right up to date...Cheryl continues to spoil me with delightful items in the parcels...
The beautiful bird ornament with the Santa hat is now decorating the long bench that the TV sits on. The purple bracelets have already been worn and I love them. The little teal and purple purse is so sweet and the vintage Santa tin has a secret...

 It's actually a candle!

This amazing Christmas bell is also decorating the TV bench

Many thanks Cheryl; I love what you've sent me!

 Now as the month of December continues to rush headlong towards Christmas,  there is a winding up of group meetings. Last Saturday I had breakfast with my high school mates and then I headed off to the last Grovely Knit and Natter for the year. Only 3 of us made it but we certainly had a great time catching up.

And of course we had some Show and tell...Dianne takes T shirts and polo shirts and turns them into a dress by crocheting a skirt and sewing it to the hem of the shirt...They look wonderful!

It's amazing how blogger turns photos around :-/ 

 Sue had made another of her knitted in the round jumpers for the Summer Challenge...

A closeup of the pouch/pocket on the front...

Lastly I'll show some of the decorations that I've put together. Usually I just decorate the tree and maybe throw a bit of tinsel on the shelves of the hutch. Inspired by other bloggers I have gone through every box of decorations stored in the top cupboards in the bathroom and consequently I've 'found' ornaments that haven't seen the light of day for years... So I've decorated more areas than usual.
When the sofa table got ousted from the loungeroom when we bought the modular lounge, it sat in the corner of the dining room. It normally has family photos on top but I put them away for a few weeks and put up the little tree that I used to use in my classroom. It has handmade ornaments plus old ones from my girls' childhood...

 Last year my friend Lee gave me some lovely Aussie animal ornaments....

It has been quite hot here and the gold candles have started to bend because of the heat :-(

Next time I'll post some photos of other decorated areas. The girls will get a surprise when they come over on Christmas Eve...I've really had fun!

Year 7 Graduation Dinner

Last Wednesday night I was honoured to be able to attend the Graduation Dinner for the Year 7 class at my former workplace. This particular class had been my students when they were in Year 2. The dinner was held in the school hall...

The invitation...

The back entrance to the school hall...

Looking from the cafe area of the Tuckshop into the kitchen...

The hall with tables all set for the festivities...

Note the black plastic over the front doors of the hall...it has to be a surprise :-)  The principal and the Year 7 teacher are just doing a last minute check before the students come in...

A message above the stage area...

One of the organiser mums and her son (former student of the school) ...Jo wanted to get some photos as the students came through the door...

Teachers and teacher aides were asked for a group photo...

A little gift box of goodies to take home...

The table decorations included little lights run with little individual power packs :-)

Lights are dimmed and some dancing starts...

 We were served the most beautiful savouries on arrival, followed by a delicious buffet meal. The food was prepared and served by a group of hard-working parents (and 2 former students) . As well, these parents had also made the decorations and then decorated the hall and tables that afternoon. A lot of work and planning over the last few months.

Some of those workers behind the scenes...

But that's not all... a DVD of the slideshow of school photos of the year 7 students throughout their time at the school was presented to former staff. (other staff would have received their copy by Friday)

The DVD of photos plus a booklet

A lovely evening and my last at that school as all the children that I have taught have now finished primary school. There won't be many Year 7 graduations still to go (only 2013 and 2014), as Queensland will join most states and have primary schooling finishing at the end of Year 6.