Here is the holiday china pattern that I got for Christmas. It's called Holiday Traditions by Mikasa. It is so lovely and I am already plotting to use it on any holiday I can possibly stretch to include holly. I have china that was my grandmom's that I use for other holidays so this will probably become the christmas/new year china. How decadent is that?

Last night we picked Kate's friend Holly up from the airport. She flew in from Missouri. It was not a smooth trip due to the snow storm in the midwest. They cancelled her original flight and moved her to another one. Fortunately, she got here safely. She also said that after Jan 1, you will no longer be able to take batteries on US flights. Pretty soon, you will have to fly naked so that your clothes can't be used as a weapon.

Today, we took Holly to travel through the woods. This is Kate and Holly standing in a precarious (to me) spot to take a photo. They stopped and took may photos today but I didn't mind. We drove through the puddles (it rained rather hard last night) and the day was a perfect 57 degrees. A bit unusual for December but I'll take it. This is my embossed leaves sock among the leaves. It looks right at home. I am almost finished the second sock and the urge to finish is great. I have not spent any quality time with the shaw. I have done 4 rows. I am not used to such a large project (done on such thin yarn) and it seems to take forever to see any progress. I think once I get into the lace parts it may go faster and I will enjoy it more. For now, I do some and put it down. I don't want to fall asleep working on it and make a mistake.

Anyone make any interesting New Year's resolutions? I have my standard one, to try to be a better person and to engage in less gossip. I will add -to finish the Icelandic Lace Shaw, although I hope it doesn't take the whole year! We will be home, watching movies and eating ourselves silly. Kate and her friends are going galactic bowling. We did that for a few years when the girls were younger and it was lots of fun. Noisy music, food, bowling, swirling mist and strobe lights. What more could you ask for?