Christmas 2014

I am tempted to say that once again Christmas has come & gone too quickly, but that wouldn't really be correct since today is only the 6th day of Christmas.  Many people start taking down their trees & decorations the day after Christmas. A very sad thing to do in my book, but if you bought a real tree to decorate on Thanksgiving weekend, you probably don't want it hanging around the house too long after the blessed day   : )

It was another quiet Christmas here in The Devil's Playground.  After our traditional breakfast of homemade orange rolls ...

... we snapped a few photos & then opened our gifts.  

Yes, once again we we lit the fireplace DVD.  Just imagine our joy if we had a real fireplace!!! 

Some of my happiest times leading up to Christmas were opening & displaying our Christmas cards.  I had asked in a blog post at the beginning of the month if anyone wanted to exchange cards with me.  I received lovely cards from all over the world!  I'm looking forward to another blog Christmas card exchange next year!

What was my very favorite thing about Christmas this year?  It was when John & I visited our wonderful son the weekend before Christmas. We hadn't seen him in a long, long time.  Now that he's living closer to us, we will get to see him more often   : )

Matt & a friend have entered into a business venture ... breeding Lllwellin setters & Weimaraners. I'm not really much of a dog person.  Don't get me wrong ... I like dogs.  I just prefer cats.  Well, don't tell Sophie, but I fell in love with Weimaraners.  This is me & Chloe.  Do I look happy much?  Lol!  I had never heard of Weimaraners before Matt became involved with them.  They are the sweetest, most docile dogs I have ever seen. Right up our alley   : )   If I'm remembering this correctly (Matt will correct me if I'm wrong), Chloe is 6 weeks old in this photo & she's weighing in at 26 pounds.  I really, really, really wanted to bring one of these puppies home, but Sophie would not have been a happy feline if I had done so.  This coming year I'm going to try to sell her on the idea.  Wish me luck   : )  

I am going to be adding two new pages to my sidebar ... Christmas Exchanges & Gifts from Me to Others - 2014, & Christmas Exchanges & Gifts from Others to Me - 2014.  I also plan to make a page with the remainder of my 2014 stitching & even go back to gather all my stitching projects per year together on their own pages.  Nothing I enjoy more than making work for myself ... lol!  This, however, seemed to be the best way to go about things ... keeping them all on their own page rather than a little here, a little there in various blog posts.  I'll do a post as each page is created.  

Our decorations will stay on display for another week at least ... the tree longer.  I think it was nearing the end of January last year when I finally took it down.  I'm in no rush for Christmas to be over.

At the grocery store on Christmas Eve Eve I discovered jars of tulip plantings & had to bring one home.  I didn't think to take a photo until today so they aren't as nice looking as they were a day or two ago, but still much enjoyed by both of us.  

I will leave you with this photo of our newest acquisition for our home.  I never include wise men in a nativity display for several reasons, but John talked me into it this year because they were "cute" & "fit in" with the set.  Next year I'll leave them out, but this year I let him have his way   : )  

Remember to keep Christ not only in Christmas, but in every day of the year.