Giftmas and other Holiday stuff

The weekend before Christmas we got a bunch of snow! I was not expecting this at all, but it was a nice surprise. It stuck around through the weekend, and snowed a bit more on the 21st, but by Christmas Eve it had rained and most of it was gone. I'm just happy we had a few days of it though!





The Saturday before Christmas the weather during the day was a bit dodgy, and we were not sure of the condition of the roads, but I wanted to fit in one more Christmas Market and get out of the house for a bit.
I had seen pictures and heard good things about Rudesheim, which is a cute little town right on the Rhine river. It was bitter cold, but we walked around through the narrow streets and crowds of shoppers for about an hour that evening, listening to carolers and stopping for some much-needed Rudesheim Coffee!
They make a local brandy in Rudesheim called Asbach Uralt, which they light on fire then add to coffee with sugar and LOTS of whipped cream, and serve it in these interesting cups. Very warming!

We were a bit too cold to do any shopping, but we definitely need to go back and explore more of Rudesheim's shops and restaurants in warmer weather!



On the morning of the 21st it was clear with fresh snow, and Joe and I walked out to the edge of the base to watch the Solstice Sunrise over the fields.


And then 15 or so members of both knitting groups I belong to came over for a Solstice Knitting Brunch! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, except of the Pineapple Upside-Down cakes I made!


I also made AMAZING Cranberry Eggnog scones, via this King Arthur Flour recipe (added cinnamon and cranberries instead of chips), and my Chocolate Mint Crackle cookies too.

The rest of the week was very low-key. I made some fingerless gloves for Joe for Giftmas (I'll post the pattern later), finished plying some more Gale's Art Merino, and we had a quiet and romantic dinner on Christmas Eve, so that on Christmas we could be lazy and not have to cook. I made apricot-glazed ham, roasted acorn squash, green bean casserole and stuffing. We had apple pie for dessert.



Giftmas highlights include a FANCY KITTY DRUM CARDER from my wonderful husband, and the new Judith MacKenzie McCuin spinning book, a cute dress and little tea pots from my sister, a cool modern tea pot from my Mom, and a Schacht drop spindle, along with the usual assortment of games and candy and clothes.

And here's a picture of our "Fishy-Jew-Llama-Tree" Now with more Alpacas!


I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday week!