Project 365+1: Days 357 - 363

I can't believe I've nearly made it a whole year of taking a photo each day. There were a couple of occasions where I didn't think it would happen, but I think having this blog has helped. In the past when I've attempted Project 365 I've tended to keep the results to myself and I've never lasted longer than March.

Day 357: The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care

I hung our stockings up a little while before the rest of the decorations mainly because I wanted to ease Tara into the idea of having interesting things all around the house that she wasn't allowed to eat. It seemed to work (though she was fascinated with John's stocking, the one on the left, and kept trying to nibble the reindeer's scarf whenever he wasn't looking).

We don't actually have a chimney, well, there's actually two on the roof, but we don't have any fireplaces. The space under one of the windows in the living room lines up pretty well with where one of the fireplaces probably would've been, so it seemed as good a place as any to hang them. Unfortunately we couldn't put Tara's up because it was already full of treats and would've lasted about thirty seconds. I did leave it with the others on Christmas morning and she spotted it right away and knew it was hers!

Day 358: Three Years

Christmas Eve is also our third wedding anniversary and so we exchange a new Christmas tree decoration each year. This year's anniversary was leather, so Mr Click gave me this little leather heart, and I gave him a stocking trimmed with a little leather band.

I hope that when we have kids we'll be able to carry on this tradition so that over time, every Christmas tree ornament will have some little story behind it. As we started doing this before we got married, there are already quite a few up there.

Day 359: Christmas Present(s)

We had a lovely Christmas. We started the day by opening stockings in bed (Tara got her first present out straight away which kept her quiet while we unpacked ours). Then we bundled the presents under the tree into the car and headed to Mr Click's parents' where we all exchanged gifts there and finished the present opening.

The bags above are what we came home with (though Muppet Treasure Island was in Mr Click's stocking, we watched it that night and it got put there because I couldn't be bothered to take an extra five steps to put it away). All in all it was a very successful day.

I should also confess that these bags are more or less still there. Mr Click unpacked all of his stuff, but I've been a little bit slower to find homes for my bits and pieces. Today I finally cleared out the one on the left, so I should get around to the other one later on. It makes Christmas seem to last a little bit longer because it's like opening your stocking all over again!

Day 360: Polly and Roland

Now I've got an iPhone I can sit and get caught up online at my in-laws' house without having to get my laptop out, which makes it easier to sit and knit. Over Christmas I've spent a lot of time knitting, especially while we've been there because I can check stuff online, knit, chat and watch TV. This has proved useful for getting these little guys finished.

Polly is on the right (and has a slightly odd shaped head because I didn't follow the instructions correctly). Roly (short for Roland Junior) is the little fellow on the left. I'm really pleased with how they've turned out and I'm getting very quick at knitting them (which is just as well considering I've got to make seven in total, plus their parents and I've just had four new Jean Greenhowe knitting books delivered)!

Day 361: Wise Old Owl

This was one of the gifts in my stocking, and I love it. I used to wear necklaces all the time, but now I have to wear a security pass to work I don't tend to wear them so much. I keep on meaning to pick up a little clip so I can fasten my pass to my clothes and then I won't have to worry about strangling myself when the two strings round my neck get tangled up.

I've worn this necklace almost every day that I've not been at work over the holiday (and believe me, there have been lots of those days), it catches the light beautifully and has a good weight to it too. The one problem is when I bend over the rat cage, the owl pendant can slip between the bars and then twists so I'm attached to the cage! Nearly injured myself feeding the girls the other night.

One of the knitting books that arrived this week has a pattern for an owl in it, so I'm beginning to think that I'll have to give it a go at some point. This could be the beginning of a new collection!

Day 362: Snuff

When my Nan sent me some Christmas money, I knew I wanted to put it towards some books and Snuff was the obvious choice. It's one of only two of the latest Discworld books that I didn't have. Unfortunately Dodger isn't available in paperback yet, so I'm holding off getting that until some time next year. I put the rest of the money towards some knitting pattern books for making more toys and dolls with.

Just as soon as I've read Snuff (probably some time in the next couple of months) I'm going to have to have a big reorganisation of all my books on this bookcase. The Terry Pratchett ones have been up on it ever since I got the bookcase, so it'll be weird not to have them on it anymore.

We're hoping to get a new bookcase for our DVDs to go in the front lobby (at the moment they're in a little cupboard) so the cupboard will go upstairs, so hopefully these books won't need to go back into a box, they'll fit into the cupboard and it might even give us a bit more floorspace in the spare bedroom. And if I empty out one book box I'll either have to get rid of it, or perhaps find some more books to fill it up with...

Day 363: An Obsession Grows

It won't be long before Santa gets put away until next year, but it's probably just as well because the Roley Poley family are growing (quite amazing really when you consider that I've not actually made the parents yet). I'm having good fun making these little dolls anyway, they knit up very quickly and look cute too. I'm beginning to run into little mental blocks when it comes to picking what colours to make their clothes, but I think that's because I've got so much choice, I've just started asking on Twitter instead and letting them choose.

The one to the right of Santa, next to Scrat (who was snuggled at the top of my stocking on Christmas Day) is called Rosie and I just finished her yesterday. Each of the girls has slightly different hair and Rosie's is short and straight. There was a slightly nerve-wracking moment when I'd got her all finished and had to trim her hair to make sure it was all the same length, but I think I did a fairly good job. Each doll seems a little bit better than the next, by the time I get to number seven I should be able to whip them out in an afternoon!

And now we're almost at the end of the year. I've still got a couple more days off work so it's going to be a quiet New Year with family (and the traditional New Year's Eve thread on HTV). Hope everyone's all set ready for 2013!