Amy Artisan

The Artisan family has always said that our holidays aren’t about tradition - they are about being together. Over the years, we have developed some traditions; however, we also know that the holiday will “go on” if we don’t do the traditions. Christmas 2008 was a real test of our holiday approach…looking back now, I think we all would agree that we succeeded.

A week before Christmas, Grandma was admitted to the hospital for unknown reasons - it was obvious that she was in general decline. After a couple of days she stabilized and we learned that she would be discharged to nursing home care - once a bed became available. Needless to say, it was tough being up here in Chicago away from everyone as this was all unfolding - I was counting the days until I would be flying home for the holidays. I made a last minute decision to fly out on 12/23 instead of on 12/24 as originally planned. On the 23rd I awoke to a snow storm here in Chicago - before I even left for the airport my flight was already delayed an hour. I didn’t care what the delay was - as long as I was able to get home! One hour turned to 2…3…4…but finally the flight was in the air.

Christmas Eve was filled with last minute shopping (groceries), visiting with Grandma and the final preparations for Christmas. Mid afternoon, while sitting with Mom for a bit at the hospital, I taught her how to knit (more on that in another post!). For dinner, I pulled together “a taste of Ikea” comfort meal - with a packet of the Ikea gravy mix, a bag of frozen meatballs and a pan of roasted potatoes & onions we quickly had a delicious dinner. Our Christmas Eve evening tradition is to watch It’s a Wonderful Life - this year, we were in the mood for Christmas in Connecticut instead.

When we awoke on Christmas morning, Mom made her delicious orange rolls for breakfast & as we enjoyed peppermint coffee we opened about half of our presents in the morning. Mom & Rebecca then went to the hospital to see Grandma. One of Rebecca’s friends brought us a delicious spread for our Christmas dinner in the early afternoon. Afterwards, we finished opening our gifts. After our traditional Christmas afternoon of napping & diving into the new books, Mom & I went up to the hospital for a bit - we took a plate of Christmas dinner for Grandma.

The day after Christmas, we received notice that a bed was available for Grandma at the nursing home - by dinner time she had been transferred. We were all relieved to have Grandma out of the hospital. On Monday afternoon she was transferred to the memory care unit - something that we all agreed was needed. The rest of the holiday time was spent visiting with Grandma, watching movies, reading new books, simple meals and just being together.

Rebecca got a new kitten, Maylene Noel, the weekend before Christmas who was more than happy to provide us with extra love & cuteness whenever we needed it. Because she was recovering from her “fix” surgery, she was just a lap kitty - although she was ready to get on the floor & explore.

Underneath the Christmas tree, there were many handknits. After months of keeping quiet about some of my knitting it was fun to finally share the projects with them!

For Rebecca, a Sunday Market Shawl in Dream in Color Butter Peeps. For Dad, a Hurricane Hat in Creatively Dyed Yarns Woodbrook. For Mom, a Christmas Lace Scarf in Brooks Farm Yarn  Four Play. I actually gave Mom her scarf when she was here in October - it was a cold weekend & it provided her with just the extra warmth she needed.On Christmas morning I placed a Mitered Hanging Towel on the oven door handle for Mom - I was thrilled with the JOY button that I found for it.

One of these days, I will knit socks for everyone in the Artisan Family - this was not the year for it. However, I was still able give everyone hand knit socks. This fall I discovered Fernwood Woolworks - Lynette uses her antique knitting machine to knit socks to your size specifications using the yarn that you send. So, I dove into my stash & found yarns for each of us. These socks are great - they fit us all perfectly!

Not all of the yarn under the Christmas tree had been knit by me. The Peruvian yarn feast continued with 2 more presents from Rebecca. I’m amazed that she was able to bring anything else home in her bag. In my stocking - a small skein of alpaca in 2 natural alpaca colors. Under the tree - a cone of beautiful forest green alpaca. Hmm…maybe a colorwork project?

All too soon, it was time for me to repack my suitcase & fly back to Chicago. While none of us could have predicted that this was how our Christmas would be this year, we all agreed that it still was a memorable one because of the the time we had together just “being a family.”

As this new year starts, so too starts my 4th year of blogging here at Amy Artisan - I’ll save my “year in review/looking ahead musings” for another post.

As the holidays approach (seemingly very quickly this year!) there are many sounds that make up the soundtrack - favorite carols & holiday songs, the Salvation Army bell ringers, the crinkle of tissue paper and wrapping paper and more. This week, two different sounds of thunder were added to my holiday soundtrack.

The first sounds of thunder were Wednesday evening - at the final US tour stop of Celtic Thunder. After work I met my friend Elaine for dinner & then we headed to the show. We knew the seats were “in front” but we were both surprised when we “kept walking” down the aisle & into the orchestra pit where seats had been setup. We were in the second row - just right of center. When a couple sat down behind us, the woman commented “they are going to sweat on us.” While the seats weren’t quite that interactive we definitely felt a part of the show. Since it was their last show of the tour they hammed it up a bit with some of the songs & just had fun with it all. It was a very fun evening & just what I needed after the previous couple of days - thanks Elaine!

(Quick Shot + No Flash = Blurry Pic)

The second sounds of thunder were early Friday morning - being awoken by thundersnow & the sound of sleet pelting against the windows. This has been a tough weather week - ice on Monday morning, a four hour commute in the snow on Tuesday evening and then this latest round of snow, sleet & ice. With all the winter weather that we’ve experienced so far this month it seems like it should be February. Looking out the window on Friday morning I was grateful that I could work from home for the day!

The recent weeks have been filled with many unseasonal sounds around here and it seems like I have a ton of things to get done for the holidays. In a few days I look forward to the sound of “now boarding flight…to Atlanta” and spending some time at home with the family in the ‘Ville. Before that happens, this Sunday will be another favorite sound of the holidays - friends gathering at my house for my annual holiday tea.

…extremely busy days at work as a big deadline nears…

…a 2 hour commute home this evening in the sleet & snow (it’s not even winter yet!)…

…the hustle & bustle of getting ready for the holidays…

…all seem to fade away in the stillness & glow of the Christmas lights!

It seems like life has been rushing by at a million miles an hour for the last several weeks. Blog silence hasn’t been because of having nothing to blog about - just the opposite. It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

As always seems to be the case, October was full of fun with family & friends - Picture Perfect was just the start. When Maya was in town for a quick weekend, we enjoyed a fun evening of dinner & conversation with our friend Elaine - the sunset city views from her deck were amazing.

Later in the month, Artisan Mom & Dad came for a long weekend - they stopped in Michigan City on a Thursday. Friday morning, I took the South Shore train over there & we spent the day in Harbor Country & visiting some of my favorite places over there. The train ride over there was a wonderful transition from the hectic work week - the tree colors were brilliant & I felt like I was indeed in the midst of a vintage postcard.

At the end of the month, it was time to head to Dallas for Halloween with Miss Butterfly & Miss Doodlebug. Of course, it was a delightful time! There was trick-or-treating…

…and plenty of playtime indoors & in the yard…

The girls are getting so big & it was so fun to see their imaginations at work. One afternoon we played “The 3 Little Pigs & the Big Bad Wolf” in the front yard for over an hour.

Through all of this, the knitting needles have been busy. While I didn’t finish my Cubby Bear socks in October, I have less than half of the 2nd sock until I’m finished - I figure it will be airplane knitting next week as I head home for Thanksgiving. It’s “that time of the year” where a lot of the knitting can’t be revealed yet. While in Dallas, Maya modeled one of my recent gift knits - a lace capelet for her birthday. Again, the “yarn name” got me - this beautiful green is called Maya. The yarn & the pattern came together perfectly - although I did have to reknit the capelet a second time because my cast on was too tight the first time.

With all of the “on the go” time recently, it seems only appropriate that this past work week ended with my trusty car turning from 99,999 miles to 100,000 miles. 

I think there are enough pictures in today’s post, I won’t bother to insert the picture of the snow dusted back deck that greated me when I got home from work this evening. Needless to say, with the return of the cold weather the hats, scarves & other hand knits are in full rotation these days…

The first weekend of this month, it was once again time to leave the city & journey to the Indiana Dunes for a weekend of scrappin’ & more. Within a week or so of returning from the weekend last year, we coordinated calendars among the group and picked our fall 2008 weekend. When I started a new purse calendar in January, this was one of the first entries in it.

On Friday morning, after picking up coffee & loading up the car Jen & I headed out of town, across the Skyway bridge and into Michigan City to begin our weekend away. After a quick spin through Meijer’s we grabbed a quick lunch at Culvers (yum - pumpkin shakes!) & actually met up with most of the other gals there at the counter. At noon we were unlocking the doors to the cottage & immediately unloading our cars and setting up our individual work spaces. While I have lots of recent pictures to yet get into albums, my goal for the weekend was stepping back in time to do an album of my senior year of high school. Several years ago, while home in the Ville I found a “high school specific” album at a local scrapbook store so I picked it up & put it away for “one day.” It didn’t take me long to get my table set up & start walking through my senior year in pictures, letters, programs, dried flowers & more.

On Saturday afternoon, I took a break from scrappin’ and headed up the Red Arrow Highway to my favorite winery - since I was so close & didn’t know if I’d make it back over there before the holidays I wanted to pick up some wine from Round Barn. One of the gals came along with me & we had a lovely time enjoying the scenery & tasting several delicious options. Heading back down the highway, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand & I picked up a basket of apples for applesauce & more.

As sunset approached on Saturday, several of us walked down to the beach. We had picked up some bubbly at Round Barn & planned a sunset toast. It was a beautiful day to see the sunset from the beach. In fact, the weather was so clear that you could actually see the Chicago skyline across the lake from us.

By the time my car was repacked with our gear on Sunday afternoon, I had finished about 80% of my album and also had enjoyed some knitting & reading moments. We each had different “goals” for the weekend and as the weekend ended, we all agreed that they had been met. As is tradition, we have already reserved our weekend for next fall’s retreat!