Christmas Crazies!!

Do you have the Christmas Crazies at your place??? We sure seem to have here at the Meares' Madhouse ... even more than is usual for this time of year! Lots of outings, lots of jobs (at work and home) that need to be done before Christmas Eve, lots of people you need to catch up with, lots of gifties to make/bake/buy ... lots of mega-rude people in the overly decorated shops where you hear "I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas" crooned for the 88th time that day while the outside temperatures are in the mid 30's (Celsius!) ... and lots of sleep being missed out on!!! :0) That's why I've been a bit slack on the blogging front. My Beloved Geek Boy and I are both taking a little time off work over Christmas/New Year and BOY OH BOY are we counting down! :0)

One Christmassy happening that happened this week, though, was the arrival of my SSCS parcel. This is the fifth year I've been part of the Secret Santa Christmas Swap hosted by the Hostess With The Mostest, Miss Chookyblue, so I was excited to find this on my front verandah ...

OOH! Even the packaging was Christmassy! :0) It came from the lovely Sharon of Quilting With A Marmalade Cat. It's always exciting to find out who your secret swap partner has been. In this case, Sharon and I have 'met' in blogland because she is one of the wonderful gals joining Sweet Peg and I in OPAM, so it was even more fun to get a package all the way from her home in the USA. Inside ...

 

... Red and Green parcels ... all labelled with instructions ... Sharon must know that I have trouble not peeking before Christmas Day, cos the label on the green packages said ... "NO! NO! NO" Tee! Hee! Hee! So the green parcels have been hidden away out of sight so I'm not tempted to get my name added to Santa's "NAUGHTY" list ... or perhaps it's too late and I'm on there for OTHER reasons! Tee! Hee! Hee!

 

There was one red one that said "Open Now" and this one I had the option to open now or pop in the fridge til Christmas. Well ... you know that me and that inquisitive feline hate to be kept in suspenders, so  I opened it along with the ornament parcel and ...

 

... Here are the lovelies that Sharon spoilt me with!! Two sweet felt and fabric Christmas tree ornaments (which are hanging in a doorway into the lounge room since we don't have room for a tree) and some sweety treaties. YUMMO!! I'm not a chocoholic like GB but I cannot resist the combination of chocolate and peanut butter and there are very few places that I've found where I can get my fix of Reese's or peanut butter M&Ms. (you gals in the USA have so many more interesting chocolates and candies that we do here in Australia! :0) ) And how cute is the snowman on that Hershey's bar? :0) Even the card is cute and particularly appropriate to come from Sharon ... can you see the kitties helping to trim the tree? I bet Sharon's kitties were helping her decorate, too! :0) THANK YOU SHARON!!!! How spoilt am I! :0) And a big THANK YOU to the inimitable Chookyblue for her hard work in co-ordinating the BEST organised swap I have ever come across ... it's the reason this is the only swap I join each year now ... that and the fact that I am SOOOOOO disorganised that swap deadlines stress me out cos I always leave them til the last minute! Tee! Hee! Hee!

 

The OPAM gals have been stitching away in preparation for Christmas too, I think, with

 

684 FINISHES

 

for November ... WOW!!! Well done everyone! And well done to those gals who may not have recorded finishes, but have made some more progress on their WISPs ... hopefully we'll all have a little bit of time over the Christmas/New Year break to sit and stitch ... hmmm ... I think I shall suggest to Santa that he give all stitchers some quiet stitching time for Christmas this year! :0) OPAM gals ... Sweet Peg will be announcing this month's random prize winners in the next day or so, so stay tuned to her blog.

 

Right now ... I'm off to tackle the next of those Christmas Crazies tasks ... gifties to be made so they can be posted Monday ... EEK! Time is running out!!! Hope you have all had a fantastic week, not been TOO overrun by the Christmas Crazies, and that your weekend includes some time for you to just sit, relax and create. Til next time ...

 

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

 

PS. A big "CHEERIO!!" to my lovely friend Marion who is recuperating after an operation. Look forward to seeing you up and about again soon ... there are marathons to be tackled! Tee! Hee! Hee! KRIS