Merry Yule!! The season is upon us, with all of the bustle that it entails. We have been crafting up a storm. I had several gift projects in the works, and the Sunchild came up with a good crafting gift idea as well. We had a good time planning our giving.

We got a tree this past Sunday. I had every intention of going and cutting our own, but the one place that I knew of was closed! We bought one from a local nursery, and had a blast decorating it. The apartment smells wonderful.

The arrival of an influx of mail began last week, with cards from all over the country. The ones with pictures are the best, because we get to talk about who they are, and what he remembers about them. They are all hanging around the apartment, adding to the holiday cheer. In one of them, from my Nana, is a check made out to the Sunchild. I explained that it is customary to sign the back of a check in order to trade it for cash. He found this inspiring enough to be open to the idea of working on handwriting every day. I know that I can use the practice as well!

We celebrated the Solstice Eve, as both of the working members of this family had outside commitments on Yule itself. We agreed to open one present each, and save the rest for Christmas, when we can spend the whole day together. M & I exchanged blades from the Japan Woodworker. M picked out a beauiful kitchen knife for me, and I had ordered a carving set for him. The Sunchild opened his Taka Nuva that I found on ebay last month. Considering that we had an troublesome week with the car, it was nice to have a little celebration together.