Taking Christmas by the Antlers

It is still fall around here, but for the most part, my mind is on Christmas. I am doing everything I can to get finished with shopping and all that stuff by Thanksgiving so I can enjoy a stress-free month of December. In spite of this All Christmas All the Time urgency, I took a few breaks this weekend to enjoy this last bit of fall. Friday night, Daphne stayed with G-Ma and G-Pa so we could go into DC to meet Uncle Jeff for dinner and a jazz show at HR-57. DC is much better by Metro than by car, but it was still a good night out.

Yesterday was a perfect fall day, so we went on a hike at Ball's Bluff with "Cider Man" Tim and the kids.

Nothing beats a nice long walk in the woods. Daphne wore her new Junior Ranger hat that Uncle Jeff got for her, and the kids collected sticks and leaves and had a blast.

Saturday, I got some yarn. Nice soft baby alpaca. Another easy scarf is on the needles. Knitting at night seems to help me sleep. Calms my Crazy Christmas Brain.

Anyway, I must stop blogging now and do a few things* around here before I have to start on dinner. Daphne is taking a (increasingly rare) nap. It's potato soup night. The Winter of Soup is underway.

*by "do a few things," I mean put on my housepants, curl up with the new holiday issue of Real Simple, which just arrived, and start thinking about Christmas again. I think I'll even make coffee.