Christmas greetings...

Merry Christmas Eve eve, everyone! I'm finally feeling ready and anticipating our (quieter-than-normal) Christmas. It will be different this year without most of my family here, but we raise our children to fly so I'm glad my sons have each found a special someone to share their lives with. And that means sharing holidays with their families as well. If all goes as planned, we'll celebrate a late Christmas in early January with at least two of them--maybe all three--down in Maryland. In the meantime I have to be satisfied with photos and FaceTime with Mister B!

I often wonder whether or not to post photos of my Christmas tree because, to me, it looks the same year after year except with an additional twelve ornaments thrown on. But, I know there are some new readers here at "Stitching Dreams" and my "older" readers still seem to enjoy seeing it even after all these years. I have now moved my twelve newest ornaments from my staircase garland and hung them on the tree. I've replaced the ornaments on my staircase garland with my stitched gifts from friends around the world--both past and present. I'll be sure to share some photos of them with you in my next post.  So, may I present my 2022 Christmas tree...

2022 Christmas tree (with a small two foot tree in the background in my family room!)

This year I chose to hang similar groups of ornaments together to showcase them. We have ...

The sweet and charming "Birds of a Feather angels." I so wish they would reprint this chart and feel very lucky to have borrowed it from a stitching friend on Instagram

The Little House Needleworks "Hometown Holiday" series. Hmm... which one should I stitch next year?

My Prairie Schooler Santas which account for probably one-fifth of my ornaments!

How do you decorate your tree? Do you put similar ornaments together or mix them all up? This year I put very few non-stitched ornament on the tree--I just didn't feel like unpacking everything.

I like the finished look that the gold beaded garland gives the tree

So many memories...

This year, 24 of the ornaments stitched on black are displayed in my Pottery Barn cubby so it's not quite as crowded looking.

 

And, of course, I took a couple of photos at night... 

Aren't the reflections of the lights in the windows beautiful?

Can you spot my childhood Santa sitting underneath the tree? He must be over 60+ years by now!

 

We are experiencing one of the coldest Christmas weekends ever here in western Pennsylvania. It is 0° (-17.8 C) as I write this on Friday afternoon. And I know that is nothing compared to some places in the northern United States. But, we are warm and toasty inside, layered up with blankets, and enjoying the heat emanating from the oven as a few more cookies are baked for Christmas. I feel safe and cozy and am so relieved I don't have to venture outside for any last minute gifts or groceries. I've been watching the poor birds struggle against the blowing snow and high winds today and I wonder how they survive all winter? But, like most of us, they must be stronger and more resilient than they appear at first glance. 

This poor house finch appears to have lost some of its tail feathers. He was huddled against the cold in the rhododendron bush outside my husband's den.

I wish each of you a very blessed Christmas... It's not always easy, is it, to feel joyful and happy when everyone around you seems to be feeling that way and things are not quite right in your world? Some of us are far from family members, some of us  have recently lost loved ones, some are fighting Covid or the flu, others are dealing with even more serious health issues. And some just struggle, in general, at this time of year. My thoughts are with each of you. Take care now and I hope you know how much I appreciate you and your visit today! I'll be back with one last post before year's end. Bye for now... 

Merry Christmas one and all