I spied one through a restaurant window while Fatty and I were walking the streets of New York. My initial thought was one of disbelief. Really? A peony? It's not the right season. And then it hit me like a thunderbolt. Of course! It came from the other side of the equator where it is the right season.

Since then, I have been on the lookout close to home without any luck. And then yesterday, there they were! Peonies in December! They instantly made my day brighter. Happening upon them was one in a string of little things that made for a great day: sparkly silver shoes, meeting with good friends, a mini chocolate cupcake, a pretty gift, the peonies, getting all the presents mailed off, finishing the shopping. I still have quite a bit to do, but if it is the peonies in December that make me feel festive, well then, thank you universe for that.

We went downtown yesterday afternoon to blow our glass ornaments for the year. Fatty took the girls to do this eight years ago as a surprise for me and I have joined them every year since. It's hands down my favorite holiday tradition. I love that we make the time to go (always challenging - this year no exception) and that it is an outing. Talking to the artists, deciding what colors and combinations to use (also always challenging - we have a lot of ornaments!), looking at the glass in the gallery, watching the blowers at work - it's all part of the experience. And at the end, in addition to the memories, we have four more gorgeous ornaments to hang on the tree. I bet we will get to the point where they may even need their own tree. That would be just fine with me.

Yesterday was my first day back at painting in nine months. I knew I missed it, but until I picked up a brush and dropped blobs of oils on the palette, I didn't realize how much. I hesitated when I started mixing the first color, but in just a few minutes it all came back to me. I jumped in without thinking too hard and before long, I was in a groove. Three hours later, I had a painting. When I finished, I looked at my instructor and said, "That felt so good!"

Yesterday was a challenging day on many levels. The work we are doing in the house was going on in three places at once, four if you include the carpentry on the driveway. I wasn't prepared to have a bunch of people here so I was scrambling around trying to organize the Christmas presents and move my clothes out of my closet in the short window of time before Jane had to be picked up from her first two final exams. Also, the house is dirty, dirty, dirty, but it is pointless to clean while painters are sanding woodwork. And believe me, as much as I would prefer a quiet house, I do want the work to continue on at a fast pace so they can finish it up. Still, the disruption is hard for me. I tried so hard to go with the flow, but at one point I found myself sitting on Kate's bed, crying big, ugly tears. This is not the kind of holiday mess I want.

I got over it. I made dinner reservations. I took Jane out for lunch then read my book while she studied. I crawled in the guest bed in the studio and napped. When I woke up, I worked on the quilt back which didn't not go as expected. Measure once, cut once, make a ton of mistakes. In the end, I had my Tim Gunn moment and made it work. Today I will buy batting and tomorrow I will baste. I think I will pick up gingerbread house kits for the girls to do while we are at a holiday party. Maybe I will even get to buying the last few little Christmas presents and get everything wrapped. That just leaves the hats. I am still knitting, although the pace has slowed considerably. I'm not worried - there is still time.

Right now remembering my mantra of last year and reclaiming it. All is calm, all is bright.

I made three of these trees a number of years back. I have no idea where the smallest one has run off to. Run off being correct because, although the trees do not have legs, there is a cat in this house who loves small wool things that she can carry in her mouth. I hid the little tree from her one year, but she found it and now has hidden it from me. Figures. I would really like to make more, a whole forest of white soft trees, but I never get around to it. Maybe this is the year.

After spin class yesterday morning, I spent a good chunk of time in the studio. I worked on the quilt back, trying to figure out how to make the most of the length of Liberty that I have to use. I love this part of quilting - the puzzling of how to waste as little fabric as possible and how to fit dissimilar parts together in a good, easy, clever way. I came up with a plan and started implementing it. It was toasty upstairs and Scout hung out with me. Neither one of us really wanted to be downstairs where there was a hole in the wall and lots of cold air. By noon, we had a new door and it is lovely.

I cast on another hat while waiting for Kate at guitar lessons. This one is red. I'm using Purl Soho's Super Soft Merino Hats for Everyone, for those of you that have asked, with some modifications (mostly adding length). I don't plan out what I am doing, but rather think about who I am knitting for and then go from there. I got two rows past the ribbing and called it a day so I can think a bit about what my next step will be. More puzzling. Just what I like.

The window guys were back yesterday, working outside in the cold. It was around 40 degrees, but it felt much, much colder. I offered coffee and told them to come in and warm up as needed. Today, they will be back again, this time to install an exterior door. Can you say cold?

I finished a quilt top yesterday. I knew it would be a fairly fast sew, but I am surprised at just how fast it was. I will show and tell after the holidays. Mind you, it still needs a back and to be basted and quilted. I'm undecided if I should go with straight lines which is time consuming or free motion loops which are faster, but I am out of practice.

Hats are being knitted. About 1 a day - I carry a bag of yarn in the car with me and find myself knitting in the carpool line and at guitar lessons. Big needles and bulky yarn means a very small time investment for each one. About an hour? I finished up yesterday's while watching "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on TV with the family last night. You should have seen the four of us, smashed into the smallest room in the house that only has two chairs. The girls were on the floor, in their new flannel pj's. You would have thought they were 3 and 5 instead of 13 and 15. I loved every second.

Jane didn't have school so my day was a little upside down in a good way. She helped me clean out the sewing machines and projects at school and we grabbed lunch together. I dropped her at the library to study, did a quick run to the grocery and then we picked up Kate. When both girls were busy working, I snuck upstairs and cut into the Liberty I bought in New York. I was chomping at the bit to start making and over the course of the evening, in between helping with Algebra II and making dinner, I managed to sew a few seams. Today, more of the same.

There is nothing like Christmas in the city.