First little thing

I spent most of today grading the "big" research paper for my senior/graduate level class. This has been a pretty good class and by and large I was pleased with how people did on their papers. (This is the class that brings me back to "yeah, I do want to keep teaching" after having a bad week with some of my other classes. I hope I get a few of these folks in one of my spring classes.)

I also cleaned up the living room some, put away a bunch of projects in long-stall (sigh. The Rosy-Fingered Dawn stole. When I get some good big free time, I am going to have to look hard at it and figure out where I left off, and restart it. I mislaid my row-counter for it so it will take carefully "reading" the knitting and the charts.

I also found a Red Scarf Project scarf I started a long time back and never finished. I MIGHT be able to finish it by the Dec. 15 deadline IF I re-start this right after finishing my (more urgent) Christmas knitting. So I might work on that again, it will be nice to get it done and also get it out for someone to benefit from it. (This is a project that gives former foster-kids in college small Valentine's Day "care packages" including handknit scarves among other things. It's more a psychological comfort than a "this person is in deep need and the scarf is necessary for warmth" but it's still a nice thing, I think - remembering the Valentine's Day boxes my parents' church sent me when I was in college)

I moved the now-cleared-off ottoman to under the piano, cleared off the little table that had stood next to the piano and moved it in front of the (nonfunctional) fireplace in preparation for putting the tree up there. I also cleared off my main coffee table and will either put my Nativity scene there, or, put some of the snowmen that normally wind up on my mantel there. (And put the Nativity scene in its usual place on the piano).

Because I did this:



I DID find some of the little "bottlebrush" trees (at JoAnn's) and moved a few ponies around and added them in. (I briefly considered taking everything off the mantel and laying down a layer of quilt batting, for "snow," but meh on two fronts: that's a lot of work, and second, I'd just have ponies falling all over the place. As it is, Octavia and Soarin' don't stand up very well on their own, and it's easy to knock over the other ponies if you bump them.)

I also found a set of tiny, battery operated "rice lights" (like the size that used to be used in dollhouses, except I'm pretty sure these are LED). So I decided to light up my little Eiffel Tower:



(Yes, Fluttershy and Big Mac are still up on the tower. Heh. In that shot it looks almost like he's getting ready to propose).


Here's an "extreme night shot" taken steadying my camera on the piano to show the lights better. I still have the funny little string of "astro lights" that flash different colors (they all look blue white in the photo because they change so fast the colors sort of blend in a long exposure):



It'll be fun to have the extended period of decorating. I have this up, I have the wreath up. Tomorrow I think I'll put up the Nativity scene and maybe get out the tree, maybe Monday evening put the ornaments on the tree....draw out the fun and happiness of it over next week.

I'm traveling later this year for Christmas than I sometimes do. That was partly to catch an open sleeper on the train, partly to leave myself a few days to finish up research (which I will probably need). But that will also mean a few more evenings at home, being able to look at my decorations, and sit and knit or sew.