Sorry, I have been away making merry...

Miss B and the cookies

Toutons, a Newfoundland treat

A gift for Ruth and Eric

Presents for Lisa and Kate

Inside the keyring wallet

Homemade lemon curd

It has been a busy holiday season around here. We hosted Christmas this year. Enough said, right? I like to make the big meal, it's the excessive tidying that grinds you down. Just finding a place to put all the extra coats from the hall closet was a task and a half.
Not to complain though, it was a wonderful day of visiting and catching up with the family. Also, it made the quiet of Boxing Day extra nice! The backyard rink recovered from the early thaw of the first of part of December and there was skating on almost every day of Christmas break.
While all the skating, cooking and tidying was going on, I managed to finish off some presents for some close and dear friends.
This year, Miss B and I made some lemon curd using Meyer Lemons. It was magical stuff! And, in their little fabric chapeaus, made some impressive gifts. We also did our traditional amount of baking for our cookie monster nephews (cousins). This year, I also made some toutons to serve at Sunday Brunch with my Aunt and my cousin and his wife. Toutons are a bit like pancakes, but also like doughnuts. They are made by frying a bit of bread dough in hot oil and then serving them with butter and molasses. Yikes! I used heart healthy oil so we didn't keel over at the breakfast table. The traditional way is to fry them in a bit of lard and fat back pork. Well, traditionally, this was food to stick with you until you brought in the first catch of day... 
This year, our little family elected not to buy each other a lot of gifts.

A Niagara Falls -- magical and cold....

New York shopping

and a bit more shopping

We saved our money for a little mini holiday in Buffalo NY. Where there is a Joann's Fabrics and Crafts. And a Hobby Lobby. And, Shout Colour Catchers!
I made a list before I left. The customs rules have changed about personal shopping totals for an overnight stay, but I didn't go too crazy.
I tried to focus on things that are not easy to obtain in Canada. Like kiss lock purse frames at affordable prices and in various styles, and the aforementioned Shout Colour Catchers (I added the extra U -- it is not on the box).
I love those things. They work really well too, you can wash all kinds of things together, thus saving the water and energy. It is nice to be able to wash all the fat quarters together and not have to worry about the colours running together.

Finally, there is skating on the rink!

We can't get these marvels here. Just can't. Don't know why. Sometimes, friends go to the States and bring some back. Sandra gave me a couple of boxes for Christmas. There were coupons on the boxes. I used them too.
Speaking of coupons, Sandra, veteran cross border shopper par excellence, sent me a link to Joann's and Hobby Lobby -- thus saving me many, many dollars. I had a 15 per cent off my total purchase (covering regular, sale AND clearance items) and I also had a 40 per cent off coupon. I was allowed to use both! Unheard of in Canada. Few things make me happier than saving crafting money.
I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Looking forward to getting crafty in 2013 and seeing what everyone is up to this year! Let's MAKE it a great one!