Advent 2017

I am so sorry!  I know, I'm just useless at actually getting the posts done when I plan to!  I have been stupidly busy for the last couple of months though, so much that I can't remember the last time I woke up and knew where I was before opening my eyes.  In just the last 6 weeks it could have been Kelly's house, Stephen's house, my dad's house, my step-dad's house, a holiday house in Whitby, or a hotel in Scarborough, and not a one of them for more than a week at a time.

Anyway, all of this means that this update is the first of this year's Advent series, but there is a post yet to come that will cover Bakewell Wool Gathering, and the not insignificant growth of The Colony.  This post does not cover those things.  This post introduces a little daily Advent ritual that I hope to perform every day until Christmas day, and like last year, I'll be making a little post every day or so to show what was behind the door of my calendars.

Yes, calendars, plural.  This year I have 4.  No, I refuse point blank to feel guilty about the absolute indulgence of having 4 advent presents every day.  This Christmas is going to be fabulous from start to finish, and I feel that I deserve it.  Nothing can "fix" the events of the run up to last Christmas, but without a doubt I can make the most of this one, and enjoy happiness while it's possible. 

This is my chosen selection of calendars.  The adult advent calendar seems to be much more of a thing this year than in previous years.  If I'd felt like going the whole hog, I could have had a calendar of gin, one of wine, one of various beauty products, even one filled with sex toys!

Instead I obviously have this year's Opal sock yarn calendar, bought for my from Knit Nottingham by the very lovely Yasmin (I promise that I will remember to send the money to you Yaz!)

I also have a more standard chocolate calendar, although you may note that I chose a decent chocolate! Rather than gin, or wine, I thought that tea might be more appropriate, and while I drink the tea, knit the yarn, and eat the chocolate, I also burn a scented candle by Yankee Candles.

Last year I just kept the balls of yarn.  I hadn't decided what to do with them at the time.  This year I've decided to start using the yarn every day to make at least one square of a mitred square blanket.  I also intend to use my selection of calendars to encourage a little bit of "me" time every day.  I tend to spend December frantically knitting gifts, and it often causes the kind of stress that spoils my hobby.  With this little ritual, for the space of time it takes to burn a tealight candle, drink a cup of tea, and knit a small square, I can be entirely focused on my own happiness and well-being.

Today the yarn is this lovely blue gradient interspersed with short variegations of brown and white.  The tea was white tea with cinnamon, cocoa, coconut, and lychee.  The candle has a fragrance called "Snowflake Cookie", there's nothing on the box to explain what that actually means, but I thought it smelled like vanilla, cinnamon, and white chocolate.  Out of curiosity I actually looked up what it's supposed to smell of, according to the website it's: fluffy marshmallow, whipped vanilla icing, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet buttercream, and sugar cookie.  Unsurprisingly, the Lindt calendar contained a tiny chocolate reindeer.

So this is the first mitred square from my Opal advent calendar.

Tomorrow, hopefully, I'll manage to write the missing blog post, as well as performing my little advent ritual.  Until then, take care my dears!