Most of the time, I feel rushed. My to do list has not been done in months – years even. I've made commitments that seem reasonable, but I find them increasingly hard to meet. I don't think I've become less productive, rather, I think there are demands on my time now that weren't there 5 years ago. This is no one's fault – it's just life.

My life circumstances have changed but in my mind I can still do what I did easily 5 years ago. At some point, soon I hope, I will acclimatize to what is possible and say no a whole lot more often. Until then, I keep hoping that I will accept what comes at me with grace.

I admit to having a patience problem. I try to take deep, calming breaths rather than resorting to chanting four-letter words when I am presented with things that prevent me from moving forward at hyper-speed. I like hyper-speed but most of the world does not. I can report that my four-letter-word filter is working better than I thought it would when I installed it (that was last year's resolution).

Anyway, balance is hard. And actual balance is even harder. Jeff, when he was home for Christmas, demonstrated what he thought his dad and I needed to work on for our future well-being. He's right. As we all age, balance is key. Steve and I both are now practicing this move every evening. You should too – but please do not fall down. Falling down is really bad.

Stand on two feet and focus on being upright. Bring your hands up even with your ears, one on each side. Now, lift one foot behind you, bent at the knee. Set yourself and then close your eyes. Hold it for 30 seconds.

Unless you are really, really balanced, you can't. I can hold the stance for maybe 5 seconds. But 30 seconds is what I am working toward. One tip – tighten your abs. Another thing I tried last night was to start with my eyes closed and that helped. It may take weeks or months but I am going to get to that 30 second mark.

And Chris, our other very helpful son, sent me this a few days ago. Read the subtitles…

Basically what it says is that mortality rates are higher for people who cannot get up from the floor. If you are young and reading this, you cannot imagine not being able to get up off the floor. Trust me when I tell you that it can happen.

My takeaway from this video is that if you can get up without using your hands, even better! So Steve and I are practicing standing on each foot with our eyes closed (as per Jeff) and then we practice getting down to the floor and back up without using our hands. I can't get up with my legs crossed but I can with my feet in other positions. If you have to use your hands, that's OK. It's still very important to be able to get up from the floor on your own. 

If the above exercises have made you glum, I have one more bit of news that will make you feel better. Read this and have a cookie! Thin may be fashionable but it's not necessarily the most healthy. I'm going to breathe deeply, enjoy dinner AND dessert!

I don't know about you but I'm sewing on the first day of the new year and it feels really good. I have not had enough sewing time in my days for the last many months. I hope to have more in times to come.

The new book I have proposed was accepted (yay!) so I can't show you what I'm sewing… but there's a lot of blue in this one.

And Christmas is indeed in storage at my house…

This is what it looks like half-full. I should have taken a photo of the space full of boxes, but I was too excited. Steve and I moved the cabinet back in place and had a glass of wine in celebration. 6+ weeks of decorations was a little more than I can take but I will admit that the house seems a little thinner right now.

We got snowed out of traveling Christmas night but Steve and Jeff did jump in the pool. This was the best of the photos… Jeff looks as cold as he was. Steve didn't look quite as cold because he's been jumping in every few days since we put the pool in, no matter the temperature.

It's nearly time for the kids and mom to come to dinner. Sewing will end, champagne will be opened. Steve made split pea soup with black-eyed peas for good luck in the new year. We are so southern and mildly superstitious – I cannot imagine a new year without black-eyed peas. It helps that they taste good.

I hope your new year is everything you hope it will be.

Have you had a merry Christmas? We have! Lots of visiting and eating and celebrating and (because we’re us) working on projects. I had a fabric sale and if you missed it, the prices are still 25% off. I think I’ll go back to regular prices on Sunday or Monday, just so you know. This was an inventory sale and I think I’ve finally got the fabric to the point where I can stand to count it. Yay!

Jeff has not gone home (he leaves on Sunday and I’m going to miss him). My brother and his wife will be here for lunch after we get back from the airport which will be nice. Then, Sunday night, I am going to start putting all the Christmas stuff into its new home. Oh happy day.

Steve finished the new tv cabinet and I got it painted on Dec. 23. We gutted the space it will occupy on Dec. 24.

This actually did not take long.

Steve put in the laminate floor to match the rest of the room. I painted the newly exposed walls green. Steve put in a strip of baseboard on the left side (won’t fit on the right). Steve moved the cable and ethernet outlets. Then we slid the new cabinet in place. It fits!

Behind this cabinet, Steve put in shelf supports and four shelves. They hold storage boxes that are 20″ deep. It is a tall space and I think every Christmas thing I own just might fit into it. I can’t start putting things up until Sunday night but I promise I’ll take pictures.

Steve is not done with the cabinet. In addition to everything else, he’s been making the doors for the spaces above and below the tv over the last few days. I think on Monday I will be able to paint them.

After living with the old set-up for almost 20 years, it’s amazing how much better this is. It think it’s because it is white. The whole area blends better with the room. 

It’s Friday night as I write this and there are still holidays to come. I don’t know about you but it doesn’t feel like there should be more BUT I am so glad that New Year’s is still to come. Cheers to that!

A baby shower tea for Lorna on Saturday, December 22. It was lovely!

Jeff ‘baked’ the diaper cake. I was impressed!

The cups and saucers are from my mom’s 1950’s era china which is mine now :-).

Elanor helped Lorna with the presents.

Doesn’t Elanor look oh-so-grown up?

Our next grandson has acquired a nickname – Bear. The kids tell me that It is likely to stick. I bought this little outfit before I knew he was Bear, but it’s especially perfect now that I know his name :-).

The shower was Saturday. Today (Sunday) Lorna saw her midwife and has been told to lay down. She’s been having contractions and that’s that. She gets to/has to chill for the next few weeks until Bear makes an appearance.

Between the ice storm that is supposed to hit between here and Oklahoma City and Lorna’s bedrest, our Christmas day plans have changed. For the first time that I can remember, we are going to be home for Christmas rather than going north to OKC. I will definitely miss the family gathering, but I think it’s going to be nice to be home with the kids, grandkids, and Mom. If you are out and about, travel safely and have a good time!

Debbie asked a couple of days ago if I would share my candy recipes. I’m happy to! Click here to go to the page with last year’s candy – with recipes attached.

I’m not making as much candy this year because so many of us are eating less sugar. I had requests for the traditional choices: bourbon balls, truffles, toffee. The weather has been warm so we’ll doing the things that require melting chocolate tomorrow.

The bourbon balls turned out very well. I ground the cookies finer than usual so the texture is smoother.

I’ve made one batch of toffee for my pilates class tomorrow. I’ll be making more toffee tomorrow because lots of folks love it. It’s an easy recipe but you must have a candy thermometer.

I think I’m in the mood for caramel because that’s what I’ve had the most fun making this year. Below you can see what is sitting on my table now, waiting to be cut and/or broken. The top one is a Martha Stewart recipe. Click here. It’s from her most recent magazine and when you click the link, you get the basic recipe and see the photo with the lovely variations.

I made the basic caramel (not pictured) and cooked it 3 degress too long and it’s more like a Heath bar. Good, but not chewy. I’m going to dip those pieces in chocolate tomorrow and I think it will be well-liked. The pan with the nuts, below, has 3 cups of salted mixed nuts and one tablespoon of thyme stirred in when you stir in the salt and vanilla. I think it’s going to taste great. FYI – when the recipe says 248 degrees, it means it!

The bottom pan in the photo is a batch of apple cider caramels from the Smitten Kitchen. I don’t gush about many cookbooks, but this is a cookbook that I love. And Steve is making recipes from it too which is high praise. You should have it :-).

I’m going to chocolate-coat some gluten-free pretzels and that may be it. No, wait, a pecan pie (baking that on Friday or Saturday) and I’m making a cheesecake for Christmas dinner in Oklahoma City. And you know what? I am not going to eat much of this at all. I love making it, smelling it, packaging it… and by then I’m so tired of it I don’t need to eat it. I almost feel guilty for sharing it, but the recipients love it and I don’t give them a whole lot. Just enough :-).

PS – In case you don’t get the piece o’ cake newsletter, click here for a free ornament pattern. It is my gift to you!

AND, Elanor’s bathroom has water! It’s done and we are all oh-so-happy. Now Steve has to finish his grading so he can get back to my TV cabinet… but in the spirit of the holdays, I’m not going to nag him…

AND, Jeff comes in tomorrow night. If I don’t post until after Christmas, I wish you each and every one a happy holiday!

Did you hear? Pantone's Color Institute has pronounced Emerald as the color of 2013.

Often I agree with Pantone. I like emerald but I've gotta say that the reason I like it in the photo at left is because of the yellow-green-gold and aqua that is also in the photo. Look closely… do you see that bit of aqua below the lamp? Take out the aqua and yellow-green and the emerald alone is not nearly as wonderful for me. And please note the white in the photo. If that white was off-white, the emerald would be much different, less clean.

I know, because quilters have told me, that my quilts and Linda's quilts stand out because of the colors we use. I'm in the beginning stages of working on a book on color and it is this yearly pronouncement that makes me think – every year, but this year in particular.

Will emerald be the 'it' color of 2013 because it will be everywhere? Or will we love it because we're due to love it? It will be interesting to see.

Click here to read GenerationQ's blog post about emerald. I wrote my post and then read this one. I may not be the only one who is not completely sold on emerald…