Decorating done

We put our Christmas tree up on Wednesday since Chris had the day off.  It was, as has been the case lately, a gloomy, chilly day.   The holiday lights really help brighten the days up.  It isn't really that cold outside - around 40 - but somehow it is raw, especially without sun.  I made a bunch of cookies over the last few days - sugar, cranberry/orange/nut, and chocolate crinkles.   I'll make Chex Mix over the weekend.  Tomorrow some neighbors are coming for dinner, so I'll make a French-Canadian tourtiere.  I'm sure the Habitants didn't serve chutney with it, but I think it will be nice anyway.  I'm also planning some hot spinach triangles as appetizers.  Should be a nice evening.

I'm working on a "Birds in the Air" quilt with a lovely Jinny Beyer green fabric with gold accents on a black background.  I don't usually make quilts with multiples of the same block and tend toward medallions or samplers.  So this is a test.  When I get bored, I'll work on something else and then cycle back now and then through the year.  I am planning to arrange the blocks in a zig zag pattern and am curious to see how it turns out.

Besides that quilt, I have cut out some of my Around the World swap blocks for 2016 and still am working on the appliqued border for Paula's round robin.  It's been so dark out that I can't see well enough for handwork, even at mid-day, with lamps and my sewing glasses on.  I have until mid-January, so I hope this weather pattern shifts soon.