Well...

Here I am. New blog post! And I actually have interesting things to say today.

It's been Christmas - yay! And everyone liked what I got them. Here's the list:

• Mum - olive oil sprayer and crossword book (she'd been wanting both)
• Dad - book on Shackleton's boat journeys
• Bindi - Candle that has three scents, glitter and is YUMMY
• Troy - frog and present that he doesn't have yet...
• Troy's Dad - carving magazines
• Troys Mum - Hogfather DVD
• Bronwyn (T's sister) - salad servers
• Doug (B's partner) - Bundaberg Rum hat
• Caitlin (niece) - noisy toys - a camera and telephone
• Jessica (niece #2) - beanie bears, a cat and a interesting textured bear
• Matthew (T's brother) - Optimus Prime Mr Potato Head (which he loved, YAY - buying a gift like this for a 27 year old is a gamble)

My family swapped gifts last Friday night as they left for my grandmother's on Sunday, and I got what I'd hoped for - the AG doll, Julie (1970s, and adorable), her pyjamas and her Christmas outfit. She seems to get along with the other dolls alright.

We went to Church on Christmas Eve with Jeremy, and I swear that festal Liturgies were designed to confuse catechumens...anyway, it was good even if we did get very, very lost. We got home about 3am, and slept in the next morning, then went up to Troy's parents' house for dinner and the big present swap. Presents are a big thing for them - and everyone goes mad, opening as many as possible as quick as possible. Good fun, lots of chaos and excited noises. I got a cookie recipe book and a bunch of necklaces, and a box and things to decorate it with...and some very cool furniture. See?


A wardrobe/cupboard for my doll stuff... that he made (of course)


And the girls on top - from L->R is Felicity, Amanda-Katherine, and Julie


And this is what it looks like open, with their stuff hanging up.

I am so grateful, this one is SO COOL.

Also, I got this:

Well, the table. This is what passes for an icon corner here... I will get more (and bigger) icons sometime soon but this does for now. The tabletop used to be a massive chunk of tree, but Greg sliced it then cut it in half. Now it's a table! And look what's woodburned into the centre (I have cloth over it until I get glass, so I don't drip wax on it or burn it with candles)



Now I wonder where he got a reference for that...hmmm.... *looks at Troy*

(for the non-Orthodox/non-Greek speakers, this is St Kyriaki, my patron Saint)

So I am very pleased.

As far as stitching goes, I have photos! Here is the current progress on Mystery X (my focus at the moment) I am working on part 5:

First, the whole thing


and the west house (part 5 is done)


and the south one...


and finally the east one:


It's coming together nicely, I think. If I keep working, part 5 will be done soon. I got the email that my fabric for Peaceful Paradise has shipped, too - YAY! I'm going to make myself finish part 5, and then I might work on PP for a while if I get the fabric by the time I'm finished.