On to the next big thing

Well, just like every year, after all of the hustle and bustle to get everything ready of Christmas, it seems to end in an instant.
This year there were a couple trips to the hospital to see Dad, I was working both jobs most days, and I was trying to sell some of my handmade snowflakes at a local shop...so, this year I was extra busy.
And the weather did not make getting into the Christmas spirit very easy.  Most days it was unseasonably warm, or rainy...it was easy to forget it was December.  So, I relied on the Internet to do what little shopping I could coax myself into.  I was increasingly frustrated by the traffic at the mall next to where I work.  The convenience of the mall wasn't enough...I didn't step foot in there once!  Hubby drove to the quaint neighboring villages and shopped at the little local shops, but I just didn't have the time to do that.  Luckily, we just buy for each other, and then a swap gift for our Christmas Eve party.
We all managed to get stuff done.  I got to the point where, if it wasn't done by Thursday, I wasn't going to do it at all.

 We ladies dressed up pretty.  We just love our puffy dresses!

A delicious turkey dinner, complete with a farm fresh salad of local greens, roasted Brussels sprouts, homemade cranberry sauce, gratin dauphinoise (or, fancy scalloped potatoes), rolls, gravy, and of course turkey.  We had plum pudding for dessert; and, we brought along freshly baked cranberry walnut bread and a white chocolate brioche, for which I made a yummy whipped vanilla-honey butter.
We swapped gifts, laughed, and talked.  Baby sister sang a beautiful Victorian song while Uncle played along on the piano.  (If she puts it in her blog, I will share a link...I think someone was getting video of it.)  It was a lot of fun.
And just like that it's over.  On to New Year's Eve and the prospects of a better new year.  I am using January to just concentrate on creating new things for my shop, with the hopes that I can re-open in February, all fresh and new. 
We saw Sherlock Holmes last night.  It was in the tiniest theater and it was crowded.  We had to sit too close to the screen and the guy behind hubby was too large in relation to how close the seats where.  The movie was good, but it was very uncomfortable.  I may have to try to see it again.  We didn't stay for the credits like we like to, so I feel like we missed out on the 'end'.  But, my Panang Curry, Thai iced tea, and Tom Ka Kai soup were fabulous!
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas day...whether you celebrated, just had a day off, or even if you had to work.  I ended up just having to work a couple of hours in the morning and was back home by 8am, the way i worked it out, so it was almost like having the day off.  (That's a whole other story I won't bother getting into, though.)
So, here we go...on to the new year...