Christmas

Christmas was pure magic at our house. Colden was so thrilled to see that Santa came, and he took his time opening all of his presents - almost a full hour! It was just so much fun to watch him and see his reaction as he realized what each one was. He was totally thrilled with his Thomas, Hiro and Spencer toy trains, so we may have to complete his set for his birthday in a couple of weeks.

We've been spending every day over at Oma and Opa's house with the cousins, and while I think Colden is having a blast playing with his Reno relatives, I think he's starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Maybe time for a little break for him this morning.

The office is closed this whole week until January 3rd. And while I'm loving the time off from deadlines, not writing every day is sort of driving me buggy. I keep trying to make a little time to do some writing or some beading, and it's just not happening. If we go over to Oma's house this morning, maybe I'll bring some beading with me.

That said, the other night I was browsing beading books on Amazon, and I stumbled across this volume by Wendy Ellsworth, one of the bead artists who got me inspired to start on this path. I've always loved and admired her work, her use of color and her flawless techniques, and I was absolutely thrilled to see that she has written a book about the connection between spirituality and beading! I was even more thrilled to see that it was available for download on my Kindle app, so I had it in seconds.

I finished the first chapter last night after everyone else had gone to sleep, and now I want to start stitching a mandala. After starting up with massage therapy and acupuncture this year to treat all those lovely digestive issues, 99% of which are probably from stress, I feel so strongly like I need to find my spiritual center again.

I had to force myself to put the book down last night, because I desperately needed some sleep, but I'll be picking it up again today. My only gripe is that there aren't any color pictures, but I'll get over it. Wendy's writing is easy to read and fascinating when she talks about the long history of beads as they have been used for spiritual purposes throughout human history. I think what appeals to me the most is that she's talking about spirituality - not religion - and cosmology as she takes you through each chapter and project. There are meditation exercises and beautiful beading projects for both beginner and advanced beaders. All I have to say is, Wow. This is such an amazing book.

So, before I start stitching on a mandala today or tomorrow, I need to get the breakfast dishes cleaned up, take a shower and get Colden and I dressed, and then clean off my work table. I've also got to run some errands in Lake Placid before we pick up Tom from work this afternoon... At this rate, I'll need a vacation from my vacation!