The holidays are officially over. The guests are mostly gone and the rest of the family is back to work or school. So I finally have time to sit at the computer and write. I've been reflecting mainly on the mix of emotions when company visits, especially around the holidays. It is so wonderful to have people here to enjoy the holidays with, but when you are like me and love having down time every day, it can be exhausting. But when you live far away from any family member, having them visit is the best way to spend time. My mother, who came for Christmas for the first time, reminisced about the holidays when I was young. She made mince pies and two kinds of fruitcake and tons of cookies and treats, starting in November, then had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners for any family in town, then a neighbourhood New Year's party. At the end she was completely exhausted but she said she wouldn't have done anything different.

So I guess I feel the same way. Except I would have liked more time to try out my new lute - I've only had time to practice twice and I'm still not sure that I have it tuned properly, it seems lower than the lutes on the CDs I have. I've also had little time to stitch - I've just started the sampler band RR you see above for the Stitching Post RR I'm participating in starting in February. But I finished all the ironing that has built up yesterday so I could spend guilt free time today working on the herringbone stitch!