The Advent of Santa: Day 2

It snowed heavily for much of the day yesterday; after about the first hour or so it started sticking to the ground.  We got several inches of snow, and the dogs had a particularly good time romping in it. In today's Advent of Santa you see a second Santa Claus from my collection.  This one my son bought for me in Colorado when he was about eleven years old.  He was visiting with his father before Christmas, and saw this Santa in a shop window.  I love how whispy and ethereal this particular Santa is, plus he has great sentimental value to me because of the connection with my son. Speaking of my son, his English Bulldog is boarding with us on the farm for a while and, being a Los Angeles-raised Bulldog who was born in Texas, yesterday was his first time in the snow.  The first moment I took him outside he instantly looked all around excitedly and started snapping at falling snowflakes, trying to catch them in his mouth. He ran around, jumping belly first into the snow and then twirling around, making his own version of snow angels.  I had never seen a dog making snow angels before, and I couldn't help but laugh heartily. He isn't trained on the electric boundary fence yet, so I have to take him out on a leash, and he was running this way and that pulling me along, joyously jumping into the air (quite a sight to see a chubby, short-legged bulldog doing that) to try to catch the snowflakes. He is definitely a snow-loving dog. This morning did his first ice-skating on the frozen autumnal pond that has filled in out by our grand old willow tree.  He took one step onto it and started skating around before breaking through.  Such a cute little guy, and so much fun to see him discovering an entirely different world. I just finished this long, long, long hand knit Christmas Stocking for my daughter.  I will release a pattern for it next week sometime, but wanted to show a photo of it today because it is long and skinny like the Santa Claus in the top photo. This is knit from two hansk of Foot Notes Sock Yarn I purchased from Fiber Optic Yarns (Kimber Baldwin Designs) last winter.  The two colorways I chose were her low contrast Batiks, Tomato and Pale Watercress. Amazingly, because her hanks of yarn are so generous in yardage, I still have plenty of left over yarn. I even knit a miniature version of this stocking for the Christmas tree, and still have plenty left over. I think will knit a pair of real socks for my baby grand-daughter from the remaining yarn ... and even then will probably have some left over! It is snowing again, the Nutcracker ballet is playing on the television in the background, and I am feeling rather Christmas-ie all up and down and inside and out. I hope your advent of the season, whatever it is, is going well. Until tomorrow ... ~firefly Copyright © 2010 J. L. Fleckenstein ALL RIGHTS RESERVED