Knitting? and Giving

More pictures to distract you from the fact that Christmas is 9 days away and I haven’t made very much progress at all on the pink sweater.

Look who I saw at Walmart today. He’s ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. Buddy the Elf alive and well in Howell, Michigan. I was happy to see him although he was wearing sneakers and Maggie made a point of telling me his shoes weren’t right.

I got my ornaments from the handmade ornament swap today. They are beautiful and hand painted. If I were comparing myself to A Crazy Knitter I would feel pretty lame with the ornament I sent out. I’m not going to think about it.

Now on to a more serious note. I was reading Stephanie’s post from today and it’s right down the lines of what I’ve been thinking about lately. I have spent a lot less on Christmas this year than I have in previous years due to feeling a need to scale back. I have felt the need to give my kids a more reasonable expectation of Getting for Christmas and help them think more of Giving.

On the giving side I have been digging money out every time I see a bell ringing guy. I’m not talking change either. I hand each kid a bill and let them put it into the red pot. I’ve given a little more for the welfare and missionary funds at church this year but I feel like I need to branch out. I did knit some things for Afghans for Afghans earlier this year – but I never mailed them. I think this time of year gets me thinking EVERY year but I need to find a way to keep it up past February. If you have any ideas let me know.

In the meantime I’m heading back over to see Stephanie and make my pledge to Doctors Without Borders. I hope to see you there.

I’d better get knitting.