What I Did On My Christmas Vacation

A month or so before Christmas, Mr. MVP and I discussed our holiday and we decided that Team VP would take two, one week vacations. Our plan was to stay in and around Kalamazoo and on my good days check off some of the activities that have been on our list for the past few months. That was our intention at the time.

We started our holiday off at Borgess Medical Center, so I could have some routine testing finished for my doctors at University of Michigan.

Then we had Water Street coffee. Water Street has a shop right in the hospital and their coffee is one of my favorites. Not only do they sell local and organic food stuffs, but their decaf coffees are water processed which make me super excited. If you don’t live near Kalamazoo, don’t worry, Water Street has you covered because you can shop online and indulge in their amazing beans too.

Right around this time I was also finishing up the Owl Hat. This was the most fidgety pattern I think I have ever knit. I finally gave up on the eyes and created my own knit eyes. The woman who wrote the pattern wanted me to cross stitch the eyes in gigantic circles and after 45 minutes and lots of terrible words I decided there would be no cross stitching.

Mr. and Mrs. B went to see the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

Mr. MVP and I had Frankenstein overnight. Frankie does not like to ride in the car and he howls to let everyone in on his agony.

We had an ice storm:

Our household ecosystem is unbelievably precarious and any outside influence can cause my immune system to come tumbling down without warning, but what we did not expect was for Mr. MVP to get sick. About two days in to our first one week holiday we knew something was wrong. Mr. MVP was sick and I did everything in my power to to avoid getting sick, which actually worked until we went to urgent care and we are almost certain I picked up a bug there.

I was sick the entire second week of the two week holiday.

We did enjoy an extremely calm and pleasant Christmas with our parents – Mr. and Mrs. B to all of you.

My Mom made me this cardinal wall hanging. Not only is it amazing, but it’s funny because I’ve been stalking the cardinal that lives in the tree outside our bedroom window. I’ve named him Mister.

There is also a squirrel that hangs out around the same tree.

Anyhow, my cardinal is going up as soon as the rod arrives from Amazon. My Mom and Dad also gave me an amazing subscription to Citizen Bean.

I was so looking forward to this coffee, but it turned out that it was not decaf, so I had to give it to my Mom. Citizen Bean was ultra kind and apologetic, and my Mom said the coffee was delicious. I ordered some Black Cat decaf coffee from Intelligentsia Coffee to soothe my coffee wounds. It will be here in a week.

My Mom asked for knee socks for Christmas so I picked up this silk and merino wool yarn. It was supposed to be self striping, but it turns out my Mom doesn’t mind variegated yarn as much as I do, so she was very happy. I am so glad I know how to knit two socks at the same time.

We visited our parents’ neighbor Radka and she gave us the gift of magic for Christmas. Radka taught Mr. MVP how to perform a card trick which is actually pretty complicated, but after we watched it a couple of times it was really neat to see it come together. Radka is going to play in a bridge tournament with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett this spring. Go Radka!

Mr. MVP gave me an entire lighting kit which is precisely what I wanted. These lights make my photographs better in low light situations or in our kitchen where the lighting is awful. This is not a professional lighting studio, obviously, but these lights are lightweight and easy for me to move around and with the addition of a couple pieces of poster board the light is easily diffused.

As I had a lot of time for knitting over the two week break I also knit this sweater for one very lucky four year old girl. It is a custom hooded cardigan with matching custom buttons. The yarn is organic cotton and silk. I love this little sweater and by the time I was finished I wanted one.

Kalamazoo has been the target of a lot of cold and snowy weather the past couple of weeks and Blue has been absolutely loving it. She is definitely a snow dog. Mr. MVP clears paths in the backyard for her, but instead of following them, she prances right through the deepest piles.

David requested a plain, black hat. I conceded and knit it out of merino wool and organic cotton. As long as he washes it on gentle in cold water and then does not dry it, this hat should last a long time. As I was knitting it, I had Mr. MVP try it on for size and by the time I was finished Mr. MVP wanted one just like it.

The new year started off with a bang when my Chemex glass kettle exploded. I was boiling water and the top of the kettle popped right off the bottom. I contacted Chemex and they were very kind, but they were a little baffled as to why this happened. Chemex is sending me a new kettle though, which is good because boiling water in the microwave is a pain.

Tonight Mr. MVP and I are tucked in at home. Kalamazoo has been asked by Mayor Hopewell to stay home unless it’s an emergency. We are expected to get up to 20 inches of snow and the temperature is going to reach -30 or lower. Most of the universities in the area are closed, including Michigan State, which means Mr. MVP is home tomorrow.

Team VP is finally on the mend and the new year is starting with a weather wallop. I can’t wait to see what blogging adventures we go on together this year. Thanks for stopping by!

About The Author

Nicole

Member of Team VP, knitter and Mama to Blue and Franks. Life, is bloody good.