I realize that this post is a bit late, Christmas now being about 3 weeks past. My excuse is that I had some misgivings about posting about those gifts I was given in the first place. Given the current economy I didn't not want to flout the fact that my family has not been terribly affected.

I was especially fortunate in the present department this year, especially since my expectations were low. I asked for little this Christmas, and got more than I cound hope for. It was wonderful. I decided to share my good fortune at the risk of upsetting others.

These beautiful handmade sock blockers, one sized for my husband, one for myself were from the Gadaboutknitter. Her husband cut and sanded these himself out of some beautiful ceader. I can't wait to use them, but until then they can protect my statsh.

These wonderful crafty books were from my parents, my sister in law, and myself. You will no doubt be seeing projects from them in the comming year.

A good friend of my husband and I sent me this book from his new home town, Austin, Texas. This book stemed out of the Rhizome Collective, a sustainable living group local to Austin. Many of the ideas in the book go way beyond what I had even considered possible in the city. I fully intend to implement many of the in the comming year.

I finially got my very own i-pod. I have never had an mp3 player before (For that matter, I don't remember ever having a portable CD player, althoughI did have a tape player in college to recored lectures). My husband hd been letting me use his old i-pod shuffle - the small kind without a view screen. It served me well, except that I like to listen to books, and it was difficult to find the right place in the story if it got out of order. My husband responded with this cool new i-pod nano in pink (my favorite color), inscribed with a personalized message.