It always amazes me how quickly the Christmas season comes upon us. It seems like every year it comes as soon as the Halloween decorations are barely off the shelves. I could blame all the hype that is thrown at us via the media about shopping and buying... and whatever... in fact, I do remember seeing commercials for Christmas back in October...

...but I think it also has to do with the fact that time for me this year has gone by very, very quickly. Time has simply flown by in alot of areas... that it is hard to imagine that it is already nigh unto December here.

And so... today ... as we sat around and talked about things we were grateful for this year (and there was alot)... I also wanted to mention how grateful I am that we are doing our best as a family to avoid all the hype that is the holiday season to come. We have pledged again this year to make as many of the gifts as we can... and buy what we can't make from local sellers as much as we are able to. Not only will it be a benefit to those local families who own stores and work so very hard to keep afloat... but it also gives us the "warm fuzzies" to know we are doing what we can to re-use, re-purpose, and re-cycle... as well as make some really cool stuff.

*photos by Elaine A. Russell