The Weather - Again ...

Did I say it was going to be a White Christmas here in Melbourne? I did, but I didn't really believe it. Until I woke at 4.oo am to the sound of hail. And when we awoke just a little after five, as you do with small children on Christmas Day, to check to see if the reindeer's had eaten their carrots on our front porch, the front yard was white! Did I take a photo? No. Why? Because I went to bed at 2.oo am and my thoughts were not very coherent.

I had made a bunny for my daughter's teacher as a "baby shower" gift. I had never knitted a toy before and I was not very confident with how things were going to turn out. But it was soooo easy. And I was really happy with the end result. So happy that I decided that my sister, whose first baby is due in March, needed to have one. They live interstate and were down for Christmas and every unborn niece (yes, "it" is a "she") needs a hand knitted bunny from Santa. Thing is I only started to knit it three days prior to Christmas.

Now I know there are some of you knitters out there who would think three days for this rabbit would be a piece of cake, and I'm not disputing that. Give me a good run on it, and I would be able to do it in a day and a bit perhaps. But the key here is the word "Christmas". I had left all my baking until the weather cooled, all my wrapping until the weather had cooled, cleaning my house until the weather had cooled. Not sure what the weather had to do with it all really, other than it sounding like a really good idea at the time.

Anyway, the rabbit. So, there it was, Christmas Eve, and we had the body and two legs. I was on to my second Bailey's on ice, my little Christmas Eve tradition (hey, I'd been to Mass first!) and my husband suggested I should let it go. What! Let it go? No! He didn't understand. I had set myself a goal and I was going to do it.

So I kept knitting, and knitting. Through Carols by Candlelight on TV, then on to even worse late night television programming. Santa came and put all the presents out. By then I was on to the stitching and stuffing. Have you ever got to the stage of being so tired you feel really ill? The Bailey's and eating Santa's supper probably didn't help, but it wasn't finished and I just had to put it down and go to bed. That is how bad I felt. I put it down and went to bed.

But never fear, after all the festivities of the morning, I picked it up and kept going. Yes, my husband thinks I am mad and yes, we were late for Christmas lunch. And when my sister opened the present my husband proceeded to tell everyone, "And that is why we were late!". So now my entire family thinks I am mad.

The really special thing about this rabbit for me, is that as children, my sister's and I all had hand knitted rabbits. My grandmother worked in a nursing home and one of the ladies there knitted a rabbit for my Grandma when each of her grandchildren were born. And we all loved our rabbits. We all took our rabbits to bed with us each night. We all still have our rabbits. A bit the worse for wear, but still there. So to continue the tradition and give my niece a bunny to love was really important for me.

Just as long as she doesn't love it too much. That left ear was sewn on pretty late at night ...