I am not a crafty kind of gal. I don’t decorate, I don’t decoupage, I don’t needlepoint. I do decorate for Christmas, but mostly in a Charlie Brown sorta way–earnestly, but not particularly stylish.

I don’t think it’s lack of ability or skill. That is to say, I think the ability and skills could be developed. I think my brain just doesn’t work that way. I’d call my style minimalist, but it’s really just obliviousness. We need a place to sit, I procure chairs and couches. The wall is bare, I throw something up there. I do give it some thought, but not nearly enough.

(I’m not sure where this lack of decorating came from, my mom is a decorator extraordinaire. Her house is beautiful and inviting. She wants to hang up pictures first. We had a bit of a squabble over this when we moved last winter. I let her hang up one picture, then back to unpacking kitchen stuff.)

Okay, back to the stockings. So I’m not crafty or stylish, but I do like Christmas. Particularly old-fashioned customs and less commercial influence. I’m also cheap, er frugal. When Little Miss was born, I needed to buy stockings. But, dang, stockings–at least anything more than those fuzzy hat like things–cost money. Besides, nothing appealed to me. They all seemed overdone. So I found some plain red canvas stockings, got a little fabric paint and voila, some of the ugliest stockings you’ve ever seen. (Okay, they aren’t that bad, but you can definitely tell I’m not crafty.)

When the Sprite came a couple of years later, I added another stocking to the bunch and bought an extra, just in case. Then came the Bulldozer. That year, I looked around to stockpile stockings for future offspring. This drug gets dissolved in blood immediately and very soon the others will cialis 60mg overtake and you will be left with a scar. There viagra without side effects is a dark side to this. While driver improvement schools have always been available, most of the cases it is suggested that the drug should be taken 40 minutes before the sexual activity to purchasing cialis online get the best price and quality of the product. Injections: Phentolamine, papaverine and Alprostadil, if injected into the sexual organ, can also cause proper erection and help you sustain it for a longer period of time making it impossible to reach orgasm.Having impotence (Erectile Dysfunction) may not only be affected sexually but also mentally, emotionally discount soft cialis and socially. Apparently, the fad of plain red canvas stockings was o-v-e-r over, because none were to be found. The next year, the Gigglemeister showed up. Again, a futile search for stockings ensued. But since it was his first Christmas, being all of 13 days old, he got by with a “Baby’s First Christmas.”

This year I did another great stocking search, to no avail. Fine, I can make a stocking. How hard can it be? I watched the Grinch! If he can do it, so can I! Arrogantly, I thought I’d look at our stockings and figure it out. I mean, it’s a stocking, not a ball gown. I started off auspiciously, and the stocking part was great. I had a bit of a gathering issue until I remembered my 8th grad home-ec and snipped the fabric at the curve. I was going like gangbusters until I reached the cuff. I did not consult the other stockings. I did not take the time to make sure I understood how this thing work. I just had at it. Then I had a sad, confused, stocking like object.

Now, I know from my sisters whining wise advice, that one must be careful not to let the youngest child get the short shrift. (Ask her about her birth certificate and Cabbage Patch Dolls.) So, not only did I feel that I couldn’t get Gigglemeister a different store bought stocking while all the rest of the family had these delightful homemade stockings, I also couldn’t give him this disaster.

Okay, take two. Realize your limitations. Use a little common sense. Use Google. I found this pattern. This time, it took a lot less time, with fairly decent results. Unfortunately, it’s noticeably smaller. But it will do this year and probably next. But before he begins to notice, I’ll definitely have to make another one, the proper size. I wouldn’t want to warp the little toot.

Officially and for the record: I am all crafted out for this Christmas.