That's all of the Yule lads. They hang around until Christmas Day when they start to go back to the mountains one be one. The last one leaves on January 6th and the Icelanders celebrate with big bonfires and fireworks. The Icelanders will use any excuse to shoot off fireworks- it's pretty spectacular.
Hurdaskellir, or Door Slammer, slams doors in the middle of the night to startle the family out of their sleep on those long, cold Icelandic winter nights.
He sneaks into the sheep pen and tries to steal the ewes' milk. 
This month I put together a little packet of cards I made with a template I got from Little Brown Pen on etsy (link to the Little Brown Pen blog is in the right column of this page under 'Crafty Sites'). In the packet were 2 standard size cards, 4 gift tags and a matchbook notepad- and I found these cute little pencils at Staples.
There he is waving to me on his way in.
Bill the Goat and the Army Mule get rowdy.
President Bush officiated the coin toss.
Santa, obviously a Navy fan, was sitting a couple of rows ahead of us.
President Bush sat on the Army side during the first half of the game (because, they were the home team), but at half time he came over the winning side.
And, of course, the best part...
My brother supplied a pretty terrific post-game taligait barbeque.
Not to be left out of the fun, Will stayed in Bedford and went with Grandma, his friends Jamie and Ava, and their mom to breakfast with Santa. By all reports, it was a lot of fun. Good thing it was over in time for Santa to make it to the game.
Today I found the Christmas music station on satellite radio and listened to Christmas music all day at work. Usually I try to exercise a little self control and at least wait until the day after Thanksgiving to break out the Christmas music.
When we bought and renovated our c.1890's house, we were excited to discover the hidden history of our house and the families who lived in it before us. Things like the blue glass door knob on the front door that a couple who lived here in the 1950's brought back from their honeymoon in Italy as a present to the house. Things like the marble tile fireplace mantle that was walled over and covered with carpeting in a second floor bedroom. Things like the markings on the wall at the top of the basement stairs that records the growth of three children who lived here with their parents in the 1980's. There was also a tombstone in the basement.
The gentleman from whom we bought the house was nice enough to pass along the genealogical research had done on the family who originally built the house. The Taylor Family owned all the land for several blocks and built their home (The Taylor Mansion) on Broad Street. They had six children and our house was built behind the Taylor Mansion as a wedding present for Mary Cornelia Taylor. There is another house about a block north that looks very similar to our house and was built for one of the sons. But getting back to the tombstone. Edward Chinn Livingston was the maternal grandfather of Mary Cornelia Taylor. He was born in 1783 and was a Colonel during the War of 1812. As you can see, he lived to be 60 years old and died on November 13th.
When we were in Bedford a few weekends ago we visited an Alpaca Shop that had just opened. They carried sweaters and scarves and socks and other things all made from alpaca (to be honest I'm not clear on the difference between an alpaca and a llama). Rick got a really nice sweater that is lightweight but very warm and is so soft. The ladies in the store told us about the country's biggest Alpaca Convention that takes place right here in Columbus Ohio! Seriously, the Chamber of Commerce could do a better job of advertising these things.
So we spent the morning at the fairgrounds today strolling among the alpacas, watching the alpaca judging, chatting to some very nice folks, and (spoiler alert for family members) doing a little alpaca apparel Christmas shopping.
Alpaca Fun Facts we learned:
This little boy is trying to lead his alpaca through an obstacle course. The alpaca sort of looked like it didn't get the point.
In what has now become a two year tradition, we were invited by our good friends Rich and Vannessa to partake in the Halloween festivities in their Westerville neighborhood. They have 2 darling boys, one about a year older than Will and one about a year younger. They and two other families gather at the house next door for an evening of family fun.
The dads and kids make the rounds of the neighborhood while the moms pass out treats from the driveway. In the garage are crockpots full of chili, chips and dips, sweet treats, and a cooler full of drinks.
Sarah Palin stopped by to campaign a little and get a sugar fix.
The boys are back with their booty.
After it cooled off a little, everyone huddled around the fire pit and told ghost stories (not really, we just talked).
In a Skittles-induced stupor.
Surveying the plunder this morning.
So today is Halloween. Rod Stewart and I were Coach and Mrs. Tressel.
The GA suite across the hall was pretending to be a M.A.S.H unit.
In the clinic next door, Kara (of Karemy and Friends Blog fame) was Cruella DeVille and the staff and residents were dalmatians. How hysterical is that?
This was the first thing I ever bought from Jill. I love 'O what a tangled web...' and her crazy yarn hair. She is dated on the back 2002. So I guess I've been a Creative Primworks collector for 6 years now.
Happy Halloween Pumpkin Head. He perches on top of our desk.
Jill makes a lot of dolls and my favorites are the ones with a mouthful of teeth. 
