A December Hodgepodge

A little Wednesday Hodgepodge for this December day. Go on over to Joyce's blog and play along. Or you can just read through all those who linked up. Or both.

1.  Share your traditions surrounding the Christmas stocking.
When I was growing up we spent most Christmas Eves at my grandfather's 1919 farm house.There was no fireplace, so we hung Grandpa's socks (with a red heel and toe -- think sock monkey) in the drawers of the built-in buffet in the dining room. We would wake up early and try to sneak down the squeaky stairs. We knew the outside edges of the stairs weren't quite as squeaky and tried to descend by walking along the edges. The stockings always had an orange and a chocolate bar and sometimes a silver dollar.
When I was in junior high, my mom made some stockings for us four kids for their house. She used red felt and scraps from all the clothing she (and us girls) had made over the years. A few years later I made some for my mom and dad and then have made umpteen more as the family grew. My sister has taken over the last several years. Here's a picture of my parents' fireplace. You can see how packed that fireplace is behind my great-niece. (Or is it grand-niece? I still don't know!)

I believe there are twenty-five stockings hanging there.
Here's a closer up, but not very good because it's cropped photo. The girl stockings have mostly flowered fabrics and the boy stockings are checks and plaids and stripes.

I made stockings the first year we were married. The names are candy-cane designed letters crossed stitched on.

 I have enough of that red fabric to make one more stocking...just in case.

Sometimes we don't just hang our stockings on the fireplace.

We haven't always had a fireplace to hang them on. For years we used a peg board (that we are currently using to hand our coats on in the mud room). We have even packed these in a suitcase and taken them to Christmases we celebrated in New Zealand and Australia. I always put a candy-cane in the stockings and we wrap the little gifts (mostly because it's way too tempting to peek inside). We typically open our stockings the night before we open presents. The specific day we do that changes every year. We haven't continued with the stockings with the kids since they were married. I'm the one who made that decision and recently, I've been wondering if that was the right decision. Maybe we need to have a family talk about that this Christmas when we are all together.

2.  How many hours of sleep do you average at night?  Is it enough?
I get anywhere from 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night. The closer to 9 hours of sleep, the more rested I feel. I am blessed to not have to get up early for anything in particular, so I typically sleep until I wake up. I spent a lot of years getting up early with my kids and since I am nothing close to a morning person, the fact that I get to sleep until whenever in the morning is bliss.

3.  If you had to give up one thing for the remainder of this year what would it be?
Give up something this time of year? Isn't that what New Year's resolutions are for?

4.  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (or Wills and Kate as I like to call them) have announced they're expecting a baby. Do you follow news of the Royals?
Not really. (Sorry, Joyce.) I just hear whatever is said on the news.

5.  For me,  the sound of childhood is__________________.
LEGOS clinking together, coloring, laughter, a boy bounding down the stairs, a girl humming, grilled cheese sandwiches cooking (and likely being burned on one side), macaroni and cheese being stirred,  a piano, saxophone and trumpet being played, snuggles on nights filled with thunderstorms.

6.  Fruit cake-yay or boo? What's your favorite dessert made with fruit?
Yay! My mom always makes fruitcake and I really like it. She forgets that I like and thinks my brother is the only one who likes it. :) I hope she makes it this year... (Mom?) I should look to see if it's in our family cookbook. If it isn't, then I need to copy the recipe next time I am at my parents' house.
Favorite dessert made with fruit.... I made a cherry pie a few weeks ago that was particularly yummy.

7. What is one thing you want to accomplish before 2012 comes to an end?
I want to read The Hobbit. Hubby has convinced me I need to read it before we see the movie. Today I just finished the last book in a series and set The Hobbit on my nightstand. I have ten days before the movie comes out.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
Here's my son and sweet daughter-in-law showing off their Hobbit feet. Maybe I'll know more of what the heck they are talking about when I get done with that book. (And see the movie.) (See previous question.)