Two weeks until. . .

Christmas festivities at the Cockroft's house. . .

 I grit my teeth and helped the kids with a gingerbread house.  Crafts of all kinds make me nauseous.  Growing up, my family's one try at a gingerbread house ended in pieces of gingerbread buried in icing--a gingerbread ski slope, we called it.  After shooting a withering look at Martin, who said the word "scratch,"  I made icing and used a kit.  Only two Smarties have disappeared since.

 Crafts do not include construction paper snowflakes.  These are free-form and we made a ton of them.

 Bathed in the light from our wee feather tree, Merry led a bunch of girls in making Santa hats.

 And the holiday wouldn't be complete without lots of walks.  And hats.

 And sparkling girls.

 And looooovvveee.  Aw.

And in our part of Washington, rain.  Lots of rain.