Re-entry into our home life and the real world has been tough with going straight to Christmas preparations, and the jet lag, and our anniversary. However, I started Madelyn's birthday sweater while I was still in Saudi Arabia, and though I am not finished (and her birthday was this past weekend), I have divided the body from the sleeves, and it is coming along well. Also, I don't think she will remember that her first birthday present was given late.

Let me tell you about my sweet husband. He wore socks from my mending bag, that need darning, while I was gone, simply because I had made them for him, and he missed me. So, yes, I will be darning those socks ASAP.

Speaking of my return, here are some of my pictures from while I was there. The trip was so much fun, but was really important for facilitating my re-connection with family members I hadn't seen in years, some decades, making new friends (with my brothers' wives, for instance), and spending time with my cousins. It was such an amazing experience, and I will be sharing more photos over the next month as I get permission from family members to do so. (Also, the preservation and renovation of Al-Balad, the Old City of Jeddah, is my youngest brother's work project).

There was not much reading done while I was gone, but on my return I did finish two books, both This Is Marketing and Something Beautiful for God. I'm reading some light fiction now, which is fun, but a bit too politically didactic, as I find so much modern fiction. Authors: Trust your readers to get your point through your story instead of lecturing. PLEASE.

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Labels: Books, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, WIP, Yarn Along