Bruce and I don’t do much in the present exchanging department at this time of the year, but when we do, it is often something special we have made for each other. If not knitted, mine tend toward baking or a new recipe I think he’d particularly like. His gifts to me are also practical, and often result from time spent in his basement workshop.

This is a photo of a post that was supposed to be responsible for holding up a huge section of the first floor of our house. Bruce noticed the smaller upper crack recently, and then suddenly the huge one below appeared. There were several beams resting on that post, so repair became a priority.

So here I am with my very special present from the workshop — the guarantee that the first floor will not fall into the basement. I think that’s a pretty spectacular gift — complete with a ribbon. The new post is doubled with all kinds of shims and leveling devices. A wonder of engineering!

All kidding aside, I am immensely grateful for the roof over my head and all of the hard work that goes into keeping it ship-shape and cozy. With an older house, it’s “always something,” and Bruce keeps an eye out for things needing to be done (a good thing, since I tend to be oblivious to dangerous cracked support posts).

My gift to Bruce this year was an attempt at chocolate lasagna — a holiday tradition in his family. I know it sounds strange, but if you haven’t had it but have tasted Mexican mole, the two have some things in common. The only problem with my effort was that the Nappi family is very opinionated about what constitutes a proper chocolate lasagna, and Bruce had some fundamental disagreements with the recipe I got from his younger brother. Further, my sauce didn’t pass muster. Instead of me making it for him, it became a joint effort in the kitchen, and we hope to make several major improvements next year. (We did eat it, but…)

I’m coming down to the end of Capstone Sweater #2. It is all assembled, the inkle band is attached, and I’m now working on the i-cord finishes to the band. I-cord is one of my favorite finishing techniques because it gives a nice, crisp and tailored look to the garment. It also gives a very firm edge which I really like for button bands. There will eventually be a second i-cord along the outer edge to match this one. Another advantage is that is helps to even up the selvedges of the inkle band that still needs some improvement!

The final bit will be a special button. I have ordered several from a variety of Etsy vendors, but nothing so far looks exactly right.