Santa "Claws" is Coming

I'm in full Christmas-preparation mode now. Last night I made some Michigan Rocks for Christmas, from my mom's recipe. Most versions I've seen of these cookies have only walnuts and raisins, or sometimes dates instead of raisins. But my mom's version has all three of those ingredients plus maraschino cherries and maraschino cherry juice. They're my absolute favorite! My mom used to make them every year, but I think she's tired of baking (and cooking...can't blame her!). So this year I took over. I think they came out pretty good for my first time. Here's a picture:

They're kind of like little mini-spice cakes with fruit in them. My sister makes all of the rest of the cookies in our family (including my other absolute favorite: Cream Cheese Wreaths). I hope I don't come back from Christmas too bloated!

I also finished up a project I had started on Monday night: catnip mice for all the kitties in my family. My family and I don't exchange gifts anymore because everyone was getting too stressed about it, but that doesn't mean I can't give gifts to the kitties, right?

I knitted up the mice using this pattern from Wendy. I used some yarn left over from my Gryffindor POA scarf.

Once it was time to start stuffing them, somebody wanted to help:

Hmm...is this for me?

Helping is so much fun!

Aughhh! Pink Elephants!

And finally, the finished product:

Gryffindor Mice!

Santa came early for Quincy:

Merry Christmas to you, and a Happy New Year too!