It occurs to me that the title of this post could be an ironic reference to our covidfest of a Christmas holiday. I tested positive on Christmas Eve, managed to not pass it on to the family through creative and annoying isolation techniques in a small space, and then, the day after New Year’s, Leah came down with it, followed by Doug, followed by Emma’s partner, and then Emma. Much of the holiday was spent playing board games (I ruled in Catan, but Doug swept the board in 7 Wonders), so perhaps it is not so strange that we fell like dominos to covid.

The title reference however, is not to passing covid through the family, but rather to the passing on of a love for craft, a much more enjoyable and fruitful inheritance. This year, Emma, Doug and I gave Leah a cool present: we secretly took one of her completed needlepoint projects to be professionally framed. It turned out great, and Leah was very surprised. Here is a photo of her with the framed needlepoint (still wrapped in plastic) on Christmas morning:

Isn’t it a stunning piece of needlework? This is a piece that she finished in 2022. It was purchased as a kit from Ehrman Tapestry, and was designed by Alex Beattie. She has quite a few completed pieces, but this is the first one that we have had framed. (Perhaps you have noticed the crane pyjamas? Or the origami cranes – also made by Leah – hanging from the plant overhead?)

Leah and I had some great conversations over Christmas about how we use craft to regulate our mood, specifically about how picking up a piece of needlework allows the mind to focus on the craft and also disengage from worrying. Both Leah and I tend to be news junkies, and with the news being increasingly depressing these days, we found that we both find solace in craft. It helps to tune out the noise and put things into perspective, while at the same time creating beautiful things.

Here is a photo of her workspace at home, where she was busy making origami stars:

They make great Christmas ornaments, buntings, even jewelry:

Another creative thing that runs in the family is the love of all things cooking: we love to shop for food, prepare food, talk about food, eat food, and doing all of these together is the best. Here are Doug and Emma at Granville Island on December 30th shopping for our traditional New Year’s Eve feast of fish soup (which this year was the best fish soup ever in nearly 30 years of cooking it):

And here they are on January 2nd (felled by Covid, not the soup):

I spent some time thinking of titles for this post. Here are some of the rejects:

Felled by Covid, not the soup

Cook, craft, and cough together: the secret to family happiness

I hope you are enjoying some family happiness this weekend, with or without a dollop of craft on the side.