A Christmas Whimsy , Blizzard, & Hawk

 My Whimsy, almost 6 months old and already she loves to pose for pictures. ( well, she SEEMS to )Do you see the spray bottle under the Christmas tree ? It is full of vinegar water for....

 ...our Blizzard who thinks it is fun to catch the bird ornaments and dismantle the tree. So when I catch him at this game I spray him with vinegar water. Actually, all he needs to see is me reaching for the bottle and he scoots out from under the tree and disappears  from sight. ( The little red boot ornament was a gift to me from my first grade teacher in Massachusetts many , many years ago. Mrs. Miller still rates as one of my favorite teachers.)

Our Christmas dogs. Hawk, wearing a bell and a worried expression, and Whimsy , just waiting to play after pictures are taken .

 

We hope your Christmas festivities and celebrations were times of making new & precious memories with loved ones, and times to reflect on the many blessings God bestowed upon you in the years past. May you  also be able to look forward to whatever 2014 brings to you with boldness and peace because you know the One in charge... Jesus !

A Quiet Evening Before Christmas

 This little church belonged to my husband's parents. I found it in the buffet he inherited from them. I remember them having it out on display during Christmas. There is a hole in the back of the little church so it can be put into the tree with a Christmas light inserted. Since the church is cardboard I am unwilling to risk the fire hazard it could be, but maybe once in awhile I'll put little fairy lights in it for a few hours. The light shining through the tiny faux stained- glass windows is so pretty.

 I am still not finished decorating our home. Maybe by December's end I'll be done, just in time to take it all down and pack it away. The fireplace mantle is always a challenge because we use the wood-stove all day , every day this time of the year and anything hanging below the mantle gets way too hot ( so must be fire-proof ) and also gets in the way of adding firewood and stoking the fire. We don't usually put our Christmas stockings out until Christmas Eve but I am thinking about new stockings for us this year and putting them up early. Yeah yeah, I know a few days before Christmas doesn't qualify as early for many of you who had your homes decorated and stockings hung the day after Thanksgiving, maybe next year I'll have it together . ( I say that to myself every year )

 Try decorating your mantle with all these furry nappers to maneuver around. My husband & I have a tradition of watching our collection of A Christmas Carol DVD's every December as the days draw close to Christmas but tonight the TCM network was showing them.( Our favorite versions are the ones starring George C. Scott & Patrick Stewart. ) My husband and I had a quiet evening tonight, and this is just what we have needed. He baked his Berry Butternut * cookies while I decorated and wrote Christmas cards, which will be mailed out on Monday, too late for Christmas delivery. I am so behind in my Christmas duties ....

...but as Tiny Tim says..." God bless us everyone " .

Christmas Melancholy

Time is precious and fleeting fast. Grandchildren are growing so quickly, quicker than their parents, our children seemed to. How  the years have sped by leaving me dizzy with the emotions of wishing I could have just a little bit of time back with my children and their children in earlier years. I vow to myself yet again to remember in the moment that this is special time spent with the precious ones God has graced our lives . And I do. I want to hang onto these moments , simple moments of no great achievements and doings.

Christmas brings to me the joys of the season, the importance of our celebrations of the birth of Jesus , and the time for family gatherings. Cliché I know, but no less significant for it. I think also the impending end of another year and a new year soon to begin also adds to the reflection and for me, the melancholy of  this season.

 The decorating, baking, gift giving, family gatherings, too-busy times, and just plain fun times are all what I expect, look forward to and even dread sometimes. However, looking back ( yes, with melancholy ) I realize these are the good times, as were the times in years past. A messy kitchen and the piles of dirty dishes from all the family dinners and gatherings just shows you're blessed with food and family to share it with. This means your kitchen clean-up is also a blessing ! ( even more so if some of the family & friends help )

"Christmas ! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given -- when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes." Joan Winmill Brown

 

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred , and we are better throughout the year for having in spirit , become a child again at Christmas time." Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

"melancholy -adj. seriously thoughtful or meditative " Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

 

Whimsy's First Winter & We're In The Deep Freeze

 Cedar Pond is frozen. We had about an inch of snow last week, and for the last few days our nightly temperatures have been below 20 degrees. Right now it is 11 degrees here. The pond just starts to thaw in the late afternoon , then the temps drop and it re-freezes. The weather forecasters predict these temps until the middle of next week.

 Our fountains are frozen. Our animal water troughs are frozen. I was looking forward to spending the cold winter days indoors, spinning and weaving my wool, reading my Christmas magazines, baking cookies,blogging....( you get the picture ) but instead, I am carrying many, many buckets of hot water to my poultry and livestock . My husband & I have also been carrying many loads of firewood indoors to keep our home warm & toasty. Just past midnight my husband was outside checking the pipes and putting heat lamps on some of them, then he added more wood to the woodstove & stoked it up.

 Whimsy, my German Shepherd puppy turned 5 months old a few days ago and this is her first freeze.

 She checked out our first dusting of snow...

 ...and the ice on the pond.

 

Whimsy also checked out the red bows on our Christmas decorations and thought they were great chew toys. But she is a very smart dog and after 3 attempts to dismantle the decorations for her amusement, we convinced her this was not acceptable behavior for a good dog like her.Now she leaves the bows alone. Good dog Whimsy .

 

Whimsy & Hawk

Christmas Goose Teapot & Cups

 This Christmas will be very different for our family. My husband's father passed on into eternity this past year and anyone who knew him knew he loved Christmas. My husband's parents' home had Christmas decorations throughout the house all year long, because the decorations made them happy. My father-in-law was also one to share his love of Christmas with his family. He often bought multiples of items he knew his 6 grown kids and their families might appreciate , and we were the beneficiaries of many beautiful Christmas ornaments, dishes, figurines ,books, or any other Christmas items he knew we had to have .The Christmas Goose mugs shown above were a gift from my husband's parents at least 20 years ago. I remember serving my children hot chocolate with whipping cream and marshmallows in these mugs. ( Sweet memories...) I am drinking peppermint tea while I decorate our home for Christmas.

 I have undertaken the now-daunting pleasure of setting up our Christmas village. Daunting because it takes at least a day ( I am on day #3 now )  to drag all the boxes out of our closet , and then we have to be creative enough in our display without compromising practical living space. As much as my husband & I enjoy the Christmas village vignettes we display, we still need space to entertain friends & family. Plus, I hate clutter. Our large Christmas village display is a challenge for sure.

 A little farm resides under our big fig tree. I had to move quite a few large plants from our sun-room to make space for our village and also my husband's train set. This fig tree is too large to move so I incorporated it into the decorating. It is now a large tree on a snow-covered hill with a wee farm nestled at the base. I haven't yet added the little people and accessories to the farms & village.

This teapot was among my mother & father-in-laws' possessions. Years ago he gave us a set of 8 mugs, now I have 8 more mugs and the teapot that goes with them. One of the first signs of Christmas in our home is the 'changing of the dishes' ,and the very first dishes I bring out are the coffee mugs. My grandchildren will hopefully remember the many years they have already used them as their hot cocoa mugs. Hot cocoa with whipped cream & marshmallows. Now I have the pot to fill with cocoa . Thank-you Dad B. We miss you especially during Christmas. The mugs and teapot were made in Japan and originally distributed by the Fred Meyer stores.

Please join these ladies for December Tea-Time festivities ~
Martha's favorites *
Artful Affirmations *
Rose Chintz Cottage *
Bernideen's Tea-Time Blog *
Antiques & Teacups *