Happy New Year 2015~ Bring It On !

 My Wee Little Sheep were tangled in the miniature Christmas lights and the little Santa was unwinding them for me as I cleaned up my craft room / studio for a new year of rug weaving and crafting. I can see by his eyes he was a bit frustrated with the mess the little sheep made, but being of jolly nature, little Santa persevered and the lights were wound up and put away until next year's Christmas crafting.

 Our year ended with the joy of having our daughter's  children for a few nights before Christmas. We shared Christmas Eve with her and her children, it was a pleasant time of family fellowship. ( We had a good time of cooking together, watching movies, games, puzzles, and a special outing. )

 Our Christmas Village takes up our whole sun-room. It also takes a little more than a day to set up, and a whole day to take down and put away...

 ... but we think it is worth it. ( Whew ! ) Now the Christmas lights and the Christmas Village are put away until next year.

 Santa has hung his suit up in our guest bedroom for the year but not until after he ...

 ...visited our 5 grandchildren over the snowy mountains and far away and our 4 grandchildren on this side of the mountains. He is a busy Santa, but this grandpa ( oops, Santa) makes a lot of time for all of his grandchildren !

The past year, 2014, was a year of many challenges and blessings. We are thankful for all God has given us and look forward to 2015 knowing He is in control. Of all His many blessings this past year we have to say we are so thankful for the miracle and blessing of this little guy, firstborn child (son ) of our youngest son and his wife after almost 13 years of marriage.

We hope 2015 is a year of blessing to all our family & friends. May you have blessings abundant even in the midst of tragedy, trials, and whatever life throws at you. Take time to savour the little moments of simple joy, hug those you love whenever you have the chance, write notes of thanks & appreciation to those you seldom see, read & contemplate your Bible, and dance for joy when the mood strikes ! Happy New Year 2015, bring it on.

Rejoice !

..." for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior , who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

Smile for Crackers !

 

How my sheep smile as they wait for crackers.

 

Ivy Lea Teacup, Cookies, & Importance of Family Traditons

 I got down all my boxes of teacups and sorted through them looking for the perfect Christmas teacup, and although I have a lot of very beautiful teacups , this teacup is the only one I took out to be MY special Christmas teacup. She is Ivy Lea by Royal Albert. I keep her on the buffet with a little shepherd and some sheep , and her matching creamer & sugar bowl.

 I snatched a few Berry Butternuts* from the stash my husband baked this past weekend. Berry Butternuts are a family Christmas tradition started in my husband's family by his father.

 Berry Butternuts are a family tradition my husband is now carrying on in our family, and he takes this very seriously. We have to use real butter, real vanilla, fresh walnuts, and good raspberry jam. He was in a tizzy one Christmas season when we ran out of raspberry jam. I suggested some of my homemade plum or blackberry jam, but no, HAD to be raspberry jam ! Now I make sure to make a lot of raspberry jam from our own berry bushes. We can't be running out of raspberry jam at this time of the year.

I made a pot of peach tea and covered it with my Christmas tea cozy, marveling at how well the gold-rimmed , ivy intertwined with snowdrops pattern cup and saucer fits in with all our Christmas decorating. I am thinking of snipping a few sprigs of variegated ivy I have growing in a pot on the porch and using them for my Christmas table-setting.

Both my husband & I come from Norwegian American families. Our families shared a few beliefs and attitudes about this time of the year I discovered were not , as I had assumed, common to most families. Our families were very good at being "over the top " in celebrating Christmas without spending a lot of money. I found a book Keeping Christmas ~ Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land by Kathleen Stokker , that is rich with the history & traditions of Norway from pagan to Christian times, and then onto the celebrations the immigrant Norwegians brought to America. Fascinating ! This history explains so much about our families' attitudes &expectations towards the Christmas season we still carry on, without having realized just how much our families' traditions & history affect us even today. Hospitality was always important , especially at this time of the year. 

"A veritable archive of Norwegian American character traits - the vital role of hospitality , equality ,evenhandedness in sharing hosting obligations, resourcefulness ,the ability to make one's own entertainment , a concern for aesthetics, and the attention recorded Christian piety- this custom embodies qualities still valued in Norwegian society." by Kathleen Stokker  Hospitality is always precious, and sharing tea and cookies with friends & family this time of the year and all year round are traditions and customs shared world-wide . Tea-Time Tuesdays have given me a glimpse of hospitality from all over the world through a tea-cup  !

Join these ladies to see how they celebrate all things tea :
Artful Affirmations with Terri *
Bernideen's tea time Blog *
Martha's Favorites *
Rose Chintz Cottage with Sandi *
Antiques & Teacups with Ruth *

Just Another Huge Windstorm

 The weather forecast and local news was warning us of a huge storm coming our way. Yeah, yeah... thus far we had not received any of the strong winds and drenching rains predicted and it was sunny outside. I went out to feed my sheep. To feed my sheep I take the wheelbarrow through the gate shown above to get hay from the hay shed. Just minutes after I went through the gate the winds picked up to a horrifying speed causing this branch to come down where I had been less than 5 minutes before. The branch broke on the roof and was stuck firmly under the sheep shed, and also left debris all over the other side of the shed. Meanwhile, I was in the hay shed and  hearing loud roaring of the wind and seeing huge branches flying horizontally across the sky, and hearing loud noises of large branches hitting the roof of the hay shed. I stayed put under cover until the wind subsided for a moment, then I ran with the wheelbarrow full of hay to the sheep shelter, fed them quickly and ran for the house. Good thing too, things got very dangerous , very quickly.

 We lost electrical power before the 6:00 news. For the next few hours my husband & I listened to raging winds outside, heard large things being blown against the house, saw our porch furniture being blown around the porch, and we were glad to be safe indoors. We read by candlelight, I wrote in and addressed many Christmas cards , and we went to bed knowing we were safe & sound, even without electricity.( Above, a tiny bit of the devastation around our pond... a tree top laying over our fire pit. )

 We had a lot of storm debris and tree tops fall into our pond, and over our fire pit ,

 but the morning after the storm the sun shone bright, the power came back on before noon, and the ducks and geese were swimming & bathing in the pond.

Life goes on. The storms rage , wreaking devastation , but the sun will eventually come out and calm returns. Through so many storms in my life I have finally learned , storms do end... and I need to simply hang in there for the sunshine , it's worth it ! " He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow, " Psalm 147:18  ~

All I Want For Christmas Is My Own Reindeer

 I love reindeer.

 Not just the ornaments I display around Christmas ,

 but real live reindeer.

Ever since I sat across the reindeer exhibit with my sheep in The Animals Of The World barn at our state fair, I have wanted real reindeer. I have been researching them for years , and maybe, just maybe I can convince Santa we should have at least a pair of reindeer ?

Oh well, I think that probably won't happen, but I do have a little wether ( castrated male sheep ) with 4 horns I have named Blitzen. He is very friendly. I' m going to make him a nice harness and train him for Santa. ( Note to self : start looking for small sled and keep a few more wethers. Comet, Cupid, Donder...)

"Now Dasher ! Now Dancer ! On Comet ! On Cupid ! On Donder and Blitzen ! To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall ! Now dash away ! Dash away ! Dash away all !  ~The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas !

 We've been decorating for Christmas.

 We're not finished, and I am already exhausted. But it is a happy kind of exhaustion, a Christmas festive kind of exhaustion.

 We still have to put the tree-topper on , after I finish making it.

We only put a few ornaments on the tree this year , and I left a lot of decorations in their boxes in the closet under the stairs. In spite of using far less decorations, and deciding not to put lights up around the house outside, we still seem to have Christmas decorations everywhere.

This week I'll address, write in, and send out Christmas cards & presents and then the baking begins . It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas !

Santa & I Are Very Good Friends !

 My husband & I have been gone . We've been over the snowy mountains and far away, returning home yesterday. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with our sons, daughter, and their families. Just because Santa & I are very good friends, he visited us after Thanksgiving. He let me take a picture of him holding our new grandson ...

...and I even persuaded Santa to let me sit on his lap for a picture. ( Shhh, don't tell anyone, but Santa kissed me ! )

Don't Despair ~ Be Thankful !

" And it is good to take time to be thankful , for it is all too easy to let the world's trouble sweep over one in a dark flood and to fall into despair. "  Gladys Taber

" Be anxious for nothing , but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."   Philippians 4:6

Where I Store My Teacups ~ Part II ( Cat-Napping Room ? )

Blizzard woke up from his cat-nap while I was taking photos of my crafting room. Since he realized it was only me he settled himself back down and got comfortable on my work surface.

This was once our daughter's bedroom. She has long since moved out and now lives with her own family, so my husband & I began setting things up to accommodate the crafting supplies and work area that I used to store under beds, in closets...anywhere I could find space. Now it is all in one room. The boxes and bins are labeled and I try to keep like items together. The shelves are from Home Depot and are in the closet storage system department. I had at first wanted beautifully made hard wood shelves  and know my husband could have made them, but we're busy and expediency and budget were taken into consideration. I am very happy with these shelves.

Even though this looks cluttered, everything is labeled and has a place.

The wall on the far right has shelves holding the clean & carded wool from my flock of Jacob sheep. I try to use almost all of my wool before the next wool harvest , but there are always a few wool batts left on the shelves before the new shearing is finished. Sometimes this wall holds many bags of clean and carded wool fiber piled up in front of the shelves of wool. So much wool you cannot see the shelves ! The little shelf to the right of the wool shelves holds weaving supplies and a sewing machine.

This is the wall opposite my work table. Fabric and sewing supplies dominate here while the lower cabinet holds crafting books, pattern books, and magazines I use for inspiration in my crafting. The sewing machine & sewing table I use is beneath the thread holders on the wall. I keep it covered when not in use because working with my wool fiber can sometimes be dusty work. Again, any closed boxes, baskets, or containers are labeled and stored near similarly used supplies.

I see Blizzard is sleeping again and I am going to have to reclaim my work surface. Thank-you for taking a moment to see my messy, but useful & much loved crafting room. Now I am going to work on a few more needle-felted balls. Blizzard will probably happily bat them around and hide them . He's just testing them out to make sure they work properly and having fun watching me find them later on. I suppose this makes it Blizzard's room too, his cat-napping room !

Where Do I Store My Teacups ?

 I store my teacups and teapots in pretty boxes ...

 ... in my crafting room. It looks cluttered I know, but I took these pictures after a few hours of needle-felting wool balls. I set my needle-felting materials near the small table which has a stack of rubber foam to absorb the sharp needles I use for needle-felting the balls. Blizzard the cat is my constant companion when I am indoors and I frequently have to stop my crafting and remove him from my work surfaces . I placed the little table & chair in front of the small t.v. so I can watch the Hallmark channel Christmas specials I have recorded for my days in the craft room. ( Easy- viewing Christmas specials with happy endings make me happy , and inspire me when I craft.)

 I sew, quilt, make rugs , scrapbook, fill photo albums , and write letters in this room. And I store my teacups here.

 

The view from my window in the crafting room. It is a fine foggy fall day, the ducks and geese are splashing in the pond, Blizzard is napping on the table .As soon as I brew myself  a cup of tea I'll remove Blizzard from the table and begin a new batch of felted wool balls.I'll show the rest of my crafting room in the next post.

 

I am joining these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Ruth at Antiques and Teacups *

Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea Time Blog *

 

Simply Autumn

 Simply autumn . Pictures from the front of our home where the Japanese maples are dropping their leaves on the evergreen shrubs underneath.

 The shady and secret spots of our property hold little pockets of moss and mushrooms.

One of our ducks napping in the fallen maple leaves of autumn, simply autumn... my favorite season.

Whimsy in Autumn

We love the fall ! Whimsy and I appreciate a good walk through the autumn leaves. This is my favorite time of the year. Apparently the dictionary defines autumn not only as the season between summer and winter, but also as my season in life . Autumn:"time of maturity or decline  ...autumnal : past middle life"*. Hopefully the "decline" part isn't too bad yet because I still don't even feel like I am past middle age. ( after all , it's perfectly reasonable to expect to live to be 120 years old, isn't it ? )

*Webster's Collegiate Dictionary  1941

Hobbit Style Root Cellar

I had the good fortune to meet the people who built this root cellar . They allowed me to check it out and photograph it . I decided such a wonderful hobbit-hole needed to be shared with you ! Above you can see the entrance to the root cellar , or cold storage, built to preserve the vast amount of fruit and vegetables this family grows.

If you walk up their driveway this is what you'll see. A beautiful rock garden where the plants thrive in extreme temperatures This area of the U.S. has very hot summers and very cold winters. The rock garden is actually the roof of the root cellar. You can see a pipe used for ventilation of the root cellar sticking out like a periscope.

The home sits below some beautiful mountains and overlooks meadows where elk, deer, cattle , and wild turkeys graze. Breath-taking views everywhere you look, and they've taken a simple root cellar and turned it into just another view worth looking at and enjoying.

Inside the root cellar ( they hadn't yet begun to fill it up with their harvest when we were there ) are bins for potatoes, onions, apples. There are shelves for all the canned goods they preserve themselves.

I could easily covet this fine hobbit hole .

Root cellars, larders, and pantries full of food canned and preserved by us that was grown in our own orchards and gardens is such a rewarding endeavor well worth everyone knowing and practicing to some degree. Wouldn't it be fun to look forward to stashing the hard-worked-for goods in a hobbit hole like this ?