Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming....

~There is snow on the dove cote, snow on the trees, snow on the ground...and more snow predicted ! We might have snow for Christmas ! I love snow ,especially when I know my pantry is full and I have plenty of coffee and firewood, and ..oh yeah, plenty of food . If we have the luxury of being able to stay home, why even better. ~Ducks on ice. Sounds like a gourmet dish, or even an entertainment extravaganza, but no...we really have ducks on ice. I probably should not have laughed, but the other day when I released the ducks from their over night pen the little Call ducks flew into the air, circled the house and glided for their typical landing IN the pond. Ooops! They hit the ice and skidded to the other side of the pond. It was hilarious...see, I think Ducks on Ice could actually be an entertainment extravaganza.

~And here, snug against the wood shed is a rose that was blooming amidst the snow and ice! This song sprang to mind has not left my brain since.~

~Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming~

"Lo, how a rose e'er blooming, from tender stem hath sprung!

From Jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung." first two lines of 16th century German Christmas Carol

Storm 2006:Friendship,Gift From the Heart

~Storm of 2006~~This was the front of our Christmas cards that winter. I think it was very considerate of the tree removal company to decorate their truck for me. The tree service came out the next day after the storm and after surveying the damage, set on a time the NEXT day to remove the tree. We were very grateful to be so high on the list, as all tree removal companies in the Pacific Northwest were overworked and had long, long waiting lists of people needing their services. I will tell you, Mac's Tree Service of Yelm, WA is the greatest, and amazingly did not break the skylight windows while removing the 2 trees stuck in, around and outside the windows.

~The first morning after the storm , Hubby's younger brother came over with the biggest blue tarp I had ever seen this side of a circus tent! He actually owned this tarp. In the still very windy and wet and cold weather, he and Hubby wired that tarp over the roof, and I mean, it covered the roof, and even the tree on the roof. This really saved our home and contents, because it pretty much stormed on and off for months after . I could not watch them on the roof, for worry about their safety! Thank-you David, very much!( picture above is of Hubby's brother David and his wife Margie with our granddaughters ) ~Here below is Dirt and Lanny, see It's The Dirt . Dirt and Lanny were over right away with their own personal work crew. I cannot begin to tell you how much work and self-sacrifice was evidenced by this family. Although they did not have any trees on their home, they had numerous trees down all around their home. Plus, this was Christmas time. We were supposed to be in the thick of Christmas shopping and buying and baking ( you can bake even without power ). And hey, they had a generator so could have even been watching the Christmas specials on T.V. But nope, they came over with a chain saw, work gloves, and worked and worked until all the trees fallen all over our property were cut up and the big chunks of wood were hauled ( by them ) to a spot by the garage. We also had an enormous bon-fire burning the debris."A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else." Len Wein

~Dirt and Lanny's daughter Bet, Paddle In The Pond . Bet works as hard, or harder than many young men now a days. She too was hauling debris, huge branches, and worked non-stop til the job was done." It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they WILL help us." Epicures

~Here is Dirt and Lanny's other daughter, Anna Colleen, Terriers and Tabbies.

Anna hauled a lot of tree parts, wood, and debris also. You cannot ever put a price on the value of friends like these. The word 'priceless' is pretty much overused I think and somehow that negates the true value of the word...PRICELESS !

~Our son-in-law Tom, A.Joy At Home, came over with his chain saw and work gloves, and immediately began working. He and our daughter and grand kids had just the night of the raging storm, moved out of the tent they were living in( and had lived in for months) into the not quite finished new home being built on their property because the storm was wreaking havoc on their tent / home. This was literally in the nick of time because their tent was destroyed and they would have been injured or worse had they toughed it out in the tent. But here was Tom, helping us when there was a great deal to do at their home, and storm damage to clean up. ~"May God give you....for every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer." Irish Blessing God gave us so much that year, and into the next, these friends and family have been there in very difficult times and our family and friends have been so kind as to surround us with prayers and encouragement. These are the TRUE GIFTS of GOD, and because of His Son, these people are who and what they are.....kind, forgiving, self sacrificing..... ~Our home today, in the snow. Look, no holes in the roof !We do still have a lot of landscaping to re-do. We had hundreds of Hostas and our landscaping was designed for shade, now we have full sun all around our home. New plants and trees, new buildings,new adventures in life. Thank-you dear friends and family and the many who brought us containers of water and meals and encouragement and prayers !

~Consider it all joy , my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." James 1:2 and " Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. ."James 1:17

Storm 2006: Part II,The Murmur Of The Dove

~The night of the storm was terrifying. I was in the house alone when the first tree fell on the house, and Hubby was home with me as we sat in the living room, the house warmed by our woodstove and the only light was candlelight. The power was out and the storm was raging. I now know what people are talking about when they say the hurricane / storm sounded like a freight train, because that is exactly what it sounded like all night and into the early morning.A freight train coming at the big picture window.When the biggest tree fell onto the house I was literally paralyzed with fear. We could not possibly see how the house could still be standing with that monster hitting hard. The whole house shook and the boom when the tree hit was loud.Hubby grabbed my hand and commanded me to get up off the floor( where I had fallen) and follow him. ~This beautiful scrimshaw is a Christmas ornament I keep out all year. We received it in a family reunion/ Christmas party a few days before the storm. Our cousin Terry Christian is a world renowned scrimshaw artist and this was a coveted ornament in the gift exchange. Check out Terry's work at Scrim Gallery. ~We grabbed flashlights and went upstairs fully expecting to see the whole second floor collapsed. Miraculously it hadn't. We could see the branches through the ceiling, and Hubby climbed into the attic and inspected the damage. There was a lot of tree poking through the roof, and branches made it hard for him to fully inspect, especially in the dark. But Hubby declared the house sound enough for us to stay in it, and then in the brief lulls before the winds would pick up he gathered all the tarps we owned and began trying to cover the many holes. ~We also had to inspect the dove cote to see if there were any doves surviving the damage both trees had caused. There was pretty much nothing worth salvaging in my first beautiful dovecote. The wood and wire and perches and nest baskets were crushed , and tangled or buried in tree debris. But...the doves were perching quietly in , around, and amidst the wreckage. Hubby , with flashlight, began climbing through the piled destruction and gathering the doves, one by one. We counted them as we placed them in a bird cage. There was one missing. Wow, all that damage, and we lost only one dove. ~We had to interrupt our dove rescue several times because the winds would start up again and we could hear BIG trees falling around us, branches whipping by our heads, and we were searching through the unstable debris of the two large trees that fell on our house, so that was not too safe either. Hubby kept trying to stay outside and look for the doves, but I was not willing to lose him for a dove.

~This is an ornament Hubby's brother and his wife gave us. I keep it out all year too.~

~The next morning, at the faintest bit of light, we went outside to survey the damage. We could barely walk anywhere. There were huge trees down everywhere. As I looked at the scene before me I could not possibly imagine us ever being able to repair the house and reclaim our property.Then in a rhododendron bush, right there by our walkway, was the missing dove. Just peacefully perched there, safe and unharmed. She allowed me to pick her up..and take her to safety."Come gracious Spirit, heavn'ly Dove, with light and comfort from above; be Thou our Guardian, Thou our guide, O'er every thought and step preside." Throughout the rest of the many storms we had, as my fears would shake me, I could hear the doves outside in their temporary cages, from inside the house. They would murmur and coo.....all night. And this comforted me.

~Gracious Spirit~ "Gracious Spirit, Dove Divine, Let thy light within me shine, All my guilty fears remove,Fill me full of Heaven and love. Let me never from Thee stray, keep me in the narrow way Fill my soul with joy divine, Keep me Lord forever Thine. Speak Thy pardoning grace to me, Set the burdened sinner free Lead me to the Lamb of God, wash me in His precious blood. Life and peace to me impart,seal salvation in my heart Breathe thyself into my breast, earnest of immortal rest." by John Stocker ~My next post will be about special people who were there to help us above and beyond anything we expected.And the final post on the storm. ~

Spot on The Christmas Storm of 2006

~This is our home. I think our Christmas tree was a bit too big, what do you think?~~There are storms raging around our home tonight. The news has been full of dire predictions, and the forecast calls for high winds , low temperatures and power outages. I stepped outside and heard the winds and my heart began to race a little bit.....I used to love storms, and still do, but when the winds rage, well, I cannot quell the fear that rises up in me uninvited. As you can see from the pictures, an abundance of rain, hurricane speed winds and numerous big trees is a formula for disaster....and disaster is what we had here at Cedar Pond just before Christmas 2006.

~This is inside our sun room. Can you see the branches protruding through the ceiling? The tree on the roof here crushed and caved in the inner wall of the sun room. Amazingly though, not one of the 3 sky lights broke! "The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear." Ralph Waldo Emerson ~Here is the ceiling of my craft room. We cut some of the branch off before I took pictures. The outer wall of this room was crushed and caved in."Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amidst the storm." Author Unknown ~Several trusses were damaged and / or broken. We had more than 10 huge fir, hemlock and cedar trees down on our property, one on the garage, several across the driveway and our private road."It is a time when one's spirit is subdued and sad, one knows not why; when the past seems a storm -swept desolation, life a vanity and a burden and the future but a way to death." Mark Twain (This is how I felt in almost all of 2007 ) ~The 2 trees ON and IN our home were in front of our home and shaded the front and our original dove cote. The dove cote was smashed to pieces. Our property was a scene of devastation. The power was out. We did not get power for over a week. We had huge tarps wired down to protect whatever was left of our roof and keep us dry. The wind storms raged almost continuously for weeks after this storm and we still had many BIG trees looming over our home. I succumbed to almost paralyzing and immobilizing fear that affected everything I thought or did. I slept on the sofa downstairs to : 1-keep the fire going for warmth and :2- because I was afraid the upstairs master bedroom ceiling would collapse on us while we slept and somebody needed to be able to call 911 ! Hubby had gone into the attic and described the damage to the roof, and I knew the rest of it would collapse. ( It didn't) ~Because of the extensive damage done to so much of the Pacific Northwest, we ended up on a waiting list to have the damage repaired. The damage done to our home was not repaired until the end of March and first week of April of 2007.There was one wind / rain storm after another for 2 or 3 months. The man we hired to cut down the remaining trees looming over our property was busy working 2 and 3 day 24 hour shifts for the city and for safety reasons could not cut down some of our trees til much later in the year...he was over worked, tired, and so very nice to us by coming out and cutting down the most threatening trees. ~If this had been the extent of the storms that raged and caused great destruction that year and the year following, then in hind sight I would have kissed the storm and thanked God for such little trials. But God knows what we can handle and in His wisdom , this was but a preparation for what was ahead..but the future storm was not a literal weather disturbance.....anyway, I will finish this in other posts. God provided friends and His comfort and shelter, and we have not enough words of gratitude and thanksgiving for the blessings of friends who are self-sacrificial ,but I will try! ~" For Thou hast been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in in his distress, a refuge from the storm..."Isaiah 25:4

Spot on Some Very Good Cookies and Sister Benel's Sheep

~~~These cookies are scrumptious! You must make at least one batch and see for yourself. You don't even have to bake them. I made them especially for Hubby when he came home from a trip to the OTHER Washington, and I knew after being gone and getting home late he would like a special dessert. For the recipe check out Noble Pig's Blog "A Ball In Every Port", December 10. The plate in back of the cookies was a gift from Hubby's Father, and it is by artist Suzanne Toftey who is known for her paintings and works of art depicting various aspects of Scandinavian life. This plate is entitled "Moonlight Sleigh Ride".~Here is a little pastoral scene I keep on the front porch table. The Baby's Tears plant grows well in the shade and the porch seems to shelter it from the harshest weather. If you have read my blog for even a short while you can tell I very much enjoy little vignettes and miniatures. Really, my house is normal people size , and not cluttered. There is a place for almost everything around here except in my craft room...I digress. The inspiration for a lot of my little Nativity scenes and my little sheep comes from a magazine article I read in December 1987, in a magazine called Early American Life, which has not been published now for many years. There was an article entitled "Sister Benel's Sheep". ~This is a picture( below ) from that article, a representation of a Moravian Putz, or Nativity scene, or creche. The article went on to quote "Benels' sheep were wondrous to behold! They were shaped out of clay, then cotton was wrapped around them, four matches were stuck into represent legs, and a splash of Chinese vermillion was daubed on the end where the nose belonged." A Century of Moravian Sisters, by Elizabeth Lehman Meyers

I made my first Nativity sheep as described in this article, but every year I changed the way I made them . I shaped their faces better, added sturdier legs and felt ears, a little more realism to the facial features, and I wrap them in the wool from my own flock of Jacob sheep instead of the cotton I used when I first began making them, when I lived in the city and never in a million years would have dreamed I could be so blessed as to have my own flock of sheep ! ~I have been researching Sister Benel and the Moravians and what I have discovered is so interesting and inspirational. First, there are written accounts of Sister Benel. She was a very friendly and jovial woman. She would go into people's homes once a week and do their mending for them and enjoy their company. It sounds like they enjoyed hers too, for she had a good sense of humor and liked to joke. She was also known for her handmade gift boxes she gave with her mint cakes inside. I almost did not post tonight because I was engrossed in reading about the Moravians, their founding, theology, and mission philosophy. I lost track of time, so I printed up some info to read later. ~Years ago Hubby and I were studying Missions, missionary work and what the Bible says , or does NOT say about it...we were the most impressed with the Moravians and their view of missions and how the missions were to be carried out...I am still impressed with what I have read. I am going to try to get Hubby to write on this because in the 1980's he went on a mission to Honduras and Nicaragua . He was basically a pack horse and support for a team of doctors who went into the jungles to give medical aid to the Miskito Indians. What he saw and learned is deeply moving..but the reason I bring this up is because there are many, many Christians there in the jungles who are the fruit of the work of the Lord using a group of Believers called Moravians,almost 2 centuries ago. The lasting fruit of the Holy Spirit. I would like Hubby to tell about men who witnessed the slaughter of their families , and atrocities we only read about, and these men still praise God and call on Him... ~Maybe I will write more on the Moravians at another time, but you can look them up...the group was founded by Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, according to the authors of the research I found, but from what I read , the Count would object to this statement, for he would say they were CALLED by God, and doing only what He required, and by His mercy and grace, the work of God using the foolishness of man ( Zinzendorf ), the fruit of their work is still ripening! ~"And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night." Luke 2:8

How Cats Re-Decorate...or Un-Decorate for Christmas

~This little mouse and the little horse are part of a very large Swiss made Christmas ski toy set. I only have them and 2 little girl mice. They seem to actually be made of some type of fur, and must have been made more that 40 years ago. I cannot keep them out for viewing . I have a cat problem......~Here is THE cat problem. Doesn't she look so very peaceful , and innocent? And why not, she has been on her nightly (and daily) mission of seek out, catch,and destroy . I suppose if I did that every night I would need a long and peaceful nap to dream and ponder the next days' destruction. Here (below ) she is napping in the midst of one of my Nativity scenes. I have placed NONE of my little Nativity sheep near this creche. Miss Marple has killed too many of my little sheep. ~Just look at these sheep. The shepherd here has been unable to protect them from Miss Marple. She seizes them and takes them off to her various lairs around the house and completely and utterly destroys them!She has a real fondness for the black sheep. "In a cats' eyes ,all things belong to cats." English Proverb ~Oh no !Miss Marple has discovered my new toys. I just know she has designs on Rudolph. I don't think the Abominable Snowman can do as much damage to Rudolph as Miss Marple can.

~Oh no you don't there Miss Marple. Leave my toys alone, go kill a real mouse.

~No!!!! I said a REAL mouse...these are mice I made at least 25 years ago. I made a lot of them, I sold a lot of them, I gave a lot of them away. They are now up high on a cupboard, because they would most definitely be carried off and destroyed by Miss Marple if they were down lower where the viewing would be easier for me, or you, or the grandchildren. ~Back to these little guys. I had them high in a shelf in my craft room, and kept finding the little mouse on the floor , in the hall,all over the house. Yes, I witnessed Miss Marple jump up onto the shelf, grab him and take off with him to have her way with him.And her way is to claw, chew, kick and bat around the poor defenseless little toy. He and the horse are looking battered and now I will need to give them shelter from the cunning and destructive feline I love. " Honest as the cat when the meat is out of sight." English Proverb ~It is not only the cats who love to frolic and feast and destroy our Christmas decorations. A few years ago we had another litter of Lab puppies around for the holidays. Hubby and I went Christmas shopping and apparently did not close the back door firmly enough. We had a litter of 6 week old puppies on the back porch, with heat lamp and deep bedding to keep them warm. We came home to the devastation a litter of Lab puppies can do to a Christmas tree if left to their own devices. The picture below is cute, but what we saw was far from the image Christmas cards paint. The ornaments were all over the place, broken, chewed, wet! The carpet was littered with broken bits of the glass balls, puppy poop and vomit ( they did vomit up quite a few pieces of ornaments) and the mess of puppy play was everywhere. The puppies were genuinely surprised by my reaction. I knew that as soon as we were greeted at the front door by the happy and excited to see us puppies, that I was in for a scene I did not want to see. I remember crying at the broken ornaments. There were some very special childhood ornaments totally destroyed. But, I got over it. After seeing broken glass I was a bit afraid some of the puppies had eaten glass and was more worried by the damage ingested Christmas ornaments could have done to little , happy, puppies. The puppies were fine, my Hubby was good to me and cleaned up most of the mess. The carpet was shampooed.......the puppies (all but one who still lives here ) went to new homes. Happy ending here.

~If only it would have looked this peaceful. Only in story books and Christmas cards!~

Spot On Rudolph

~My collection of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas Toys.~~Oh, LOOK ! I bought myself a new toy I just had to open before Christmas. I was shopping with our daughter and her two little boys, shopping for OTHER people at the toy store when a whole display at the toy store stopped me . The display called out to me....."Kathy, it's us, Rudolph toys and ornaments...you love us, stop here, buy us and take us home !" Oh my, how silly, me a grown up, stopped in amazement and delight at this display. I think my daughter must have found it a little silly, we were on a go and buy and get home mission for some other people, and here I was oohing and ahhhing over all the toys. I resisted all but one toy, I had to have another toy, after all, the only Rudolph toys I had are in the picture above, so daughter helped me make my choice and then we continued shopping.

~Here is what I bought ! (above ) I waited a whole week to open this up and yesterday I made fresh coffee to go with my breakfast of sugar cookies , What ? You don't eat Christmas cookies for breakfast in December, how could you NOT ? I was so excited to open my new toy and put it on display, and play with it. ~LOOK AT ALL THE WIRES holding the toy in the package ! Every reindeer leg was wired, Santa AND the sleigh were wired, there were wires attached to wires and I just wanted my toy. How are we grown ups supposed to open our toys with all those wires ! I got out scissors, but still this was time consuming and I was getting irritated. Why, almost a whole CD of Christmas carols was done playing and I was still removing wires. Plus, it was awkward to remove the wires because the plastic mount the toy was wired to was bulky and in the way.I had visions of the toy packagers doing this deliberately to get back at the toy receivers..".ah ha ! Take this and take that, you think you're going to get your little hands on this toy easily ! I'll make you work for it! Another tightly wound and twisted wire here for you !" ~Well, this picture was taken when I was ALMOST done. Look at the wires. I have been to birthday parties for little children who open their presents and cannot get their presents out of the packaging. An adult usually has to sit nearby with scissors and wire cutters to finish the job of opening the presents. Isn't this a bit of overkill in the packaging department ? Don't you think this is a lot of wasted wire and plastic, and cause of needless frustration? I think parents might begin a whole new tradition on Christmas eve...instead of putting together bikes and the like, they can spend the time after the kids go to bed , UNWRAPPING and REMOVING TOYS FROM PACKAGING!This would not only give the kids access to the much anticipated toys, but the parents can sleep off the frustration and irritation before the joyous morning . ~Well finally. My coffee was cold, and another CD of Christmas carols was over, but I had my new toy out of the box and assembled! There is something about the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer that makes me happy. I play the movie every year before December, and sometimes I watch it just to make me happy. The little rejected reindeer who saves Christmas . Maybe I love the story because of the memories. When I was little this story was only on T.V., and only around Christmas. Our whole family would assemble in front of our little black and white television, myself and my sisters would be in our pajamas and Mom would have special snacks for us to eat while we watched the Christmas Special. Then on Christmas Eve I remember our Dad would yell, " hey, look out the window, I see something." Sure enough , we would see a red light in the sky, and we KNEW it was Rudolph with his red nose leading Santa's sleigh and Dad would say "Well, you'd better get to bed so Santa can bring your presents ." ~Maybe because I was an Army brat and because we moved frequently I went to as many schools as there are years of school to attend, I was always the new kid. Always figuring out how to fit in and just be O.K. And then also, every year Rudolph was on T.V. He was a constant, a comforting constant that let us know even a red nosed reindeer can find a niche and purpose and fit in !