Calm and Bright

Merry Christmas Day! 

I had a flurry of blooms on my Christmas cactus around Thanksgiving....and after a few weeks of rest....ONE new bloom was fully open this morning. Just one....and it chose today.

Sam, Paul and I had Christmas dinner with Margie at her place....then a quiet rest of the day at home. I love calm after all the festivities just as much as the festivities.  

Things will be calm and bright for a while...I'm quite fond of this week between Christmas and New Years.  I'll keep my little strings of lights going as long as the batteries last....and we'll enjoy the tree and decorations for a little while.  When I was teaching I remember starting to take things down pretty quickly after Christmas taking advantage of the time I was home from school.  But not anymore.....there's no hurry and I'll know when the time is right.

This journey through my Christmas Moments is just what I needed this year.  It gave me a focus....an opportunity to revisit some of my Christmas memories and a reason to set up and celebrate some special Christmas things.  I enjoyed the comments and conversations I've had with some of you....and am so grateful that you followed along.

I thought I would widen the camera view just a bit view....and give you more of a context for some of these Christmas Moments in our main living area.

Welcome to our cozy condo!

I'm chuckling as I notice the blocks still under our dining room table. I think 2024 should be the year to finally fix that problem.  That story is here with another link to the story behind this special table:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/05/bonus.html

I actually finished this puzzle today....and I'm pretty excited about the next one. 

Thank you so much for visiting! 

Merry Christmas from Maine!

Christmas Collection

Merry Christmas Eve! By the time you read this it may be Christmas Day....or beyond. Tis the season to focus on family and festivities after all.  No matter what or when you celebrate....I hope it is filled with joy.

We had a family brunch this morning which lasted well into the afternoon.  We ate...we talked about important and interesting things...and wrestled with some big questions. We talked about silly and nostalgic things too....we laughed a lot and played a new game. We're a small....but mighty group when we're together and it's the best Christmas Moment I could possibly ask for.

Before I started counting my Christmas Moments on December 1st...on the last day of November I shared the decorating I had started at Margie's place...and my start at home where I shared my sweet caroler.

I'm circling back to the caroler for Christmas Moment #24.....partly to get her into the official count....and partly because this little scene is a collection of so many things that I love and appreciate all in one place.  Gifts from friends....found treasures and trinkets....my own handiwork in the background...a touch of nature....special Christmas lighting....and it's all sitting on the an antique desk from my mom. 

As I unpacked my Christmas things that first week in December...I added the white glittery ceramic tree I always pair with the caroler and a ceramic Christmas box I got from Patty last year.  This little Christmas Collection is now part of this December journey. 

Christmas Past

It was a chilly but beautiful this morning for our walk.  The thin coat of ice caught the light so beautifully...and as the sun rose we were surrounded by color.

I don't remember very many specific Christmas gifts growing up...but I do remember getting fuzzy slippers and flannel nightgowns quite often. Mostly it didn't really matter what we got...Christmas was festive and fun in a big family and I loved our rituals.  I wrote about one of my favoite rituals here.

But there is one gift I remember as clear as day....a Barbie Kitchen! I loved playing with Barbie with my sisters. We'd set up our houses behind the chairs in the corners of the living room using encyclopedias as beds...doilies as linens...and anything else we could find for furniture and accessories. (My early version of "shopping the house"...which, to this day, is one of my favorite things to do when I decorate.) Then we'd visit each other....and play house.  I think our creative homemaking with whatever we could find was the best part....but it was magical to get an actual kitchen. 

I don't have any Barbies from my childhood...they all got passed onto the next generation.  But I've always wondered if any of them and the beautiful gowns my grandmother made are still floating around.  

Paul remembers a getting a bicycle...a down sleeping bag for winter Boy Scout camping.......

and several board games including Hey Pa There's a Goat on the Roof. I'm not kidding....it's a real game....and it's in one of our closets.

But one clear Christmas memory was a gift for his whole family...and he can't remember not playing with it during the Christmas season when he was young.

Paul's dad purchased the sturdy plastic Nativity playset and meticulously hand painted each character and animal. Dave was very good at those kinds of tedious tasks.  

Since we've been living in the condo....Paul sets it up every year in the bay window of his study.  So this treasure from the past is my Christmas Moment #23.

Paul has a chair right by the window....so has a great view of the backyard...the woods and the birds.  Seems like a good spot for this very special Christmas Moment.

There was a bit of a sibling squabble as to who would get this precious playset when Margie downsized and moved to Maine....but luckily the minister was the winner. 

I think the camel is my favorite!

Some of that morning color I mentioned....

Mother Nature was shouting for joy!

Heart and Soul

Another nod to Angie seems to flow nicely from yesterday's post. Rich loved hosting Christmas in July....but Angie was the heart and soul of the event. She was the middle child of 9 and the only sibling who never married. She was the one who made sure the family gathered and she adored all her nieces and nephews.

Over the years Angie created games for our gatherings including Yard Olympics, the Newlywed Game (most of us were not so newly-wed) and her version of the game show Minute to Win It.  She made us all puzzles one year....and always had special activities and trinkets like sparklers for the kids. She was a giver and a doer!  

As you already saw from her nativity set Angie was quite a talented artist....she especially loved working with wood.

She knew that elves played a significant role in our household....and one year she gave me these cute little guys that she hand cut and painted.

I love the way the elves are parading across the top of the printers drawer in our TV/play room during the Holiday Season...and they are my Christmas Moment #22. Every evening I settle into this room while I work on my post....and these little guys make me smile. 

To see the game/puzzle she made for all of us one year...and another one of her amazing parades you can check out this post:  

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-little-ball-game.html

Angie also made this nativity puzzle that is housed in its own stable.

Isn't it delightful! 

Angie put her heart and soul into everything she did....and I'm so tickled some of her creations are are scattered all over our home.

Quiet Moment

The winter solstice is tonight at 10:27 p.m. EST.  It's a quiet a moment in time when the sun is tilted as far away from the earth as it can be providing the least amount of daylight.  And as soon as that moment is over....the sun's tilt shifts...the days get longer...and the light starts to return. 

Sunset was at 4:07 today.....and tomorrow it will set at 4:08.

photo take a little after sunset

I'm choosing a quiet Christmas Moment for Day 21 in honor of the solstice...and in memory of my brother Rich....who loved Christmas.

After my parents died....my eight siblings and all our children had to be intentional about gathering....so we started celebrating Christmas in July. Most often we would gather on the farm where we grew up which had become the home of my younger brother Rich....and later on his wife Carol and their two boys Henry and Charles. 

Rich loved hosting family gatherings.  He would put up an outdoor movie screen to show family montage videos he would make...set up a swimming pool for the kids and welcomed the festive chaos with open arms. We played lots of games, exchanged gifts, and sat around bonfires late into the evenings.  It was family magic.

Before we started exchanging white elephant gifts....there was a time when we drew names for gift giving. Back in 1989 Rich drew Paul's name and made him this spalted maple popcorn bowl that he turned on his lathe.

Spalted maple is wood that has started to decay adding color variation and texture. It's a beautiful bowl!

MERRY CHRISTMAS Paul

1989

Love Rich

Popcorn Bowl - Spalted Maple

I had a Quiet Christmas Moment #21 

with Rich's bowl filled with popcorn this afternoon.  Rich passed away back in 2012....way too soon for this amazing and talented man who loved Christmas.

I'm pretty sure this is a photo from last Christmas in July of 2010 when the nine siblings were all together on the farm.  

Angie, Becky, LaVonn

Rich, Marilyn, MaryAnn

Nancy, Ed and Doug

Angie, Becky, Rich and Ed are no long with us. They are missed.

I've posted this view of the farm off in the distance several times... 

which I took I took during that same Christmas in July in 2010.

This is the view up the road....with the farm is to the left.  I have such 

fond memories of riding my bike up and down this quiet country road. 

And this is the view up the driveway that same day

I loved growing up on a farm.

Peanuts Gang

Betty the Bear is back in hiding again....but some of her colorful siblings and cousins are all out to play on the floor in Madison. Tracie sent me this photo today of her grandson....and it stole my heart. (I do have permission to share it.) 

Someone already told me Betty was from a sorting and counting game...and now I have a visual. Anders has been playing with the game since 202....as his skills grow...so does the game.  My question is....did he set the cups up in rainbow order himself?  I love this creative little guy! 

"I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all really.  Maybe it just needs a little love." Linus

I've had this Peanuts set for as long as I can remember.  I've always had a little corner in my different kitchens where it fit perfectly....but it wasn't as clear here at the condo.

But the Peanuts Gang has found a home on Margie's table in front of the kitchen window...and is my Christmas Moment #20.  

Another...one of my favorite things.

I've had this starburst lamp for a couple of years.  

This one plugs in and has become a year round night light for the kitchen.  And...it makes a nice starlit backdrop for a Charlie Brown Christmas.

Here it is in the kitchen corner in Lexington.  

Favorite Things

The power came back on around midnight.  The washing machine started back up after shutting down locked in the middle of a load, the Christmas tree lights came on as well as other lights here and there around the condo. Paul handled the whole thing....he's the best!  Speaking of Paul...

I was making piles of pieces for the colorful Christmas houses in the new puzzle yesterday....when I noticed something that made me smile.  I spy Paul...reading his book in a different spot....taking advantage of the light from the window while the power was off.

My Christmas Moment #19 is a little Christmas tree cross stitch I did several years ago. 

It's was a simple project that included some beading and a little teddy bear....it's of my favorite little Christmas pieces.  How many times have I said that!

I guess they're all favorites at this point. 

It hangs under the counter in the kitchen during the Christmas season

with some of my other bright and cheery favorite things.

Anyone else have a favorite tissue box design?  I do....and I only have a few left. 

I wrote about my silly obsession here way back in 2016: 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2016/11/its-little-things.html

I do have a couple empty boxes....that I might refill when I run out.

Speaking of trees.....I got a special treat in the mail from Dotty.

I admired this textured piece she blogged about....and now I get to enjoy it up close and personal. She created it on a piece of deli paper...and you can read about it here: https://dottyseiter.com/2023/12/11/gift-wrap-redux/ 

Dotty also included a special handmade star...with a very special story.

It was inspired by the children's book Uncle Vova's Tree by Patricia Polacco.  You can read about this special project here: https://dottyseiter.blogspot.com/2017/12/stars-of-wonder.html

I watched a video of the book being read here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XfZOGKLnLg

Thanks Dotty!  

Fiber Optics

We're in the middle of a wind and rain storm here in Maine. Two + inches of rain so far and more to come with wind gusts up to 30 mph.  Our electricity has been out since about 10:00 this morning...and it's unclear when it will be back on. Paul and I are visiting Margie right now to charge our phones and computers and visit a bit...and I thought I would write a quick post. 

My Christmas Moment #18 is this tiny fiber optic Christmas tree that Becky gave me and it's one of my favorite Christmas things.  The timing is perfect....because Becky and I had a good catch up call this morning.  

This sweet little tree has a USB port so I can plug into my computer...or with an adapter I can plug it into the wall. Win win!

When we get home at 4:00.....all my battery operated Christmas lights....including the ones in my marble bowl will come on. 

We'll be just fine!

Baubles and Orbs

I haven't done much puttering in my studio lately....I know more creative time will come after Christmas and I'm looking forward to that.  Right now...I'm choosing other things. But yesterday I was compelled to make a simple little tag to honor the season.

I cut these little baubles out of a catalog several weeks ago and they've been hanging around the studio ever since....pun intended.  I appreciate the non traditional colors....and they remind me of the bowl of ornaments at Margie's.

I knocked down the sheen on the image with matt medium and used metallic paper strips for the background. I glued on the baubles and added a little texture with a tiny bit of white paint. It's bright and happy.

Speaking of baubles....I thought I would re-share a project I did a year ago during a free class by Esté MacLeod called Creative Circle.  

I wrote about my process here:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2022/12/layered-bauble-wreath.html

I had a lot of fun making this wreath....and now that I look at it again....it reminds me of the colors in Margie's baubles too!

I do love baubles....but I think marbles are my favorite orb....and the subject of Christmas Moment #17.  

Every winter I put lights in my bowl of art marbles....and they come on every day from 4:00 to 10:00.

There are some beautiful handmade marbles here...one has a silver star in the center...and one is filled with liquid and has colorful bits and bobs floating inside.  

I'll enjoy this non traditional Christmas Moment glow all winter long.