The beginning...

Well the shortest day of the year has now passed and we are apparently

getting longer days. It's a gradual thing but it is the beginning.

The grey days here are still in want of light so we give it a hand...

I spotted this little grouping of dead holly trees and decided they would

do nicely for my annual twig decorating on the porch...its nice

to see something out there other than the grey or blackness of night...

 We forego the usual Christmas tree for the annual Christmas Chandelier.

 It's grapevines on a double tiered heavy gauge wire frame I made years ago for a summer porch party

and now suits us fine to hang favorite ornaments on and hangs above the dining room table...

 I got all Martha Stewarty and cut these stars out of Mandarin orange peels with a tiny cookie cutter...

 A few more favorites..

Go Leafs!!

A little collection of vintage Nutcrackers and a music box to say so long for now!

 



Tradition...

It has become my tradition over the past 5 years to hang

the annual Christmas Chandelier.

Several reasons:

We don't have room for a tree.

I don't want to cut one down.

I don't like artificial ones.

Something different.

It all started in the summer one year when I wired up some

little fairy lights for a summer party.

Around December I found it hanging in the barn and thought 

"this would be fun to put decorations on..."

And hence the tradition was born...

This year I added an extra tier and stabilized it all with

some grape vines from the garden.

It gives a lovely glow above the table and all the 

decorations are really visible...

This one is at least 50 years old.

It used to be a tree topper in Toms house.

Now this beautiful mercury glass piece hangs in the centre

of the chandelier, upside down but still so lovely!...

This one my daughter brought back from Brussels one year...

Some old, some new, many handmade and all of them 

have a memory within...

Some traditions are born out of a simple idea.

I suppose we want these at certain times of the year.

Bringing the light into the house to brighten the dark days

reminds us that these days are short, more time is 

spent living indoors and reflecting on people, past and present

who we love and miss, and traditions old and new to as the old saying goes...

"keep the spirit bright".

I leave for Toronto in a few days and probably won't 

have time for posting for a while.

May you all enjoy these days of light and sparkle and have

the most wonderful time with your family and friends.

Blessings and much love and light to you all.

 p.s
through blogging I have met a friend who will be coming
with her husband from Santa Fe New Mexico to house sit.
How fantastic is that?!
They miss the rain and cold seasons and love it in B.C so this
gives them the chance to stay somewhere and explore the area at their leisure.
I just checked her blog of their progress (they should arrive tomorrow)
and you have to look at these beautiful snowy landscapes that
they're traveling through...see you soon Carol and Tom!
http://stoneangel-stoneangel.blogspot.ca/2012/12/driving-to-victoria-days-1-2.html?showComment=1355756110401#c3804707281822426907

The Season...

We'll be going back east in a week to Toronto for Christmas to be with my

daughter and her fiancee in their new house!

It'll be so much fun to be in the big city where I grew up, the lights,

the cold, maybe some snow and to be there with Tom where he grew

up as well. We can go and visit all the old neighbourhoods

and share with each other some childhood memories.

So even though we'll be away, I still like to decorate around

the house. For one thing we have people coming to stay here for

2 weeks and I'd like to make it festive for them and secondly,

I love to celebrate the season.

Things are different at this time of year.

Leaves that once dressed the trees and shrubs are gone and unveil

the beauty of the colour of the branches and their texture...

willow...

...the delicate huckleberry...

...the pine cones coated in sweet smelling, sticky sap...

...birds nests once hidden by the bushes and leaves, now empty, revealing

their secret places...

(these are rebuilt every spring as part of the mating ritual)

...and the trees and shrubs who keep this place so green all year round...

It rarely gets cold enough for skating here but a little bit of wishful thinking doesn't hurt...

...and a little tribute to the animals...

Time to check the fire and have a cup of tea!

 

 

 

 



Wordless Wednesday...

It came upon a midnight clear...

There's much to see around the towns and cities this time of year,

but there's something special along the seaside as well...

I took my brothers kids out to Whiffin Spit for the afternoon...

There's nothing that Griffin loves more than to run with the kids!

We came to ramble on the beach, exploring driftwood houses...

There were rocks to turn over and crabs to discover...

Even tiny hands held tiny crabs...

But the real reason we came here today, was to see the work of 

many secret elves.

You see every year, without being seen or heard, in the middle of a cold night,

the same tree is decorated on the spit...

People who walk the spit add there own bits and pieces as the days lead up to Christmas...

A lot of pieces are from found objects on the beach so the shore gets 

a clean up as well...

Some leave memorials to those who used to walk the spit, man and dog together...

And then after New Years, as quietly as they came, the secret elves come again

and undress the tree, saving it all for the next season.

The beach always holds surprises, some gruesome, like this whole sheep we found...

very strange.

The birds are out and about, flitting beside us in the bush as we walk along...

Then it's time to go in for hot chocolate.

One of the best parts of walking far on a cold day!