snow crafts...

When I was little, I was captivated by snow globes.

Miniature winter worlds encapsulated in glass.

With the shake of your hands, you could create a blizzard of swirling snow and glitter!

So according to Martha (Stewart, that is)

"making home made snow globes is a wonderful and fun way to bring back some of the magic of childhood."

What my friend Norene and I discovered was that 

"making home made snow globes is a nasty, messy project that takes more than a few tries to get it right!"

Anyway...first to gather up all necessary equipment.

jars, plastic greenery, glitter, glycerin..

and tiny toys which are really hard to find.

Here is Norene's version of an iceberg by the tree...
...beach glass comes in handy in all kinds of weather!

My tiny plastic sheep weren't working out so I made my stuff out of Fimo clay. (which bakes up in the oven)

(except he lost his nose because the orange pen I used was water soluble! Note: everything you use has to be waterproof!)
In the end, they ended up looking pretty cute in the window...

...and yes, the magic is still there!

Dreams...

With all this frost and cold about, you would think I would dream of reindeer,

fields of snow and blue tinted morning walks...

Instead I dreamt of March.

Not just any March, but March in Ireland.

 Spring coming, on The Aran's.

 The thatch creeping in amongst my stardust...

 Strange how dreams come to be...

Stored away in quiet corners of your subconscious,

only to be awakened by a random thought, or in my case, a voice on the phone from Dublin.

My dreams have bits of stone in them...

 Switching to words and signs...

Somehow streets in Dublin pop into view...

Roads with daughters and fathers...

The countryside flying by through the window of a train...
this is how dreams feel...spliced bits of time and place...

And then I'm transported to the most lovely spot I know...
The Lakes of Killarney...

And the rough Dingle coastline...

These bits of memory embedded deep into my soul.
I often think...
This is where my heart lies, my roots began here and still have a hold in the ground.

Fortunately for me, these dreams come often and magically take me to these places.

Song for Friday...love this girl

I love, love , love Gillian Welch.

Her voice is so powerful and soft at the same time.

Her song writing is just the same and here to prove it is one of my faves.

This is one of those songs I've had on the player and repeated it about 4 times in a row.

Enjoy....have a perfect weekend all!

Faith...

There's something about foraging in the woods.

I love to go out on a frosty day, clippers in hand, looking for a bit of twig and greenery.
This is where I meditate...
on life, on love, on ideas, on all of the problems of the world.
I like to think of it as my church.

A few years ago, we had a woman staying here from Australia.
She was traveling the world and a little bit lost.
She had found, what she thought, was somewhat of an answer to her troubles.
It was a ministry, complete with DVDs that she had purchased while at one of their retreats.
When she offered to play them for me, one day, I told her that I was about to go for a walk with Griffin
and would she like to come.
As we walked along, she talked about her depression and loneliness and how the ministries message was helping her.
I told her I was happy for her.
She asked me about my faith.
I told her that I had been brought up Catholic and was expected to go to mass on Sunday.
When I was 15, my brother, sister and I approached our parents.
Safety in numbers, you know...
We told them that we weren't satisfied with the church and asked if it would be o.k to explore other means of worship.
They respected our wishes and to this day, I still feel most at peace in the out of doors.
Don't get me wrong, for I respect those who find solace within their congregations.
I can still walk into a place of worship and feel that calm.
Some of the most beautiful buildings on earth are ancient churches, mosques and cathedrals.
But like I said, the woods, the sky, the ocean and high hilltops, give me faith.
So today with my bounty, I bring a little of that world home to my porch to begin the celebration of light,
in this dark time of the year.
Red Osier...

 Ornamental crab apple...

 Teasel...
(known to be the best thing, still, to card wool)

And some fairy lights to top it off...

At the end of my walk with the Australian woman, she turned to me and said
"I understand why you call these woods 'Your church'."

The Visitors...

Time to get the grog out...

Some little fat, fuzzy gentlemen have come to visit.

 Introducing, Sven, Olaf, Frode, Morten and Thorsen.

They've traveled far to hide in your pocket and bring you luck.

 Bringing with them magical dust for sprinkling on your pillow at night.

 They sneak out in the moonlight to warn the field mice of cats with bad intentions.

During the day, you'll find them chatting with the chickadees and nuthatches.

 Some may hitch a ride on the back of a squirrel to visit the owls during the hours before the dawn.

 When it's time for you to dream, they'll be there to send you off into places of wonder.

 And they'll always have time for a story with second cousin Fergus.

(now listed in my esty shop)

What the snow brought...

When the snow flies, the birds become brave.

Looking for something that can't be seen beneath the snow.

I put out seed and suet during these times to make survival a bit easier.

I have learned that I have to be careful in feeding the birds, because of  my cat Reuben.

Cats will be cats, and he is a hunter.

When I feed the birds, I keep him on house arrest and he has restricted 'outside time'.

Yes, just like prison.

He has to earn his good behaviour.

In the meantime, the birds stock up on some energy to beat the cold temperatures.

Song for Friday...winter beauty

 

  Of all the languages in the world, I think sign language is the most beautiful.

I found this video of a young girl performing one of the prettiest Gordon Lightfoot songs,

sung by Sarah McLaughlin.

So since we've been graced with an early bit of snow, I'm in a wintery mood.

 Have a warm and cozy weekend all.