Hello all! Hoping the season has been magical thus far wherever you are whether snowed in or hoping for a white Christmas!
Just thought I'd share a bit of our holiday world today.
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| Since we've added a full size floor loom and another work table to our set up we had to downsize the tree a bit this year to fit it in but it is still a lively 5' Nobel Fir. |
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| The Santa is from the first tree I can recall as a child. I looked forward to seeing this "old friend" every year and I still do. |
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| And these glass ornaments must be at least 50 years old now. I've managed to keep nine of them in tact. |
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| Danish Christmas Snowflakes Sofie got at a Christmas market when she was in school abroad. |
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| One of my favorite Etsy finds of all time. Originally I wanted to make little winter scenes for them but decided we should keep most of them for ourselves to hang on the tree. |
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| Sofie's Grandmother's tree topper! I love this bird and look forward to placing it on the top bough every year! |
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And the last few years, when we had much larger trees, we needed ornaments so we made dozens of these origami bows. I am hoping to take a day next week and make a few dozen small ones to go on this year's tree.
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And one last thing. . . last year we watched what is one of my favorite, nostalgic, Christmas movies which is "An American Christmas Carol" starring Henry Winkler, (yes, that's right, THE FONZ !) as the Scrooge based character. Now, I will admit, it is not as good a movie as I recalled (acting wise) from 25 years before, but I still reveled in seeing it again. It's hard to find but Netflix had it last year and it was a delight to watch. Of course, Nothing beats "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for me, the sad little tree, the monologue from Linus about what Christmas is all about and of course, Pigpen's endless dust clouds even when skating or exhaling while singing! Classic. . .
Any favorites you'd like to share? LOVE to hear about them!
Happy holidays!
nicolas 
Happy Holidays Nicolas!
ReplyDeleteFirst I have to say, thank you for your words on my blog! A lot what I am going through, has to do with "unhealthy" people around me. And, this security blanket I talk about, has them in it. Once this security blanket drops, everything will change. Not only my life, but their lives too. I hold guilt in that security blanket too! But, it's time!! I want to paint! I want to live! I want to play with the birds! Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful! So very grateful! Through my meditations, I have healed with everyone and forgave everyone. These are the same people who refuse to see the changes within me. But, these people have to find their paths and deal with the situations. I can't be the peace keeper anymore. I'm sorry to put this on you Nicolas! I don't know even if I have explained things properly, for you to understand! Just know, I appreciate your comment so much!!!
Now, I have to say, I love your post!! I love your tree! I love your decorations!! And, you know what, I love that movie with Henry Winkler!! I haven't seen it in ages! I use to own it on VHS! LOL! Now I have to look for it!!! Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!!! Thank you for being you!! Big Hugs!
Stacy I LOVE that you know that movie!! I swear there were a few years there where I thought I may have imagined it's existence because it seemed that no one I mentioned it to had heard of it or seen it! It really had a certain spirit to it. Christmas Spirit perhaps? :)
DeleteAnd I am glad my words reached you. I know it is extremely hard to draw boundaries because what is healthy in that regard for one is often seen as a dismissal or turning our backs on another. But we can only do it with love and, more importantly, the knowledge that it is healthy and the right choice for ourselves. I would say I am an extremist in that way. I couldn't ease out of things it seemed so I had to take more drastic measures and to my surprise, found I was much much happier when I did. You once asked how i find time for all those things i do and still eat and sleep. :) Well, it's rooted in the fact that I completely cleaned house with acquaintances and past "ghosts" when I realized that they weren't making any true contributions to my world. And let me be clear, I was at least as responsible for that as they were. I loved the distraction and the way they accepted me even if I wasn't doing the best thing for me but then, one day, I saw that it wasn't that but that they loved me AS LONG as I wasn't rising above and focusing on things other than them!! Once I shifted my priorities and sunk more and more time into my own work and dreams, they started to feel neglected and were far less supportive of my actual progress. . . funny huh? :) and I am given the chance to "practice" the setting of boundaries again and again as well as the art of vigilance. lol
I;ve said for years, and it is an unpopular statement, there are two kinds of creative souls. Ones who talk and ones who DO. And that is never meant as a judgement, just a reality. My world became happier, better and more at peace the more I fell into the DO category! But to DO one must have space and time and that, we all find, means letting go of a lot of things that we don't even realize are pulling that time away from us.that It's often time we really could better use in the act and service of doing.
Just one day at a time and one breath at a time Stacy! No self judgement, just self awareness, which I KNOW you possess. . . and you'll be fine!!
Nicolas, I have came back several times to read what you have written and every time, I start to cry! Everything you are saying is what I am going through! I'm going to succeed!! Sending you and your loved ones, many blessings! Truly, thank you for being you!! Merry Christmas! I hope Santa spoils you!!! Big Hugs!
DeleteThere's nothing better than seeing an ornament you had on your tree as a child and remembering putting it on that tree!!! Retro ornaments are so fun. I posted something about tinsel (the stringy angel hair kind) on Facebook and I was surprised three people said they STILL use it on their tree. I thought, "Maybe I should do a retro tree next year!"
ReplyDeleteStephanie, that tinsel must be in the holiday memory vault of hundreds of thousands of us! It was synonymous with Christmas. My mother would go out the day after Christmas and buy boxes of it for the following year "just in case". . . Just in case what mom? It never seemed to be in short supply. lol
DeleteLovely post! I was planning to show my favorite ornaments for my small magic post this month so ....great minds......
ReplyDeleteBut I didn't make it as Jace got sick, then I got sick. We are better but so far behind in Christmas stuff. and as my daughter now has a 6mo old German shepherd I have decided not to put out the old favorite ornaments this year. He is chewing everything!
Charlie Brown's Christmas is my favorite, well it is tied with Rudolph . I have all the Rudolph figurines and I remember my grandma loved it too because Burl Ives, as the snowman narrator was a favorite singer of hers. She had the record album too.
Remember how bad it was if you missed the Christmas special one year? You had to wait all year to see it again since you couldn't just buy a DVD?!
I hope you're all feeling better! I lost on of my glass ornaments two years ago to the cat's curiosity. But I figured that one was my fault for putting them too low on the tree. But a young, strong puppy? Oh they never have any idea how awkward they are do they? And those oral fixations. The feet go, the teeth go. Just get that energy out!:)
DeleteI DO remember those days Andrea! I never missed any of the Christmas specials if it could at all be helped. I have to say, now I miss the days of planning to be home on a given night for a given show. Especially the holiday specials. I missed Rudolph one year due to my own scheduling mistake and I felt so sad. lol This year I noticed that Charlie Brown, Rudolph and Frosty were all playing on the same night at the same time on the three old networks and for a second I was mystified because I thought "How will people choose?" As if they have to these days. . . Even recurring shows. I do watch some on Netflix in short spans but I never feel as invested n the characters as I did when, say, X Files ran for 9 years! Those felt like old friendships that grew in real time.
Oh and MY grandmother loved Rudolph simply for Burl Ives too! And she loved "Santa Clause is Comin' To Town" simply because Fred Astaire was the narrator. :)
Lovely lovely post and imagery Nicolas. Blessings and majik faery dust all the way from me to you, you are awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteYour tree was a beaut! And that little first Santa is totally charming.
ReplyDeleteEvery year we have a 'thing' with the tree. Huband thinks there should be an 18" space between the ceiling and the top...I think it should be HUGE and scraping the ceiling. Next year I am determined to havea 1920's style tree that is ridiculously big,bends over at the top, and fills the whole room.
Go for the ceiling Nichola! :) I await the day we have the space for such a tree. won't be any stopping me! lol
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