Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: 2018

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Mosaic Monday #8 - My Christmas Romance

(internet)

What makes me such a romantic when it comes to Christmas?

Could it be the blue and white dinner ware with a Currier and Ives scene, which were a constant in my childhood?

Could it be the vintage Christmas records played on a vintage stereo, both inherited from my parents?

Could it be my memories of making hand-made bows and Christmas ornaments with my oldest sister, the florist?

Could it be the anticipated joy on Christmas Day, when we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus in the nativity set, and then pass on that joy to others through gift-giving?

It's all of that, and probably more, that leads me to a romantic, tradition-bound approach to decorating for the season, especially inside the house. And it's not just the outcome but also the process that is important to me.

The pink ribbon marks the spot!

The ideal example? Our Christmas tree. In my world, a tree should be fresh and one that you cut yourself. For many years, our family tradition dictated a trip to the Christmas tree farm. Last year, our mighty foursome trekked public lands to secure a sweet-smelling pine. This year, we took it to a whole new level by reaping a 15-foot Engelmann spruce from our back forty.

(Spousal Unit and I selected the tree in November, which prompted Spousal Unit to construct a tree stand from scratch - our old, leaky plastic tree stand would be no match for this tree!)

Normally, all four of us would select, harvest and decorate the tree. This year required some adjustment, given that #1 Daughter's first-job-out-of-college meant that she will not arrive home until December 23; none of us could stomach the idea of waiting that long to put up the tree. So, the day after #1 Son arrived home, we set to cutting and transporting this beauty.

Can you see Spousal Unit under the tree with the chain saw?

Timber!!!

Two men and a tree …

With teamwork and patient perseverance, the tree was secured in the stand (and I am pleased to report that it is still upright!) We let the branches dry for 36 hours (snowy here, you know!) and then the big morning came for trimming the tree. Of course, we can't place a single ornament without Christmas music, so #1 Son cranked up the vintage stereo with the three albums.

Yes, that's a marshmallow fork that

we are using to place the angel!

It is customary for the kids to take turns placing the angel atop the tree as the last decoration, but the size of this pine caused us to put the angel on first. Quite simply, getting the ladder close enough to the tree to reach the top meant we couldn't have any other ornaments on the tree for fear of knocking them off. Yes, we CAN adapt when the situation calls for it!

After the lights have been strung, the true fun begins - the joy of re-discovering our ornaments, and telling stories about them. Like the glass ball from Chincoteague Island - and how I dropped it right after we bought it, spilling sand and shells onto the ground from which they came. Fortunately, we were still on the island and we secured another one that I was not allowed to carry …

Like the three crocheted angels that my Mom made for all of us some years ago to represent three family members that had gone Home before us.

Like the hand-made-in-school ornaments that remind us of those innocent days gone by.

I could go on for several hours, as we do when decorating, but I will stop before I get carried away. This year, we saved ornaments for #1 Daughter to put on the tree - "her" ornaments, as well as a representative sample of other general decorations. More joy is coming!

So, I think you get the point - we cherish the result and the journey along the way. In future years, I may tell you about other decorating traditions, but for now I offer some additional mosaics.

Mosaic Monday is open as usual this weekend; it will take a break on December 31 and the next link will open on Sunday, January 6. I pray that you and yours may have a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you then.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

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Saturday, December 15, 2018

Mosaic Monday #7 - Burlap and Bows

Oh, how I love decorating for Christmas! When we lift the flaps on the cardboard boxes marked "Christmas", it is like a birthday, anniversary, and Valentine's Day all rolled into one. Yes, we've possessed most of these decorations for two decades, but we haven't seen them for 11 months. I experience a pleasing mixture of surprise and old familiarity that brings joy to my heart and (sometimes) tears to my eyes.

This year, it is the first time we are celebrating Christmas in our log home. It means an opportunity to decorate in different ways. To clean out some embellishments that just don't 'fit' the rustic industrial theme we have created. To utilize gifts that have lain in wait until this moment. So, come with me as we 'deck the halls'.

Do you decorate outside your house? Our tradition in Ohio regularly involved some lights looped over fresh pine roping that festooned our porch and its pillars, aided by two short, artificial pre-lit trees on either side of our front door. Well, it was time to fashion a new look, for many reasons: 1) those 'old-fashioned' bulbs have a sad, short life; 2) the stubby trees were blown over so frequently that most of the lights didn't work (and did I mention they didn't look much like pine trees anymore?) and 3) we strongly prefer a design that does not require banging nails into our lovely logs.

I am proud to say (because you know I am a planner) that we began this process last January when we snagged 8 sets of outdoor LED lights for the front of the house and the garage. Are these cool or what? They clip to the fascia - NO NAILS NEEDED! And did I mention they were on sale? Installing them was fairly efficient with the two of us; moving the ladder and ensuring its safety was the most difficult and time-consuming element. At night, it looks like we have built a small landing strip …

We also purchased burlap bows last year, which we used to brighten the entry of our temporary home. For this season, I wired the bows to branches of lodgepole pine (harvested from our back forty) to create home-made swags on either side of our front door. (We also put a large swag with bow at the driveway entrance.) Spousal Unit came up with the brilliant notion to 'plant' trees in our ceramic pots to add depth to the porch. We took this occasion to thin a few lodgepole pines that were blocking our view of the lake, and used the tops for the pots. Gravel to secure them, and a bow tucked into the front of each pot completed the look for the three 'trees'.

As a finishing touch, I created a plant arrangement utilizing a vase I already possessed; all of the greenery came from our back forty, and a short stump elevated its position in front of the snowman and the bear.

This plain wreath has sported our Advent candles in some years; more often than not it was a cuddle spot for our furbaby Josie in the midst of our decorating process (I know; I don't get it either!) This year, I decided it was time for a facelift. I removed the bells from this old door decoration, and wired them to the wreath. Collecting five Ponderosa pine cones from our woods, I added them to the wreath with floral wire.

Last year, we had purchased two different spools of burlap ribbon, and I chose this one for the bow on the wreath. (This particular ribbon features stiff but pliable wire on the outside edges, so it is easy to shape.)

At this point in the process, I felt the wreath needed more color, so I gathered branches of grape holly.

Voila! And when you open the door, you get a little jingle!!! Next week, we'll go inside.

Mosaic Monday

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Saturday, December 8, 2018

Mosaic Monday #6 - We Interrupt This Programming

I'm looking outside at the snow-capped mountains, and I just sealed the envelope on the last of my Christmas cards. 17 days until the red-suited man comes down our chimney, and I probably should be writing a Christmas-themed post. But the sun is bright, and the skies are blue, and it puts me in the mood to return to summer material. So here's Chapter 6 of my summer series (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5).

The scene is the south and east sides of Glacier National Park. The time is mid-July 2018. The players are Spousal Unit, his parents and me. To facilitate access to the Park, we are staying two nights in one of the cabooses on the grounds of the Izaak Walton Inn.

(Let's be real -we also chose this lodging 'cause it's just so darn cool. Who wouldn't want to sleep in a caboose? When we first arrived in Montana, a friend of ours clued us in about this unique feature of the Inn, and we began to look for an excuse to stay there! When my brother and his wife visited us in October 2017, they helped us complete our reconnaissance, and the deal was sealed!)

Caboose interior - do you see the black handle in the upper left of

the picture on the left? It is positioned next to a narrow set of

steps/shelves - this is how Spousal Unit and I reached the bed

in the cupola of the caboose! Watch your head!!!

In Marias Pass - yellow penstemon

Our first night in the caboose, we enjoyed beverages on the deck while Cedar Waxwings twittered overhead. As twilight deepened, we devoured the curry Spousal Unit had cooked up at home - what is it about being outside that increases your appetite? The next morning, a simple breakfast in the caboose was followed by a day trip to St. Mary's Lake. Along the way, Highway 2 threads through Marias Pass, which was charted by John Frank Stevens, principal engineer of the Great Northern Railway, in December 1889. The location of the pass had been rumored for several years beforehand, but it took Stevens and a Flathead Indian guide named Coonsah to discover it. The pass proved ideal for a railroad, with a valley ranging from one to six miles wide, and at a gentle grade that would not require extensive excavation or rockwork. When you look at it now, it is hard to imagine that the Pass was so hard to find - it is broad and flat and seems obvious.

Mountains on north edge of Marias Pass

The approach to the St. Mary's Lake entrance to the Park is diametrically different to the topography on the west side of the Park: the land is flat and then is suddenly interrupted by a thrusting mountain range. This means you can see the mountains from quite a distance. The wildflowers dance in the space between your car and the peaks, and an occasional fence arcing into the distance appears to point the way.

Trees finally begin to crowd the road and block most sights from view until you reach the edge of St. Mary's Lake. It was our lucky day to snag a parking spot at the launching point for trails to Baring Falls and Sun Point.

It's odd now to recall that it was a hot day, and it was tempting to dip our toes in the rushing torrent of the falls. Clouds were piling up on the mountains like a bunch of neglected dust bunnies, but they did not flow into the valley or drop any precipitation.

Left: Man with Hat on the trail to Baring Falls

Middle: Fireweed Right: Baring Falls

We picnicked near our parking spot, and then a different return route dropped us into a construction zone, where we waited 10 - 15 minutes for a pilot car. It was a blessing in disguise - right next to us was a rolling meadow with bountiful wildflowers (and some trash - funny how you don't see these things when you are taking a picture).

Can you see the yellow cup in the lower right hand picture?

A hot summer day is not complete without ice cream, so we took advantage of the little shop in East Glacier for some refreshment. My mother-in-law asked for two scoops, and was shocked at the amount the staffer put in her bowl - almost flowing over (but not more than she could eat)!!!

On our second (last) night at the Inn, we had a beverage in the Flagstop Bar, a classic bar environment on the lower level of the Inn, chock-a-block with historic memorabilia. Dinner followed on the veranda of the restaurant. We had a ring-side seat for the flowers in the garden, as well as the Empire Builder Amtrak passenger train, if only it was running on time … Unfortunately, on this day, the train was significantly delayed and no-one was willing to stay there and wait for it, especially in the dark. It just means we have to go again!

Mosaic Monday

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