Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: December 2019

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Mosaic Monday #60: A Little Taste of Christmas

Felt board - a gift to #1 Daughter

Santa shot glasses - a gift to Spousal Unit

As quickly as it came, it went. The wrapping paper, crumpled into snowball-sized shapes, waits to serve as fuel for our next fireplace inferno. The spent poppers and shells of the Christmas crackers have been swept into the bin, save for the ribbons, which I keep for some as-yet-unimagined craft project. The turkey has been picked over, the meaty bits in the Tupperware for sandwiches or the occasional late-night steal direct from the Fridge. Yet the memories are as sweet as the brandied fruitcake that we enjoyed Christmas morning.

I may only have a limited window to compose this post, but for all the right reasons - our kids are still here and I am maximizing my time with them. So, I will give you a little taste of our Christmas through photos more so than the written word, but I think you will forgive me that, just this once?

No shortage of yummy snacks around the house!

Christmas Eve morning, we woke up to snow - a white Christmas after all!

Middle left: Maggie tired out from opening presents

Bottom left: Hand-made ornament for #1 Daughter

Middle: Listography book from #1 Daughter

The Christmas feast

Hand-made ornament for #1 Son

I pray that your Christmas brought you what you seek the most, be it peace, freedom, joy, good health, refuge, time with family, relief from sorrow, or a new pair of hop-a-long boots!

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.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Mosaic Monday #59: Christmas Contentment

Greeting cards have all been sent
The Christmas rush is through
But I still have one wish to make
A special one to you
"Merry Christmas Darling", written by Frank Pooler/Richard Carpenter

Are you still in the grip of the "Christmas rush"? Leading up to December 13, I was feeling that crush. #1 Son was due to arrive that evening, and I had a long list of to-dos: housecleaning, finishing the tree skirt, completing hand-made gifts, tying up loose ends on my various volunteer projects, decorating the house. Unexpectedly, I was called upon for an evening shift at the Sparrow's Nest; it became a win-win in that I was able to work on one of my hand-made gifts at the same time.

This runner was an early Christmas gift from my mother-in-law

Preparing to cut the tree

But since then, my days have brought delightful relaxation.

First up? Cutting and decorating our tree. As I reported in last year's post, we are blessed to have a wide variety of trees on our property. Spousal Unit and I had pre-selected two candidates, and #1 Son had the privilege to make the final choice. Isn't this spruce a beauty?

Heave-ho, boys!

Tree nears the house

Drip dry in the entry

Tree in the stand, warming by the fire

We bust a gut when Spousal Unit went to install the angel on top of the tree. (I will admit that she climbed into the place of honor a little bit out of order. Traditionally, she is the last decoration on the tree, but logistics with a 15-foot tree dictate a different approach. We employ a 10-foot step ladder to populate the upper half of the tree, and if you place ornaments on the lower branches while moving that ladder in and out and around the spruce, you are bound to break some delicate decorations!!!)

Anyway … imagine if you will, Spousal Unit near the top step of said ladder, armed with a marshmallow skewer.

"Glad Mom is capturing me as I fall to my death," he says. (Note: capturing, as in photography, not catching, as in falling.)

He stretches forward carefully and maneuvers the angel onto a branch that is pointing straight up to the ceiling.

"Glad you have life insurance," #1 Son says.

But is the angel straight? No, she leans, somewhat to the side and somewhat forward, as if preparing to fall to earth.

"That may be as good as it gets," #1 Son offers helpfully.

Spousal Unit withdraws the skewer and pokes with futility at the cotton.

"Yep, you might want to cut your losses," #1 Son says from the safety of the floor.

And so she remains, a bit tilted. But isn't that a suitable metaphor for the human condition? None of us are perfect. And what better time than Advent and Christmas to strive for improvement? "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the Lord'" (John 1:23)

A couple of weeks ago, we were surprised and delighted to receive a medley of tree ornaments from a good friend. Catering to our whims, he sent fishing-oriented decorations for Spousal Unit and moose-adorned baubles for me.

We have been debating about the size of the tree - taller than last year? I dug through my archives, and hereby present a side-by-side comparison for you. What do you think?

Left - 2018 tree Right - 2019 tree

Did you notice the new tree skirt on the 2019 tree?!? SO EXCITED to finally see it in place. November 17 was the last post that showed progress on the skirt; at that time, it had three rows of burlap pleats. The final skirt has 10 rows; I had planned to add three more, but at the time we were ready to put it under the tree, I realized it would be necessary to cut some slits in the remaining felt in order for the skirt to lie flat around the wooden structure that holds the spruce upright. Boy, am I glad I didn't burn the midnight oil to attach those remaining rows!

Holidays are joyful
There's always something new
But ev'ryday's a holiday
When I'm near to you

Once the tree was complete, we turned our attention to other family traditions, such as board games, movie nights and baking cookies, often accompanied by Christmas music playing on our 52-year-old Magnavox stereo.

I won Trivial Pursuit - 1980's version (but I am REALLY bad at trivia)

"Do we have any paperwork on the stereo?" queried Spousal Unit earlier this week. For some time, he has been thinking we should replace the needle on this vintage Magnavox Astro-Sonic Radio Phonograph. "If we have it, it would be in with the records on the storage side of the stereo," I responded. And voila! Look what we found!

It may not have helped with locating a new needle, but the paperwork was fascinating in its own right. Mainly because there are not one but TWO receipts from Rike's Department store, dated four days apart. I asked my Mom if she remembered a story about two stereos, but she said Dad handled all the purchasing at that time. The receipts show two different model numbers, and the one with the later date was slightly more expensive - $414.44. To put that in perspective, the median household income in 1967 as $7,143 and an average house would set you back $24,600! Stated another way, $414 in 1967 money would be worth $3,000 today. Wow! Here is Marshmallow World by Johnny Mathis, a vintage song spun on that very stereo.

My friend wrote the following: This card reminded me of your

beautiful new Christmas tree skirt. Awww!

As December 25 draws near, each day brings new Christmas cards, and an occasional holiday surprise such as a neighbor dropping off a plate of home-made cookies. Yum!

The lights on my tree
I wish you could see
I wish it ev'ry day
Logs on the fire
Fill me with desire
To see you and to say

I am content. The cat is on my lap, and a Frasier Fir candle is casting its pine scent into the air. I sip a holiday highball, and my thoughts turn to our daughter, who will arrive Monday morning. Our family foursome will be complete. What could be more fulfilling than that?

I wish you Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, too

Mosaic Monday

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Mosaic Monday #58: Flat Stanley Visits Montana

Helping me check the trail camera

Allow me to introduce you to Flat Stanley. He is a new friend of mine; we just met in Ohio while staying with my sister over the Thanksgiving holiday. She mentioned taking him on her recent trip to Hawaii, and you can bet that piqued my curiosity. I have since learned that Flat Stanley is quite the popular fellow among the elementary school set.

According to information I received from one of my nieces, her son's second-grade class recently finished the story Flat Stanley. Originally, Jeff Brown wrote this tale about a boy who is flattened by a bulletin board and the many adventures he has while being flat. He even traveled to many places through the mail!

Filling the feeders - can you

see the chickadee on the suet?

For a class assignment, my great-nephew made his own Flat Stanley, and the goal is to see how many places he can travel by April 30, 2020. The instructions are to take him everywhere, including famous or historical landmarks if possible, and to document his experiences with photos. So, I thought it could be fun to show you a little slice of my recent activities, through the eyes of Flat Stanley!

Volunteering with me at the Whitefish Museum, housed in the historic

Great Northern Railway Depot

Decorating outside the house. In the bottom picture, Flat Stanley

is posing on the step to the front porch

First day of skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort

Flat Stanley accompanied me to tea hosted by my Dear Neighbor Friend;
I met two new lady friends!

Refreshing an arrangement with new greenery

In order to maximize Flat Stanley’s experiences, it was suggested that we keep him no longer than two weeks. So I will shortly be chronicling his time in Montana, complete with the photos I have taken and a letter to describe them. The letter and Flat Stanley will travel back to school in Ohio, and it gives me great joy to think of the class studying the photos and reading about Montana. It's not hard to deduce that many grade-school classes are learning about geography, history and culture, all through the adventures of Flat Stanley. How cool is that?

Flat Stanley assisted with mailing Christmas cards; soon he will pass

through here himself on the way back to Ohio!

Update: Sue of Kiwikids has volunteered to host Flat Stanley, so he is on his way to Australia - thanks Sue!

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.

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Mosaic Monday #57: November Notions

Notion: An impulse or desire, especially one of a whimsical kind

Notions (North American): Items used in sewing, such as buttons, pins and hooks

The fire is roaring, and Pentatonix Holiday Radio is playing on Pandora. All is right in my little corner of the world, and I am in a whimsical mood. Seems to me an ideal time to re-cap some fanciful moments from November.

How do you feel when you return home from a lengthy getaway? Hungry because there's nothing in the fridge? Forlorn because no-one has acknowledged your return? Nothing could have been further from the truth when we arrived home from our UK/Germany trip at the beginning of November. My dear neighbor friend had chicken soup and cornbread waiting so we would have dinner on our first night. We were hooked.

I am not sure which was more heart-warming - the food or the hand-made cards from her grandkids. They pressed all the right buttons with this welcome!

(internet)

I haven't been doing much cooking of late, but I had the impulse in November to concoct something with pumpkin. And if it would be suitable for breakfast in bed for my dear Spousal Unit, all the better. Voila! Pumpkin spice waffles! This was so simple to make - two mixing bowls and a waffle maker and you are good to go. Imagine my delight when Spousal Unit (a.k.a Head Chef) gave it his stamp of approval!

Do you like classic books? My dear neighbor friend recently made a trip to Tennessee, and during her visit picked up a number of books from a sale at the county library. Two "oldies but goodies" here. I took the picture in part so that I could remember to ask her for the books in the future - I have an inkling that I will like the books about Lincoln and pioneers. I have always been fascinated about both topics, and it is yet another discovery of interests we share.

Christmas is fast approaching, and stitching on my felt ornaments has continued at a steady pace. Which one do you like best? I must admit to being partial to the dapper snowmen with the top hats!

My Mom has also been busy with her crochet hook. During our visit to Ohio, I was thrilled to see some new crochet masterpieces while at her house. I am in love with the ballerina giraffe!

Spousal Unit and I treated Mom to lunch at Carrabba's, and Mom and I admired their holiday village, prompting Mom to recall a winter scene that her mother used to display. Ah, memories! Do you have a passion for such displays?

In the top photo, I love the water tower made into a snowman!

Frequent readers may be wondering if I am still monitoring my trail cam, and the answer would be yes. Then why no pix lately? Well, it's been deer, deer and more deer, and mostly at a distance. No coyotes, or turkeys or bears. But even deer can be adorable, in the right setting. I fancy the light in this picture - you can even see a sheen of moisture on that perky little nose.

This young lady clearly had the notion to get up close and personal with the camera!

As we close this chapter on November 2019, it is my sincere desire that Advent is giving you the time to reflect on the reason for the season and to share it with others. Go tell it on the mountain!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Mosaic Monday #56: A Time for Thanks

Belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of my U.S. friends!

I am writing this from Ohio; today we will celebrate the baptism of a grand-niece, which was the catalyst for a week-long getaway here. I am so grateful that we have been able to
1) reunite with our old neighborhood and former work colleagues, 2) enjoy time with #1 Daughter and #1 Son and their respective boyfriend/girlfriend, 3) visit with many family members, and 4) stay with my oldest sister, who opened her home to as many as 8 guests, and also hosted Thanksgiving dinner. In other words, we are blessed!

But it also means my time to write this post is short. I hope you enjoy the Thanksgiving-themed photos below.

While we are focused on blessings, let me say that I am gratified to have a faithful following of readers. I didn't start this blog as a popularity contest, but it is deeply satisfying to see readership that is consistently over 130 visits. Thank you for keeping me company on my adventures.

And for all my dependable Mosaic Monday participants, a special note of thanks to you. Each time I type another Mosaic Monday #, I am shocked anew to realize we have been on this journey together for over 12 months. Where did the time go? I appreciate your consistent contributions, from Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Trinidad and the United States (I hope I did not leave anyone out).

Every week, I look forward to the happenings in your life, photos of nature, quilts and other crafty endeavors, and of course, your creative collages. You inspire, entertain, encourage, educate and reinforce my faith in humanity around the world. I hope we can continue to be friends for years to come! Thank you!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.