Mosaic Monday #9 - December Delights

Josie cat-napping by the Christmas pillow

Welcome to Mosaic Monday 2019!  As I begin this post, I am typing from a concourse at the Cincinnati Airport.  I look around at my fellow passengers, and wonder about their stories.  I imagine that most of them are returning home after a holiday trip, as we are.  College kids heading back to school.  Or business people wrapping up a short week.  Yes, Christmas and New Year's are once more in the rear view mirror.  But I can extend my holiday spirit by scanning my photo gallery from December.  Will you join me?






FESTIVE FARE

Preparing fruitcake at the beginning of the month is one of our Christmas customs (see last year's post on this topic).  Every year, we exercise the ultimate patience until Christmas morning to enjoy the rich, brandy-infused flavor of the cake, accompanied by a slice of cheddar cheese.  

In the meantime, neighbors and friends spoiled us with delicious foodstuffs and food-oriented gifts.

Breakfast made with deer sausage from our neighbors

"Hedgehog" Chocolates from former neighbors in Cleveland

Handmade cupcakes from one of our neighbors

Santa platter from one of our neighbors

FAMILY TIME

The family that plays together, stays together!  I got my fill of board games after #1 Son arrived home, and I won't even hold it against him that he had the winning record.









On Christmas morning, the stockings were full and the tree surrounded by gifts; what a relief to know that Santa could find our new house!  Josie hid among the bags and boxes when she wasn't nibbling on ribbons …

As we lounged in front of the fire throughout the day, the aroma of turkey, ham and other mouth-watering vittles wafted through the house.  As always, Spousal Unit fed us well, and a clean kitchen with all the dishes and pots washed was our payback - a win-win for everyone!  (Christmas crackers are customary at our Christmas table - this party favor consists of a decorated cardboard cylinder that typically contains a paper crown, a joke/riddle, a snap that opens with a BANG and a gift or novelty item.)

And a winter in Montana is not complete without skiing and snowboarding - although #1 Daughter was only home for four days, we managed to squeeze in a family outing at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

FOREST SPLENDOR

A glittering winter wonderland is only as far as our back forty at this time of year.  The barren aspen branches reveal the summer nests that were previously hidden from view.  How cute they are with their elfin caps of snow!

Animal tracks are prolific; you could spend many a happy hour following them.  Despite my best efforts, I have yet to locate the burrows of the snowshoe hares that hop in a seemingly willy-nilly way throughout the woods.  I've been a little luckier with the trail cam, capturing squirrels, a healthy buck and one of my favorites, the coyote.

On one of our walks to check the trail cam, #1 Daughter and I spotted a pygmy owl high atop a pine - I couldn't believe it was out in the middle of the day in such a conspicuous spot!  Both shots are poor, but you get the idea!

FAST-FORWARD TO 2019

In my next post, I'll write about our trip to Ohio, which was centered on the celebration of my Mother's 90th birthday.  For now, I am eager for home.  To see fresh-fallen snow around the log house.  To be greeted by our cats at the mud room door.  To sleep in my own bed.  To have time to re-connect with all my blogging buddies.  I pray that Christmas and New Year's brought you joy and peace, and I merrily anticipate all that 2019 will bring as we share our journeys.

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. 

An InLinkz Link-up

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. 

An InLinkz Link-up

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

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.

An InLinkz Link-up