2013 Christmas Tree Inspiration-- part one: Bears in the Woods

With the harvest mostly over, the pumpkin vines mouldy in the garden, the colorful leaves stripped from the trees by torrential rains and freezing winds, the blue skies of October changed to overcast and darkening, it was time to think about brightening up the days-- time for my yearly pilgrimage to the hardware store's Christmas tree display.

I know these tree displays are for the purpose of selling ornaments, and most people's trees at home wouldn't be so chock-full of stuff,  but I like to get new ideas for my tree from these store displays. They are so interesting-- at every angle there is more to look at. If I was a child and there were trees like this actually at home, I would spend hours looking at all the ornaments!

Picking out which ornament I want for Christmas is fun to think about, too!

I had the privilege to meet the fellow who was in charge of Christmas this year-- that is, Christmas at the hardware store. He took me around and showed me things about each tree, and told me their names, which I have mostly forgotten as I sit down to post about it.  I'm calling this tree "Bears in the Woods" but I think it isn't far from the intent of the original name.

Where we live, the forest theme is a popular one. Hunting, fishing, hiking, skiing, are themes that show up in several trees at this store.

Besides bears of all shapes, sizes, and attitudes, this tree had lots of wooden ornaments on it, and they were mostly flat. Snow shoes in different colors, skis of different sizes, pine trees, animals and stars in unfinished wood, and signs galore. Here are some close-ups of some of the ornaments.

I like the little brush-animals.

  I liked this sparkly leaf. Hmm, I wonder how I could make one of my own from those leaves in the front yard...

The flat metal bell-holders were made in shapes of trees, moose, and bear, and were glittered. Having something long on the tree gave it extra interest. 

 The tree topper is a pair of snow shoes.  The fellow in charge showed me that the tree toppers were simply wired on to the tree. One tree had a baseball bat on top-- a real one-- and it was held on by thin wire. I wonder what unexpected objects around the house could be wired on for tree toppers? 

 The ribbon is "pinched" by the fake tree boughs-- they are wire, after all, and can be used to hold signs (as in previous photo)  and to keep the ribbon in place. The fellow told me that it makes the ribbon look a bit better, not so flat.

The other side of the tree.

This sleigh was next to the tree-- you can see the cute skis and snow shoes on its sides. 

I like all the little signs. "Be cheerful and pass it on."

The Celebration of November

If it weren't for some of the junior members of our staff, we would live a very dull life! On the 2nd, after a dramatic day of rain storms and wind which swept the lawn of leaves at little trouble to ourselves, a very dark evening descended upon us. Our little gifted hostess wanted to have a tea party to celebrate the new month of November. A tea party...right now. Since it was about supper time, it was decided we would have tea for a light supper, for a change.

While the cooks in the kitchen started the menu that the hostess wrote out, the latter sat down and created invitations.  

Who could refuse such an invitation? Not one!

The menu:

Pumpkin cupcakes from Sugar Pie Farmhouse

Open-face turkey and muenster cheese toasted sandwiches (these were topped with mandarin orange slices, not pictured)

Tiny maple-leaf shaped scones with Apple butter or apricot jam, and whipped cream

Sliced cucumbers with vinegar, oil, and dill

Sliced cucumbers with laughing cow cream cheese dollops

Deep fried eggplant bites

Bengal spice tea and milk

On A Drive

In autumn, I often think of Jane Austen's England. I can just see Elizabeth or Marianne walking through the leaves, up a hill, or among the hedgerows.

If I was as great a walker as Austen's heroines, I may have tackled theses hills. Instead I enjoyed a drive through them. 

Where do you think it could be? Looks like a lonely lane in Europe, perhaps? Maybe... England? 

The Yorkshire Dales? 

Could it perhaps be somewhere near Scotland?

Perhaps it is the Lakes district -- maybe we are in Beatrix Potter's country. This could be the pond that Mr. Jeremy Fisher lived in!

Well, I wouldn't really know if it looks like England, as I've never been to England. Didn't you notice the lack of sheep dotting the hills? 

But it's fun to pretend. 

No, it's just the Wide, Wild West. 

Old wagons, houses, fences, corrals...

...old barns...

...and an amazing view. 

When you are up here on top of the world, you think about how vast this land is. There are many thousands of miles of land there is to the east, north, and south until you get to an ocean again (the Pacific is just west of here, though, maybe another hundred-and-some miles).

You know, at one point all this land was claimed by Great Britain. I wonder what they would have done with it? If they had thought of building castles out here, I think the structures would have been quite dwarfed by the landscape. 

We are climbing higher, and looking back can see the Columbia river. 

Oh, look! an old abandoned farmhouse in the trees. All it needs is a new roof, new floor, new walls, windows, doors, porches, and a working kitchen, and wouldn't it be a nice place to come to for a Thanksgiving dinner? 

It is part of an old homestead on a hill. 

The old house is hidden in the trees at the right of the photo. The property looks like a wild-west pioneer- style estate. I'll take it, if no one wants it anymore! 

 

These pictures were taken while driving through The Dalles Mountain Ranch (now a park) in Eastern Washington. 

(These photos are from Thansgiving-time last November, but were never posted. It was such a lovely drive to take on a dull, cloudy day, I thought I'd share it anyway!)

The Card Making Center

As of last week, in order to make a card, I had to run to one room and pull rubber stamps out of a drawer, then run to another room for the paper and ink, and if I wanted to use the Cuttlebug to emboss anything I had to dig in my fabric cupboard for it. It sure discouraged card-making! Just thinking about making a card was tiring! I decided I needed a dedicated space for the hobby. As of today, the new space is complete! This paper crafting space is now along one wall in the dining-room. A corner shelf formerly dedicated to antique china is now housing a combined collection of rubber stamps (mother, daughter, grandchild's). 

The desk top is covered in pretty scrapbooking paper, and then clear plastic over that. The desk drawers house papers and supplies, as do the scrapbook storage drawers next to it. Everything is now in reach!

Our rubber stamp collections are 23 years in the making! I wanted to see every stamp we had, so I commissioned a stair-step shelving system to be made that fit the corner shelves...

...made out of duplos.

And while you're at it, have a "Stamp-a-ma-jig" (A positioning tool) made for you, too. (if you are curious as to what this is, here is a video about it.)