The Winter Scene above

The wintery picture above is from quite a few years past. The tree is gone - it just gave up the ghost, and I felt sad, because it had the prettiest red and orange leaves in the fall. We have had an unusual year. Lots of snow before Thanksgiving, and not much since. There are patches on the ground, but very warm weather today is eroding that quite fast. The wind blows. That wintry wind that melted the snow so fast is the one that Dad called a chinook wind (or was it?) There will be snow sometime this winter, but at least we're having a reprieve from the thermometer dance around zero that went on for a couple of weeks.

Grnadmother's Garden - More Blocks

I've been slowly working on this quilt project. The blocks are not perfectly pressed or cut to size, but I finished the work on the 18th block this morning. This is the second zinnia - I like it much better than the first one, but both will go on the top. Again, this is the second rose - I also like this one better than the first one. Guess a little experience makes a difference. This is a pink trillium. I loved the trillium in Washington, especially in the woods around Mother and Daddy's home on 93rd. And these are shooting stars.

Four more to post tomorrow. I need to cut these blocks down to size - a real challenge, because almost every flower is done in a dimensional way. I'm working on that one, as well as how to quilt. Some can be done on the machine, but some will have to be done by hand, so that I won't mess up the dimensional part of the quilt. This was so much fun to do - no deadlines, just pleasing myself. I'm glad that Eleanor Burns resurrected this '20's flower quilt pattern(s).

Remembrances of Christmas

Steve designed this cocky fellow - Dad cut them out, and I painted them, and we sold quite a few in Tumwater at our Christmas boutique in the early '90s. There were a few other designs, but this is the only finished one I have left. Thank you, Steve, for your creative mind. This Christmas piece was done by Steve and Mary Lynn some years ago - he cut out the little copper (?) bear at the top, Mary Lynn made the stars and stuffed them with something very aromatic. After all these years, a squeeze on a star will give forth a pleasing smell. Dad made lots of this manger piece and other similar silhouettes pertaining to Christmas - I have strings of them that I hang every Christmas on the side lights of the front door. However, this little metal one is on the wall all the time. Another Steve creation. As you can see, I made this small counted cross stitch Scandinavian bell pull in '83. It is always magic to create something and see it take place before your eyes.

It's about time to begin storing away the Christmas memories until next year; each one is special and brings back memories of another time and place.

Christmas Flowers

This was another Christmas surprise. Our local florist delivered it, covered carefully against the sub-freezing temperatures that we have been experiencing. Family members surprise us with these lovely things, and we always have a twinge (You know - the old "you shouldn't have"), but this one is lovely, and we think lovingly of the givers. This arrangement contains the only real greens in our house, and they do smell wonderful. Joyous Christmas Eve and Day to all!

Ron Turns a New Bowl

Ron was given a board made of bamboo that had been laminated, and he began to think about what kind of a bowl he could make. A bowl in a woodturning book was the inspiration for this creation. The result is quite stunning, and includes some dye and gold leaf. Bronchitis made the finishing a little tough, but he did it! I think that it's gorgeous!

Christmas Flowers

Often, for Christmas, one or another of our children gift us with flowers to brighten up the cold, frosty days. Four years ago, when Christmas became secondary with Ron's serious illnesses, periodic pots of bulbs to be coaxed into plants that flowered cheered us up for the months of his struggles. One year, a beautiful little spruce tree in a container, decorated with ornaments brightened our winter. (I tried to keep that one alive, but failed.) Other bouquets through the years have lent color to drab days. Even though Christmas comes in the dead of winter, it always heralds spring, as days begin to grow longer. More importantly, these bouquets are beautiful reminders of the birth of our Savior and the joy and hope he brings to all of us.

Christmas and the Tree

The tree is up! This one is artificial, and is supposed to be self-lit. However, the attrition in the lights began a few years ago, and each year, less lights would come on, necessitating the stringing of more lights, making the lights already on the tree look a little ridiculous and unlit, but who cares? The tree is alight and semi-decorated. Sometimes it seems silly to have such a big tree when there is only Ron and myself to enjoy it, but the house would look empty without it at this time of year. I cannot recall a time when there wasn't a tree of some sort to celebrate Christmas. The year that Dwight got married, and Mother and I went to Salt Lake, we went on to Provo to pick up Louise, then turned around and drove all the way home across South Pass. We had to stop in Basin for gas, and there was a tiny tree sales place, where Mother purchased a tree for $1.00. When I was back in Laramie, going to school, the children and I made ornaments out of salt dough. I still have a couple of those in the box. The little acorn birdhouses are Ron's wood-turned contribution to the tree. Santa came from Rothenburg a.t., purchased in 1996, when we went to stay with Dorothy and Ken, and traveled all over. This little angel, singing "Silent Night", and sitting on a star is part of a collection I acquired in 1976-78 at the Christmas ornament factory and sales on the Army post in Bamberg. The apple candle holders with bows are also dating back to 1976 The gold ornaments were part of a collection that we acquired in the 1980's, and the wooden silhouette of the nativity came from Israel in 1993. One of my teacher friends said that Christmas trees should be full of surprises. When I open the stored ornaments each year, I am reminded of the many Christmas times past, both poignant and happy.