"Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work, hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest, prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor."
For many, the coming of a new calendar year marks the possibility of new beginnings. Here in America it seems to have become a culturally acceptable opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over. I have to admit I am not so much into the idea of New Year resolutions. I try my best to allow daily change in my life as needed (admittedly, not always with great success, but I keep trying).
"I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me." Anais Nin
British born, Kieron Williamson, is just six years old and already his beautifully rendered watercolor paintings fetch a nice sum of money. View the video below and be amazed as I was...and just a bit jealous ;)
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Need a last minute gift. Everyone loves gift cards.
I posted this on my French Blog-Simply French Designs but thought it was worth sharing here.
The Provençal Santons of today are made from fine clay usually found in the Marseilles and Aubagne of Provence. Two-piece plaster molds are made from original carvings and are filled with the clay for molding. The figures are placed in a kiln for baking, are removed from the mold and painted in great detail using bright colors. In November and December every year, there are Santon Fairs in villages throughout Provence area of France. The original Marseilles Santon fair is still in existence, from the end of November to Twelfth Night (Epiphany).
The largest crèche in the world (an official Guinness record) is an 1136 square-meter miniature of a Provençal village, located in the town of Grignan in the Drôme, 10 km west of Valréas, France. Someday I hope to visit in November and pick out a very special Santon for my Creche. The photos that accompany this blog post are from our family Santon Nativity Scene. (If you want a close up view - click on the photos to enlarge).
Since Winter is hard on our feathered friends this delectable treat is one birds will surely find "tweet". During the Advent Season when my sons were younger, we always placed a "giving tree" in our backyard. We would hang from the limbs of a tree assorted birdseed treats for our bird and animal friends. Here is a Birdseed wreath you can easily create that will keep them all well fed. I may have posted it previously on my blog but thought it worth repeating. Even if you don't have birds surrounding your abode, it makes a great gift for the bird lover.
Design Sponge has done it again! They have come up with a truly unique and inexpensive Christmas Ornament idea that is trendy and easy to create - Faux Terrarium Ornaments. Click on the photo above to be taken to their blog for the complete tutorial. These would make great gifts for young adults who perhaps just got their own apartment and hence their first Christmas tree. If you can't find the glass ornament balls locally, visit my supply shop on Etsy - The Seasonal Cottage, for a nice quality bauble that would work well for this project. Happy Christmas Crafting!
"A journey shared is more deeply moving an experience than one taken alone...."
This Sunday we will have our annual Family Christmas Party (my side of the family) “Le Reveillon” which means “awakening”. In most French households this was a meal generally served after Midnight mass. When my Grand-mère was alive we would usually gather in her home on Christmas Eve for a simple meal of the traditional French Canadian Tourtiere, as well as Salmon and Potato Pie. We continue this tradition today but accommodate everyone in my very large family by having it on a Sunday before Christmas. We continue to keep it simple in the tradition of my Grand-mère. It is a time I look forward to each year. Here is the recipe for Salmon and Potatoe Pie I will be baking on today for the party.
French Canadian ~ Salmon and Potato Pie
Chanukah begins this evening and will continue for 8 days until Saturday, the 19th of December. I found a few items on the Artisan website Etsy which would be great gift choices for Chanukah. Click on the photo to be taken to the Artists Shop!
Every year for the last sixteen that we have been in Maine, we trudge through the snow in December at Holmes tree farm, searching for that perfect Christmas Tree. In my opinion, Christmas wouldn't be the same without a live, wonderfully fragrant Christmas tree in our home. But, you might ask, is cutting your own tree or purchasing a cut tree eco-friendly? According to Jeff Olson, the vice-president of marketing and development for American Forests, a Washington, D.C.-based conservation nonprofit, nearly all of the trees sold at Christmas-tree lots are grown on tree farms. So you can rest assured that forests aren't hurt by choosing a cut tree. So this year begin a special family tradition and support local agriculture by visiting a local tree farm for your Christmas Tree. You can find farms at localharvest.org. After the holidays, many towns offer to turn trees into compost or wood chips for free. Check the earth911.com website for a list of recycling centers near you. And have fun decking the halls of your home! Here we are below next to our tree at Holmes Tree Farm.
Life has almost nothing to do with what we fill our days with and all to do with what we fill our hearts with...
I invite you to visit our pretty little Seacoast town this weekend and enjoy the festivities that abound for Christmas Prelude, always held the first two weekends in December. (you can read about it on a previous post to my blog here). For a schedule of this years events and more information of our community activities I invite you to visit the Prelude 2009 website by clicking here or on the banner above.
