Scenes of Christmas

Rain makes December seem darker than it should. Now we turn toward the light - figuratively, spiritually, and spatially. Today I light the last of the Advent candles. Pinpoints of light sparkle on the tree. The garland and tin stars hanging from the chandelier reflect and amplify the light. 
 

Decorations around here are simple and don't change very often. I wonder if I'm getting stuck in a rut. If so, it's a happy rut and I'm not looking to get out of it.
 

This little wooden village was cut and painted years ago, along with the tiny Nativity figures. Joseph stands less than 1.5 inches high (I just measured him.) This year, I placed the village and holy family figures together, on a low shelf where the Little Misses can play with them.
 

I thought the plate wall needed a little Christmas. Letters cut from red cardstock did the trick.

Linking to Mosaic Monday with Mary of the Little Red House. 

Merry Christmas to my readers and comment writers. I pray that the peace, love, hope and joy promised at the birth of the Christ Child will overflow in your lives this season and throughout the new year. 

Light - A Personal Photography Challenge

Donna, from Cottage Days and Journeys, has another blog where she posts a monthly photography challenge. It's fun, can be frustrating, and is always a learning experience.
This month's challenge was light. Well. It was extremely frustrating for me to not take the photos I envisioned in my head.  I did learn a lot, so it's not entirely a washup. I chose to focus on trying to capture candlelight. Sigh. It's so romantic.
 

 For this photograph, I wanted to highlight indirect light. I used my tripod, set my camera to a long exposure, and had all the lights out except for candles on the mantel. The candles is off scene, but the light glows against the angels. I had to sharpen the photo a bit because even with a tripod, the photo was a little blurred. 

This was just serendipitous. I was shooting while standing on a dining room chair, in macro mode to focus on the pearl garland. I like the capture of the lights from the Nativity Set in the background. 
 

Candles in a row on the table. The matching pinpoints of light on the edges of the tart pans occurred happily unplanned. This was also in macro mode. Other than the first photo, I wouldn't know how to reproduce these effects. 

Check out the posts at Donna's Photography Challenge Blog to see what others have learned about capturing light.
 

On a Winter's Night

OK. So it's not winter quite yet. However, the weather around here belies that fact. Chilly wind and below freezing temperatures have us bundling up to venture outdoors, and upping the cozy factor indoors.

Six of us gathered on Friday evening for dinner. One couple brought appetizers, another brought a salad and beverages. We provided the main course, paella, and bread, along with spiced wine poached pears for dessert. We laughed, we ate, we drank, we talked around the table as the candles burned low and the pearl garland in the light fixture overhead gleamed. 

Simplicity of white and red. Gathering together in the warmth of friendship is an age-old defense against the cold outside.

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary of the Little Red House. 

A Little of This and Some of That

It's Cyclamen season! I frequently walk by this yard that's been allowed to naturalize. In the spring tiny crocuses are followed by daffodils, then bluebells. In summer it's mostly brown grass, but once the rains begin in fall, these beauties pop up. 
 

Here's a closer look. While looking on line to see what kind of cyclamen they might be, I ran across a blog entitled "Stupid Garden Plants." Hmmm. But he has a great post on cyclamen, if you're interested. 

There's starting to be a whole lot more of these on the ground. 
 

Dinner with friends on Saturday night included the warm glow of candlelight. So cozy. Summer left in a big hurry this year, and left nothing behind. Rainy days, misty mornings, with the hope of sunshine in the afternoons. That's early fall around here.

What coziness is there in your world these days?

Just Chatting

This is one of those posts about inconsequential things - like a conversation that leaps from one topic to another, without many connections between them. My family seems to think I'm pretty good at that, and it gives them great delight. 

The rain-battered primroses are blooming in my garden. Hardy souls. I was looking for snowdrops and found no sign of them at all. Puzzling.
 

Eating just a little of everything at Christmas meant a little bit added to me. Everyone has their own way of losing a couple of pounds - mine is to cut refined carbs for a few weeks. I tried out the Cauliflower Crust Pizza that I've seen here and there. If you love the chewy bready crust that holds your pizza toppings, you won't find it with a cauliflower crust. But it was still pretty good. Do a search for the recipe and you'll come up with many options. I sort of did my own thing, simplifying some of the steps. Yes, I'll make it again.
 

Lately I've found it hard to get into a book I really enjoy. Do you think I might be getting pickier? I was worried. On Saturday I took this book out of the library. I finished it after work today. A story with unexpected turns, full of humour, characters I'd like to meet, and a friendly setting. Highly recommend.
 

Candles make the January gloominess a little less so. I've been practicing taking low light shots with my new tripod. It does make a remarkable difference.

Re Downton Abbey. Yes, there is a Christmas special for Season Three. It was shown on Christmas Day in the UK. However, it does not take place at Christmas time, so it won't be too unseasonal when it airs here in February, I believe. Spoilers are all over the internet, but I won't say a word now. I'll have plenty to discuss later. Plenty. 

A Christmas Mantel

Have you ever done one of those questionnaires that help you to figure out what your decorating "style" is? I have. The results are always inconclusive. Sometimes I like the rustic woodsy look, sometimes I'm classic traditional, sometimes cozy cottage. There are so many wonderful looks out there.

These days I'm liking simple more. Pared-down, but not austere, clean, with natural elements. I think my mantel reflects that. I layered a sanded door from the china cabinet I painted a few months ago. My husband thought we should just throw the doors away, since they are not going back onto the cabinet. I rescued them, knowing they would come in handy at some point. 

Cedar clippings from the yard, which will be replaced once again before Christmas since they dry out in a hurry indoors, big pine cones from Ecuador, a candlewick embroidery projects done years ago, candles, and bits of mercury glass. 

You'll notice that to jazz things up a bit, I added borders to the photos with Photoscape. I haven't finished decorating yet, but I'm not in much of a hurry. We like to leave everything out until the 1st of January and enjoy it after the celebration of Christmas Day. 

Is your home decorated already? Have you figured out your decorating style?

A Good Morning for a Candle

I awoke in the night to hear the drip, drip, drip of rain on the roof. Our dry spell is over. The sunshine is hiding behind thick clouds. Autumn is here. It would be a good day to build a fire in the fireplace and cozy up with a book or some hand sewing. Ah, if only.

I taught French 3 days this past week, and beginning on Monday, I have at least a 2-week stint in the library. Today's my day to go downtown for a few things I need. Stopping at the grocery store after work or on the weekend is no problem, but I like to have a bigger chunk of time to brave the one-way streets, pedestrians and militant parking enforcers in the city center.

 

I've been the winner of several giveaways recently. This Sweet Charlotte pattern came from a giveaway on Jessica's blog, Running with Scissors, where she blogs about the things she's made. She is developing a line of her own sewing patterns and uses her own cute children as models. I am so impressed by all the young pattern designers I see out there, providing alternatives to the big pattern companies. I'm looking forward to making this vest for the Little Misses.
 

Jennifer Paganelli designs bright, happy fabrics and projects to go along with them. I love her bold use of colour and was thrilled to be selected to receive 6 yards of fabric from her new line Happy Land, along with her latest book featuring 21 sewing projects.

Both the Sweet Charlotte pattern and the Jennifer Paganelli fabrics have arrived at a good time. I'm bursting with ideas of things to sew. And of course, Christmas is coming! I love making gifts, do you?

So, before I can get to the sewing, I have a house to tidy up, laundry to do, and some errands to run. This evening we have Little Miss A coming for the night again. What's on your list today?

Evening Candlelight: A Different Twist

Darkness falls earlier. Although the days are warm, there's a distinct chill when the sun slips behind the hills. It's time to think more about life indoors. Lighting candles in the evening while we sit and read or knit or stitch adds coziness to the scene. 

I have a collection of sea glass and often display it in containers in our home. Here's a way to combine a bit of summer and autumn together. 

You will need two votive/candle holders, one of them should nest inside the other, with room to spare. Some sea glass, small pebbles, or sea shells, and a tea light. 
 

One votive holder inside the other, with pieces of glass slipped between them. Easy. And oh, so pretty on a September evening. 

 
Make one, make three or four. Line them up on a mantel, down the center of a table or on a window sill. Enjoy cozy.

Linking to Tutorial Tuesday, hosted by Hope Studios.

Two years. And many adventures. Happy Anniversary, Owen and Ashley, and many more to come.