*Fast away the old year passes....*

We had an absolutely lovely Christmas...and I do hope you had the same! And, as some of you may expect, Maggie inspired thee Christmas Picture of 2008:

On Christmas Eve, every year, we go to Joe's Mother's house...wonderful, yummy, food...lots of presents...and legendary stockings. And Maggie received some play money, which came darn handy that night when we returned home to leave Santa his cookie and eggnog!

Me: Maggie....why are you leaving money for Santa??

Maggie:....oh....I just want him to have a Merry Christmas.

Yeah, right. Magdalen was completely horrid on Christmas Eve and had a freakitin' melt-down when she had to wait to did into her stocking. She was seriously naughty. Naughty. And was most likely a bit nervous, waiting for the big guy...and rightly so. Maggie is naughty AND smart.

But our reindeer food worked:

(and the 20 bucks)

...that's the naughty elf herself, to the right....she had a rather jaded Christmas season, altogether, I suppose....she realized if you should happen to get a "barbie jammin' jeep" (which she did not) you still can't drive yourself around wherever you want to go. And too, Jesus didn't show up for his Birthday party at Sunday School. Baffling.

Her big sister, on the other hand, is a sweet-pea. Mostly. I can't believe how much she's grown!

Here she is twirling in her Christmas skirt I made for her.... I've actually sewn some useful items as of late! (oh yes, it's true!!) Mostly skirts and aprons...the Christmas skirts are made from Alexander Henry's "Sprites of Tillbrook"...you can find the fabric on etsy from Lucky Kaeru Fabric & Supplies.


Maggie really enjoyed the accidental wonderful gift from Fran of Cloth Doll Supply....some fake hair.



She's had no end of fun with the swatch of hair (actually, the hair might be real...i'm not sure...)

And then, if you have a cutie gnome hat from Arfeinel. Well.

More news soon...I have "thank you owls" in the etsy shoppes & a Hansel & Gretel paper doll to upload this aft'! (she's sooooooo....something. I dunno. You'll just have to see!)

Happy New Year Blessings,

meg

a wee goblin....

...has been lurking in my tiny atelier....can you see her?? Known to pilfer and pillage through my supplies...to sneakily spirit rare spun-cotton mushrooms away to the dollies' house and hide them in the attic! Sequins, beads, charms~~beware! Fabric, paper, pencils....and MARKERS!~~hide yourselves and hope to spare the tiny goblin!!!


Some days I lonnnng for a space to work (the above photo is our small kitchen table...)~~but other days, I enjoy small hands to "help"...I know the girls are learning, all the time, and best of all watching Mama make stuff. We've all lost that simple privilege, somewhere along the way. I want my girls to know, too, that you can have a "job" that makes you happy! Really. I mean seriously...is this a job!?

Sitting at the kitchen table, cozy with the snow and cold outside our nest...Christmas music, a pine scented candle burning, and coloring...painting, cutting, glittering...making.

Once more, Chloe (7), has inspired a whole new collection of work...(she is entirely responsible for the Christmas Gnomes, and all of the gnomes to follow...)


She's just enchanted with The Nutcracker, and did a wonderful job of painting her very own!!

By the by...the first song on my blog is "Red Clay Halo" by Gillian Welch!

Her CD, Time (The Revelator), is tippity-top on my Christmas Wish List....okay...to be dead honest, it's "tied" with Alicia Paulson's book~~Stitched in Time. I didn't know about this sweet posy!! Can't wait to open it on Christmas morn'...(Joe's excellent about sticking to the wish list...!)



I heard Gillian Welch on the Audrey Eclectic blog....is that some fancy folk art or what?! :)



Just one last thing to share with you....a lovely "gift" was waiting outside the door of our nest this morning, just waiting for me to capture it in a picture...just look at these beautiful winter roses!






Now, I really must fly from the nest~~to the post office! EVERYTHING is going out today...I can breathe and stitch on dollies to play with~~how fun! And I must say, the final trip to the post before Christmas is becoming one of my favorite traditions....good-bye little boxes!!

We'll chat again soon~~we had a rather hilarious Saint Lucia celebration...more on that tomorrow?

Blessings,
Meg

*They sailed away for a year & a day....*

I
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea green boat,They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,

What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are,

You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

II
Pussy said to the Owl,

'You elegant fowl!

How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married!

too long we have tarried:

But what shall we do for a ring?'

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose,

His nose,

His nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose....

Edward Lear, 1871


~~You may visit this whimsical pair on eBay~~

********************************************

Today? I'm making mermaids!!

Tomorrow...well.

That's just way too far ahead to think about, now isn't it??!

Blessings,

Meg