O Christmas Tree - The third door

Gundel is in her favorite place on the stairs, Ponder has lost consciousness in his cat tower's plushy softness - a good moment to set up my Christmas tree.
Last year I had been searching for my ornaments, I thought I lost my mind. Turns out I did, there were in the same box in the same safe spot they had been during the last few years, but you know how it sometimes is with those safe spots. This year my memory didn't fail me, so here they are.
Yup, almost all of my tree decorations fit into a small box, but then my artificial tree is not exactly big, either. You can see the beaded bauble my friend Caroline made, some of my "pineapple slices", a few Christmas spider legs and my octopus bauble's tentacles peeking out.

As soon as I had the tree out, my second supervisor arrived on the scene. She gave a few branches a short nibble and went around the tree to check if I had bent all the branches the right way. Looks to me as if Supervisor Gundel is fine with what she saw.

The hardest part for me are the lights and the ball chain. Yeah, the baubles will hide the messy look, I think. As you can see my trusted wooden cats are helping to keep the tree in place (plus one of the branches is wrapped around the railing ;-)).

By then Gundel had decided she needed a second look. That chain didn't look very safe. Neither did it to me after she started pawing it! I still kept going. There are my earliest prototypes of wire crochet baubles, my wire knit and few beaded baubles, the beaded goodies from my friend, gifts from the neighbors like wooden stars and more, tiny baubles from my pal, the snowmen I made, the weird little octopus and the "mace" baubles. Last but not least I put my wire knit "flame" on top and of course Christmas Jack to guard everything!

It's a pity that it is such a grey day which makes it hard for me to take a good picture. Maybe I'll post another one if I find the chance and the light is good enough.

Well, and then the first bauble fell. While I had been decorating, there were some mysterious bauble shakes and I kept seeing a little black paw, but only when I was done, there it went - but didn't break!
So if you feel like betting on the cats or the tree, let me know! ;-)

Quote of the week - The second door

Pettson and Findus (Festus and Mercury in the USA) live on a small farm in Sweden, with knitting hens and small creatures that only Findus, the cat, can see - the Mucklas.
Findus who is named after a brand of peas because he arrived on the farm in a box with their name when he was a kitten has been told about the Yule Tomte (Santa Claus) by the children, and now he really wants the Tomte to come to their house, so he can see him.
Pettson decides to make a mechanical Tomte machine, but although he often invents things, his plan doesn't work out. One of the wooden gears breaks, one small wooden gear is stolen by a Muckla, and to make it even worse, his neighbor Gustavsson has promised that Pettson will carve a hundred Tomtes for the Christmas bazaar!

What luck that Findus meets that strange postman in the woods whom he has to save from inside an oak tree ... or maybe it's not a postman after all?
A lot happens until Pettson and Findus are finally waiting for the Yule Tomte to arrive. Pettson who made his invention work with the help of Miracle Oil from a parcel the postman gave to Findus thinks it will be his mechanical one, but instead ...

Findus: Hi, Mister Tomte!
Pettson: He's moving so smoothly. Findus, don't worry if the Tomte's voice sounds a bit ...
Findus: Quiet, Pettson!
Tomte: Merry Christmas everyone!
Findus: Merry Christmas.
Pettson: Don't be upset if he doesn't know you're a cat. He'll probably ask if you've been a good child.
Findus: Quiet now!
Tomte: Have you been a good little cat?
Pettson: Well, actually he's a ...
Findus: Yes! I've been very good!
Tomte: That's just what I thought. You're a very good little cat and I've got a present for you. There you go. A surprise.
Findus: Thanks for coming, Tomte.
Tomte: Oh, welcome. Ho-ho-ho! Help the helpers help as we Tomtes say!
Findus: That's what postmen say, too.
Tomte: Oh, they do, do they? *laughs* Ho, ho, ho!

Findus and the Christmas Tomte, D/DK/S, 2006

I'm not ready! - The first door

 

This was a spontaneous decision when I just put my hallway decorations up. How about giving the Cat's Wire advent calendar another try? This is harder than it may sound. I can't promise to come up with something fantastic, new or exciting every day, but I'll give it my best.
Actually I will start this with a little cheating, though. It's already Sunday today, but I had to work yesterday and I was dead when I came home.
Now, however, I'm sitting here listening to one of my favorite holiday channels, The Christmas Radio, so let's get this thing started, shall we?
Decorations. I'm no master at them. My style has been called eclectic (one of the best words for making "what a mess" sound intellectual), whimsical, crazy, interesting and more, but that's okay because I think that rather fits me.

So this is what my hallway looks like this year. For those who have seen pictures in the past years, it's not the same. This year the little Lego house had to move to the window sill along with the little elf as I needed space for a newcomer. For the same reason I had to say no to my neighbor's offer to give me some quinces as deco.

What I love about it is that there are so many handmade pieces along some others. The two hand sewn hearts from Christmas fabric hanging in the mistletoe (from my neighbors' garden) on both sides were made by a friend. There is also a lace icicle in one of the mistletoes.

Here's the knitted wreath that my other neighbor made, some of my wire knit ornaments (including the "puffer fish" ;-)), my wire crochet star and the lace snowflakes made by a friend who's no longer with us. She also made the icicle and all three are ornaments I treasure a lot.

This is what the "first floor" looks like.

Can't do without my beloved Steiff Christmas tree, the mice and the ball! I got the little Villeroy & Boch candle holder at a sale some years ago. The Christmas kitties box was a lovely gift by co-workers (the candy is long gone!). The only handmade item in this picture is my wire knit candle with the little Christmas bauble in the flame to make it shine.

And here's the newcomer now. It took me two years to decide I really wanted to have this. I ordered it months ago and was so excited when it arrived!
As you can see there are 24 little boxes which hold a small lampwork bauble each to put on the glass Christmas tree.
It's the beautiful work of Paul from Phoenix Glass, check it out on Facebook!

Time for a cup of chai and maybe something to eat before I go finding something for the second door!

Holiday timeout - The twenty-sixth door

I'm aware that not everyone has the chance to take a holiday timeout. I am lucky and do have it.
Of course timeout doesn't mean that I won't have to do my chores, but I'm off work and I'll take a little break from the blog, too. Maybe we'll see each other again next year (doesn't that sound so far away although it's only a few days?), maybe the mood will strike me before that. We'll see.
Enjoy the silence while it lasts! ;-)

Merry Christmas - The twenty-fifth door

As you probably know, here in Germany we celebrate with gifts on Christmas Eve. No stockings for me this morning, no stockings for the cats. Just silence and a relaxed, still slightly full feeling. Remembering that I forgot to take one of my gifts home that I wanted to try out today. Enjoying my little shiny tree. Listening to a song on my favorite Christmas channel. Sipping on my cup of Ovaltine (who is thinking of Ralphie now, come on admit it) and slowly - in fact very slowly - waking up.
Ah, you will think, so she was too lazy to prepare a post. I like to think it's not so much laziness, but an unwillingness to spend too much time on the computer today. Or laziness. Relaxed laziness which is easy for me to have while someone else is preparing the meals.
Sorry, I'm starting to ramble and falling back asleep at the same time. Enough now.

Merry Christmas, my friends.

Christmas Eve - The twenty-fourth door

Nope. No story today. No interesting traditions, no Christmas crafts, not even a video or picture.
It's time for me to take a little break and no matter where you are, what you celebrate or already have celebrated, I hope you will have a good moment to yourself, too.

Merry Christmas Eve from me and the crazy cats!

Oldies but Goodies, Christmas red - The twenty-third door

When we think of Christmas red, we think of a bright and rich red. The first thing that comes to my mind is the color of the poinsettia or the holly of which I already shared a few examples with you on Monday.
Why is red a Christmas color? Last year I told you about the blood of Jesus which is said to be represented by holly. Then there's the red of the bishops' and noble people's clothes, a powerful and expensive red.
I also told you about the apples, however, that were hung into pine trees because in winter there are hardly any apple trees available for the paradise plays that were popular in older days. Red apples in green pine trees, a color combination that is also probably very appealing due to red and green being complementary colors.
In last year's post I showed you the Christmas green in creations of the JAC members, this year is time for some red. As always you can find all the submitted pictures in the original thread for the Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge.

1 Cat's Wire
2 Jewelry Art by Dawn
3 The Crafty Chimp
4 Violetmoon's Corner
5 MC Stoneworks

Nativity scenes - The twenty-second door

We never had a nativity scene when I was a child. In fact I can't remember anyone at the moment who had one. Maybe I just didn't notice it.
I never contemplated having one of my own. With my crazy cats I would probably have to put it behind glass. Greebo loves to knock down stuff to get my attention and it was annoying enough that I had to pick up Steiff rabbits and puppets almost every day before they went behind glass. I won't even try to think about what Ponder could do. Probably all figurines would have to be screwed down to avoid them being kidnapped.

Then I found the page whyismarko and a list of the worst and weirdest nativity scenes. Now I'm determined to make my own next year. Maybe we should even have a competition! ;-) Or maybe you already have something to share? I'd love to see it! I'm quite partial to the mashed potato one ...

Let's end this post with an all time favorite of mine. Have fun!

Zibbet finds of the week, Christmas plants - The twenty-first door

Last year I told you a little about the history of the Christmas tree and that evergreen plants were used in winter celebrations way before someone thought about putting apples, nuts, and sweets on a tree.
The fir and other kinds of evergreen trees that are put up for Christmas nowadays are not the only plants we connect with this holiday.
In fact there is a whole list of plants of which I only mentioned a few in this old post. There's the mistletoe of course (one of which we have on our door again this year), there's holly, there's ivy, there are poinsettias and Yule logs, there are Christmas cacti and roses and in some countries radishes (have you ever heard of the Mexican Night of the Radishes before?), pomegranates, and more.

You know what comes next ... a little virtual walk through the garden with beautiful finds. As warm and mild as it is here right now, I hardly even need a jacket! ;-)

Stained glass holly wreath candle holder by Passion Flower Glass

Pomegranate charm necklace by Laline Jewelry

Vintage Christmas card with mistletoe at Sandy Creek Collectables

Poinsettia bow set for dogs by Bellas Dog Bows

Painting "Pomegranate and Pot" by Kostas Koutsoukanidis Fine Art

Christmas Holly Sprite greeting cards by AJ's Designs

"Winter Flowers" felted and knitted alpaca scarflette by Living Loom Weaver

Ornament with painted holly leaves by Family Footprint Designs

Quote of the week - The twentieth door

Do you have an advent calendar? I mean a chocolate one, not one of the really old-fashioned ones with just pictures in it (which I would like to have next year, please) and not one with toys, jewelry or cat snacks in it ;-)
I have one which was given to me by a friend who had got two. It's nothing exciting, but hey, it's chocolate. Unfortunately I have to admit that I cheated and made up for it again, kind of. There was a day when I was craving chocolate so badly and had nothing at all in the house so that I had to go raid the calendar. Only three doors, really. And I made up for it by not opening any door at all after that.

Let's see how others handle that, for example Geraldine who is a vicar in a small British village full of wacky people ....

Clock starts beeping.
Geraldine: Chocolate time. Now then, Alice, tell me. Exactly how many chocolate advent calendars is the maximum a greedy person should have?
Alice: I don't know. I would have thought thirty.
Geraldine: Good! Good! I've got it about alright then.

The Vicar of Dibley, UK, 1994 - 2015

Snowflakes - The nineteenth door

Today's post is stolen. Calm down, I took it from myself, at least part of it, and I had good reasons.
Today is the day I want you to make snowflakes. That reminded me of a post of mine from five years ago in which I talked about Wilson Bentley, Johann Heinrich Ludwig Flögel, and Nancy Knight.
Wilson Bentley took 5,000 pictures of snowflakes and thought that there are no two snowflakes alike.
Although he had been regarded to be the first person to photograph snowflakes, it seems that honor belongs to Johann Heinrich Ludwig Flögel about whom I could not find an English article so quickly.
Nancy Knight has found two identical snowflakes, though, it seems. At least they looked identical under the microscope. Scientists doubt, however, that they would still be identical on an atomic level.

Now why am I telling you that again after five years?
Like I said already, I want you to make your own snowflake/s. Each year I come to the page "Snowdays" and make a few of them. I have been doing that for about five years now, and they are still there. It's really fun, you should try!

This is the snowflake I made today. Maybe you want to try and make an identical one? ;-)

Tackle that stash, Christmas star - The eighteenth door

What a day. It started with the wrong veggie box, so the driver had to come back when he noticed, dropped things, broken beads, and of course Ponder also stepped into one of my bead cups. Yay, bead explosion!
Oh, and I forgot to take pictures of yesterday's baubles which were picked up in the evening. All different patterns, too, that I would have liked to show you!
I decided to try my hand at a Christmas snowflake/star ornament instead, but I just finished that now, and I don't have a story to share together with the picture.
Maybe you are actually glad to not read my ramblings for a day, though ;-)

I should say something about the star, however. The only real stash are the twisted bugles which I had ordered last year. To make a snowflake/star ornament after a tutorial. Which I didn't. Not last year, not this year. I improvised this one and now it looks quite big on my little tree, but I still like it.

Christmas pyramids - The seventeenth door

Last year I told you about the tradition of candle arches and got a comment about a pyramid. I promised to talk about those pyramids this year.
Christmas pyramids - which actually don't have a real pyramid shape, but are more like a carousel - are a very old tradition that comes from the Ore Mountains, just like candle arches.
They are said to be inspired by the capstans that were used to pump water and that were decorated with evergreen branches at Christmas time. Although many of us only connect them with Christmas, there were light pyramids for other occasions as well.

The pyramids are made from wood and often have several levels which show the story of Christ's birth, the nativity scene, the shepherds, the Magi, angels, and more, but there are also pyramids showing woodland scenes or other things.
The heat from the candles rises up and makes the paddles on the rod turn. The rod attached to the propeller is connected to one or more of the plates which then also turn.

Tilgner-Pyramiden

Nowadays there are not only the small pyramids that are used as a decoration in the house, but also large outdoor pyramids which are set up in market squares, for example during the popular Christmas markets. One example, the Dresden Christmas pyramid is 85 ft high!

Of course again I have only been scratching the surface with this little post. You'll have to forgive me, but real life wants its part of me, too.
If you want to read more and see pictures, please check out the links below!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pyramidhttp://www.christkindl-markt.com/blog/tag/German+Pyramids
http://www.pghmannerchor.com/2012/12/the-christmas-pyramid-weihnachtspyramide/

Oldies but goodies, Stars - The sixteenth door

To be honest I have never given much thought to the Star of Bethlehem. I guess it was just part of the story for me. There were three wise men and there was a star. If I ever even knew that the star only appeared in the Gospel of Matthew, I am not aware of it anymore.
I have never wondered if it really could have been a star or if it was a comet, a supernova, a conjunction of planets or if that doesn't make any sense at all astronomically. And now that I've browsed a few articles because reading most of them was too overwhelming for a non-astronomically mind like mine, I wouldn't know which snippets to give you because it wouldn't even scratch the surface.
Maybe you want to check out this article if you'd like to know more while I go to things I understand more about like this week's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge which happens to be about - you guessed it - stars.
I hope you will like my personal selection. I am so in love with this challenge and the items that were shared!

1 Violetmoon's Corner
2 RioRita
3 2 Fab Fristers
4 The Crafty Chimp
5 Cat's Wire
6 MC Stoneworks
7 Jewelry Art by Dawn

Christmas bakery - The fifteenth door

I bet you have already been waiting for this post. Cat in the kitchen baking and making a big mess without guarantee to succeed. Always good for a laugh.
Sorry, but not this year, I think. This time I invited a guest baker, my friend Silvia who actually knows what she is doing and who was willing to take on the task of taking photos when making her annual Christmas Linzer Torte. There was a time way back when I made that a few times myself, but it has been so long that I don't think it would have been a good idea. I already had a sample of Silvia's Linzer this year, though, and therefore I know that it's good.

What is Linzer Torte? Obviously (well, I didn't know it until now) it's a cake made from "Linzer dough" and "Linzer mass". The so-called brown Linzer dough is similar to shortcrust and is made with raw almonds, cloves and cinnamon. There is a also a light version without cinnamon, but with lemon and blanched almonds instead of raw ones, but we will talk about the brown one.
"Linzer mass" is a pipeable mass resembling that of macaroons and it is used to pipe the lattice pattern on top. However recipes vary a lot which isn't unusual for such an old kind of cake and often the same dough is used for both the bottom and the lattice.
In Austria the traditional choice of jam is red currant, elsewhere raspberry jam is used.
Now why did I call it an old kind of cake? In fact a Veronese countess wrote a cookbook in 1653 and mentioned the recipe for the first time which even makes it the oldest known cake recipe.

Back to my guest baker. Silvia makes several smaller tortes, but you can make a bigger one on a baking tray and cut it into pieces afterwards.
These are the ingredients for a batch of 3 to 4 smaller ones:

1 lb flour
3 eggs
5 tsp. baking powder
1 lb hazelnuts
1 lb butter
3/4 lb sugar
4 tbsp. schnapps (in this case Himbeergeist)
4 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 tbsp. ground coffee
raspberry jam
yolk mixed with a little milk

Mix the ingredients (except for the jam and yolk/milk mix) to make a kind of shortcrust dough and put the dough in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (depending on how sticky it is).

Roll out part of the dough until it's thin and put it into the baking tray(s) of your choice. Leave enough for the lattice pattern.

Cover it with the jam. Roll out the rest of the dough and cut strips to put onto the cake. Brush the dough strips with the yolk/milk mix.

Bake at 340° F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Zibbet finds of the week, Have yourself a vintage little Christmas - The fourteenth door

Last week I told you a little about Christmas cards. The next day one of my Facebook friends shared this post about Victorian cards that are slightly different from what we get today. And in the comments I found yet another link about more cards. And THAT obviously made me do an image search for Victorian Christmas cards which led me to more interesting pages and pictures and ... wait, I'm getting distracted here again.
What did I want to say? Oh, I remember. Looking at those vintage cards inspired me to make today's post a completely vintage one. Please enjoy while I'll be going back to my image search ... oh, just look at those frogs and the butterfly and .... *voice trailing off in the distance*

Vintage Christmas card at Vintage Tale

Vintage embossed Christmas card at For Collecting

Vintage Santa Claus musical figurine at ZiL Vintage

Vintage 40s Christmas wreath ornaments at Scrap Pantry

Vintage Christmas tin box at Nostalgic by Nature

1908 sheet music "In The Holidays" at Sandy Creek Collectables

Maybe this reminded you of your own vintage decorations or collectibles?