Santa Tabby

I have to start this with a confession. When I go online shopping for something particular, I can never resist to check out the sale category. That doesn't mean (anymore) that I also can't resist buying something from it that looks just slightly as if I could use it in the future, however distant that may be.
When I found the infinity links for the Big Hug necklace, though, and had a look, I absolutely couldn't say no to a pair of glass cabochons with a tabby cat face that reminded me of my little brat.

At that moment, I had no plan whatsoever except knowing I would be making earrings for myself. Eventually. Probably. Bead embroidery, obviously, and whimsical to match the inspiration.
When we came closer to Christmas, an idea started growing in my head. But how could I ...? Maybe if ...? And then ... hm.

I started with the easy part, the beaded bezels. When they were finished, I proceeded in my usual manner meaning they went in my current "working box". Then I took them out and stared at them for a long time. I put them back in the box. I took them out again and ... you get it.
Sometimes that helps and an idea pops into my head after a while, sometimes it doesn't quickly and sometimes not at all which then leads to a ripping up session.
I'm happy to say that this time the idea showed up rather quickly - yay! - although I knew I would have to experiment a bit to realize it.

Et voilà!
Santa Tabby, at your service!

It's just a pity that they only had tabbies, but no black cats. Gundel would have made an adorable elf, don't you think?

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot - Week 135

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!
My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

Have you ever heard of the Julbocken or Yule goat? It's a Christmas symbol in Nordic countries that originated in Germanic paganism. The legend goes that Thor had a chariot drawn by two magical goats who kept coming back to life after Thor ate them which is a slightly disturbing thought.
Anyhow, there was a time when the Yule goat was regarded as some kind of demon by early Christians, then it turned into a giftbringer, but in modern times it's mostly seen as a Christmas ornament which is bound from straw with red ribbons.
A special example is the Gävlebocken, a giant straw goat designed in 1966 to bring tourists to the Swedish town of Gävle. Not only the size is special, though, but also that as of November 2025, 42 of the 59 Gävle goats have been destroyed or damaged in some way - mostly by fire.
This "tradition" (which people even bet on) is not encouraged in any way, but seems to be some kind of weird dare which will be punished. Check the link above for details on the Gävle goat's fate over the years.

Picture by Seppo Laine; cropped by
 Beyond My Ken, under the license CC BY 2.0

How about you? Are you ready for the weekend?

As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week our spotlight is on The Copper Table.

Amy from "The Copper Table" says "Welcome to The Copper Table: Slow Food for a Fast World. I'm so glad you're here! If you are hoping to find out more about the recipes on this site and its creator, this is the best place to start!
This blog is about using Farmers Market and CSA box produce, cooking in season, and making as many things as possible from scratch without taking all day in the kitchen. Great food isn't difficult, and it doesn't have to take a lot of time!
My Cooking Philosophy: It is my mission not only to help you cook fresh, but to have fun in the kitchen! The question "What's for dinner?" should not be a stressor, but a place of solace. What do I mean by Slow Food? Using what is local to you as much as possible, avoiding processed foods, and letting your eating flow with the seasons. Even in the fast pace of life today, I believe it is still possible to do all of these things and I'm going to show you how!"

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.

Gail reminds us that it's ok not to love Christmas. We all have our own stories and reasons to love it or not and both is fine.

Do you like hot chocolate (I do)? Judee shares a quick way to make it even more fun and festive with these frozen whipped cream toppers!

Lisa is remembering a childhood Christmas.

No Christmas without Dickens. Sally shares her favorite versions of "A Christmas Carol".

Kristin has so many recommendations and tips and ideas around Christmas for us in this post!


Let's link up!

You can add links to specific blog posts of yours, but not just to your blog itself. The posts can be new or older and cover any topic you can think of - books, movies, fashion, crafting, thrifting, travel, art ... but only family friendly, please!
Have a look around, visit some of the other blogs and leave a few comments. You might discover something new and exciting!
Thank you for linking up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Silent movies - Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa

Huh? Yeah, maybe you don't speak Russian, either.
From the page where I found this recommendation "This is one of my favorite vintage holiday films, a strange little gem from the great Russian [his parents were Polish] stop-motion animator Ladislas Starevich." (There are different spellings depending on the country.)
The English title of this "strange little gem" from 1913 is "The Insects' Christmas" and there you have your plot.

The Father Christmas ornament
comes alive and climbs off the tree.

Little break, that was exhausting.

Father Christmas has invited some
insects - beetles, a grasshopper (although
the English intertitle calls her Miss
Dragonfly), and a frog (I guess the
beetles are too big for him to eat), and
now he trims a tree for them.

The ornaments are also gifts and
everyone gets one of them.

Fun for everyone - sliding down
the snowy hill!

One of the beetles and the frog tussle
for the cracker. When it comes apart,
they tumble backwards and the
frog falls into the hole where
he's staying for the winter.

The cloud rising from the cracker
spells "Froehliche Weinachten"
(no idea why it's in German, also
- because I'm a nitpicker - there's
an h missing in "Weihnachten") ...
"Merry Christmas"!

Father Christmas returns to his tree.

It's really a delightful little film. Isn't it nice of Father Christmas to get off his tree to give his friends a nice Christmas, too? I don't even want to think about how he got to the forest!


Thank you to Lea for recommending it in "7 Silent Christmas Movies (From the Horse-And-Buggy Era)" on Silent-ology, December 21, 2016!

Ghost stories on Christmas?

In August, I found the book "Told After Supper" from 1891 by Jerome K. Jerome in whose introduction he wrote “Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories. Nothing satisfies us on Christmas Eve but to hear each other tell authentic anecdotes about specters. It is a genial, festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood.”

Photo by Phil Robson via Unsplash

Yes, there was the Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve, and although it's not a tradition that has really been kept alive, it's still very much being talked about, even in countries where it has never been practiced.
Take the USA. Ghosts get their exclusive time slot on Hallowe'en, and although a lot of Christmas traditions of today brought into the country by immigrants go back to old times, ghost stories are not among them. And yet there is a line in the 1963 song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" going "There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago."

Picture from "Told After Supper"
by Kenneth M. Skeaping

Christmas has always been connected with superstitions.
In German, we call the twelve days of Christmas "Rauhnächte" (mostly, some start counting on the winter solstice). The etymology is unclear, it could mean "hairy", but also refer to smudging the stables with frankincense to protect the animals from the demons and ghosts prowling the land during those nights.
Of course, there are also the tales of the Wild Hunt.
It is also said that animals can speak during those nights and tell the future. Another version is that the animals can speak at midnight on Christmas, just for one hour to announce the birth of Christ. You are not allowed to listen, though, or you will die.
There are many more mid-winter traditions, such as the quite scary Krampus or Perchten, some of which have become more popular again
So ghost stories on Christmas Eve don't even sound that unusual anymore, do they?

Picture from "Told After Supper"
by Kenneth M. Skeaping

If I asked you which Christmas ghost story comes to mind first, it would be a rather safe bet to say you'd pick "A Christmas Carol" from 1843.
It was around this time that Christmas traditions were re-evaluated in Britain, but also new ones introduced, such as Christmas cards and trees (the first tree was put up by Queen Charlotte, by the way, although the idea only got popular due to Albert and Victoria).
When we think of British Christmas, our first thoughts probably go to the images ingrained in our heads thanks to countless adaptations of Dickens's novella - images of generosity, family gatherings, special food, drink, and games. And singing Muppets (after I finally got to watch them last year).

It wasn't the first Christmas story Dickens wrote and he also wasn't the first one to write one.
It also wasn't his last ghost story. The Christmas issues of the magazines he edited, first "Household Words", then "All the Year Round", also had ghost stories every year.
The Victorian ghost story's roots lie in a superstitious rural culture which it brings to the more secular and modern times of the industrial revolution in a nostalgic way. It also takes ghosts from castles inside the private home implicating that everyone can be haunted. That seems to have hit a nerve with the readers and other publications followed Dickens's example.
By the way, "somewhere between 50% to 70% of Christmas ghost stories published in the Victorian era were written by women".

Picture from "Told After Supper"
by Kenneth M. Skeaping

So yeah, why don't you give it a try this Christmas Eve?
Gather the family round, pick a nice Victorian ghost story from the vast selection (check out this bibliography for example and see what you can find online) and enjoy.
Maybe it will become your new favorite Christmas tradition!

"Christmas Story-telling" by Sir John Everett Millais (Illustrated London
News, Christmas Supplement, December 20, 1862, p. 672)

Sources:

1. Colin Dickey: A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghost Stories. In: Smithsonian Magazine, December 15, 2017
2. Josie Q.: Christmas Ghosts: A Victorian Tradition. On: A Biblioteca Noturna, December 14, 2021
3. Caley Ehnes: "Winter Stories - Ghost Stories... Round the Christmas Fire": Victorian Ghost Stories and the Christmas Market. In: Illumine, 11, 2012, 1, pages 6 - 25 (published in 2014, https://doi.org/10.18357/illumine.ehnesc.1112012)
4. Simon Cooke: Victorian Ghost Stories. On: The Victorian Web, June 2021

Schwibbogen - Moritzburg Castle - Three Wishes for Cinderella

Today's post has more than one topic.
Let's start with the Schwibbogen or Lichterbogen (candle arch/light arch) which I have wrote about before.
First a little history taken from that old blog post.

Johann Teller, a blacksmith who made equipment for mines in the Ore Mountains, made the first candle arch in the 18th century (info on the exact year varies). His inspiration was the pit hole entry and he made it for the "Mettenschicht", an old miners' tradition in the Protestant region. It was the last shift before Christmas which ended early with a simple meal and a celebration.
While early arches were made from wrought iron, wood became more and more popular from the beginning of the 20th century.
A famous design created by Paula Jordan in 1937 showed the main sources of income for the people of the Ore Mountains and traditional symbols.
Designs changed over the years to cities or forest scenes and you find all sizes, small ones for windows, but also huge ones put up by cities, like this one in Johanngeorgenstadt.

Picture by Hejkal on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

When I got my own light arch, that was such a surprise for me. My friend had the idea and her talented husband made it. Isn't it gorgeous and just perfect for me?

It also presented me with the opportunity for one of my favorite pictures of dem Dekan who loves the arch (meaning he likes to gnaw on the tips of the trees, I'm very glad they are sturdy).

I love this so much that I had one of my favorite
cartoonists - Lingvistov - turn it into a cartoon version.

Let's get to another Christmas tradition now. The following movie is as much a part of Christmas here as "Little Lord Fauntleroy". A list of broadcast dates comes out early and while there are people who think it has been shown often enough, there are more people for whom it is a must watch at least once a year - and I'm one of those.

I'm talking about "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel" (Czech title "Tři oříšky pro Popelku") from 1973, "Three Wishes for Cinderella" in English (there's only a version with English subtitles).
The film was a co-production between Czechoslovakia and East Germany which were both known for their beautiful fairy tale productions at the time.
Originally this was supposed to be a summer movie, but that was changed to winter due to production issues, and although Christmas isn't mentioned once, it being broadcast around the holidays turned it into a Christmas classic in Czechoslovakia (later Czechia), Germany, Norway (which made its own version in 2021), but also other countries.
The history of the film - from script over the actors and actresses to stunts, set or costumes - is just as interesting, by the way.

Now what is different about this Cinderella? I'll take this from one of my old "quote of the week" posts.
Well, this Cinderella is a bit of a tomboy. She loves to ride her horse Nikolaus if she can get away from her mean stepmother and stepsister, she climbs trees, she's an excellent archer. 
Every winter the King, Queen, and their son travel to their castle and make a stop at the stepmother's farm, a chance she uses to get an invitation to the ball for her daughter and herself.
The Prince and his friends do their best to avoid any responsibility which makes the King decide that the Prince will have to choose a bride, much to his dismay.
On their escapes to nature, the young men meet Cinderella, once as the young girl covered in ashes, once at a hunt she wins by shooting a cone off a tree, wearing an outfit the first of three magic hazelnuts has given her. She's not intimidated by the Prince, but stands her ground which impresses him (not realizing it's her both times, though).
The second hazelnut gives her a beautiful gown in which she attends the ball hidden behind a veil. The Prince is blown away, but she won't agree to his proposal until he solves her riddle.

"The cheeks are smudged with ashes, but it's not the chimney sweep. A hat with feathers, the crossbow over the shoulder, but it's not a hunter. ... Thirdly, a silver brocaded gown with train for the ball, but it's not a princess, my noble sir."

The Prince is clueless and Cinderella runs off. She loses her shoe on the stairs, well, I think you know how that tale ends.

That part of the movie was shot at Moritzburg Castle in the state of Saxony.

Now let me connect the stories of the Schwibbogen and Aschenbrödel.
My friend said she would like to visit to drop my Christmas gift early and in person because it was too awkward to send it by mail.
After making sure it wasn't a kitten, I generously granted access to my flat.
Out of the bag came - Moritzburg Castle as a light arch! It's smaller than my cat arch and so very cute, but of course the best about it is that it doesn't just have the balcony and the stairs that Cinderella ran down, but also the shoe!

Der Dekan was shocked when I told him that his
feet were too big for the shoe - rude! - but he was
even more shocked when I told him the measures
the stepsisters in the original fairy tale took hoping
for marriage with the Prince. One cut her heel off,
the other her toe ... he didn't want to be a Princess
anymore after hearing that.

And while I was surprised that der Dekan broke one of his rules and came down off the wardrobe although my friend isn't direct family (he let her pet him before she could even bribe him which seriously made me doubt everything I know about him), I wasn't surprised that he had to do a very thorough check of the arch as the resident safety officer.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot - Week 134

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!
My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

I'm not a cook or a baker as you know if you have been here with me for a while, but for one of my advent calendars (I just didn't manage this year), actually almost exactly 15 years ago, I made "Rumschnitten" which translates to "rum slices". They belong to my favorite Christmas treats and are something even I can do if I feel like it.

You can find the original post here if you need more pictures, but here's the recipe (metric).

7 eggs (separated into yolk and egg white)
200 grams of butter or margarine
200 grams of sugar
200 grams of flour
200 grams of grated hazelnuts (I like to use almonds)
200 grams of finely grated baking chocolate

250 grams of powdered sugar
rum (I used whisky because I never have rum at home, but if you want your kids to be able to eat them, just use some other non-alcoholic flavor, it also tastes nice with lemon juice for example)

200° C (preheat!), 10 to 15 minutes.

Cream the sugar and the butter.
Add the yolks, flour, chocolate, and nuts. Without the fluid, this is a pretty heavy dough, be sure to mix well!
Add the stiffly beaten egg white and fold it into the mix. It will feel a little heavy in the beginning, but the dough will be getting smoother, and although it may seem that way, it won't lose much of the fluffiness. Just don't mix too thoroughly.
Spread the dough on a baking tray, about 1 cm high and put it into the oven, for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Mix the powdered sugar with the fluid of your choice - not too much fluid, so it doesn't run - for the icing of the cookies.
When the dough is done, apply the icing, and cut diamonds while everything is still warm.
Enjoy!

How about you? Are you ready for the weekend? A weekend of baking maybe?

As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week, our spotlight is on Between the Bookends.

Paula from "Between the Bookends" says "I'm Paula, and I'm excited to have you here. This little corner of the internet will be a cozy little oasis for our shared love for all things books and writing.
Think of it as a cozy haven for
- Book reviews & recommendations: Dive into new reads or rediscover old favorites!
- What I'm currently reading: Let's nerd out over books together!
- Book club & Bible study (sometimes!): Grab your coffee, and let's chat!
- Link-ups (sometimes! Quarterly, maybe?), Journaling Prompts, Reading and Writing Supplies and Purchases, Scrapbooking, Digital scrapbooking and Book making (I'm not much for scrapbooking or digital books, but I know many of you are - So we're going to explore away with our Contributor Jennifer Wise from Photo & Story Treasures), and Random Musings - Because who doesn't love a good mix?
- Discussions and friendships: Let's create a community where bookish dreams come true!

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.

Karin shows an easy way to make a sweet and cozy wreath for your home.

If you are not in Christmas mood yet, I'm sure Lynne's beautifully decorated kitchen will give you a boost.

Amy shares pictures of her trip to Holy Hill with us, so lovely.

Have you ever seen a Christmas tree made from glass bowls? Here's one Ann made this year.

Is December overwhelming for you? Maybe Maria's free December planner printables will help you. 


Let's link up!

You can add links to specific blog posts of yours, but not just to your blog itself. The posts can be new or older and cover any topic you can think of - books, movies, fashion, crafting, thrifting, travel, art ... but only family friendly, please!
Have a look around, visit some of the other blogs and leave a few comments. You might discover something new and exciting!
Thank you for linking up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Silent movies - Santa Claus

Children have always wanted to know what Santa Claus is doing all year round.
There are different theories. He only gets one day of vacation, December 25th. Santa usually has a beach vacation in summer. He enjoys camping and singing Christmas carols at bonfires. He gets three weeks to relax or to go travelling right after Christmas. What is the right answer?
Let's see what "Santa Claus" from 1925 has to say - or rather show - on this matter (and please don't ask me why I watched the sepia version, I didn't even notice until writing this).

Two children manage to catch Santa when he comes down their chimney and ask him that important question, and although he's on such a tight schedule during this night, he finds the time to tell them.

He starts describing where he lives in the North, "a fairy kingdom bound by vast glaciers, towering ice crags and endless fields of snow", shaken by the North Wind, whose "borders are guarded by Goblins of the deep" (a huddle of walrus in the sea) while "the Monarch of the Arctic watchfully patrols my domain" (a polar bear running and swimming).
Back in his "warm snow castle" built out of snow blocks, he quickly checks toy production and then sits down to work on the naughty and nice list.
Bad news for Billy Smith, because when Santa watched him through his weirdly long telescope, he harrassed a blind street violinist by cutting the leash of his dog which drove some kids to knocking over the violinist's cup for coins. That got Billy a good shaking from Bobby Harrison and his name being scratched out by Santa while Bobby gets an entry for "a live pony and cart".

Next up another product test - no worries, the model train is perfect craftmanship and runs wonderfully!

Then Santa tells the children about training his reindeer and how he found Blitzen as a baby in the snow.
Saturdays are holidays, on those occasions he goes visit the Inuit (of course white people still called them Eskimos back then).
Once a year he gets a visit from the Easter Bunny (you see Santa sitting outside with a bunny on his lap) for a long consultation about which children deserve a nice Easter basket, and a white ptarmigan brings all the letters that children write to him.
He also meets up with fur-clad Jack Frost who makes the snow and ice for the old-fashioned Christmas Santa demands. This is Jack using his magic star wand to create the beautiful ice ferns and flowers on windows in the cities.

On Christmas Eve, Santa climbs into his (amazingly small) sleigh and brings gifts round the world. The Inuit children are the first ones to get theirs.

He also has a warning, though. If you have a chimney that isn't cared for, he can't get into it which means the children in that house don't get gifts (at that point der Dekan urged me to check our chimney while Gundel, several years older and wiser, just looked at him smugly).
Then he says goodbye to the children and heads back to the North where he and his helpers have a well-deserved rest.

The film starts with saying "Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Kleinschmidt present a fantasy actually filmed in Northern Alaska" and ends with "Merry Christmas to all - and to all a Good Night. The End. Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Kleinschmidt".
Who are the Kleinschmidts?

German-born Frank Emil Kleinschmidt emigrated to the USA at the age of 22 and went to Alaska four years later where he raised three daughters with his first wife.
He was an explorer, captain of a merchant freighter and an official photographer and cinematograph for the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War, he was even arrested and imprisoned for espionage.
He made documentaries of Arctic hunts and expeditions since 1909, for example during hunting tours for rich tourists, and he also returned to Alaska after the war.
In this case, Mrs. Kleinschmidt is his second wife Teresa Evelyn Fillion, called Essie, who went on expedition with him.

So it's not surprising that parts of "Santa Claus" make you think of one of those documentaries showing people, animals, and the landscape of the North.
Maybe he used some of the material from them or they just gave him the idea to take a Santa Claus costume along for the outdoor shots sometime and then do the studio shots with a different Santa who reminds me a bit of vintage creepy Santa and crying children photos. It's probably the beard whose look has changed a lot in modern times.
According to Wikipedia, Kleinschmidt toured the US around Christmas showing the film and I bet children were shocked by the fact that Santa spent a lot of time watching them through his telescope.
I wonder how much Essie contributed to the film.

The mixture of real Alaska and Christmas narrative makes this a rather charming watch.
By the way, did I fail to mention the tiny fairies dancing and singing Santa to sleep? 
 

Sources:

1. Lea Stans: Obscure Films: "Santa Claus" (1925). On: Silent-ology, December 24, 2020
2. Stella Dagna: Captain F.E. Kleinschmidt's Arctic Hunt. On: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 36, Pordenone, 30 September | 7 October 2017
3. Frank E. Kleinschmidt on Wikipedia
4. Margaret I. MacDonald: Capt. F. E. Kleinschmidt and His Sojourn Among the Animals Peculiar to Northern Climes. In: Moving Picture News 5, 1912, 14, pages 18 - 19 (via The Internet Archive)
5. Captain Frank Emil Kleinschmidt on Geni
6. Frank Emil Kleinschmidt on Find A Grave

Create a snowflake!

I have mentioned several times that I'm not a crafter in the sense of what we call "Basteln" in German. You know, the kind of crafting you learn as a kid. I was the kid who didn't learn it.
One reason was of course - sorry for repeating myself - my strained relationship with glue. Another one was that I had no patience whatsoever for glueing halves of wooden clothespins together to make coasters or struggling with straw to create a crooked star.
I wasn't proud of most of the abominations I was forced to produce at birthday parties or in school - except the owl picture I made by glueing (!) on beans and seeds from a kit my godmother gave me to keep me entertained while I spent a few days with her once. That wasn't all bad and my mother indulged me by hanging it up in a corner next to our wall phone, so you could stare at it while talking.
I still wonder myself where I was hiding my patience (for some crafts) which suddenly seemed to come out in full force when I was already over 40. Okay, there had been a few years of intensive knitting before, too.

My snowflakes or stars cut from paper also weren't heirlooms worth keeping. Usually I went overboard and a last fatal cut destroyed everything. Not that it traumatized me, but I had friends who were practically pros at that kind of stuff and somehow expected me to join in the fun ... that they had.

I can have my own fun with snowflakes, though - virtual ones. Some of mine have been out there for years and I even recognize one or the other.
Do you know the website SnowDays - "It's Always Snowing Here"? Since 2003, millions of virtual snowflakes have been created on this site, about 20 of them are by me, the oldest one from 2010. You can search for them by the name you used and you can save your flakes as image, transparent or as a GIF.
I keep forgetting about this page, then I come back, make one or two flakes, forget about it again, then Flash went away and the site was down for a while, but came back - and so did I!

This is the flake I made today, #15,074,414.
Will you try it, maybe with your children?

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot - Week 133

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!
My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

Tonight is St. Nicholas's night when he goes around to put goodies in children's shoes.
That's not a tradition in your country? Here in Germany, we grow up with the legend of St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, who's the reason for children (and often enough grown-ups, too) finding their shoes filled with chocolate, fruit, nuts or even little presents on the morning of December 6. If you don't know the legend, but are interested, follow the link to a very old blog post of mine.
While St. Nicholas - Nikolaus in German - inspired Santa Claus (when Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas to the USA), he's not the same for us here. We have him and we have the "Weihnachtsmann" (literally "Christmas Man") in some regions and the "Christkind" (literally "Christ Child", the "Christkindl" has also inspired Kris Kringle) in others, just like the Dutch have De Kerstman (same translation) for example or the British have Father Christmas.
In my house, by the way, the role has been taken over by others. Maybe not as saintly, maybe not as competent, but they were and are doing their best.

Ponder / Greebo / Gundel / Der Dekan

How about you? Are you ready for the weekend?

As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week, our spotlight is on Conversations with an Older Woman.

Penny from "Conversations with an Older Woman" says "My reasons for setting up this new blog is that everything changes, which is no bad thing. I am now writing from the perspective of someone approaching 80 (79 in June) and I have questions such as: how do we negotiate older age; what are the next steps during these latter years; and how do we spend these last few years (yes, I am saying that) to the best of our ability. Indeed, the key question to think about is, how do we make these years the 'best of times' whilst also acknowledging and dealing with our ageing bodies.
So naturally there will be some posts on health issues, but I will also continue to write about films, television, books and visits to art galleries - one of my favourite past times.
Occasionally thrown into the mix will be a post on style, rather than fashion. Plus, if I feel like writing about something serious and/or political I will. I am not separating that out from all the other posts. Always remember with these posts I [am] aiming to generate discussion rather than alienation and discord.
I won't, by the way, be keeping to a timetable as although I like a deadline I also need to concentrate on my health and fitness, plus I have a lot of other writing to do. But there will be a minimum of 3 posts a month and maybe even more.
So, here's to a future that I view optimistically, written by a stylish (rather than fashionable), engaged and curious (about what will happen in the next few years) older woman!

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.

If you like seasonal books, you may want to have a look at the list of Christmas books that Lisa put together.

Rena is reminding you that getting your affairs in order may also include your social media and blogs. I'm guilty of procrastinating in this matter myself, are you?

Mireille is sharing some of the favorite things in her November.

Do you need Christmas gift ideas that don't break your budget, but still impress? Nancy has some for you!

Digital well-being is more important than ever these days. You will find a lot of tips and good advice in Melody's post.


Let's link up!

You can add links to specific blog posts of yours, but not just to your blog itself. The posts can be new or older and cover any topic you can think of - books, movies, fashion, crafting, thrifting, travel, art ... but only family friendly, please!
Have a look around, visit some of the other blogs and leave a few comments. You might discover something new and exciting!
Thank you for linking up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Silent movies - A Christmas Dream

As mentioned on Monday, I want to give each of my December posts a Christmassy touch, and of course that also goes for my selection of silent movies.
Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote about my "Little Lord Fauntleroy" marathon, whose 1980 version is one of Germany's beloved Christmas classics, and how I didn't have the patience for watching the silent movie version with Mary Pickford (how things have changed), so that would be an obvious first choice, right? Wrong. Like the book, that version doesn't end with a Christmas feast.
But are there any silent Christmas movies at all? Luckily, I found two pages which listed several for me and I just needed to pick.

Let's start with something short by a good old friend - Georges Méliès.
It's "La Rêve de Noël" from 1900, "A Christmas Dream".
Usually I would give you the plot, but there really isn't one.

The children are asleep and dream of
Christmas while the nanny keeps watch.

Dance of the toys - granted, some of them are a little
weird and the jester loses his shoe, but ok.

Angels dropping gifts in the chimney. I guess Santa
needed a little break and they offered to help out?

Kids (and the verger?) ringing the bells while
people come out of the snow into the church.

See the old man with the beard? He and another
beggar had been out in the snow, mostly ignored by
the wealthy people entering the building. When he
comes inside, the servants try to throw him out, but
the Christmas spirit made the host drag him (quite
literally) back to the table to give him food and drink.

The children have woken up, it's time for gifts.
I have no idea what kind of gift that huge cat
head is, but I definitely want that!

Gathering around the Christmas tree.

So this dream consists of vignettes which annoyed some people who missed a plot (you may remember narratives were not yet a big thing back then, so I'm not sure what their problem is).
It actually made me think of a picture book for children showing random Christmas scenes that has come to life.
Méliès even included two scenes with poor people as if he wanted to remind us of what Christmas is about.

I'm not saying that it was a masterpiece and there was a lot of (not that amazing) dancing, but I liked seeing the costumes and the lovely sets that were so typical for Méliès (even if they made me wonder about the time we were in).
So I didn't regret investing those incredible four (!) minutes.


Thank you to Sarah Cook for the post "Old movies: a celebration of Victorian Christmas films" on "Film Stories", December 6, 2022!