A Gnome needs a home!

NO MARKET SLUMP IN THIS HOUSING MARKET!

With the coming of Spring, I have created a nice new home for the gnomes: their very own little toadstool house!



As well as a chimney, this fairyland toadstool comes complete with a front door:



windows that open at the back:



and grass around the bottom edge.

It is also suitable for fairies, pixies and other enchanted folk, who can all snuggle up inside:



I think it is going to be a huge hit; prospective tenants are queuing up to try it out for size already.....




NEEDLEFELTED TOADSTOOL HOUSE

approx. 35cms high,
approx. 24cms at widest point

Materials:
100% Organic Merino Sheep's Wool
Small quantities of Natural & Man-made Dye
A few secret ingredients including a sprinkle of magic and lots of love

IMBOLC and the coming of Spring

(photo came from here )


IMBOLC is coming (2nd Feb) ..... will you be marking the occasion?

Our Nature Corner at home has been graced with two new visitors: The Snow Queen and Mrs Thaw -



The Snow Queen covered the world with snow and ice while Mrs Thaw is busy sweeping it all away, making room for the new shoots to pop up.





I have departed from the techniques in The Nature Corner book a little, using my new Needle Felting in place of the flat felt and materials recommended. I am really enjoying these new creations, learning as I go along.

Maybe a story or two, for Imbolc?

Jackie Morris has some delightful stories up her sleeve - visit HER here, and her wonderful cats HERE.

Or how about these other suggestions:

The Russian fairy tale - "The Firebird and Vasilisa" ,
Grimms' Fairy Tale - "12 Dancing Princesses",
or those perenial favourites:
"3 Billy Goats Gruff",
"Little Red Riding Hood",
"Little Bear and the Long Walk" and
"Dick Whittington".

What is your favourite story I wonder......?

Happy Reading and Dreaming!
Love Lizzi


(photo from here)

Festivals and Celebrations II

Then onwards to...

WINTER SOLSTICE - 21ST DECEMBER

We took my Mum to see Stonehenge at dawn of the Winter Solstice.

It was a first for us (Husband, Son and me) but Mother and, amazingly, my Father have been before, to the Summer Solstice. My parents ended up being interviewed for The Times newspaper when they went (probably because they appeared out of place for being so 'normal'!) Dad didn't make it this time, but we had a ball!



Have a look at some of the wonderful people there were there:









It was all very peaceful, Love and Light to all, celebrating the return of the Light to the Earth and Her people.

PS: The people from The Times weren't there but the folks from the BBC were ... here's a brief link

Festivals and Celebrations I

A small pictorial guide of recent celebrations in our home...

ST NICHOLAS DAY - 6TH DECEMBER



We hosted a children's party (and adults too ;-)) on the eve of St Nicholas Day, in honour of our Dutch friends, Hilde, Edwin, Tommy and Isabella. Everyone had a lovely time!

Lanterns at the front door:



St Nicholas arriving with his helpers in the Nature corner:



Later that evening with Black Peter. sack and bundle of sticks:



A feast in the middle of being laid out for everyone: it included figs, mince pies, stollen cake, chocolates, cheeses, meats and much much more... YUM! YUM!

Diversions ~ The Nature Corner

Amongst the mayhem of past months I have found time to start making craft work again. Previously I made all sorts of things: from silk-painting to hat making, needlepoint to pottery, jewellery to wire-sculptures. My recent craft work was inspired by this book, and made with my son in mind - I thought you might like a peek...


The Nature Corner: Celebrating the Year's Cycle with a Seasonal Tableau

AUTUMN

Here are some of the things I made in the Autumn
(I especially liked the sweet little pumpkin children) ~

As Autumn progressed these dear little folk came to live with us for a while.
The gnomes had been busy gathering treasures in the woods and, although normally very shy, were drawn in by the warmth of our log fire

Come back to see what is coming next ;-)

Advent Wreath Postscript ~

Postscript ~



To answer your questions, the wreath has a wooden base, with metal candle holders.
To this I added small leaf Ivy, Holly and some sort of large leaf ivy that has an interesting star shaped berry/flower head.

You light one candle on the first Sunday of Advent (30th November this year) and then another candle on each of the remaining Sundays leading up to Christmas (four Sundays in Advent).
I have added a white candle in the center to represent the Christ, as a symbol of the Light illuminating the earth.

One could interpret the wreath in a pagan context: the four red candles could be associated with the four corners of the earth, the four elements, and the sun, the Light, returning to the earth at Winter Solstice represented by the center candle.

Advent is here...

This year I got organized enough to make my own Advent wreath... this makes me very happy :-)
I am rather pleased with the results, see what you think:-








PS ~
Thank you to everyone who popped over to say 'hello' to new blogger Mike Miller. Mike is thrilled; now he just has to work out how to come and visit you all in return, to say thanks in person.

Christmas Eve 2007

Christmas Eve is here already, and amazingly everything is done: presents wrapped, parcels delivered, friends greeted and a fire roaring in the hearth. All is peaceful and well in our world for a while.



I have lit the candles, Husband returns from work later, and our son is asleeep already, awaiting Santa's arrival as well as the excitement of Christmas day. He has been 'tracking Santa' on and off today, via a wonderful website: http://www.noradsanta.org. Do go and have a look, while there is still time. It looks even better if you download Google Earth, because you can then see Santa and his journey in 3D. As I type, Santa has just touched down in Ndadza, Masvingo, Zimbabwe. No, now he is in Ghanzi, Botswana. Gosh that man and his Reindeer are fast! HO! HO! HO!





Meanwhile I am taking this quiet moment to send you all the very warmest of Christmas greetings: May Peace, Joy and Love be yours each and every day.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog each week, for sharing your lives, stories and adventures with me; for being my cheering section!

From Me to You : "Happy Christmas!"
- Happy Holidays! However you may celebrate them.

Autumn Rituals

Being a former, or as a friend would put it 'recovering', Convent girl, I find something very comforting about 'ritual'. For my family these now revolve around the seasons, and I thought I would share our 'Annual Autumn Rituals' with you:

The end of season fly fishing bar-b-que ~

Changing over to my winter wardrobe ~

Playing in the fallen leaves ~

Lighting the first fire in the sitting room ~

Halloween ~

Bonfire night (Son had his own 'sparklers' for the first time this year) ~

"Happy Guy Fawkes Night!" to all you Anglophiles.

Happy Autumn :-)

Lammas

My Pagan Mother kindly informed me that from sunset yesterday to sunset today is Lammas Day - a neopagan holiday, being cross-quarter holiday between the Spring Equinox (Ostare) and Fall Equinox (Mabon). Which is pretty neat as we had arranged for two friends to come and share dinner with us last night!

Here is a photo of the table laid ready, and with fresh flowers from the garden. Doesn't it look pretty... :-)