Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Who Hats "A Childlike Christmas"

 Happy Childlike Christmas!  I have a simple idea for you!  Who hats!  All you need is a pair of light colored pantyhose and a bag of balloons!
 First blow up many balloons.  Choose fun colors.
 I confess I haven't worn pantyhose in about ten years, but they make a great Who hat.
 Stuff the inflated balloons in the legs of the pantyhose.
 Look!  It's Pom Pom Who from Whoville!  
Sorry that I'm wearing my nightgown.  I had to wait for Bill to get home from a meeting and I grew tired!  I did put a little red lipstick on for you.  
Check out all the bloggers on my sidebar!  They are all posting a  childlike Christmas themed post.  We'll continue on Wednesdays until Christmas.  
"unless you become like children . . . "
It's not too late to join us!
JOY!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Twirling

 The Christmas dancers did not disappoint!  Look at them dancing to Grampy's guitar playing!  It's a good thing you can't hear Granny's croaky singing.  I have a terrible cold!  
 Can you spy their daddy in the office?  They were full of JOY as they  raced around.  They only bonked heads a few times!
 Our first Sunday of Advent was FUN!  
 There were not many beautiful sights at Toys R Us.  The wrapping paper is pretty, don't you think?
 Clara will like inviting the Caillou people into her doll house.
 I've always loved girls who like horses.
 Aren't the brooms and dust pans adorable?
 The next day a friend and I went to the quilt shop.
 This is what I bought!  I am making Clara a rag quilt for her little white bed.  Flannel!  Cozy.


It's back to school today.  I sort of wish I could stay home and hook, hook, hook with this yarn.  I'm still practicing my ripples.
Guess what?  The Three Willows have arrived safely at MK's!  Go on over there and see what they're up to!  From there, I think they are traveling all the way to California. Stay tuned!
Come back here on Wednesday for a lovely dose of "A Childlike Christmas" please!  It's going to be fascinating!  (BIG HUG!)

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Light

"I am the light of the world.  whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12


"The people walking in darkness
   have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
   a light has dawned . . . 
See, darkness covers the earth
   and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
   and his glory appears over you."
                                        Isaiah 9:2; 60:2


Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler has sat on my bedside table, the second shelf, collecting dust for almost a year now.  I am going to make it my devotional guide for this holy time of year.  It's dusted. I'm going to skip through it, reading more than one day at a time, taking long thirsty drinks of the scripture and the prayers.  
Our girls, in their twenties and mothers of young children, want to share Advent with us.  We may put the old iron candle ring that was my own Advent wreath as a child and drive to their houses for Sunday night ADVENT.  Bill will bring the guitar and we'll sing with the grandgirls, they'll run around in circles, hair flying, thudding on the balls of their little feet, dancing to tunes of the Savior. We sang with our four children, not that long ago.  It seems.
Bill's downstairs exercising to Bing Crosby singing "The First Noel" . . . they saw a star . . . a light . . . 
Oh, Jesus.  Please fill the dark corners of my heart with your pure LIGHT.
It's still dark outside and my soul is ready for the Advent season.  


I'm joining Floss for A Pause in Advent.  Hop over to her blog and you can read all the participant's posts. 

Friday, November 25, 2011

Yellow Teapot

 Tea?  I dropped by my neighbor's house two days in a row.  Funny thing, I had my camera.  Smile.  Don't you love her teapot?
 She bought tulips.  Yellow!  Love!
 Isn't this plate the picture of sugar plums?
 My pumpkin pie was just right.  Sometimes I over dump ground cloves and ginger into my pumpkin, but this year . . . I measured.  Delicious!
 This fine organic turkey roasted up well, didn't it?  The gravy was so tasty.  Yummy, yummy, yummy.  Now I'll wait a whole year to have turkey gravy again.  
 After all the feasting, we went to the park.  Look at Millie Rose!  She loves to swing!
 Princess Dew Drop kicked the flat soccer ball around the yard.
 Princess Snowflake ate a basket of berries (her face!) and then got mad at Princess Dewdrop who just might have been a little less than a team player while kicking the flat soccer ball.
And the garden friends have moved from the fairy garden to the picnic table.  As soon as our new dishwasher comes next week, they'll have a swish-swish bath and find a place under the Christmas tree, I think.  Yes, the dishwasher gave off a funny electric smell and promptly died.  Oh well.  Isn't a dishwasher one of the most boring appliances to buy?  I think so.  My hands are quite witchy looking from all the washing up. We thought about going without a dishwasher.  We decided the hole in the kitchen or a dead dishwasher filling the hole just wouldn't do.  


Tonight I am going to Toys R Us with Kelli.  I'm quite disappointed with their baby doll selection (I went last week to buy a baby for Samantha Rose) and I'm hoping they have a few simple old fashioned toys.  I'll take some pictures of the pretty side of a huge (and greedy looking) toy store.  Stuff Mart.  
Really, I just want to keep Kelli company.  We completely missed the whole Black Friday thing.  Thank the Lord.  
I slept 12 hours last night, I'm a bit embarrassed to say.  Feast making and turkey eating wore me out.  
Sunday is A Pause in Advent and then . . .  Wednesday is the first A Childlike Christmas posting!  I can't wait to hop from blog to blog, reading my friends' wonderful words!  Please check in with me on a regular basis, so you won't miss a minute of the fun!
Ratty, Toad, and Mole just might be sitting in a wet envelope by MK's North Carolina mailbox.  She's away and they didn't come before she left.  Oh well.  They WANTED an adventure.  MK will warm them up and entertain them.  She's spirited!
Thank you for popping by!  I hope your days are filled with tea and sugar plums.
Oh, this IS a holy season indeed!
(butterfly kiss!)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Buzz From the Imaginary Cabin

 Hello cozy ones!  I've been looking at all things cabin this morning.  I like to keep my imaginary house in the woods in good standing, tweaking it now and then, keeping it warm.
 Do we really need a lot of space when we are having tea with our woodland neighbors?  No.  As long as we're cozy in the woods, we won't be entertaining crowds.  
 Chances are the exterior might look like this.  Come on up the stairs.
 I'll stand at the sink and fill the kettle.
 And if it snows, you'll have to stay.  I'll make soup.



 I may have to get up occasionally and stir.

 I will never have a cabin because having two homes would tug at my heart way too much.  Our house is our cabin.  As is.  I feel a very solid contentment here.  Whew.

 Millie Rose was sick with a virus and had to stay in the hospital for two days.  Oh, we're so thankful that she is home now.  She's getting so many kisses and nuzzles.  We love her so.
 Samantha Rose (we like roses) will turn two tomorrow  (on Thanksgiving Day!) and she'll see a play kitchen when she comes down the stairs.  Kids like their kitchens!
 Saturday night they were all here.  Aria and Cadence were under the weather, too.  Cadence is lounging on Granny's sofa and Finn is climbing up!
 April has been knitting dolls!  This is her fifth or sixth doll!  Isn't she cute?  Sam's a happy doll mommy.
 Bill met a friend at the pie store last night, so he brought home two pies (so sweet).  I may or may not bake pie.  I will eat pie, though.  If I do dabble in pastry today, I'll take pictures.  I am cooking the feast.  Kelli needs a rest from stress and worry.   I have prepared the feast many times and now the smells will fill our house this year, too.  Hooray!
But first, a little knitting and sitting.  
I asked my students a few Thanksgiving trivia questions.  They could not produce a pilgrim name.  No one could recall Plymouth Rock.  They obviously called out, "The Mayflower!" They did not mention Chief Massasoit. They DID know the full traditional menu for Thanksgiving dinner.  They knew the football teams and games that will be televised on Thursday.  
I think I'll draw some pilgrims today.  
Oh, thank you for reading my zig zag rambles and do you know what?  I'm very thankful for you.  Whether you share your life on your own blog or you simply care enough to peek in on me, it is a BLESSING when people care.  Thank you.
I wish you a heart of contentment and if you are feeling pain, I wish you a downy blanket of comfort.  
(a big hug, some gentle pats on your back and a noisy smooch on your dear cheek) SMILE!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Granny Pie

 Hello!  Holiday festivities are already underway, specifically Christmas and it isn't yet Thanksgiving.  The kids at school love to write about their Thanksgiving traditions, namely the food.  We are celebrating with Kelli's family this year, so no turkey smells at our house!  Pie smells, definitely pie smells.  I have decided to go slow with my pie making this year.  I am going to try to make beautiful pies.  The last time I REALLY tried hard was about fifteen years ago!  I pulled them out of the oven to cool and then I decided to go outside and rollerblade.  I fell within moments and spent the day at the hospital getting my wrist set and cast.  That was a hard holiday season, being one handed and all because my cast got in the way of all household tasks.  Yikes.  Usually, I am in a rush to make the pie because the feast has so many components.  Well, Kelli's the turkey wife this year, so I shall be Granny Pie.


 All the leaves have not yet fallen.  There are some still clinging. I keep putting them in books to flatten them.  I love a good "leaf surprise" when I open fat books, don't you?  After my bubble bath this fine Saturday morning, I am going outside to walk around in the November world of my neighborhood!  
 More than once or twice I have had a mind-smile as I think of a favorite nature-like delight.  I'm thinking about the festive real branch garland I like to hang in the entry way.  I turned our coat closet into a little alcove and I LOVE the smell of greens.  It's too early.  It's too early.
Yesterday I asked my students, "Why the big greed festival over the holidays? Aren't we fine right now?  Don't we have enough?"  I'm sure their families are feeling the pinch of a less than robust economy.  
Here at Pom Pom's Ponderings, we are going to think about the simple pleasures of the holidays, the childlike wonder that doesn't involve the ka-ching ka-ching of the cash register.  Some of my warmest and deepest blog friends are playing along.  I'm not sure if I made myself clear, but being involved means four holiday Wednesdays of posts that attend to the simple childlike thrills of Christmas.  November 30th will be the first day and I'm just going to put all the links in my post on those days, so you can pop back and forth.  Hopefully, you'll be warmed and cheered and be reminded of that babe in a manger and the children He loves and cherishes.  If you would like to join, posting simple "takes" on the joy of a childlike Christmas, let me know.  The people who are playing along are already on the sidebar.  I'll add you, too.
The Willows are in Texas but they aren't staying long because Gigi has some traveling to do herself and can't entertain them just now.  They'll fly up to MK's place and enjoy Thanksgiving with her brood.  Stay tuned!  We've made some tweaks in the itinerary, so I'm glad it was never set in stone anyway.  Oh, those boys are having such a varied and seasonal zip around North America!  It's wonderful!
Well, I have quite a busy day planned because we are celebrating Samantha's two year birthday tonight.  We're celebrating Bill's birthday, too.  Our house will be noisy! Yahoo!


The kids at school are huggers.  One little girl said, "Oh, you are so warm!"  YOU are warm.  I hope lots of huggers come your way today!  
Yours Truly, 
Granny Pie

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