Holiday Hometown Tour

The little historic town in which I dwell is a perfect vision of Holiday celebration.


Most decorating takes on a natural theme...



Evergreen boughs, garlands and beautiful wreaths adorning the doors...


There are candlelight strolls, horse drawn carriages and homes displaying the true meaning of Christmas...

Sleigh Ride

Here in the North the arrival of Winter is often accompanied by the delightful falling of snow. The first heavier accumulation of the lacey, diamond-like crystals fashions one to envision the picture postcard recollections of a Currier & Ives print; complete with a horse-drawn sleigh and the romance of a Victorian outing...


So imbedded in our imagination, we often find ourselves relinquishing to the seductive portrait.


Or perhaps it is just a reminiscence from childhood of that jolly old elf in his magical sleigh...



* Currier & Ives print
* Paintings by Walter Campbell

Gates

I've often pondered the evolution of the gate...


Perhaps early in history gates were as much a part of keeping evil out as protecting those within.


As gentler times emerged they became a place to pass through, to find the secrets held within, enter a garden or a welcome to one's home...


So open the gates of December and let its wonderment and celebrations begin...

" Every year at just this time,
In cold and dark December,
Families around the world
All gather to remember,
With presents and with parties,
With feasting and with fun,
Customs and traditions
for people old and young."

Helen H. Moore

* Painting by Trisha Romance

A Whiter Shade of Pale

So many of the beautiful blogs I visit celebrate the colour of white...


I thought perhaps I could share a few of the things I treasure in a whiter shade of pale...


May you enjoy the special days of celebration that lie ahead this week.

LaLa Land

Some animals adapt so readily to their environment...


But nothing amuses me more than a cat's ability to find a place to snuggle and drift off to LaLa Land...


Cats Sleep Anywhere

" Cats sleep anywhere, any table, any chair.
Top of piano, window-ledge, in the middle, on the edge.
Open drawer, empty shoe, anybody's lap will do.
Fitted in a cardboard box, in the cupboard with your frocks.
Anywhere! They don't care! "
Cats sleep anywhere.

Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965)

Jack (of Babes From The Woods)

Partiality

Hand-dyed variegated silk ribbon

There are many colours that occur both naturally and manufactured...


I would have to admit that I have a fondness for the infinite shades of teal.


Ranging from the deepest tones of a peacock feather to the subtle bluish green of a robin's egg... I find it revealing its partiality throughout the home.

Fat quarter fabric pieces for an upcoming quilting project.

'Tis November

The flowers have all faded from the window box as it sits barren awaiting the dressing of the evergreens...

November is upon us... sharing her shorter daylight hours, frost across the fields and the promise of Holidays where we shall gather with family and friends once again...


View from the churchyard of St. Nicholas High Bradfield, Yorkshire, England my ancestral home.

" So dull and dark are the November days,
The lazy mist high up the evening curled,
And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze;
The place we occupy seems all the world."

- John Clare