Ringing in the New...

My picture of the year comes not from my

picture files as it usually does, but from the world-wide-web.  How

can I not love this?  

Every year,  my New Year's Resolution has always been the same ~ To be more like my mother ~ which I have always thought would be just the grandest thing.  She possessed all those fine qualities I so admire in a person.  She was gentle and kind to everyone, but, at the same time, the hardest worker I have ever known.  And, my-oh-my, how she could sew!  For her, a day wasn't complete until "needle, thread and cloth should meet."

My dad, on the other hand, was staunch in principle and constitution, and a man of few words.  He wasn't one to sit down with to tell your troubles to, for he would just simply say, "You have to be tough in this world."  And, I can't count the number of times I heard him say, over the years, "We just have to do the best we can do."

This kept popping up on FB this morning, so I just had to share it here.  I surely would hate to mess up that first page, or any other page, for that matter.  I will, for sure, "Just do the best I can," on all 365 pages of the book, which certainly takes in a lot of territory.

I am reminded daily of how fragile our poor old earth is becoming.  I am definitely going to work harder all year long at leaving a smaller footprint as I trod through the days.  (I know, for sure, that there's one less large plastic detergent jug going to the landfill this week!)

As we prepare to ring out the old and ring in the new, I am thankful for all the blessings and happy memories of the passing year. It really has been a good year!  For all of you who have stopped by our little hill to leave happy messages, thank you!  I truly wish all of you a healthy and Happy New Year.

                                                                                                                 ~  Mary

The Shortest Day...

What a beautiful first day of winter it was!  This shortest day of the year got its fair share of sunshine, anyway, which was just wonderful as we were out and about.

 Millie and I walked up to the top of the trail to watch the sun set and to mark in our memory the exact spot where we last saw it before it disappeared behind yonder hill.  Then, we headed home for we both had our work to do.

Millie's job is to watch the deer when they come every evening to graze in the front meadow  And, just in case one should get brave and venture into the yard, she there's to give it a friendly little chase.

And, my work for the day was, in part, to wrap the last of the Christmas presents.  The final two were the granddaughters' doll dresses.  One of the sweet little sewing room dolls offered again to model one of the new dresses. ( There's another one in blue, but we didn't get a picture of it.)  I added ruffles over the shoulders this time and just love this new look.  I had seen one made like this in a picture of a dress my mom had made for me when I was a girl.   I attached the ruffle to an inside facing, of sorts, which I brought to the outside and stitched.

Tasha Tudor once wrote, "When people take the time and care to make presents they give, they put into the gifts not only the materials needed, but also a part of themselves."  I couldn't agree more.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

 One of the first things I do when Christmas draws near is to take the Father Christmas dolls out of their boxes.  It's a happy reunion, for  I seem to forget each year  how much I love them.  I really can't believe that I made them (What has happened to my creativity?)  This one is my favorite.  His name is Zeke.  He is dressed all in fur from his head to his feet.

The little trees, one rather tallish and the other not so tall, are tucked into a tiny space in the sewing room. Why, it's becoming more and more like a lovely little forest in this room.  It would be such a happy thing to sew in a forest, don't you think? (When I was a kid, I used to take needle and thread into the woods and sew leaves together for garlands to pretty up my playhouse.)  Maybe, if I just left these little trees up all year round, I would be inspired to get more sewing done. At the very least, if it doesn't snow this year (but, I really think it will), there would still be snow inside to enjoy!

I really love the face on the blue-eyed Santa below.  He looks a lot like my Scotch-Irish relatives on my mother's side of the family.  Most of my dolls have brown eyes like my dark-eyed husband and daughter.  I named this Father Christmas doll, Raphael.  He would never even think about taking a bundle of switches to a child on Christmas.
  

"Raphael" ~ A Father Christmas Doll

"Legend" ~ A Father Christmas Doll

Now, I am off to sew on the Christmas dolls' dresses.  Hopefully,  the little trees will work their magic and I will be able to finish the sewing soon.  I hope all of your Christmas plans are going well, and that you have a little magic to help you along too.  Take care!


                                                                                            Mary