Christmas Projects & Fun

Days this week have dawned clear and colorful. The whole family has been in residence and activities, cooking extravaganzas and games of various sorts fill days and evenings. I do love the holiday season and this one has been an especially jolly one. Quinn is fully aware of what's going on for the first time which makes it all the more magical for the rest of us. He has been so enthusiastic and curious.

We made most of the gifts we gave this year. It has become a kind of family tradition. For each of the adults we made pendant blank notebooks. They are about 3" high and hang around the neck with a leather tie. The idea is to always have a place to jot down a phone number or other piece of information when you're on the fly. They have removable/replaceable pages. This one is covered in suede. We had a great time figuring out how to attach the loops and fastener. We were pleased to find some very small but nice pens in our local stationery store.

For James I made a satchel out of some beautiful quilting patterns I found in our local fabric store. I made a pocket inside and found an antique scout compass and whistle on ebay to put inside it. I also added a handmade book cover in which I placed a 1950's era scouting guide to camping and trail blazing.

For Emily I made a purse and book. The purse is made, on the striped side, out of a sweater I bought with her years ago in California. She has one just like it. I felted the wool earlier this year and it is now a nice soft fabric. The turquoise side is from an angora scarf I had. I stamped a couple of images on hand-dyed linen fabric and then embroidered them onto the front and back. I love applique and embroidery, although I've never really learned how to do it beyond a few basic stitches. It's one of my New Year's resolutions, to experiment with it. The big red flower stamp is one Emily bought me as a gift from the Victoria and Albert Museum Store when we were in London together last April. It's a genuine Indian fabric pattern stamp. The trim at the top of the bag is an antique one I bought with Emily at the flea market in Paris a few weeks ago. The book is covered in a paper Emily brought me from Italy some years ago. It has strips of bright paper sewn onto the base off-white sheet. The book has favorite recipes in it.

For Quinn we made a game called "A Visit to Nana and Bobo's House." We mounted a large scale photo of our house and pasted it onto foam core. It stands about 18" high. We printed out more photos of some of the family members and mounted them on foam core as well. Rick made nice wooden stands for everything. So it is stable on the floor or a table.

We also made him a finger puppet theater. I found a fantastic site where you can download a huge variety of copyright-free images. They have this wonderful old theater image there.

We love puppets in our family. I bought this old puppet theater in Prague when we visited there several years ago. Quinn is getting old enough to begin enjoying making and watching shows.

On Christmas morning we had fun watching Quinn discover his new toys. Here three boys are fascinated by a wooden robot whose limbs rotate around on elastic cord which allows the robot to contort himself in various funny positions. I can't tell here who's enjoying it the most.

Often on Christmas either James or Emily thinks up some original activity for the family. This year Jos and Emily created a magical crafts fair in the atelier. They secretly set it up on Christmas Eve and invited us down to participate in it on Christmas afternoon. Emily had purchased all kinds of luscious supplies, lots of fabrics, buttons, ribbon and notions from La Droguerie in Paris (a fabulous resource) as well as fancy papers, clay, pottery paints and various other items so we could have a family crafts party. James, Emily and I spent quite a lot of time in the studio making various items.

Quinn joined us occasionally as well. He painted a butterfly mask and a big cardboard "Q". He made some clay animals. My favorite was a Fimo leopard with orange sequin spots which he carefully arranged.

James worked on making a tie for Adric, who wasn't able to join us this holiday season.

It turned out very well. Emily made some very cute brown corduroy pants for Quinn. I made a little purse and a pencil pocket.

Our traditional Christmas meal is a plateau de mer. This year Jos and Rick also made watercress soup. It was delicious.

The day after Christmas was bright and sunny and we took a walk in the woods. Jackets began to be peeled off as we strolled through the sunnier parts.

Quinn tried out his new "early rider" bike which was waiting for him under the tree on Christmas morning. He got the hang of it very quickly.

The new year is right around the corner and I intend to have a slightly different format for the blog beginning next week. It's always good to have a few New Year's resolutions and to use the energy to start something afresh. Wishing all of you a very happy New Year.

Week 29: Deck the Halls

It was crazy cold after getting back from London. We woke up to beautiful sunrises, but day after day the view out the window was of what I began to call the frozen tundra. It is rather unusual in our area to have much snow at all, let alone snow that sticks to the ground for several days. The nightly news showed images of the freeways around Paris with traffic completely halted and passengers forced to sleep in their cars. Some furniture stores allowed people who were stranded to use their mattresses and couches. One group of kindly souls went from car to car delivering hot cocoa to those trapped. Weather was the top news story for most of the week.

Winter sunrise

A frozen landscape

We had no need to travel, so the snow and cold didn't bother us so much. We built fires to stay cozy while we began to decorate the house for the holidays. This year we used bay leaves to create our various swags and wreaths. Pines are not readily available to us, even in the forest, whereas bay trees grow tall in the garden.

Wreaths on doors and gates

 Bay leaf swag

 

Guest lounge

 Bay wreaths sprayed with silver

We actually have clients for Christmas eve and evening as well as having our local family. New Year's eve we will host a feast in the dining room for a large group of Parisians. I want the house to look very festive.

An ornament bouquet

I enjoy the holidays tremendously and have been collecting ornaments for many years. It's lovely to live in a home that offers me the opportunity to use them all.

Bay leaves sprayed gold, some of the birds from my collection and green glass balls from the Czech Republic

Next week we will be in Germany visiting friends and immediately afterward the clan will arrive, so this was our only week to get everything organized.

The doors into the studio

The village seems to be on the same schedule. On Saturday a huge tree was deposited on the Place. A crane and about ten locals, including Gilles and the Mayor, maneuvered it into place. There is a special base embedded in the pavement to receive the gigantic tree.

Hoisting the village Christmas tree

In years past I have been less than thrilled with the arrangement of lights, as they are placed somewhat haphazardly and don't necessarily please the eye. I admit to being a bit of a Christmas tree snob, but that is because my mother was very firm about how to arrange the lights and ornaments and especially the tinsel. I remember one year when my father came home with blinking lights. My mother burst into tears. It seemed so crass to her traditional sensibilities. She was very serious about her holiday tree aesthetics, even though in other areas of life she was much more casual. The lights on the village tree blink on and off too. I don't find that particularly cheery. All in all, however, the lights look better this season than in years past.

Bright lights, small village

Saturday also brought a respite from the intensely chilly weather. It was almost like spring, with the sun shinning brightly and the temperature warm enough to melt every last trace of snow. Rick went out to rake up all the wisteria leaves that had fallen with the first hard frost. The vines are practically nude now, revealing the morning dove nest just below our apartment windows. I suppose they'll be back in the spring to reclaim it when the wisteria can once again provide adequate privacy.

A very welcome blast of sunshine

 

A promise of spring