Christmas is almost on our doorstep and I’m travelling down memory road once again, thinking of my father who has been gone for most of my life. I’m also thinking of my son Mitchell, who is on the other side of the world and will be celebrating Christmas in Australia this year. As I decorate our house for Christmas, putting garland and lights on the wooden banister, there is a silent watcher. One day this past fall, as I moved quickly through the living room, I caught a glimpse of our son Mitchell’s cello standing in the corner. It spoke to me saying, “tell the story this Christmas.” And so, as this is yet another winter without my father, and one of our first holidays without Mitchell at home, I thought I’d share the story I wrote about both of them….and the cello that links them to me.
Without further to do, here it is:
The Call of the Cello
My father was a man’s man. He drove truck for a living, could swear with the best of them and coached hockey, with a warrior’s heart. He was also a romantic. He wrote poetry into the wee hours of the night. We’d be lulled to sleep listening to him tapping away on his old Underwood typewriter, while his fragrant, woodsy pipe smoke settled over us, like a warm, patchwork quilt. On Saturday night, when Dad started tuning his violin, my three, older sisters and I knew we were in for a laughter filled evening dancing, singing and clapping. The night always ended with a melancholy tune that would linger long after the last note ended. After Dad died in a truck accident when I was five, our house was hauntingly silent, like a big wad of cotton batten had been stuffed into every room. Since then, I carry memories of him hidden in a box, deep in my chest.
Sometimes music lifts the lid.
The year after Dad died we moved from our little town of Hope to the larger city of Chilliwack. Our house remained dark and quiet until I started playing piano at age seven. I took lessons for two years and practised diligently on our small, three octave organ, but it wasn’t long before I had to pretend to play notes that weren’t there. There wasn’t money for a real piano. There was hardly money for lessons. Besides, my sister J, who had been taking ballet lessons, was showing natural talent. She would walk around the house like a Prima ballerina with a book on her head, and while washing the dishes suddenly drop into a deep plie. No, there was definitely no money for a piano. I don’t remember being overly bothered at the time. I joined our church’s youth choir and got involved with anything musical offered at school.
But as childhood memories often do, they influence the choices we make as parents. When we started our family, I was emphatic that our children have their choice of extra curricular activities. While they chose everything from Irish Dance to Tae Kwon Do, the consistent thread that wove through our children’s lives was a musical one. They all chose an instrument, several in some cases, and we made sacrifices to give them all lessons. After school, our house was a cacophony of sound; piano, violin, flute, sax, guitar, drums, to name a few but for some reason, it was when our son Mitchell played his cello, that I was touched the deepest.
One evening, as I was preparing dinner, Mitchell started to practise his cello. Scales first, steadily travelling up and down the fingerboard. Then he started to play an achingly beautiful piece called, “The Swan.” Low, deep resonating notes, contrasted with heart breaking, high phrases that left me in tears. I could feel my father’s presence in the doorway, between where Mitchell was playing in the living room and where I was in the kitchen.
My father was beaming.
One by one, our older children left for University. A year and a half ago, Mitchell completed his Science degree. Last March, he decided to follow a dream he had for many years to visit Australia. Without knowing anyone, he left on this big adventure and is currently turning newly met friends into family. This past fall, I was thinking how life would be this Christmas without Mitchell and one day, as I was busily cleaning the house, I spied his cello. A warm, brown elegant piece of wood, standing silently in our living room, like a sentinel observing all the hectic activity in our house.
I pass the cello dozens of times every day without giving it a thought but suddenly it called to me. Its quiet presence spoke volumes and I felt a deep loneliness for Mitchell. From the moment he was born, he was an easy baby and he grew into such a happy little boy. His big goal every day was to have a good time but that was often difficult with a mom who had other ideas. I pushed our kids (and often still do, habits are tough to break) to work hard, to be the best they can be. I’m realizing now that their best was just in “being” themselves.
Mitchell has been a good teacher!
The cello also called me to remember my father. The few memories I have of him are also fun loving. He just wanted to have a good time in life too. His smile is something I remember the most about him. It may be too late for me to “BE,” the best mom for our four older children, since they are now in their twenties but listening to the cello this fall has reminded me that creating our life’s opus takes a lifetime and I hope I’m not quite done yet.
There’s still lots of music in our house. Our four younger children have all followed in their older siblings footsteps. Our sixteen year old daughter, Grace, plays piano and our youngest daughters, Kathryn and Victoria, who are eight and are twins, play violin. Then, like an echo left by Mitchell, our youngest son William has chosen to play cello. He started playing four years ago, when he was six, and is quickly out growing his current cello. At his last lesson, his teacher asked me if we still had a full size cello in our house, as he’s almost ready for it.
The other day while the kids were practising their music, I was at the kitchen table dabbling with my writing. I heard some rustling coming from the living room and then a familiar greeting, from an old friend filled the air. It vibrated with a lingering, ringing note. Dropping my pen I went to investigate. William was seated with Mitchell’s big cello hugged close to his chest, the bow, gently resting on the strings, was getting ready for another stroke. Will smiled up at me and said, “I’m just seeing if it fits me yet.” I didn’t respond, I just nodded and smiled back. I could feel Dad in the room grinning too and when Mitchell hears this story, I know he will be glad to share his cello with his brother.
Because when the cello calls you have to listen.
~The End~
Our son William (centre of picture) at the Carriage House Orchestra’s Christmas performance at the Rotary Carol Festival….Christmas 2019…next year he will be playing the bigger “Cello.”
Dear family and friends, I hope you enjoyed my Christmas story this year and as the season of light arrives, you and your family have a joyous holiday. Before I close, I want to share a song I first heard years ago when we took our children to see this movie in the theatre. The music and lyrics are the PERFECT way to end this post. The song is from the movie, “The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian,” and is called, “The Call, (no need to say goodbye)” One of the phrases is, “I’ll come back when you call me,” and if you are ever missing anyone, or have lost anyone, I think those words will resonate with you, for all we have to do is remember, and our loved one is with us again.
Wasn’t that amazing!!!
Going to Australia…”It started out as a feeling, which grew into a hope,”…music from “The Call.”Merry Christmas Dad! “No need to say Goodbye!” The magic in the box is that we are always together when we want to be
A wonderful way to say, “Merry Christmas to all….to my sweet son Mitchell in Australia…I’m soooo proud of you!!!! and to remember my Dad…love you always….I’m your opus!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! Much pleasure thou can’st give me; O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! Much pleasure thou can’st give me; How often has the Christmas tree Afforded me the greatest glee! O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! Much pleasure thou can’st give me. ~Traditional German Folk Song~
Welcome back and Happy Holidays!
How’s the Christmas decorating going in your house? Do you have your tree up yet? Today, I wanted to share the story of the search for our 2019 Christmas tree, for it was fraught with indecision. With our thoughts going towards creating a simpler Christmas, with a less consumer driven bent, we went back and forth over which path to take.
Artificial tree, cultured tree, Christmas farm tree, or no tree at ALL!
Gasp!
Before I travel too far into this story, I thought I would share what I discovered about why we put up Christmas trees anyway. Where the heck did this tradition begin? Bringing evergreens into the home at this time of the year has gone back centuries, but it wasn’t until the 19th century, when Prince Albert, (Queen Victoria’s husband) who was German- born, brought his childhood tradition, of the decorated Christmas tree, to England. Soon every home in Britain had a tree bedecked with candles, sweets, fruit, homemade decorations and small gifts.
Prince Albert, German born, brought the tradition of Christmas Trees to his wife Queen Victoria and to the rest of Britain in the 19th century
And with that, a Christmas tradition began.
Going back even further, it’s believed that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. While he was walking home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he saw a breathtaking sight; stars twinkling brightly through the evergreens. Wanting to share this beauty with his family, he brought a tree into his home and set lit candles among the branches.
As the shortest day of the year approaches, when darkness prevails, it’s understandable that we want to wrap ourselves in light. Travelling even further in time, way back in history in Northern Europe, the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated with evergreens as a symbol of everlasting life.
In my personal history, my family always had a real Christmas tree. Today I spoke with my oldest sister B and she travelled down memory lane with me, reminiscing over Christmases when our Dad was still alive. The family would all pile into the big, old Buick and head out of our little town of Hope and into the woods. My Dad, Mom and three older sisters would all tromp through the snow looking for that elusive Christmas tree. B said that Dad was choosy too, so sometimes they had to hike for a bit.
Our Christmas tree in Hope…probably 1964…our last Christmas with Dad
That story reminded me of the movie, “Christmas Vacation,” when the character, “Clark Griswold,” (played by Chevy Chase) took his family on a winter quest to find the perfect Christmas tree. Finally, when everyone was freezing to death, the dad, Clark, sees THE tree at last. The choir starts to sing and the tree glitters brilliantly. That’s when their youngest son, Rusty, asks his Dad, “Did you bring a saw?” If you want a good laugh, click the link below. The clip is entitled,”The Griswold’s Christmas Tree.” This movie came out thirty years ago and is one of our family’s traditions, as it heralds the Christmas season into our home.
I was young when Dad died but I do have flashes of memory from our last Christmases together and the Christmas tree played a prominent part in the joy and excitement I felt. Of course, in those days, the tree industry was not the massive commercial industry it is today. There were no Christmas tree lots or even artificial Christmas trees in the stores. If you were to drive around our little town at Christmas you would see freshly cut fir trees standing smack dab in the middle of everyone’s “picture window,” decorated with balls, silver tinsel and shining brightly, with colourful lights.
A picture of me in front of our organ and our decorated mirror
It was a simpler time.
My Dad, sister J and me in the kerchief…precious times with our Dad
Our tree was far from what people would call perfect these days. It filled our tiny living room with long branches that were sparsely spaced, but oh the scent of that fragrant fir, fills me with memories of Christmas to this day.
The first Christmas tree I had as an adult was an artificial tree. Let’s call it what it was, a fake tree. I’ll never forget being five months pregnant with our first baby and going to our local Eaton’s Department Store and choosing the tree they had on display. I also bought boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations to match the decor in our newly built house. (lots of pink and seafoam green, ugh now!)
Our first Christmas tree came from Eatons Department store and was an artificial tree….December 89…waiting for our first baby to arrive in (March)
What made it special as I look back now, was having my mom come over and help me decorate. She loved our new house and all the matching ornaments since most of her life she had had to make due and be careful with her money. That Christmas, the joy I felt was from the anticipation of waiting for our new baby and decorating my first Christmas tree with my mom.
My husband D was out of town when mom and I decorated the tree…he loved it!Mom always made Christmas so fun and knew it was all about family…she spent many Christmas mornings with us for years….our cat Ninja loved mom…but not the flash in the cameraOur family Christmas ’89…my sisters, their partners, and mom in the back right cornerOur beautiful little kids… Christmas ’89…Merry Christmas to my niece and nephews….where is my youngest niece N?
Once our children started to arrive and our family grew, we continued to put up our pre-lit fake tree in the living room. Having young children and a cat meant that I had to decorate the tree myself, ensuring all decorations were above cat’s paws and pudgy toddler’s hands.
Knowing we wanted to create lasting memories for our children, we decided early on to take them out to choose a real Christmas tree. For many years we went to a local gardening store, that turned their whole interior space into a Christmas wonderland. Our children excitedly helped us choose a cultured tree and then we would allow them to pick a keepsake ornament as well.
A keepsake cello ornament for our son MitchellOur son Harrison arrived on Dec 19th 1998…this is his baby’s 1st Christmas ornament
Once the tree was set up in our family room, the children were allowed to decorate as they saw fit. In addition to the keepsake ornaments, they filled the tree with decorations they had made at school. Over the years this tree got very full. Some years we would make popcorn strings for garland. A few years ago, our younger children made dozens of white paper snowflakes and colourful chains. When I looked at our artificial tree with all the matching ornaments and compared it with the real tree with all the handmade ornaments, I bet you can guess which one I liked better.
But as family change and grow, they also evolve and with the arrival of our youngest three children came a heightened environmental awareness. I know ironic hey! Here we were over populating the world with children and suddenly we were hyper focused on the footprint we were leaving. Once our youngest were out of the baby stage and I had more energy, I started to critically look at each aspect of our lives. When Christmas rolled around, I decided I was sick of our fake tree.
It screamed of plastic to me and didn’t represent my changing values.
In addition, it was a pain to bring in and out pf storage, it was difficult to assemble and the twinkling lights, all wired into the branches, were not all twinkling any longer. I was thrilled, when at our last garage sale someone felt they had found a treasure in our tree. A lot of our fancy Christmas tree decorations went with that tree. Goodbye pink and seafoam green ornaments!
In the last few years with minimalism becoming more popular, many people are reevaluating each aspect of their consumption and possessions….the Christmas tree is also being scrutinized asking themselves, “do we buy fake or real this year?”
As our old artificial tree left our property, being hauled up our driveway in a big box by two people, I felt a sudden sense of freedom. It’s funny hey, how a fake Christmas tree can lay the foundation for your family’s traditions, values and also once gone, give you the space to create a richer life.
A simpler life.
Now I had space in the storage area and space in our life to create new traditions…..but what were they going to look like?
Several years ago now, we started a new tradition of going up into the mountains and cutting down our own Christmas tree. The glistening snow, the scent of pine, cedar and fir, the fresh, crisp air all contributed to create that old fashion feeling I remembered from my childhood. I thought I was onto something, certainly it got us away from the consumer driven industry but my concerns for the environment had me thinking twice about our decision to cut real trees.
I wanted to plant more trees and not cut them down.
As I shared some of my concerns with my sister J recently, she told me how she and her husband B, visit our local municipal hall at the end of Earth day each April and then plant the seedling trees on their property. That got me thinking about how we could go up the mountains and plant a few trees each spring that would more than replace the one(s) we cut each Christmas. I was moving closer to knowing where we would get our tree from this year but I still wasn’t 100% there yet.
At the end of November and into December I stayed busy decorating our house with evergreen boughs from our yard, pine cones and dehydrated oranges. I made festive pillows and hauled all of our keepsake Christmas decor out of storage and decorated our house with twinkling lights and garland.
Everywhere we went we saw trees….here at Canadian Tire there is a Trinity Valley tree lot….do we purchase our tree and support a local industry?Buying the kids new skates we found more trees…the one on the right plays music too….seeing all these perfect trees all lit did not bring me joy…in fact I felt a bit nauseous when I saw the prices and thought about how many people we could feed with the price of one of those trees….I was getting closer to knowing which way I wanted to go this year.
When I brought out the nativity set, passed down from my parents, it pushed me closer to the direction I wanted to go with regards to finding our tree. The wooden stable had been built by my Dad. He had stained it and even put little bits of straw in the animal’s feeding troughs. Above where baby Jesus would lay, he had even wired in a large bulb so the baby would shine brightly. (I’m looking for a large bulb to replace the old one which burnt out ages ago…they don’t make big Christmas bulbs like this anymore…everything is LED) My mom had filled the little stable with a little plaster nativity set, probably from Sears. I loved the nativity set as a child and as I set each figure in it’s place, I knew I wanted to recreate, a simple, REAL, Christmas for our children.
My Dad made this stable and my mom found the nativity set pieces….a reminder of simpler Christmases from the past and what Christmas means to me….A Baby, God’s love and everlasting life
Then driving home in the dark one early evening, my ten year son William and our twin, eight year old daughters, Kathryn and Victoria, were noticing all the beautiful trees decorated around our little community. “When are we getting our tree mom?” they all chimed. I shared with them my feelings over not wanted to cut down a real tree this year. Then William, in simple straight forth language said, “but mom, won’t we have the tree chipped after Christmas and don’t they turn that into the stuff for your garden?”
That was it! We were going real and the tree would continue to live on helping to grow other things, in my garden and my neighbours gardens.
So after weeks of going back and forth weighing our options, we finally decided that we would head up the mountains once again for our tree. Last Sunday, we all dressed warmly, filled a large Thermos with hot cocoa and crammed a container with Christmas cookies. Then we piled into our old fashion, Honda sleigh and sang Christmas songs all the way to the mountains.
” O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree Your boughs can teach a lesson That constant faith and hope sublime Lend strength and comfort through all time O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree Your boughs can teach a lesson”
From the inside of the van, a quick snap of the road we travel up into the mountains
It was a beautiful, blue sky, cold day when we went up the mountain and we weren’t alone. When we hit the logging road, where cutting trees is legal with a permit, there were several families like us, choosing their Christmas tree. We drove slowly up the road, the kids and I both exclaiming, “oh there’s one,” ” and there’s another.” When we came to a stretch where there were several choices, we got out of the van and tromped up and down the road.
The kids, just like their grandpa Clark were careful in their selection
Finally we narrowed the choice down to a large thirteen foot tree. It was perfect! Before David cut the tree though each of us touch the tree and we said a little blessing of thanks. (p.s…D left a good stump so the tree could send an off shoot in the spring)
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree how lovely are your branches.
While David cut and wrapped up the tree, the kids climbed the hill above us. By the time the tree was safely in our van the kids were at least fifty feet up the hill. Their voices and laughter echoed in the crisp air.
If you look way up the hill you can see the kids with their little Santa hats on“Come on down kids, we are having some hot cocoa” I yelled. You should have seen them scramble down the hill….I think William was first to make it down.
I finally lured them back down by waving the Thermos and container of cookies. They slid and skidded, laughing all the way down the hill and finally plopped onto a snowbank to have their treats. We clicked our cups of hot cocoas in celebration of finding our 2019 Christmas tree and while enjoying the moment, several cars and trucks carrying trees too passed us, honking and giving us the thumbs up as they passed with big smiles on their faces. I felt like we were a secret community of people who had all found the real joy this holiday season.
It was a magical experience. It took me right back to my childhood when life was simpler and everything seemed brighter. The Druids knew what they were doing when they brought evergreens into their temples as a symbol of everlasting life.
Perfect…a bit tall but now we had some extra branches to decorate the attic withI snapped this picture the evening we put up the tree….Grace was playing the piano as I made dinner so I often close the door otherwise it’s really loud…but the lights glowed beautifully through the french doorAnother pic after the tree was finally installed….the simple things, like a tree, a fire, family and a good book make the Christmas season specialOur angel touches the roof and the branches fill the whole corner of our living room…this is a perfect tree. I saved some baby’s breath and hydrangea to fill in between the branches. I put the lights on and then the kids and I decorated the tree….it’s still not totally done. When the older kids come home next week I hope they will put some popcorn garland and some new paper snowflakes on the branches. NOTICE…the toys hanging off the bottom branches for our cat Ryuuki. The kids insisted on it!
How about you? What brings you joy? What memories from your childhood linger and how are you creating those for yourself and your family this holiday season?
As you think of Christmases past, click on the link below and hear the song, “O Christmas Tree/ Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Oh that was fun and also took me back to my childhood. I always loved A Charlie Brown’s Christmas special. I want to “Thank you” for coming to visit today. As we move closer to the winter solstice, may your heart be filled with light and joy. May the simple gifts of the season come to you and your family.
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessing from Hope
P.S. If you wanted to know where our daughter Grace was in the Christmas tree hunt this year, the night before we went up the mountains, she had had her best three friends over to celebrate her 17th birthday party. Since the girls had stayed up into the wee hours of the night, she opted to stay home and work on her piano, do her homework and NOT tromp through the snow, but she was with us in spirit and appreciated the tree when we brought it home. Here’s a picture from her FAMILY birthday party
Happy 17th Birthday Grace…..December Babies are the best!Instead of making cards, we have been writing sentiments on our blackboard….the cake on her actually birthday was a tiramisu cake…but for her friend party I made the chocolate mocha cheesecake…the recipe is in my dessert section of my blog…yummy!
Have you seen those decorative Christmas pillows with whimsical quotes and images? Last Christmas when I was in Homesense I saw the throw pillow of my dreams. It was white and had the word, “Hope” in gold glittery letters. In my mind I had images of an all white farmhouse, with white walls, white furniture, white dishes, and that pillow would have looked PERFECT on my white sectional….the one I didn’t have.
Yet!
Notice in the picture above the pine cones….which I wrote about recently in my blog, “Gloves and Pinecones,”
I have often thought about that pillow. I could have picked it up, although my husband D was with me when I saw it and he often reminds me of my minimalist path when I start vibrating in the household furnishing section of stores. We did not buy it. The thought of it, however, has stayed with me since last Christmas.
I believe the Universe shows us things that we might, or might not want to manifest in our lives. The things we want to manifest are TOTALLY within reach. All we have to do is;
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and you shall find,
Knock and the door will be open unto you. ~Matthew 7:7~
(sometimes the timing, or what we eventually receive may be a bit different than what we ask for….but trust that it’s coming!)
A few posts ago, I started talking about creating a simpler Christmas, one that was less consumer driven. I’m proud that we have stayed true to our intent, decorating with nature inspired items, really thinking before we made any purchases and moving towards experiences over things. It was when I looked at our family room though, with it’s extremely well worn brown, leather sofa and love seat, dark wicker chairs( with faded cushion) and dark wicker coffee table, that I decided the whole room needed a face lift. This is after all where our family spends all their time together.
This is our gathering room.
I started by taking a picture of the family room and tried to look at it with a critical eye. An eye that had never seen the room before. This was a good exercise and I immediately knew the dark wicker had to go. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too cold and my husband D was not too busy, so he agreed to spray the wicker chairs and coffee table for me in the garage.
Here are the wicker chairs that I bought from Pier 1 years ago…the cushions were so faded…the coffee table in the foreground is wonderful as it stores all our games and puzzles
While he was busy repainting the dark wicker, I decided the pillows needed MAJOR work. I could have gone to our local fabric shop but I knew that buying material was going to cost a small fortune. Instead, I went to our downtown dollar store.
It’s not a chain, dollar store, so it has unique items in it. The store is called “Scattered Goods,” and there is something there for everyone. Do you have one of these in your town? It’s the kind of store that is piled from the floor to the ceiling with STUFF and you could spend the whole day roaming the aisles and not see it all. While there, I found two large Jacquard dining room table clothes (one black and one red) and a half dozen red plaid dish clothes. I also picked up some red and black felt squares. I found a package of gold bells as well, since D and I had just watched, “Its a Wonderful Life.” When I hear bells ringing, I believe angels are getting their wings.
I wanted to hear bells ringing all through the holidays!
The table clothes were $13.99 each but they were huge so I knew I could make quite a few pillows from them. The plaid drying dish clothes were an amazing deal at only $1.29 each and the cotton is quite heavy. They would make perfect pillow covers. The felt was only $.39 cents a sheet and the bells were a bit over a dollar. I took my loot home and gathered all my old worn out pillows and started taking off their pillow covers.
One evening after the kids were tucked into bed, I pulled out my sewing machine, set it up in front of the T.V., put on my favourite Christmas movie and started sewing new pillow covers.
I love the ending of the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when George Bailey (James Stewart) finally realizes how good his life is….and he cries out, “I want to live again, please God, let me live again.” This movie is a yearly reminder to me how blessed I am. Making these simple pillows reminds me that I’m blessed to have a family to enjoy them in our cozy, gathering room.
The really BIG and cool thing I did this year was using my computer and photo copier to create quotes and images for my pillows. Have you heard of taping a thin, white piece of cotton onto a piece of computer paper and then printing off the Christmas saying you loved best….and the image too? I was really worried my photo copier was going to get all bungled up with the material on the paper but it DIDN’T!!!
I found various quotes and images that I liked and put them on Word It’s kind of hard to see in this picture but I cut a piece of white material and taped it to the computer paper. I ironed it down so it was smooth.I held my breath as the sheets went through my ink jet photo copier…..and it went through!!!! Yeah!Here’s one of the quotes I printed off using large font and colour in my Word setting
Before all sides of my pillows were sewed together, I sewed the felt pieces with the quotes and images onto the front side of the pillow and then sewed up the sides. The result was absolutely spectacular and the cost was ridiculously inexpensive. The wicker chair pillows cost $3.00 dollars each to make. I would have easily paid $20.00 to $25.00 dollars at Winners or Homesense for pillows like this. Note: the white material was something I had on hand; just pieces from old sheets that I was saving to use for zero waste bags but they worked perfectly for the pillow quotes and images.
Take a look at how they turned out……
Ryuuki loves the new red Jacquard cusions….what an improvement!
and then I did the leather chair cushion…
And as if that weren’t enough, I decided to cut up the red felt and turn them into poinsettia leaves, using the gold bells for the centre of the flower. I sewed these onto the black pillows I had made from the Jacquard table cloth material. At first I was really concerned over the shape of the poinsettia petals so I made some patterns using computer paper. Some big petals, some medium ones and some small ones were used to make a layered look. I cut the felt out and sewed the petals together finishing the poinsettia with bells sewed into the centre.
The result was really amazing and the best part is that I can take off the petals and turn the pillow into a year round decorative pillow. (Some day I would like to get a new sofa and love seat, maybe in off white, cream or light grey, so these pillows will look amazing on that colour) but for now this helped to update and make our room cozy for the holidays.
I’m grateful for a creative heart!
The poinsettia pillows, along with a cozy, plaid blanket we had down in our Hobbit’s Hollow and the room is ready for the holidays!And yes, this is the gathering room of a minimalist…everything in it are things I love…books, pictures of family etc…they all spark JOY!
Above, the new cushions, the newly spray painted chairs and table, a few glittery lights, a nature inspired candle holder and we have an updated gathering room
And as if that was not enough to make this room a bit brighter and updated, I talked my husband D into getting some fireplace friendly spray paint to FINALLY get rid of the brass look to our two gas fireplaces…what do you think?
Fireplace in the family room BEFOREFireplace in the family room AFTER….HUGE IMPROVEMENTThe living room fireplace BEFORE After the high heat spray paint application…..brass from the 90’s is all gone!
And the last thing I had D paint was our family room wall….it was a pewter grey but too blue in my opinion. We had the Home Depot paint people add some dark grey tint to the rest of the paint can, which is now a custom colour and we have been calling it, “tranquil seas.” I like it better and although it looks quite blue in these pictures, since we get a lot of natural light from our southern exposed windows, it actually looks dark grey during the day. Hey, it’s not the white of my dreams but it’s more practical with our family. What I love about paint is that it can change the mood of the room so easily.
(when I was doing all this sewing, I was drinking my eggnog latte’s…Cheers!)
Oh that was fun! I’m really proud too that I kept things simple. I stayed true to my intention to focus on a less consumer driven decor and while it’s not interior decorator perfect, it will welcome our family home. I hope everyone will gather to watch some movies and play some games on the newly painted wicker coffee table.
I bought the game above for our ten year old son William this Christmas….I like the idea of gifts of experiences, games, things to get our kids making memories together
By the way, if you aren’t a big sewer or don’t have a sewing machine, when you use dish clothes they are already finished on all the sides so you just need to sew one side and that can be done by hand. There are lots of YouTube videos on sewing simple pillow covers. I used zippers, seam ripped them out from old pillows, to save money and reuse items, but you can also just sew all four sides as well.
I was really inspired by a Youtube channel and thought you may like to see it too, that is if you like that shabby chic farmhouse style. The Youtube channel is called, “The White Cottage Company.” The owner of the channel, Mary, is so creative and thrifty. She also reminds me that decorating is not rocket science and each of us has the ability to create. If you want to be inspired check out her channel.
Did Mary make you want to get a can of white spray paint? Ha! Slowly, slowly, I think I will be moving in that area but white with kids scares me. I’d love to hear what you think of decorating with all white…okay, maybe a bit of greenery and red this time of year, but white for the most part. Does it make you feel peaceful too?
Well, it’s time to say goodbye but I hope to get a few more posts done before Christmas to share with you. Our Christmas tree story for sure and also a story I want to dedicate to my son, Mitchell, who in in Australia this Christmas and won’t be home. If you have time, come back for a visit.
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Twenty five years ago we landscaped the bottom of our third acre lot. Our oldest daughter, Alyssa, was about to start kindergarten and we wanted to have a peaceful spot where she could wait for the school bus in the morning, and a welcoming place to greet her upon returning home. One of the trees we planted in that area was a Paper Bark Birch.
Birch are lovely, graceful, deciduous trees with pale bark and bright, heart-shaped leaves. Their species is called, “Betula,” which in Latin means, “to shine.” The Native peoples of Canada built their birch bark canoes from these trees and you can even tap them. Oh yes, the maple tree is not the only tree you can tap for syrup, the birch tree’s sap has a wintergreen flavour that many people prefer. Birch sap is commonly known for its detoxifying, diuretic, cleansing and purifying properties, and can be enjoyed fresh straight out of the tree.
Some visitors to our home over the years would exclaim, “Oh you would have a perfect view of the lake if not for that tree.” I never saw it that way. Trees were equally magnificent to view in my opinion. In the summer the soft green branches framed the view brilliantly, adding more colour and movement to the picture. In the winter, the white trunk and bare branches glistened in contrast with a crisp, blue sky day.
This winter our birch still stands tall with her gleaming bare branches…to the left of our view
Also, I had a sense that our birch was a strong sentinel watching over our children as they grew. Although it was planted below the safety our our children’s fenced in play area, the shade of this tree in summer kept them cool. The children would pick up the thin branches that would sometimes fall and carry them in their hands making swords and various poking sticks. Or they would gather the smaller twigs and make faerie houses, encouraging wee folk to visit after our children were called in for dinner.
In spring each year, once the snow melted, our children liked to go and stand near the birch, on the large boulder we call the wishing rock, for it has a white circle in the middle. Our children would close their eyes tightly and upon opening them they would smile widely, knowing their wish would come true. I like to think that our birch and our wishing rock created strong roots for the love of nature in our children’s hearts.
I was so sad when our birch tree died last year.
Driving the kids home from school the other day I snapped this picture of our birch tree…the wishing rock is just to the left of the tree
I have to say that I feel a sense of guilt over the demise of our tree, since I’ve been so busy in the last ten years saying goodbye to my mom and raising our children, that I haven’t been caring for our trees and plants as I used to before our family life got so hectic. It was too late though when we realized a spray head in our irrigation system was not working, by that time, we lost two pyramidal cedars and I believe, our birch tree could not with stand the drought either.
What is remarkable to me, however, is that even though this beautiful tree is gone, she continues to give to our family and to the birds who still alight on her bare branches.
Last year, some of those dry branches started to fall which allowed us to enjoy many summer evenings eating gooey s’mores around our fire pit. David made a lamp for our oldest daughter, Alyssa, using one of the larger branches for the base of the lamp. Alyssa lit up when she opened her gift. I could tell from her appreciative smile that she would treasure that piece from the birch, taking a bit of her childhood to her new home by the sea.
For my sister C’s birthday last year, I made a birch branch inspired wind chime, using the metal bracelets she had given me and copper and aluminum pipes in varying lengths. I wish I had taken a picture of that creation as I thought it turned out pretty cool. The BEST part though was the three foot birch branch that held it all together.
This Christmas our tree is giving once again. I have many of the white branches throughout our nature inspired Christmas decorations. This year I talked my husband David into helping me make candle holders using the larger branches.
He picked an inch and half drill bit and after cutting the branches to varying lengths, he drilled in the centre of the branch to create a hold deep enough to place a votive candle.
And we just started cutting the birch branches into various sizesDavid looking serious as we cut the birch into candle holder sized pieces…he always says, just tell me what you want. I think I need to learn to use power tools!I literally threw this one together; pine, cedar and fir, along with the giving tree’s branches…added a few cinnamon scented pine cones and we had a front door basketI’ve added bits of birch in many of our Christmas centre pieces
They are lovely on their own, as singular birch candle holders with some pine cones or greenery around them. For the room where our family gathers I wanted a bigger arrangement. I took three of the varying sized birch candle holders, wrapped them in jute and circled them with cinnamon spiced pine cones. A magical combination!
Placing the three candle holders on a red plate and adding some pine cones was the perfect touch to remind me of the magic of nature…especially our trees
And so…this tree keeps giving.
This winter I hope you can take a relaxing walk in nature. If you spy a tree that resonates with you, give it a hug and whisper thank you. I’m sure you will feel an energetic embrace back. When we are heightened to it, the energy from our trees sparkle and generously give what we need to keep going.
I want to thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today. I know how busy life can be this time of year. I hope I have inspired you to carry a branch of gratitude in your heart and maybe decorate your house this holiday season with your own creation from nature. In upcoming posts I’d like to share more of what we have been doing to keep this holiday simple and sacred. I also have another tree story~ our 2019 Christmas tree adventure…coming soon.
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful this holiday season.
The Christmas lights are up, the season of light is upon us.
Welcome back and thanks for joining me in celebrating the season of light. On the heel of my last post entitled, “Unplugging the Christmas Machine,” all about my desire to create a simpler yuletide, I want to share a few things we’ve been doing to slow down and smell the roses,…..
or rather the pine trees.
Last week was busy as per usual but on Wednesday, when we don’t have any after school activities, I picked the kids up at 2:30 pm and asked them if they wanted to go on an adventure. I knew it would have to be quick too since we had to pick Grace up from the high school at 3 pm, but my three youngest all perked up over the idea of a spontaneous excursion.
With excited eyes, the kids and I quickly drove to a large park in our area, however, at the entrance there was a sign warning of a bear sighting in the park. Do I take the kids and chance a visit with a sleepy bear I wondered?
We decided to risk it.
Our feet crunched on the gravel path as we ventured forward. Our lungs filled with the oxygen rich air. The sun was getting very low in the sky and in the 30 minutes we were there, the temperature dropped noticeably. As we walked briskly on the path, the children told me about their day with animated voices, laughing easily over the days events.
Why didn’t we do this more often I thought.
We could have continued on that path until we reached the look out over the lake but knowing Grace would be waiting for us, we turned around and headed back. It was halfway back that the kids spied piles of pine cones under one of the biggest pine trees in the park. Victoria, a natural artist, started talking about how cool it would be to make something with the pine cones. As we gathered a pile of them, choosing the biggest, most symmetrical cones, we talked about things we could do with them.
William remembered the gnome his cello teacher had given him made from a pine cone and he thought that would be fun to make. Kathryn and Victoria, always thinking of the welfare of animals, thought it would be great to spread the pine cones with peanut butter and roll them in bird seed to feed the many birds who winter over in our area. I was thinking about fragrant pine cones decorating our Christmas tree and table tops. Thankfully, I had a cloth bag in my pocket, which we quickly filled with our treasures.
Our time was up though and with a bulging bag we started running, taking turns carrying our “Canada bag” full of nature’s magic. Although I never said anything to the children, the whole time I was warily keeping watch for any signs of a bear. I casually drop the stick I had carried when we hit the red gate, signalling the parking lot ahead.
Whew!
Thankfully we never saw any signs of a bear and when we finally made it back to our car we carried with us a lovely late Autumn memory and a bag full of fall’s bounty.
(Above, William, Victoria and Kathryn showing their pine cone treasures…notice the bear warning on the gate)
That short foray into nature gave us all the energy we needed to get through the rest of our week. It was busy too with two music concerts. One at our children’s school and another at the Music school where our three youngest take lessons and are involved with the youth orchestra.
Victoria, William and Kathryn before their music concert….the “Second String Trio,” played really well and all the hard work paid off…restored by a mid week hike into the forest
Then to herald in December, both William and Grace sang in their respective school choirs at our little communities outdoor Christmas light up event. It had been a hectic week but that thirty minutes in the woods mid week restored us and kept us going for the rest of the week too. Imagine how much energy we would have if we allowed nature to lay roots in our soul every day?
Between all of the week’s activities I started to decorate our house for the holidays. I will share a few of the projects with you in my upcoming posts but last week was all about pine cones. First, I soaked them in my large laundry room sink and then in batches, I dried them in the oven at 200 degrees F for a few hours. As they dried, they filled our house with the most intoxicating scent of pine.
Once dried, they opened up beautifully and were lovely and big. I sprinkled some cinnamon essential oils on the bulk of them and added them to the greenery I had collected from our yard the week before. (I saved some for the craft projects and bird cone feeders that the children want to make)
In addition to the pine cones, I dried some slices of orange and when both the pine cones and oranges were dried I had fun decorating our house with the greenery, pine cones, dried oranges and birch branches, from our dead birch tree at the bottom of our property.
I had cleaned the living room but it needed a little something to pull it all together…something from nature does it every time!Baskets filled with white birch limbs/branches are hot in the decorating world right now. Thankfully I have an abundance of them falling off our dead birch tree at the bottom of our yard. I could have made a small fortune if I had been able to chop the tree down before Christmas.
Such simple things bring us the greatest joy and they don’t cost anything or take up much time to create. Also, being outside with those we love are the BEST winter memories!
Well, that is the “Pine Cone” portion of my post but when I was bundling up our little girls to play outside on the weekend, seeing their bright red gloves reminded me of an acronym for winter well being that I had read recently. I’ve altered it a bit.
GLOVES!
G stands for “gratitude.” Counting our blessings and realizing everything we need is already abundantly ours, is the corner stone to our sense of well being. I’ll never forget watching the movie, “The Shift,” with Dr. Wayne Dyer. As he rose in the wee hours of the morning to write, the first thing he would say was, “Thank you.” He was a strong spiritual mentor for me and now that he is gone, I like to continue greeting the morning with those precious two words. If you want to read more on the effects of gratitude on the brain click this link. And that reminds me of another shift in perspective Dr. Dyer left me and that was his quote, “change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change. ” Thank you Dr. D!
If you have never seen the movie, “The Shift,” take some time and allow it to flow into your life….something just may Shift!
L stands for “love.” When we remember that we are connected to all things and people on this earth and each of us can make a difference by spreading love around, then we will start to feel a humming vibration of peace. At the end of last week, both my sister C and my best friend T, took time out of their busy lives to send me inspirational messages. C sent me several emails and a picture of a flock of swans swimming in the icy river below their house. Seeing them reminded me of gracefully moving with the flow of life. (All hope for a healthy planet is not lost C…thanks for reminding me of that)
Then a snail mail package (remember those?) arrived the same day from my dear friend T. She had updated me since we last saw one another on my birthday the month before but mostly the package was full of love.
I like to believe that T and I have a sacred contract with one another……she is always there keeping me on my path…thank you T for the snail mail package with newsy letter and cards!T is like an Aunt to my kids…she was with me as I dreamed about them years ago and didn’t poo poo the idea that there were still souls waiting to join our family. Love you T
Little did my sister C or T know that when they were reaching out to me that it would send ripples out into the world and keep me going too. I got through the week and we all had energy to give love to a stray cat who showed up on our door step. She won’t come in but she is grateful for the food we leave out for her. Love for all sentient beings changes the vibration on our earth. (p.s. our kids haven’t given up on the idea of her joining our family…or at least rigging up a warm place for her to sleep outside)
O stands for “organic.” This applies to everything in our life from food that comes as close to nature (without the use of toxins) to natural clothing. If we take steps in surrounding ourselves also with an organic lifestyle, we will find our spirit is restored. Something as simple as decorating our house with pine cones can be the seeds for our well being in an organic way.
Victoria holding some of our dried pine cones and Kathryn is holding the candle holder we made from our birch tree branches…more about that in the next upcoming post Filling our home with natural organic sources creates a healthy environment
V stands for “Vegetables.” Our mothers were wise when they told us to eat our veggies. We are always looking for the magic pill; to make us healthier, make us younger, give us more energy, give us glowing skin and hair. It’s really simple. I have a secret to tell you, “Eat your veggies.”
E stands for “Exercise.” Anything that gets your heart pumping and your blood flowing is great but the best kind of exercise is the kind that happens when you don’t realize you are doing it. So get out and take your dog for a run, ask a friend to join you cross country skiing, or head out with the kids and the toboggans once it snows. (Pick a steep hill so your hamstrings get a work out on the way back up.) Years ago, when I was a part time fitness instructor, I used to think that my daily exercise practise was my path to my spirit but in fact it was the feeling of well being that I would achieve when exercising that connected me to my soul energy. Our bodies crave that connection.
Grace, William, Kathryn and Victoria, out for a walk on our mountain…you would never know that this large pond is just over the hill from our house, filled with ducks and wildlife, being outside exercises is good for our soul.My husband D works so hard but he’s starting to walk daily and is noticing that he has more energy for everything. Exercise is part of the key to feeling well in our lives
And the last letter in Gloves is S. S stands for “Sleep.” Most of us don’t get enough but we need it to restore and reset our energy so we can live our best life. At the end of day to help your body unwind, light a candle, have a bath, crawl into a comfy bed and allow your body to slow down. Turn off all electronics and tune in to the natural rhythm of your breath. In and out, in and out, allow it to bring peace at the end of your day. Quiet your mind. Say your prayers. Drift into a deep, restful sleep. This is the time of year for us to hibernate along with the bears.
And if that picture got you yawning and you think you might be ready for some sleep, I thought I would end this post with a link to a YouTube video that my oldest daughter Alyssa recently found for me/us. When she was a baby I used to play a tape with ocean waves, sea gulls and classical music. Everyday at nap time I would tell her, “settle down and take a rest, sometimes quiet time is best.” Then I would press play on her tape machine and she would drift off into a blissful slumber. She was always a good sleeper and I often think that tape inspired her to play the piano and also live near the ocean where she says she feels most at home. I have to agree.
So the next time you want some quiet time, grab a quilt and play this video.
Thank you! for visiting with me today. A few of my upcoming posts will continue on the theme of celebrating the holiday season with simple ideas, reminding us all once again to slow down and nourish our body and our soul.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
