breath of spring

I’m sure, like many of you, the end of a year, and start of a new one, leads to rearranging life.  For me, this usually means obsessive cleaning and purging.  It is an attempt at order, but also, as I grow older, a need to simplify and lighten the load. While purging the other day, I was sorting through things and putting them in piles, … Continue reading breath of spring

yule log

Originally a Nordic tradition, Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice festivals of Scandinavia, and other parts of Northern Europe, such as Germany.  The Yule log is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a Christmas tradition. My Yule log was gifted to me on Christmas Eve by my brother-in-law.  He had made one for their dining room table out of … Continue reading yule log

little Christmas boxes

Last year I decorated a few paper mâché boxes for Christmas.  Not only do they make great decorations to use around the house, but they’re perfect for packaging that special little gift. Here are a few that I made last year. Every year I buy a roll or two of wrapping paper with a brown background.  I keep them in an old crock next to … Continue reading little Christmas boxes

a Christmas treat

I haven’t been doing any baking for the office lately, and with a broken bone in my right hand, I haven’t attempted making any Christmas cookies either.  Most of our office works from home, but there is about a dozen of us who come into the office on a daily basis, and I wanted to do something to surprise them for Christmas. Since its getting … Continue reading a Christmas treat

christmas urns

Sunday was a warm day for December, and the perfect time to finish up raking leaves and redecorate the urns for Christmas.  I pulled out the fall arrangement of cornstalks a few weeks ago and arranged a trio of birch logs. I follow a blog called Dirt Silver, written by Deborah Silver, a landscape and garden designer who owns Detroit Garden Works.  She writes posts showing the … Continue reading christmas urns