'Twas the week after Christmas,

'Twas the week after Christmas,
and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I did taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt--
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So -- away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
'Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie -- not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore --
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!
unknown source

Labels: calendar thoughts

©Crafty Gardener
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It's Decembr-r-r-r-r

It's late Decembr-r-r-r and it's cold outside. Boxing Day we had rain, rain and more rain.  Over the past couple of days we have had some snow flurries. The wind really  picked up the night before last and blew in some frigid weather.

The temperature was reading about -17 Celsius yesterday morning with a wind chill of -25 Celsius.  Everything is frozen solid.  This morning is a little better with temperatures of -13 Celsius.

But on the bright side the sun was out all day yesterday so it gave the illusion of a nice day.

The cold doesn't seem to deter the birds and there were plenty at the feeders.  This little junco picked a spot to sun himself for a little while.

This shot shows the woodpecker in its favourite tree at the back of the garden.  This is a dead tree that he loves to pick holes in looking for bugs.

Did you ever consider that the Christams season comes in boxes and paper.  First you haul out all the containers full of decorations and make everything look pretty.  The gifts get wrapped in paper, bags or boxes to sit under the tree.  Then all that wrapping gets ripped off and hopefully recycled.  When the season is all over everything gets packed away in boxes, bags and containers again. They resume their spot in the basement or storage room and wait another eleven months to come out again.  Today will start the dismantling of the decorations at our house.  I love to have everything clean and tidy for the new year.  How about you? when do you start packing away Christmas?


©Crafty Gardener
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The Knitted Inukshuk

Towards the beginning of December I showed you my brick inukshuk or inunnguaq . Just after that post I started knitting the pattern at this link.  I actaully did finish it before the holidays but just didn't get around to posting the finished item.  The first thing I did was rummage through my stash of left over bits and pieces of yarn and gathered all the colours of gray that I had.

 There are 8 pieces to the pattern and each one knitted up quite quickly.

The next step was to stitch each piece into a tube and fill with stuffing or fibre fill.

Then it was time to join the pieces together to make the inukshuk.  The different stitches in the pattern gave each piece of "stone" a unique look.  The finished item is about 35 cm. tall.

Then knitty Inuky had to visit bricky Inuky.
Labels:  knitting
 ©Crafty Gardener
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Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays!

 The Monday Mystery photo was of course the center of a poinsettia plant.
I wish you all peace and happiness this holiday season.

©Crafty Gardener
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Santa's Magic Key

Is your child or grandchild worried because they don't have a chimney in their house?

How will Santa get in to leave the gifts?

With a magic Santa key of course.

Legend has it that Santa can use his magical powers and make any key work to open a locked door.   So by hanging the key on your outside doorknob on Christmas Eve, it will ensure Santa gets into your house to leave the gifts.  What fun in the morning when the child finds the key inside the house by the gifts.

You can use any old key.  Tie a big loop and a bow on it and attach this poem.  I've even seen the keys spray painted silver or gold and decorated.

It's important to believe!

Dear Santa

We don’t have a chimney

For you to come in through
And if you miss our house
I don’t know what I’ll do.

Mom says you work magic
And can use any old key
If we just hang it outside
in a place you’re sure to see.

So I’m placing this old key
Right beside our door
I'll say goodnight and jump into bed
And I won’t worry any more.
unknown author

A December Monday Mystery

It's time for the Monday Mystery.

I haven't posted a mystery photo for quite a while.  Take a good look and let me know what you think it is.

Leave your answer in a comment.  All will be revealed in a day or two.

Labels:  Monday Mystery

 ©Crafty Gardener
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Magic Reindeer Food

Add some magic to your child's or grandchild's Christmas Eve by making some magic reindeer food.

Little children will love to sprinkle this on their lawn on Christmas Eve.

Use a mixture of oatmeal, bird seed,and some coloured sugar to add some sparkle. Place the mixture in plastic bags and add the tag.  Some sites recommend using glitter, but that is not environmentally friendly and the reindeer might choke on it.

It's important to believe!

The poem reads:

Sprinkle on the lawn at night

The moon will make it sparkle bright

As Santa's reindeer fly and roam

This will guide them to your home.

unknown source

It is hard to know who originally wrote this poem as things like this get passed around the internet very quickly.  I did get this one from DLTK's site.  The tag was made and ready for printing.

The Morning Meeting

For a few mornings the mourning doves have been holding their morning meeting in one of our trees.  It was a challenge to try and count how many there were, but I think around 30 would be a good count.

Doves are year round residents in our gardens.

Usually the doves arrive on a sunny day and pick out a spot and cozy down to soak up the sun.

 

This day was overcast and a bit gloomy.   So perhaps they thought their morning meeting was better held in the tree instead of the sunless deck.

I never could figure out what the meeting was about but they stayed around for quite awhile before one of them decided to adjourn the meeting.  Of course when that happened they all left.  I guess the old saying "birds of a feather, flock together" applied this day.

©Crafty Gardener
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Labels:  birds, doves

Tall Hat Santas

It's time to decorate the house for the holiday season and I came across these tall hat Santas that I had made from plastic canvas and yarn a several years ago.  They were quick and easy to make and can either hang from the tree or be used to decorate a piece of furniture.

The pattern was originally posted in an edition of Plastic Canvas magazine number 47.  This magazine is probably out of print now as it was in the November/December 1996 issue.  If you are looking for the pattern it might be listed on one of the free pattern sites.
 ©Crafty Gardener
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My Brick Inunnguaq

I've had this in my gardens for several years now and always thought it was a form of an inuksuk. In fact I have nicknamed it Inuky. But recently I discovered that it is an inunnguaq. So it is an inuksuk, but it isn't really.

Here is what I found out.
An inuksuk is a stone monument used by the Inuit as a marker for special places, interesting places, marking trails or location of food or people, navigation, or migration routes of the caribou.

An inunnguag is a form of inuksuk that represents a human form.

In 1999 an inuksuk was chosen as the symbol on the flag for Nunavut, the newest territory in Canada. A design of an inunnguag has been chosen for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascot. However many people, including me, refer to the design as an inuksuk.

I love the big stone inuksuks that you see in many places now, but I love my little brick one as it is so portable.

I have my brick Inuky set up on the deck this winter so it can help predict the weather as well as be a cheery bit of garden architecture to be viewed from the kitchen windows.  This first photo was taken on December 6/09.

And here it is on December 8/09 covered in a little bit of snow.
Starting tonight there is a Colorado Low moving into our area and we are expecting 15+ cm. of snow.  I wonder what Inuky will look like tomorrow morning.

Have a look at this neat idea .... you can knit your own inuksuk by following this link. I'll be making one of these for sure.  I've got the pattern printed off and all the yarn in a big zip lock bag.  Let the knitting begin.

©Crafty Gardener

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The December Moon

 On December 2, I was able to capture some wonderful photos of the full moon.   Since then it has been cloudy or rainy so I haven't been able to even see the moon.  And right now I don't even want to think about what the weather will probably be this week.

I love how it is showing through the trees.

A full moon hangs high in the chilly sky,

All say it's the same everywhere, round and bright.

But how can one be sure thousands of miles away

Wind and perhaps rain may be marring the night?

unknown source

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St. Nicholas Day

December 6 is St. Nicholas Day. This is a festival in Europe for gift giving and feasting. so it seems fitting that on this day the gardeners should receive gifts from Saint Nick.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the yard the branches were bare and the ground frozen hard.

The roses were dormant and mulched all around to protect them from damage if frost heaves the ground.

The perennials were nestled all snug in their beds while vision of 5-10-5 danced in their heads.

The new planted shrubs had been soaked by the hose to settle their roots for the long winter's doze.

And out on the lawn, the new fallen snow protected the roots of the grasses below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear but a truck full of gifts of gardening gear.

Saint Nick was the driver, the jolly old elf, and he winked and he said, "I'm a gardener myself."

"I've brought wilt pruf, rootone, and gibberlins too, father can try them and see what they do. To start new plants, a propagating kit, sparkling new shears for the old apple tree."

"To seed your new lawn, I've a patented sower, and in case it should grow, here's a new power mower. For the seed planting days I've a trowel and a dibble. And a row of wire mesh if the rabbits should nibble."

"For the feminine gardener, some gadgets she loves, plant stakes, a sprinkler and water proof gloves, a chemical agent for her compost pit and for PH detection a soil testing kit."

"With these colourful flagstones, lay a new garden path, for the kids to enjoy a bird feeder and bath. And last but not least, some well rotted manure! A Green Christmas year round, these gifts will insure."

Then Jolly Saint Nick, having emptied his load, started his truck and took to the road.

And I heard him exclaim through the motor's loud hum

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a green thumb!"

unknown source

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It did, but it's gone!

In the early hours of December 1, 2009 the Quinte region of Ontario, Canada had its first snowfall of the season. How do I know you ask?  Because my weather predictor told me so.

My weather rock had some white stuff on it, and according to the poem, if it's white, it's snowing.   There was some other proof as well.

Here is the view from the kitchen door about 7 am this morning, and you can actually see some of the snow falling down.  The garden has a thin layer of white stuff all on it.

And the view from the front door shows some more snow coming down, the grass peeking through the wet snow, the driveway all covered in white, and the road that is wet and a bit sloppy.

And here are my footsteps on the deck.  Not a lot, but it is snow.  At least no shoveling was required.

The last of the anemones are covered in snow.

And my winter greenery pot looks very pretty all dusted in snow.

I just knew the snow wouldn't last and by about mid morning it had all vanished, just leaving wet puddles, muddy playgrounds and excited children behind.  And we all know that this is just a taste of what is to come, probably sooner than we want it to.

So it really did snow this morning, it just didn't last!

Stop by and visit Nancy at soliloquy and see what other bloggers have had their first snowfall of the season. Thanks for taking time to visit today.

© Crafty Gardener blog and website.
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Labels:  weather, snow