Tag: Christmas

A Merry Christmas and unexpected visitors

Aynaria 9 Comments

Hen 12 25 11 1

This morning, while I was hand washing dishes, I was greeted by the trumpeting of our neighbors rooster, Cock a doodle doo! — the rooster cried.

I’d like to think he was telling our little community, Merry Christmas! He repeated his cry, Cock a doodle doo! and I couldn’t help but think he sounded louder than normal, and so I looked out our kitchen window.

Well guess what?  Five of my neighbor’s chickens were in our front yard, they were scratching and pecking away at the grass. Every few moments Mr. Rooster would stretch out his neck and cry… Cock a doodle doo!

I called my daughter to the kitchen, and we watched them for a bit. They were so beautiful. The rooster was the ‘diva’ of the bunch, and he strutted around proudly, while the hens went to work on the grass, foraging for juicy worms, insects, seeds, and whatever else they like to feast on in our yard. (It’s not the first time I’ve seen them over here).

Naturally by the time I came to my senses and thought about taking photos they had moved on. About ten minutes later, my daughter told me to come around the back of our house. It seemed we had a few stragglers…

Rabbit 12 25 11 1

The neighbor also has a rabbit. This rabbit seems to be content to live outside, and we see him often in the neighbors yard. He wanders into our yard to nibble at some tender grass shoots too. My daughter said Mr. Rabbit chased the chickens back to their own yard…  well with the exception of the hen that I’ve included in this post.

Mr. Rabbit watched, from about five feet away from the chicken, while this persistent hen foraged for more food…. Perhaps he was the ‘guard bunny’?

Hen 12 25 11 2

This hen was a friendly bird, and was quite curious of me — She even posed for some close-up shots. Look at her, isn’t she sweet? Mr. Rabbit, on the other hand, was cautious and only let me get around ten feet away before he turned tail and hopped a few yards back. So much for him protecting the chicken!

How’s that for a Christmas post? I thought I’d be posting a standard Christmas message, and today my daughter, and I received some much welcomed visitors in our yard.

Here’s hoping you are all having a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Christmas tradition; A bit crafty

Aynaria 11 Comments

Christmas Ornaments 1

Our Lutheran church had its Sunday service a day early (today). It was wonderful watching my daughter’s choir perform (along with the other groups). More important the pastor preached an excellent sermon. Then again he always does, but it was nice to see so many new faces hearing the message. Our Lutheran church had five services available throughout the day; 10:00, 1:00, 3:00, 8:00, and 10:00

Although not the official day of his birth, Christmas in our household is a time to recognize Christ’s birth. Along with his birth we talk about the story of Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. It’s a great chance for us to reflect on what Christ has done for us which is indeed the true meaning of Christmas.

Creating crafted gifts for Christmas

In my household, it’s become a tradition to make hand-crafted items for one another. As I type this, I noticed that my daughter has added a few items under the tree bearing my name and I’m eager to see what she’s created. She’s quite the talented artist, and I’m hoping she’s created something that I can grace one of my bedroom walls — but I’ll be happy with anything she has created for me.

Our Christmas tradition of making items for one another began a few years ago. I created my three-year old daughter a “design studio” where her creative talent could soar. I set aside a space in her room, complete with easel, shelves, construction and printer paper. Additional Items such as colored pencils, crayons, markers, and watercolors were purchased from the store — but the majority of the items were made by myself.

This year, all the items that I placed under the Christmas tree, were handmade. I’m actually proud of that fact, since some years I had a mixture. A lot of thought, time and effort are put into the items I create. I want people to feel special. I make items I know they want.  So no… I don’t make items because I’m too cheap to purchase anything. They’re definitely high quality items. I do spend money to purchase the materials I need to craft items, once you factor in the time it takes me to make some of the crafts it would have been easier to purchase something, but in my opinion, it wouldn’t be as special.

Christmas: A bit of Commercialism

A few days after Christmas, my daughter and I do visit a few stores.  I give her an allowance of what she can spend. It’s not excessive, but she’s happy and is thrilled that she can pick out her own gifts.

You see the above picture, those ornaments were made from soda cans. I’d planned on writing a tutorial post before Christmas, but the past few days I haven’t been on the computer to much, and so that tutorial will have to wait a bit longer.

Time to breathe; Christmas is almost here…

Aynaria 3 Comments

Nativity scene

With the flurry of activities that are associated with the upcoming holidays, I imagine there are some that might be surprised that I’m finding the time to relax — but I am.

I volunteered with the Christmas musical, Journey to the Manger, and made some really cute — but appropriate Christmas ornaments for the “Depression themed” Christmas tree for the Christmas musical. I’ll have too share pictures of what I made in a later post.

Last week was extremely busy, with the rehearsals and performances (piano recital and Christmas musical) my daughter was involved with.All those events ended this past Sunday,  and now I have time to relax.

I am helping organize the third grade Christmas party for my daughters class, however that’ll be a breeze compared to last week.

Because of my lighter schedule, I have a bit more time to get creative in the kitchen, take more pictures of the great outdoors, and of course work on a variety of crafts; crochet, sewing, jewelry making, and making cards. I’m currently working on a food recipe post, and will post that later this week.

Question: If you celebrate the holidays, what are some of the activities you’re doing?

Photo Source: Free Republic