Gingerbread Houses

AND BRACES.........................

My grandson Matt and I make a gingerbread house every year.
This year it was a bit more challanging because the day before we built it he got his braces
put in. Top and bottom. Yup......he looks like the grill of a  big ol'Buick. AND......can't eat any of the candy we used. Bummer. No sticky, gummy candy.

 

My husband, knowing I had "gingerbread house kit" on "my list",

helpfully brought this home for us. HUH?????

This was so not gonna happen.

 

So...........................inspired by Tim Burtons'

"Nightmare Before Christmas",

And maybe Steven Kings'  "It"

as well as  a bit of Scooby Do and his

penchant for ending up in scary houses...........

well, I think you'll get the idea.........

 

 

"Welcome Scooby, come on in"

(said the spider)

 

 

If you look close you  can see the handyman from

Home Depot....he's on the roof, wrapped in spideys web.

 

 

Another spider.......and the handymans ladder, still leaning

against the house......it seems to have

a big green gummy worm using it now.

 

 

One end of house.....it has a guard of

green frogs as well as more green gummy worms

on patrol.

(and another spider on the roof)

 

 

Hey! Here's a good look at the roof...........

Big Spider.......and his Christmas dinner

"on hold".

 

 

Closeup of spider and his  (her?) web.

 

By Matthew Hajek, age 9 1/2

 

(as a memorial to all the candy he can't eat

for a long time)

 

OK..........................that gives you an idea of what

Christmas looks like at our house.....:):):)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEXTILE FORAGING

A BIT OF JUNKING.............

 

First I found this vintage Pendleton blanket,

actually probably considered a "shawl" since it has fringe on

all four sides.

 

 

Then I found this "death" doll.

This doll isn't all that old, but I think the textiles

used to make it are much older.

Tourist trade?

No matter........I like it!!

 

MY BUCKET LIST.........

WHAT'S ON YOURS?

 

I have a board on Pinterest........Free Tibet..........

I have pinned a documentary there (in short installments)

that show what I believe to be the real situation in most of Tibet today.

My hope is that you will find a few minutes to watch at

least part of it.

 

It is called   "Tibet.....What remains of us....."

There are eight installments, and they are numbered so look for 1of 8

to start.

 

Thanks.

 

http://pinterest.com/avgl/free-tibet/ 

 

 

                                           

An altar for giving back...........

Living on ten wooded acres

we often find interesting things

cast off from or created by the creatures

that live here with us.

There are also several of these "nurse trees".....

created when a new tree grows out and around

the old stump of a tree that was cut down at one time.

 

Every time I went out the drive I looked at this nurse tree

and thought......."that looks like a niche there"

Today, it became one.

A place to give some of the things we find "back"

A living tree altar.

An ongoing interactive art project.

This is just the beginning, this project will be evolving for some time I think. 

Hey Girl..............................

     In a Perfect World............................

source

                                                                                

                                                                                                                                           

Altar Update.....

Look who came to live with me......................

I think she looks right at home .

I think she might be smiling.

I know I am.

Thank you Steph, merci !!!

(click the link to visit Stephs blog and see a better photo)

                                                                  

" Make Do's"

There is a "category" of junking, collecting,

whatever, that I call "makedo"s.

Probably closely related to the "mended antique"

category, but usually involving a more common, less expensive object.

 I find them at older estate sales or auctions and

most often at farm auctions.

That's exactly where these two books came from.

My sister found these at a farm estate sale in Oregon and bought them

for me knowing I would like the "new" repair on the book covers.

These books were repaired with a piece of fabric that I  would guess

was originally some farmers shirt.

Or maybe fabric left over from making said farmers shirt.

The same fabric was used on both books,

but the maker used different stitches on each book.

It looks like the one used on the top book

was the most successful.

You can see here what the fabric looked like when

it was put on originally.

Both of these books are religious books

and I think must have had much

sentimental value to the owner

for this "makedo" to have taken place.

These books were home to family history,

and were obviously meant to be handed down and cherished.

(notice the spelling of ....."borned", and the wonderful

old dates.)

Old books seem to become our safe keeping places for

little bits of our lives.

(a photo and an obituary)

Important news events................

(this is an article from The Oregon Daily Journal dated March 3, 1931)

It is worthy of a read, especially the last part.

(click on it to enlarge)

I am not sure what this little cloth label came out of

or why it was deemed worthy of tucking into a book and keeping..........

other than ......"waste not want not".......

But I am glad someone did put it there,

so I could find it all these years later,

and glad my sister found these books and thought of me.