Merry Christmas to You

Time again slipped through my hands and here it is Christmas night.

I had such good intentions but, as Augusten Burroughs said, "I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."

So, in lieu of the posts I intended to do this month, you get this one.

Just a few random photos around the house this holiday season.

{The entry way cupboard}

{A close-up of one of the old Kentucky Bourbon pulp papier mache snowmen snowpeeps that hang out on the entryway cupboard above}

{"Jailhouse" cabinet in the dining room}

{My (humble compared to Lauren's) collection of saltglaze Santas - sorry for the poor photo; it is very difficult to photograph them where they are displayed}

{The saltglaze Santas hang out on the butter churn behind my kitchen sink}

★★★★★★★

My wish for you this Christmas is for peace - peace within your heart and within your soul as that is where I firmly believe all peace truly must first begin.

I hope your Christmas was filled with unending joy that will last not just a day but a season.

Merry, Merry, Christmas my friends.

Christmas Molds

I know I have shared (much of) my Christmas before...

and I have showed (many of) my molds before...

But, I don't think I've done (just) Christmas molds before.

So, why not?

(Blame it on the Reese's peanut butter cups left over from Halloween I was eating..)

I promise the post will be short and sweet (sorry) as for all the chocolate molds I have, I don't have particularly many Christmas ones.  I started collecting chocolate molds long before they were a "thing" and, therefore, still (somewhat) affordable, but, even then, the holiday - and especially Christmas - molds were very spendy.

(In fact, I have so few I am "supplementing" this post with some non-chocolate molds....)

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This first mold is a Santa and sleigh "gang" mold by Eppelsheimer. They are called "gang" molds because they are capable of molding several of the same design simultaneously and are connected together like a chain gang.  (Ok, I made that last part up, but it makes sense, no?) 

Eppelsheimer was the largest manufacturer of chocolate (and ice cream) molds in the United States from 1880 - 1947.

You can see the details of the individual bars in this close up:

Another, newer, unmarked, Santa gang mold.

Below are several individual chocolate molds depicting Father Christmas, Santa, Saint Nicholas, etc. - some marked, some not, all old.  The fellow on the far right is Zwarte Piet or "Black Pete" who is Saint Nicholas's companion or helper in the Netherlands.

This mold (hanging above my cook top) is a cake or pudding mold:

This fellow is technically not a mold at all (but don't tell him).  He's actually a nutcracker (literally and virtually).  He was made by the Godinger Silver Co. and is vintage, but not "old."

A Nordic Ware cake mold:

A tree "gang" mold (lower center of the photo in front of the snowfella - sorry, this is an old photo and wasn't taken for the mold.) (I'm not certain but I am thinking it was used for small/individual cakes?)

And lastly, a very old reindeer cookie mold:

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It's a mold thing.  What can I say?

Carry on with your merry!

🎅🎄🎅

The View From Where I Sit

I started this post the day before yesterday and this was, indeed, my view looking out as I wrote to you.

 We no longer have a Christmas tree inside (long story), but we have usually had a tree put up outside bedecked in simple white lights...and the snows in Nod, well, they do the rest.  

It was not my intention to have the tree outdoors this year either (another similarly long story), but things were inadvertently not canceled and there it is...or was...until the night before last. 

Then came the Winds of Nod....and it is now no longer.

It seems like things have been so transient for me these days....Christmas trees, Christmas joy, minutes, hours, days themselves...motivation, inspiration, organized  thought.

Anyway...While I have no tree (indoor or outdoor at this point), I did manage to bring out some of my beloved decorations and have intended to do some Christmas-y posts for a while. 

But then the plan becomes as mecurial as the Spirit of Christmas Future.

No, I am not shopping; nor baking, not wrapping gifts (if one doesn't shop, there are no gifts to wrap, are there?) nor writing out cards.  And, heaven forbid, I am not cleaning, Lauren.

Yet it seems that I am paralyzed and stymied by indecision (surprises very few I am certain).  I have posted most all of my holiday decor previously over the years (and little of it changes) and while I realize there are new followers who may have not seen it before and long-time followers who don't recall each and every thing I have posted (and, if they do, they are gracious enough not to admit it or complain of its repetition), I had thought I might present it in a bit different format.  

But then the whirlwinds started - and I am not referring to the ones outside.  (Who heard of tornado watches/warnings in Nod in the middle of December??)

Should I do posts dedicated to Santas? Snowmen? Sleighs and sleds? Sleigh bells and jingle bells? Vintage Christmas?

Well, as I said: indecision set in.

So, here I am: staring at a darkness that used to be a beautifully lit tree and wonder what happened. (Not to the tree...I KNOW what happened to that.)  At the risk of letting the last week before Christmas slip through my hands, I am going to post something.  I will start with a (hopefully) brief catchup and perhaps be back tomorrow (ha!) with something more Christmas-y.

First...as you can see from the tree that is no more, we had more snow.  About 10-11" (it drifted horribly so difficult to be precise) fell last Friday into Saturday (on top of what was already on the ground).

{Under that snow are my back steps and watering cans on the steps}

Then the snows stopped and a few days later the skies turned pink (REALLY) pink - and the temperatures turned mild (REALLY mild).

Yeah, and that's when the winds raged.  

Let me tell you, one day of almost 50° mid-December really wasn't worth it.

Half the shingles on the garage were ripped off, my heavy washtub filled with frozen dirt tossed across the patio, trees snapped, metal garden stakes bent at a 45° angle, etc.

And I am thinking that pretty lit Christmas tree may just be in Vermont about now.

'Nuff said about that.

While indecision and overthinking takes up a great deal of time, I have made some progress on my (not-so-simple-for-me) Simple Santa rug.  Will it be finished before Christmas?

Ummm, no.

{"Simple Santa" design by Therese Shick}

And, for those following along on my "reads," this is what I am currently enjoying:

I posted about this author (Sarah Maine)'s debut novel, "The House Between Tides" previously and said I would be reading more of her.  I am enjoying this one very much also, although there are some incongruencies which should have been caught with careful editing (which I find distracting, but I'm picky like that) and a bit of predictability (then again, I haven't finished it yet so I may be surprised).

I hope this finds you all well and getting your merry on.

{PS...I am not sure how many of you can still hear the music on my blog.  I thought it had disappeared but someone mentioned it not too long ago. Maybe I should try to remember how to change it to Christmas?? Or maybe not.}

 

Back to Back Forty

 Exactly one year ago today, I posted about a magical place just over the (very large) hill and through the woods (literally) from me: Back Forty

{If you are interested in the original post, you can find that post here.}

Although Mark and Mel have their sales several times each year, it seems (to me at least) that their Christmas sales are the most beguiling.  (And coming from me - whose first love is fall/Halloween - that is saying a lot.)

This year was no exception.... If anything, it was even more amazing than last year's.  

So, in search of my once again misplaced Christmas spirit, I chose a time that I had hoped would be less "people-y" and made the 3-minute trek over (I am in serious danger of becoming a hermit.)

Since I explained the "gist" of the shop in the original post, I will not repeat it here.  You know where to find it (👆).  

I will leave you instead with a few photos (hurriedly taken as there apparently is no longer a time when there are no people).

News of good  things, indeed, travels quickly.

{You don't know how close this table was to coming home with me...for the lake...}

Peace and out....