Monday, December 07, 2009

Santa & The Fairies

It snowed this weekend. I have to say for those of you who don't know me, I HATE snow. I mean it's beautiful and all, in photographs. But I learned early in life that in order to get snow you have to have cold, and that's what really bugs me. Plus the shoveling. And the slipping and sliding. And being and cold and wet just stinks. So there, I am a winter party pooper I guess.

So when we have a snowy cold weekend, I send the fellas out and I hunker down with my tea and some books or crafts and enjoy the view from the heated comfort of my floating home.

I finished and packed up the goodies for my Seasons Round partner, Mary over at Poppies & Milk. Cheeck our her fabulous new etsy shop too!

Zach and I were invited to participate in an Advent Spiral walk at a Waldorf school in Baltimore. What a magical, special time that was! And we had a small, rather spontaneous celebration of St. Nicholas Day for the first time. I remembered just as Zach was about to go to sleep, and told him the story which woke him right up again as he scurried out in to the cockpit to leave a shoe with a carrot and hay (which we have laying around for the guinea pig). He was talking in his sleep about checking the shoe all night. When he finally woke, he was over the moon to see a little, golden bag of nuts and chocolate coins waiting.

I also found a sweet, sweet book I wanted to share. It's called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum (the man who brought us The Wizard of Oz).

The story is 100 years old and newly illustrated in rich, fabulous images. Did you know Santa was raised by fairies? Yep, the tale goes that Nicholas is a mortal child found in the forest and raised by a band of woodland fairies and elves. He grows up and learns to whittle toys from wood. He's introduced to the human world and makes it his mission in life to make children happy by creating and delivering toys. It's a lovely book, check it out.

Finally , we spent rest of the weekend hanging lights around the boat and starting our holiday decorating. We made some ornaments for our wee tree  from beeswax and some from applesauce cinnamon dough, and the rest are our collection from years past. Zach checks his tomten mailbox everyday (our version of an advent calendar) to see what news the little guy brings -- making snowflakes? Feed the birds? Make hot coco? It's a busy time of year for our family as we celebrate Hanukkah, Solstice, and Christmas covering the beliefs and upbringings of our entire crew. Hope you're all happily celebrating the season in your own special ways!

7 comments:

gardenmama said...

I enjoyed hearing of your celebration Cindy! It sounds like there is much warmth, love and tradition in your home : )

Lily Boot said...

Cool! I love that you celebrate all three things together. Our new home is smack bang in the middle of Melbourne's Jewish neighbourhood - so hopefully we'll get to experience some lovely Jewish culture and cuisine! You simply must post some photos of your boat in the snow and decorated for Christmas - I just cannot picture it! But I can just imagine booting the boys out for the day and making that cup of tea and snuggling up. There are such good spots for snuggling on a boat. Hoping you keep warm and dry.

Holly @ Domestic Dork said...

One of my favorite claymation Christmas specials is based on that book!

Susanna Joy said...

I am so glad you found me! Google away. If that little site serves no other purpose in its past or future, it is officially a success. Though, your avid blogging makes my little, neglected and all-but-defunct sight shrivel in shame. :)
Definitely sending a catch-up note your way.
I can't believe your little MAN! Just as adorable as when he was tiny, but so grown and dear... When did this happen?
...Remember when they were too young to crawl and we batted around the delicious idea of homeschooling? Looks like we both followed through. Good stuff!
You may have to hold your breath for the full monty status update as I am extremely busy for the next 72 hours; but it will come.
As for you, I feel like this virtual window gives me a very clear picture. It's great.
Excited to pan through your Etsy site, too!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the plug! business was booming today in a small etsy way! (2 sales!) so thanks for sending some traffic... package is on its way... I'm only going to show photos of the stuff when you get it, so let me know! Might show one sneak peek! :) stay warm... -M

River Sanctuary: Marykaye said...

I agree with the cozy time inside--what a delight! Our six year old gets us outside so much that I've finally gotten some wonderful silky "long johns" to keep me warm and now I don't mind so much! ;) Thanks so much for the book recommendation; I just ordered it with a holiday gift card! Enjoy these fun days!

boatbaby said...

Holly - I never knew there was a claymation flick of that story. How funny, I will have to check it out!

GardenMama - it's not traditional tradition, but we have fun in our own way!

Lily -skip on the Jewish cuisine, we're not known for our food. I won't eat any of it except latkes. But we're good on lots of other things :)

Marykaye - I think long johns for the mamas of active outdoor kids are a must. I will put that on my list!

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