Christmas Comes.....!

What Did Christmas Bring....?


As is so often the case, Dear Readers, whether you are Ready or Not... Christmas comes! And it is sometimes in that un-readiness that we find the greatest gifts! So this Christmas morning, in My un-readiness, I almost didn't have a look around to see what Christmas had brought! But I noticed that the Sun had come for breakfast in the Cloud Palace and Hamish Harry and Lady Lavender were just waiting for the others to join them. Where were the others? Well, it seems that Sweet Pea and Brother Beorn were admiring the newest Plants in the Cloud Palace Garden.....

They have found a Pair of Perfectly Snow-Powdered Pines for their garden!

And they even have Christmas Lights amongst the boughs!

Now they can't wait for the night to come so they can see the glowing lights!

As for Blue and Sir Orion, well, they are so Happy 

all by themselves on top of the Lookout Tower 

that they sometimes Forget to come down at all!

(Love will do that ....)

Since I saw that the Bearys in the Cloud Palace 

were all having a Wonderful Morning, 

I thought I would check in on all the other Little People too...!

It seems that Presents were delivered at the Shabby Sister House....

Even though Chip's parents seem rather worn out with the waiting!

And Sally May is still busily cooking in the kitchen!

(Christmas does bring a Lot of That!)

Annabelle says "Mama, can I have another cookie...?"

(She is still young enough that she doesn't know What to expect!)

And in the Lovely Old Dollhouse.....

There are presents under the Tree.....

Although they are not all there yet to open the gifts...

Helen had forgotten to wrap something, Charles explains.

She'll be down in a minute...

But Helen can't find any wrapping paper left.... 

maybe That was what she forgot to get when shopping! 

She will just have to use the beautiful bag for wrapping.... 

But she had hoped to keep the bag for herself...!

Well, a Gift is a Gift.... she would have to share....

(Christmas Does bring some of that!)

Meanwhile, in the kitchen....

Victor and Joanna were eyeing the pie.....

Wondering if they could have Pie for Breakfast...

even Before the Christmas Dinner!!!

But I think they know that they can only do that 

when they are at their own home!

They will have to wait patiently for the Feast!

(Christmas does bring lots of that!)

There is even a Large present at The Folly.... 

but Will is not sure how it got there!

He has been Pet-sitting for some friends.

"Lassie" reminds him a little too much of a certain other

 curly Red-haired Lassie that he would like to forget...!

(Yes, sometimes Christmas brings that too...)

There are even gifts under the Grand Tree in the Castle Great Hall.....

Even though I have No idea who they are for... 

nor Which era is Holding the Party...

 

And even in the Chapel....

Ages and Ages ago....

Father Alban has spent the Night in a Prayer Vigil.

And with the Dawn of Christmas he has Found a Great Gift....

He has found his Faith....

In the unknown outcomes....

In the process of just Beginning...

He will overcome his fear and vanity!

He will paint again!

He has found his Faith!

(Yes, Christmas brings some of that too!)

And when the Night comes at Last....

And all the Presents have been opened and all the Feasts have been eaten...

Surely, the Lights shining in the Darkness will still bring you Joy!

Yes, Dear Readers, as we All know,

Ready or Not, Christmas comes!

I hope your Christmas has brought you and your Loved ones

Love, Beauty, Peace, Plenty, Charity, Faith and Joy!

On Christmas Day In The Morning....

The Gift Of Light.....

I arose before the Sun on Christmas Morning, Dear Readers, which is not difficult to do at this time of year as the sun does not rise until after eight in the morning. And like many on Christmas morning I went rushing around through my Houses to see whether or not Santa had come in the night! It was such a relief to see that he had! But like many homes where there are no young children eager to get to the presents.... breakfast was the first priority in the Lovely Old Dollhouse....

Pollyanna and Arthur are joining Helen and Charles and Victor in the Kitchen for tea and Pie....

The sun is still not up... but there is light at the window and it promises to be a Lovely day...

But I felt the need to check on the rest of my Trees.... 

to make sure Santa had found them all...

So I rushed over to the Castle....

Where the dogs were still faithfully waiting by the fire....

But there was indeed a pile of gifts under the tree....

I wonder who they are for...?

But I mustn't linger....

I dash over to the Folly....

Well, I know Daphne didn't put up a Tree this year....

But I wanted to check in anyway....

And that was when the Magic Began....

The Sun had risen and was streaming in through the window of the Folly...

Illuminating the Creche Daphne had set up in the Window...

Oh, have I told you how much I adore the way the Sunlight comes to play?

A Little Sliver of Midwinter Sun reaches deep into my house....

Alighting briefly on the Folly Tree House....

And the Conservatory....

 

Where last night all was dark as we waited for Christmas.....

This morning it brings this World to Life.....

Gifting a beauty I could not dare to Imagine....

Glimpses of Things only Dreamed of.....

In places we've never been before....

Blessing every Corner of my Little Worlds.....

With a Radiance that is so Rare....

And so Brief.....

Reaching even into the Chapel Sanctuary....

Oh what Light!!!

Touching even the Darkest Dungeons.....

For Just a Moment!

And Look! Now in the Hall where before it was dim....

Now there is Light a plenty!

Is it too late for a Christmas Portrait?

Isn't it Amazing what the Sunlight will do?

But I still haven't gone to all the Houses....

I rush to see where else the Sun has gone...

Oh look! It has even reached Rose Thorn Cottage...

Where the Little Dreamers were safely nestled...

Is that the Sunlight kissing them awake...?

And what of Sally May's Shabby Sister House....

Did Santa Come....?

Oh My! He did indeed!

Is that a Dollhouse for Annabelle?

It is Quite Antique...

And a bit Shabby.....

Sally May expects they will have a lot of fun fixing it up!

Annabelle is enchanted..!

But I am aware that the Sun does not sit still...

So I rush back to the Conservatory...

For another peek...

I could not have staged this if I Tried, Dear Readers....

The Sun just came to play....

A Gift so Pure and Joyful!

And in the Lovely Old Dollhouse too...

The Greatest gift was the Gift of Light...

On Christmas Day in the Morning!

Gifts And A (Sur)Prize

The Night(mare) After Christmas or Happy New Year - Part One

Christmas Morning! Is there anything as wonderful as a child's first glimpse of the gifts awaiting under the Christmas Tree? Annabelle doesn't know WHICH gift to try first! Christmas morning must be the most magical one of the entire year. Pollyanna loves Christmas morning and all the excitement and anticipation of opening the gifts!
But THIS year there have been a few EXTRA surprises! To start with, her distant cousin Katherine, better known as Crazy Cousin Kitty, arrived in the middle of the night with ALL EIGHT of her cats! Her boiler failed in her apartment and her pipes froze and she was desperate for somewhere to stay. Of course, she could NOT leave the cats in the unheated apartment! So here she is on the living room sofa. Her landlord assured her it would only be a few days til the plumbing could be fixed.....
Pollyanna doesn't mind cousin Kitty staying, but she's not so sure about all those cats! One or two cats are easy, but EIGHT she thinks is just a bit much to expect a welcome! But never mind. It is Christmas after all, and everyone should feel welcome!
Chip is looking in to see what Annabelle thinks of her gifts.......

And Pollyanna is opening one too! It is from Arthur. Just LOOK what he has given her!
(Thank you EWA! These were sent to me by Ewa who's blog is The Old Maid! Aren't they lovely? A tiny crown and a book of Music with readable pages! She also sent me some bigger gifts that are now hanging on my big tree! :))

But Pollyanna is sure they are from Arthur!

And he says he has another special gift for her.... this little Glitter House! He knows how much Pollyanna loves houses ...... and perhaps someday they will have a house of their own!
Pollyanna is enchanted! It is SO BEAUTIFUL! And she loves the dream of a house of their own...
She sets it carefully on the table with the Creche, hoping it will be safe from the cats there!


And look who else is here! Great Uncle Albert came over for the day! He's brought his latest project with him to show what he's been working on..... not that any of us would understand.... but he would be happy to try to explain it to you if you'd like?
And when things get too busy in the living room, Helen and Charles just stay in the kitchen. They have plenty to talk about and love their morning coffee together!
So Christmas morning became Christmas Evening and still everybody was having a wonderful time so they stayed. Pollyanna wasn't sure where everyone would sleep... but Helen and Charles have been staying at a local Inn anyway. They just come over for the company and meals! And then pretty soon it was Boxing Day, then the day AFTER Boxing Day, and everyone was still here! Somewhere along the way a cat got the little GLITTER HOUSE and chased it around the room as if it were a cat toy! Bad Cat!
He left it in the corner under the edge of the rocking horse rocker....... where no-one could see it!

And Annabelle wanted to ride her horse..... Oh Dear! What's this? The GLITTER HOUSE is squashed flat!

(Actually, it was the US MAIL that did the dastardly squashing! :( . But I thought it would be more fun to make a story about it...... I actually had un-squished it a bit - it arrived quite flat!)
But nonetheless, Pollyanna is quite heartbroken when she finds out! She suspects one of the cats is to blame.... But Cousin Kitty is sure none of her cats would do such a thing!
Pollyanna is starting to wonder if she will EVER just have her life back to NORMAL?

She has nothing against cats...... she loves cats.......but .....

Pollyanna decides she just needs to get away from everybody for a change! She rushes over to Arthur's house. She wants to tell him about the GLITTER HOUSE, but she is so afraid it is a bad omen and their Dream will come to nothing....... she isn't sure if she should tell him......
When she gets there she finds him deep in a philosophical discussion with his friend Will Ott. She is so disappointed that he is not alone..... they can't talk.... she can't tell him what's wrong.....
She makes up some silly excuse for dropping by. Arthur reminds her he will be picking her up at seven to go to the New Year's Eve party at the Castle. Pollyanna had COMPLETELY forgotten! With everything else that has been going on it had just slipped her mind!
"But I have NOTHING to wear!" she laments.

You can come as you are he replies. You look lovely no matter what you wear!

Pollyanna sighs. Sometimes he says the nicest things! She's glad she stopped by after all......
Sometimes the real gift isn't a thing at all........

TO BE CONTINUED....


Special thanks go to Ewa for the lovely gifts - I hope you don't mind that I let Arthur take the credit for them!
And special thanks go to Karin Corbin whose Glitter House I won in her giveaway - it arrived sadly abused and she has promised to send another! I can't tell you how enchanting it is up close!
Thank you blog friends!