The Nativity.....

Let's Not Forget....

I Almost Forgot to set up the Mini Nativities, Dear Readers, and had to scurry around this morning to Find all the pieces! I glanced into the Conservatory as I was hurrying and saw that Someone had a lovely selection of Christmas decorations on display! It is hard to tell if this is a Shop or a studio, or just a Wonderland of Imaginary Possibilities... but at any rate, the tiny items beckoned to me!

There were some little snow-covered trees 

and some Old Fashioned Saint Nicholas Figures...

And a beautiful Porcelain Nativity set.....

Which still has not found its Home...

Waiting for me to make a worthy Landscape for it!

And around the corner in the Folly....

Yes, I see Will has put up the Tiny Nativity in the Window!

It is dusk now and I can see the Evening Closing in

 around the Holy Family on their Night of Need...

 

 

There is not even a Stable for them here!

 

And in the Lovely Old Dollhouse.....

 

Helen and Charles have been overseeing much of the Decorating this year....

Pollyanna has been a little bit distracted with her new Tiny projects!

So Charles has set up the Creche in the usual spot in the Living Room.

But he wants Pollyanna to let him know if he got it set up right....

So she comes down to have a look....

She does think it looks beautiful there....

And since she can never remember which side the camel goes on,

 she thinks Charles has done it just right!

And Just in Time too! 

Because Sally May and Chip and Annabelle have just arrived!

And in the Kitchen, Joanna and Victor have been preparing the dinner.....

The pies are cooked.... the Turkey is in the oven....

The whole Family will be here for Dinner!

And while Pollyanna is inspecting the Creche....

Arthur has convinced Will to help him....

He has found another "Little House" for Pollyanna!

Shhhhh... don't tell!

It is supposed to be a Surprise!

But in All the hustle and bustle 

of this Time of Year, Dear Readers,

Let's not Forget the Reason....

The Nativity!

I hope you ALL have a Wonderful Holiday

 filled with Joy and Blessings!

And to those who celebrate Hanukkah 

and the Solstice Season,

 May your Celebrations be filled with Love and Joy!

Solstice.....

Ready.......  Or Not....!

Like it or Not, Dear Readers, the Christmas Celebration is nearly here, and the hectic pace of attempting to be "Ready" in Time has some of us in a "Tizzy"! And what do you do when you have too much to accomplish in too little Time? Do you go Full Steam Ahead and pull it off in the nick of Time? Or do you declare it an impossible task and give yourself "Permission" to relax and just enjoy whatever happens? Or do you vacillate and Procrastinate until the last possible moment before managing almost everything anyway? I have not yet decided which strategy is mine for this year... which I think only points to the last option! So here I am Procrastinating for a Tiny bit.... because painting the Christmas Card is the chief task I am attempting to complete, and I am Late this year! Again! I cannot show you a preview, so I am going to take you around the dollhouses to see if Anybody else is as late as I am! The Cloud Palace has put up the lovely silver Tinsel Tree again! and this year it has the Added decorations sent by Birgit!

"What decorations...?" I hear you ask. It looks like there are none on the tree! Until you look very closely and then you will see there are Tiny gold "Wishing Stars" all over it! And this year there are several New and Very Glittery Wishing Stars that came with the package from Birgit! I was sure at once that they were meant for the Tinsel Tree in the Cloud Palace! If you look carefully you can see one of them glowing! And this was not the only Tree that was put up this week!

In the Shabby Sister House, Chip has put up

 the other Silver Glitter Tree that Sally May loves!

Her In-laws are not so excited.

I think Sally May is going to want to fix the ornaments...

So many went missing while in storage!

And in the Lovely Old Dollhouse, 

Arthur and Charles have put up the Tree....

The Same old Tree in the Same old place!

They are so pleased when the lights all work as soon as it is plugged in!

 

They wanted to please Helen and Pollyanna 

who have gone shopping for the afternoon.

They found a charming old shop in the newly re-developed "Old Town".

It looked like a Trendy Artist Studio open for seasonal business...

It was rather disorganized and messy inside....

They almost weren't sure it was a shop!

They decided to look at some other shops too...

They could always come beck here on their way home...

Helen didn't want to carry too much as they walked.

There was even more on display as they returned later...

But by then they had their arms full and didn't want to stop again. 

They had found some "Fabulous" deals at another shop nearby...!

Now they were tired and just wanted to get home and put their feet up.

The sun had already set and it was dark by the time they were home.

"Surprise!" declares Charles 

as they return home to find the Tree up and decorated!

Pollyanna tries not to be disappointed, as she loves to put up the tree... 

but it is the season to share these joys too!

"We left the creche for you" says Charles, 

"because we know how much you love to set that up yourself!"

So Pollyanna pulled out all the familiar figures 

and set them up in their accustomed places...

He was right. She did love to put up the creche every year!

It was somehow comforting to see the figures 

in their rightful places year after year!

So while Time is Flying by, Dear Readers, 

I hope you have enjoyed this little Tour of the Tannenbaums 

on this Shortest Day of the Year!

Ready or Not, the Yule Season is here!

Happy Solstice!

Lost In Time.....

Where Does It Go....?

I Hope you will Understand, Dear Readers, when I tell you that I am Lost in Time! It has Completely Escaped my grasp lately, and the more I try to pin it Down... the more Elusive it becomes! So I hope you will remember That when I tell you that The Wizard has been Wrestling with the same Problem.... only magnified by Many Many Years! And at a certain point he says... the Only thing I can do is stand and watch it spin.... and when the right moment comes, I will know where to leap in! Ah he is so Wise! So I take his advice.... and on a Sunny Sunday Morning I survey the Little World that is mine to jump into.... Little moments suspended in Time....

Someday there will be a Garden .... with growing plants.....

but for now there is still just the promise of seeds....

waiting......

And Breakfast on a Sunny Morning.....

And Tea and cupcakes....

With Hamish Harry still wooing Lady Lavender...

And Marmalade still struck speechless with Wonder...!

Have Any of the Travelers found their path....?

 

Not to mention Daphne who has spent Ages 

trying to compose a very difficult letter 

to the Grandparents of her child! 

Has she made Any progress at all?

And will we Ever hear the rest of her Story?

These are the questions that Torment me, Dear Readers, 

as I survey my Small and very Crowded little world!

And in the midst of all the Chaos.... I spot the Moon Maidens.....

 

 

And think wouldn't it be Wonderful to Finish those windows....

so I could attach those walls....

and free up all the chairs that currently hold all the parts....

And Maybe Then there would be Room for Time to shift just a little....

So I jump in....

I will not bore you here with a list of the difficulties with 

assembling the frames for these windows!

Suffice it to say that each frame is made of multiple layers....

Pieces punched from splintering and fragile wood.

Above you can see them all assembled, 

glued together and with the primer coat painted. 

(Hours and Hours Consumed!)

And while the paint is drying, I added the "leading" 

to the exterior of the remaining windows.

And glued them in place!

(More Hours... Evaporating....!)

I only have the last few windows for the 

Parlor bay window that have not been leaded!

Hours and hours and

Three coats of paint later.....

All the trim is going to be the silver color.

The house facade with only the door trim in place....

The window frame propped in place..... 

just testing....

But I Think I am figuring it out Dear Readers!

If you look Carefully....

The Hours can be transformed ....!

Minutes congeal into pieces we can see!

Time doesn't Disappear.....

It Becomes!

But What has Become of all those Other Times?

Where are those Stories Going?

That, Dear Readers,

Only Time will Tell!

Snow Day!

Time Out For Play.....

It's been Snowing a Lot in my Neck o' the Woods, Dear Readers, and it doesn't look as though it is going to stop any time soon! In fact, today was Groundhog Day, the Day on which a Groundhog comes out of his burrow and forecasts the remaining length of Winter. "Punxatawney Phil" claims there will be six More weeks of the cold stuff....and Frankly, I believe him! Because it was snowing hard this morning, with enough snow on the roads that I stayed home from work, and it snowed all day. We got about 12 inches of the stuff, on top of the four we got last Thursday, on top of the six we got last Tuesday.... and you get the picture! And it has been so cold that none of it is melting either.

So there was Nothing to do but Play at home today!

All that snow has really been piling up! 

The Conservatory is half buried in the white stuff...

And the Folly too!

Oh look! It seems as though the Groundhogs 

are not the only ones up and about today!

Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers have come out to see the snow...

Anna Maria thinks it would be fun to build a Snow Rat....

Samuel Whiskers gets started right away!

Anna Maria wishes she had a better bonnet for hers.

It seems as though Samuel Whiskers has finished another one too!

I wonder what he's thinking....?

But it was so cold outside, Dear Readers, that it wasn't long before 

Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers went back inside 

to the warm kitchen of the Tree house.

And speaking of inside....

Maybe we should have a look inside the Conservatory...

To check on the seeds we planted....

Not so long ago!

It seems nobody has shoveled the path.....

But please do come in!

Oh look! Something has sprouted!

Goodness.... that was fast!

Just look how Vigorous they are!

They will need re-potting in no time!

But for now we will keep their cover on.....

It is a bit chilly in here.....

And it is forecast to get Very cold tonight!

Such a good thing we checked!

Well.... look who is here....?

Where do you think you are going...?

Surely, Not inside! That would be the death of you!

"Did you see where Red went... ?" asks Mistress Blue.

"No idea..." replies Master Green.

Even Will decided to come out to see how much snow had fallen...

He wasn't prepared for quite so much snow!

And he wasn't really looking forward to all that shoveling....

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you have enjoyed 

coming here and playing in the Snow Today!

I was going to show you more, 

but it seems that Blogger is tired...

And it didn't even have to Shovel any Snow!