My best Christmas present ever!

My best Christmas present ever? Our beautiful old man cat Dagi (which is short for Adagio) of course. It is his birthday today. He made it to 15 years old! When we got him, our vet warned us that these kind of cats are wonderful characters but do not get old. We had him on a special diet food from 6 months old so he told us he was getting the best from a young age but still we expected to loose him between the ages of 6 to 8 years old. These cats simply have an ultra sensitive digestive system.

He has not been well but is showing us daily that he is happy regardless. Jos read up on old cats with eating problems and discovered that meat is the best for them to digest. So we gave it a try. I know he loves chicken and turkey. I bought him some chicken lunch meat. He LOVES it and has actually been getting ever so slightly stronger on it. He keeps it down well too.

He is old and has trouble jumping up and sleeps so deeply most of the day but he also still loves to hold a conversation with me regularly. This month was my quilt group's yearly Christmas party and you can see Dagi sitting in the middle of the busy group group of quilters listening intently. He is sitting next to a very dear friend Enny.

Happy birthday to my dear Dagi! We are so happy you made it to this wonderful old age. You are a sweet and dear companion to Jos and I!

It is Christmas Eve tomorrow so I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May your Christmas be a happy time together with the one(s) you love dearest.

Heidi

Christmas impressions.....

With these busy days upon us, here are a few impressions of our home at Christmas...

Today is the 200th anniversary of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales being published. My favorite is Little Red Riding Hood. When I was a little girl, I had a game I would play with my mother. I would go outside and ring the doorbell. My mother would answer and ask who was there. I would happily call out Little Red Riding Hood or another character. Since Little Red Riding Hood was my favorite, my mother sent me this beautiful picture a number of Christmas ago.

Thank you for your wishes for my getting better! I was back laying down yesterday all afternoon but am feeling much better again today.

Do you have a favorite fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm? 

Heidi

A simply perfect day!

Each year in the little fortress-ed Dutch village of Elburg, there is a Christmas event. The village becomes Christmas of 1900. It is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year but there is something really special about it each December...

The beautiful buildings and displays...

The villagers participating in the parade...

Including horse and carriages and the amazing goose shepherd and his dog...

Old world market...

Old world crafts...

And wonderful food! After a snack at a street booth, we had a lunch at an Italian restaurant. They had hot rabbit stew and white glühwein. It was such a delicious treat since we rarely go out to eat since I love to cook so much.

At the end of the day, we came home with a loaf of Elburg wholemeal bread and two oublies (old Dutch pasty with a cookie wafer with mocha cream and covered in chocolate - these are not often for sale in bakeries anymore). More fun was being able to first watch 3 young men in the rope factory as they made a rope with a loop which is woven into the rest of the rope for me to use for a fresh garden garland (will share that later after I make it) and two hand forged hooks bought at the blacksmith shop. I spent almost nothing for those items but went home with wonderful memories of watching these old crafts.

It was a simple and perfect day. We went early and left after we had lunch to avoid the crowds. I have been sick and stuck in the house but was glad I was well enough to have seen this before hand.

I will leave you with this funny photo. Enlarge the photos to get a closer look at the  impressions of Elburg but also the humor of this outhouse in front of a shop...

Heidi

There is no cottage like gnome.....

Christmas is starting to appear in the woods at Cranberry Cottage. I started my decorating this weekend. I have just a few more touches I will add when we make it back up again.

In the meantime, I snapped a few photos to share with you. Remember that crocheted gnome hat I made and the toadstools? I created a gnome tree from my Christmas tree at the cottage. I have always used the bird theme on this tree. I added the gnome hat on the bird house tree topper so I think a gnome must have moved in by now. *grins* There are toadstools on the branches. I have yet another idea but have to find some spare time before we make it back to the cottage.

This little tree skirt was made specially for my pencil pine tree. It had been a patchwork block I used for a quilt class I gave years back in 2004 which was also the first Christmas we had at Cranberry Cottage. It is a reminder of when we bought the little cottage.

Please forgive the horrible wallpaper. The paste dried too fast as the sun streamed in on this wall. We still have to redo it. A shame since I loved this paper and color. We added some things to give this area some festive cheer along with a quilt I made 17 years ago.

So now to decorate our house in the city. I am put in the mood today as we are having our first snowfall this season. It is supposed to turn to rain later today but I will enjoy gazing out as I decorate while it lasts...

Heidi