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| Peanut Brittle cooking ... |
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| ... and cooling. |
The Lace Cookies were a total flop. They ended up in the garbage. No pictures. Pffft.
A little more Christmas decorating was completed. There is still a bit more to be done before Friday ...
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| Fresh holly added to the cupboard above the sink, since a lot of time is spent staring at this shelf while doing dishes .... |
The piano was decorated with a bell garland and gold paper snowflakes. The vintage sheet music has a nice Christmas feel and will be displayed on the piano until the snow melts - unless the youngest comes home; then it's replaced by Stairway to Heaven. Below is a closeup, in case you'd like to make a copy - it is quite pretty.
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| Not used for much except another place to display things these days ... |
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| Closeup of Sheet Music |
The only decorating done on the second floor was the addition of some fresh juniper branches to the upstairs hall table. The wall colours down the hallway are green and burgundy, so it really doesn't require much effort to make it look Christmas-ey. The insomniac is a bit lazy when it comes to Christmas decorating, really ...
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| Greenery and deceased birds - Ho Ho Ho ... |
A closeup of the Victorian Christmas postcard shown above, in case you'd like to make your own card for family and friends - because nothing says Season's Greetings like a dead bird. An early Christmas present from the insomniac to you ...
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| Dead Bird = All the Pleasures of the Season? It's a mystery. |
On Monday, there was a beautiful hoar frost coating everything on the veranda. This is how the black wreath in the bird bath looked on Monday evening.
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| Thank you, Mother Nature ... it's beautiful. |
Franny's Gothidays 2012 continues until December 8th and the insomniac, for one, would like to say, “Franny, this was the best idea ever! It's been so enjoyable reading about everyone's holiday rituals. Please promise to do it again next year!”
Until next time, the insomniac wishes you nights of blissful sleep filled with pleasant dreams. Goodnight, my pretties.
I just LOVE Your piano decoration. And the frosted deer skull <3 It looks like an essence of winter.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear! It's been just wonderful reading your posts on how you celebrate the holidays over in Poland!
DeleteThe deer skull and wreath look so amazing covered in frost, they'll probably stay outside until spring ... ;o)
I LOVE your dish set, and the trophy with the black wreath...and the rest of your home shown in your previous posts, actually! :D
ReplyDeleteAh, the dish set - less heartbreak when a vintage piece gets broken since nothing matches anyway, and easily replaced with something totally different! Plus much cheaper to buy since it's not a complete set!
DeleteThe trophy was a gift from a friend whose husband is a hunter. It's very nice! And thank you for the kind words about our home ... :o)
I am wondering if the dead bird is from a fairytale? Doesn't Thumbalina find a frozen bird and save him? I can't believe I remember that.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a memory, Rhonda! Maybe it's time to reread that fairytale and see if that might be the hidden meaning behind the postcard - it sounds logical! :o)
DeleteThose dishes are to die for! Looks like the little bird already tried to do that... :)
ReplyDeleteYour house is gorgeous. The more I see of it the more I fall in love with it!
And peanut brittle... mmmmm.
Maybe that's the real story behind the dead bird ...
DeleteThank you!
And yes, one batch of peanut brittle is never enough. Sigh. ;o)
Your decorating is so pretty! It's eclectic done perfectly! Waterhouse is one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThumbelina does rescue a frozen bird. He later saves her from a forced marriage by carrying her away to a warm place. And of course she meets a prince there and marries him... it is a fairy tale, after all. ;)
Thank you, Bane! Wouldn't it be wonderful to see an original Waterhouse? Now that would be something!
DeleteWhoa, you and Rhonda both have amazing memories! Of course she meets a prince - and they lived Happily Ever After too, right? Course it wouldn't be much of a fairy tale if she married a troll, promptly got a divorce and took him to the cleaners, would it? ;o)
Your home decor is so gorgeous. Rich and warm and so delightfully reminiscent of the past!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you, Ms. Kitty! We find it to be a cozy house, and not at all “depressing” as has been suggested by some! ;o)
DeleteAwwwww! Yes, yes I will do it again next year. I promise beyond promise! I am having such a fun time reading about everyone's traditions and thoughts!
ReplyDeleteOMG! That is the most stunning hoar frost I've ever seen! SOooooo pretty!
Hey, what's the date on the sheet music? Looks like a litho, but from when? As for the dead bird greeting card, Victorians still had a bit of Puritanical leanings when it came to Christmas festivities. The winter was a reminder of the shortness of life and impending death. In death comes judgment, so the joys of the season would be Christ's coming and mankind's salvation in His death and resurrection... and the figgy pudding on your sideboard! HA!
So many kinds of beautiful! Thanks for participating!
It was an amazing day for frost on Monday - too bad the camera was at home because there were some fantastic photo ops that were missed!
DeleteThe date on the sheet music is MCMVII for the song Love and Devotion, but there are two songs on the back and they are copyrighted 1905 and 1914. And one was absolutely certain you would know the reasoning behind the dead bird on the postcard which was why it was included - so you could finally clear up the mystery - so thank you!! :D
Your house looks AMAZING! So many little details to love, especially the dead bird postcard! Your house should be in some sort of a Christmas decor house tour. Have fun at your potluck, wish I could come!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mme. Polaire! You're in British Columbia, right? Maybe Westjet has a cheap flight - the potluck starts at 6:30 tomorrow night. You know you're more than welcome to come! I'll email you the address, if you'd like. :D
DeleteThat card is the funniest thing I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteIt's the best, right? That's why it's always on permanent display even after Christmas is over. The insomniac actually did make a card out of it one year and gave it to the staff at the local breakfast joint (along with a box of chocolates). And although she thought it was hilarious, nobody else did - except for the Goth guy working there ... ;o)
DeleteMy goodness you have such a flair for decoration! You house looks absolutely stunning, and all that you've been doing!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame we never met while I still lived in Calgary, hehe.
The insomniac's decorating flair pales in comparison to her good friend, who is also her decorating mentor. Not only is she amazingly talented in that regard, but she has also earned the coveted title of Thrifter Extraordinaire - that woman finds the best stuff!! Maybe one day she'll allow pictures to be taken of her home and garden, because there is a place one can spend an entire day poking about in and still never see everything.
DeleteOne was thinking that very same thing, Madame MM. Do you ever come up here for a visit anymore? Because it would be lovely if you could come for tea one day if you did! :D
I am insanely jealous of your home decor in general. Also I think the holly is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Caitlin! One has always wanted to decorate with holly, and finally decided this year to fork over the whopping $14.99 for a bunch. Only to discover upon unwrapping it that most of it was already turning brown and therefore useless for decorating. Sadly, this might be the first and last year for holly, because it is really lovely, isn't it? Just not at that price for that quality ... ;o)
DeleteMaybe fake holly next year?
DeleteProbably! :D
DeleteYou have the greatest pieces in your home! That metal and green glass lamp is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ms. Misantropia! Funny story about the lamps ... a pair of them were won on eBay for an absolute steal, but they were shipped completely unprotected in the box except for two small pieces of newspaper. Although they originally started out with purple glass, only enough of the purple remained unbroken to leave one lamp with a purple shade, but this one was redone in green. The purple one is, of course, the favourite ... ;o)
DeleteI might be repeating myself, but your taxidermy and your Christmas decorations are lovely. :) I think the idea to make snow flakes from some other color than the traditional white is marvellous, I got to try that myself!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jade! And please, feel free to repeat yourself as often as you'd like!
DeleteThe gold snowflakes are holding out quite well - the blue ones are not. Before you decide on a colour, wait until Saturday to see the blue ones. They are very wintery looking and would probably look great in an all-white display. Not that a white display ever happens in this house, mind! :D
I think you've done an amazing job preparing for the holidays. Furthermore, I hereby declare the piano's corner my favorite part of the Gothic Mansion. I love how you've managed to maintain a Gothic flair with the piano while incorporating a Christmas/wintery ambiance. The piano, a gem in and of itself, looks like it could easily date to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The paintings that linger just above on each wall, complete the setting magnificently. You really have a talent for creating atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's Thursday night and a few things have been eliminated from the original plan ... after all, nobody's going to die if there's no mincemeat tarts, right? ;o)
DeleteThe piano was purchased from an older lady who was moving into a nursing home at the same time the youngest offspring decided she would like to learn to play. It's a lovely piece of furniture all on its own, and one day will perhaps be used again for its original purpose rather than just a place to display more stuff!
You really are too kind, Nightwind. Although many don't care for the kind of atmosphere the insomniac loves, it's always nice to know there are those who do! :D
Branches are always nice decoratings :) I love the... well, everything! But the wreath is great with its frost, the lights and the horns! My dad is a hunter so I have a special love for horns and "trofees" :)
ReplyDeleteLinnea-Maria had an excellent idea for using branches in Christmas decorating in her latest Gothidays post - definitely on the crafting To Do List!
DeleteThe spouse never hunted but we have enough friends who donate their items that the house is full of antlers and horns and such! The insomniac has a special fondness for old Black Forest mounts - one would certainly like a larger collection of those! It really was a fantastic frost on Monday - unfortunately, it's all gone now! ;o)
I might be in love with your house.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Guin! :o)
Deletehow great can one house be!!!?? i am in love!
ReplyDeleteThank you, ar†ificial - that's very sweet of you to say! :o)
DeleteI howled (with laughter) about the dead bird, then downloaded it of course. Thanks for a reliably hilarious and useful read.
ReplyDeleteWell, of course you downloaded it - how could you not! Seriously though, hopefully it will come in handy next Christmas for your holiday greeting cards! ;o)
DeleteThank you, Lightning X!