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Monday, December 7, 2009

A Man For One Season

Frosty was one cool dude, truly A Man For One Season, and his worthy kin populate That Old House at the holidays, and beyond. I don't put the Snowmen away with the other Christmas bling; they hang around till Ground Hog Day. I think of them as winter decorations, along with jingle bells and an old sled propped up by the door.

Some of our Snowmen are waiting in the dining room for their assignments, blinking in the bright light, having been hauled out of their dark Rubbermaid caves over the weekend.

This morning they agreed to pose on a green tree skirt for some glamour shots
for Mosaic Monday -- hosted by Mary at Little Red House. (Go peek!)

Second picture down, upper left corner -- a small handcrafted snowman is missing the end of his little shovel, because it was chewed off 10 years ago by then-puppy Dion, who also that year ate my prize-winning gingerbread house, and jumped into a box of broken glass tree ornaments and ate them too. It is not only cats who have 9 lives.

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This guy, below, got in line with the Snowmen, so I took his picture even
though he is a Father Christmas, hand carved by my brother in 1991.

It is pure luck that we have him still today, and I'll tell you why tomorrow.

He is a treasure.

"KL" is for my brother. "EL" and "ML" are his kids' initials; they assisted in the painting.


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I love fresh greens in the house at the holidays:

Look! It's a rustic holiday seat cover!

Okay, I'm just kidding.
Even the biggest fans of the primitive or rustic looks wouldn't do that.

But does anyone else remember two or three years back, one of the country
decorating magazines had a Christmas tree in its pages that was a leafless
dead branch stuck in a bucket, hung with the plain lids of tin soup cans on loops of string?
Depression chic, I guess.

I remember thinking, "Somebody lost a bet in that editorial meeting."


Meanwhile, Howard finished assembling the faux Christmas tree in the Parlor yesterday, and now, before I can decorate it, I have to wriggle the branches around till they fill in the gaps, and then straighten and fluff every last stinkin' twig of plastic needles -- whoever said that artificial trees are easier than fresh lied.

Howard and I are also debating where the tree should be plugged in,
so as to camouflage the wiring. He likes the wires where they are.
Stay tuned, this could get interesting.

We're putting a fresh tree in the conservatory; before that can happen,
my dear husband has to take down the existing chandelier to make room.

Howard just loves the holidays. I better bake some cookies, eh? Come back
tomorrow for a story of loss and great gain, of kindness and friendship -- a wonderful Christmas tale. -- Cass

23 comments:

  1. Love those snowmen.. waiting for the story... and the red lights on the tree!!.. my friend Gay does BLUE.. to check out her tree, her blog is marshmallow gardens ...

    And good lord, I thought I was bad with the decorating.. you're making me look good!..lol.

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  2. Hi Cass...Love your snow guys...I collect them too, I almost freaked out at your carved Santa from your dad...My dad carved me two before he died and his initials are KL...Ken Lucas... Gave me goosebumps! Have a great day my friend, xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...

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  3. HI Cass! Oh, what a wonderful snowman mosaic! Love all of them. That little stinker Dion! That's a cute story now but I'll bet it wasn't so cute when it all happened! He ate the broken glass ornies? Oh, my!
    What a beautiful Santa carved by your brother. What a talent!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  4. I thought you were going to try to convince us that it was a holiday toilet seat cover... Ouch!

    Di
    The Blue Ridge Gal

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  5. Love your mosaic! I would leave the snowmen out. I leave some of my angels out...I mean, it can't hurt. And that Dion is a nut. Did he want the ornaments in bite size peices before he ate them? lol!

    Love the Father Christmas carving. Your brother is quite talented and I hope he still keeps up with his art. I have several similar pieces.

    We are still getting the live tree after all these years. Now, if I just COULD twist the stems and branches...

    xoxo
    Jane

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  6. I love the Father Christmas your brother made!

    And I can't believe your puppy survived a box of broken ornaments unscathed. And even ate them! Eeek!

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  7. I love this post! I collect snow people, too!
    And the father Christmas? Priceless

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  8. Hi Cass
    Your snowman collection is very sweet and what a good idea to keep it up all winter.
    Hugs, Rhondi

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  9. Looking good over here. What a treasure you have in that carved snowman. He is so fabulous and I should know because I am an official Santa collector. I have a sign that says so.
    You should cut the flaps off of a cardboard box and wrap it in pretty paper then you can just drop the box right over the plugs and wires to cover them up. You just have to pop up the weightless box to shut them down.

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  10. I love tha Father Christmas got in line with the Snowmen. How funny is that!
    Have more fun!!!

    Melinda

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  11. Cute snowmen mosaic! I like the santa your brother carved also.
    Carolyn

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  12. Your hand-carved Santa is a treasure! Love all the little snowmen! I bring mine out after Christmas & they stay around through February.

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  13. Love those snowmen decorations and maybe you'll start a new trend of putting wreaths on chairs!!!

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  14. Hello Cass I enjoyed my first visit to your blog, it's beautiful and you had me giggling, lovely snowpeople mosaic and santa, Kathy.

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  15. Oh dear, you are working away and making everything so wonderfully festive. Can't wait to watch it all come together!

    Removing a chandelier for a tree? Now that is dedication.

    Becky K.

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  16. LOve the snowmen! Your house is gorgeous!
    And that is a treasure-Father Christmas! I cannot wait to hear the story.

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  17. I think Howard should do a guest post! What do ya think, is he up for it?
    Misha

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  18. Hi Cass,
    Your Snowmen are so cute!

    What a talented brother you have, Father Christmas is beautiful.

    Looking forward to your story about him :)

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  19. You and Howard are so adorable!

    Christmas is fun and your decor' is beautiful Cass. Love your tree!

    Enjoy this joyous season!
    ~Warmly, ~Melissa :)

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  20. Like your snowmen and mosaic! Dion must have a stomach of iron!! :)
    Bare branches with soup can lids - a little to primitive for me.!?!

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  21. Cass -
    I LOVE your collection of snowmen and your handcarved Santa!!! I was going to show my collection of handcarved Santas next on Monday Mosaic - you'll have to come and see them - very similar to yours. Your things look very festive! Thanks for sharing.

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  22. There's something about a snowman - that hat, that nose - loveable. You'll appreciate my tale of woe. I have one little Goebels snowman - have had him for 29 years. Instead of a shovel he carries a little broom made from real twigs. This year when I opened one of the rubbermaid (aka Pod) boxes, there at the bottom lay the broom, sans bonhomme de neige. So far I haven't been able to find him anywhere, so the sad little twig lies waiting on the dining room table.

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  23. I am looking forward to the next post, and yes, you better bake some cookies. It might be a good idea to bake his favorite cookies, taking down chandeliers (or ceiling fans) is NO FUN.
    Kat

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