Humane Taxidermy | Cable Knit Deer Head

The person who made this fabulous knitted deer head should immediately make a small red pom pom and pin it on his nose. Then he would be Rudolph. It would be great with a big wreath around its neck too. The source was etsy.com but when I clicked on the link it said the page no longer existed.



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Reflecting on Christmas

"When the (Christmas) celebration is over may you turn in your memory the love, the giving and the receiving." An illustrated quote from the book, A Christmas Blessing.

I have to say my Christmas was absolutely wonderful. Hope yours was too. Rosemary




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A Christmas Blessing | Book

My mother gave me a wonderful illustrated book for Christmas. A Christmas Blessing by Welleran Poltarness. I'll be scanning more pages for you later. This post features the front and back covers. It's magical.

Merry Christmas, Rosemary




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Nat King Cole | The Christmas Song | Video

This classic Christmas song is one of my favorites. Nat King Cole's voice is so beautiful. Merry Christmas, Rosemary

Here's the link in case this video isn't showing.

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God Bless Us, Every One | Tiny Tim Christmas Quote

I added the quote to this image from "Dickens' Children, Four Drawings by Jessie Willcox Smith" that appeared in the December 1910 issue of Scribner's Monthly Magazine. It is of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit on Christmas Day.

"In came little Bob, the father, with at least three feet of comforter, exclusive of the fringe, hanging down before him; and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed to look seasonable; and Tiny Tim upon his shoulder."

I'm sending my best Merry Christmas wishes to you and yours from my cottage on Christmas Day 2009.




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Mark Twain Food Quote . . .

Mark Twain (1835-1910), American Author and Humorist.
This sounds like an excellent idea to me, especially at Christmas with food everywhere.

photo: Time Magazine Cover July 14, 2008 (cropped)




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Gift Bags I Made Last Year

Last year I made these fabric gift bags for some hard-to-wrap presents. Sometimes I even impress myself. I'm not doing anything so ambitious this year. Just brown paper packages tied up with green twine. I'm keeping it very simple. How about you? Finished yet?




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Sir Walter Scott | Christmas Wish

"Heap on the wood - the wind is chill

But let the wind whistle as it will
We'll keep our Christmas merry still."

This image is from one of my antiquarian books. I thought it was very fitting to illustrate this lovely Christmas quote by Sir Walter Scott. Agreed? Have a great day. Mine is going to be very busy.

Happy Birthday Stacey. I will drop off your gift later today. Save me a big piece of that yummy carrot cake you baked for yourself.




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Hark The Herald Angels Sing + Video

St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

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Dog Waiting For Santa | Video

My friend Jill just sent this to me. It's the cutest thing I've seen so far this year. Watch. Believe me when I say Webster doesn't have this much self control. He would have eaten all of the cookies and Santa would have left him a bag of coal. Merry Christmas. Don't forget to buy a present for your dog.

A Little Bird Told Me To Wish You A Merry Christmas

I digitally added a Christmas wreath around this cute little wren peaking out of his house photographed at the cottage over the summer. He's sending his best wishes for a Merry Christmas and hoping all of you remember to feed the birds.

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Vintage Christmas Card Art of the Cartoonist Roy Doty . . .

If what you see above interests you, click here to read more about the interesting life, times and career of Roy Doty (1922- ) and many, many more of his wonderful Christmas cards from the past 50+ years.

Each of the thumbnails (in the new link) can be enlarged so you can view the full-size illustration. What a treat; a real trip down memory lane.




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Christmas Scene in My Living Room

I have draped almost all of my paintings with cranberry garlands. I'm enjoying this new look very much. Maybe next year I'll tuck a few evergreen cuttings behind some of the frames, especially this one. Baby steps. I cleaned pretty thoroughly today and did all of my food shopping so I am just about ready except for a little more wrapping. I don't know how people with large families get through this time of year. It must be a big blur.




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Antique English Christmas - New Year's Card

I bought a desk out of a house 25 or 30 years ago and it was full of antique cards, letters, postcards, etc. kept by the family for generations. They did not want anything in the drawers and some of the ephemera was wonderful.

I framed my favorite card and photographed it through the glass to share with you. I preserved the inside of the card by affixing it to the back of the framed artwork.

The scene on the front is a small hand-colored lithograph of an old woman smoking a pipe and walking a pig through the snow. She is wrapped in a red shawl and has a basket of something on her back. There is a small cottage in the background with smoke coming out of the chimney. Maybe that is more firewood in the basket. The leash for the pet pig is nothing but a string tied in a bow around its hind leg.
Signed lower left: Ethel Parkinson

The caption hand lettered in gold says,
"MAY YE NIVER WANT AUGHT NOR A FRIEND TO SHARE IT WI YE"

The card is small, measuring 4.5" x 2.75" ~ see inside greeting below.

To: All Readers of my Blog

MY WISH
May God's twin stars of Hope and Happiness
Your Christmas brighten
And your New Year will bless.

From: Rosemary and Webster
Content in their Cottage!




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Another View of My Christmas Tree

It's too early to go outside and not quite light enough to start taking snow pictures. So here is another view of my tree showing the corner of the room. I did everything on my list yesterday and ended up having quite a nice day watching the snow fall. Thankfully, we didn't get as much as they predicted. Check in later for photos. Enjoy your Sunday morning. Rosemary




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