The Great Cricket Search!

   In many cultures, crickets are thought to be harbingers of good luck, future prosperity and protection.  It seems that much lore has been attached to the chirpy critters since the beginning of time.  It was considered to be a happy day when a cricket was found in the home but...it would bring much misfortune if the cricket was killed.  This thought led to many folks protecting their crickets against any danger even to the point of having cricket cages in their homes.  Well, living on the Bayou sees many critters wanting to invade the house...crickets included.  I am not squeamish about the critters that call the Bayou their home and can happily live side-by-side with the lot of them.  Then came the invasion.

  Early on Christmas morn, my oldest son and I were in the kitchen.  I had fixed him a cup of coffee when I heard a strange sound.  Uh, oh...that sounded like the batteries were dying in our smoke alarm.  I tried to remember when we last changed them and continued talking with my son.  Then...about 15 minutes later...another series of beeps...errr....chirps.  The alarm was in the laundry room which is just off the kitchen. I peeped in there but the thing was quiet.  Nary a sound came from the confernal thing so I headed back through the doorway to the kitchen to continue the conversation with my son while we waited on the others to rouse from bed or arrive from their homes.  Soon...the goofy thing chimed again!  Alrighty then...out to the back deck it went.  It was driving me crazy!   We would have to depend on the other alarms that were playing nicely until I could find the proper batteries for this one.  After a bit...I heard the same sounds in other rooms.  Geez!  Those batteries must all be dying!  I spent a good bit of Christmas morning on the search for fire alarms and batteries!  I was thankful once everyone was ready to open gifts!  Yay!  Let Christmas fun begin!

  After all the gifts were opened, My son, Mark, handed out three "special" gifts!  One to each sibling and one to me!  Eeek!  I was excited...short lived glee but...excited!  I opened the package to find a puzzle box...you know...one of those nigh on impossible things to open??  Yep...one of those.  I fiddled with the box, all the while, complaining of those dratted "alarms" that were still screaming.  Aha!  Step one was completed!  I was quite proud of myself!  There, scrunched in the tiny compartment, was a packet of herb seeds!  But...there was more to open...so I continued to push, pull, twist and turn portions of the box until....another compartment and another packet of seeds!  Alrighty, then!  Mom is getting good at this!  Beep..beep...shut-up, alarms!!!  Mark informed me that there was one last compartment and reassured me that I was doing well.   Another few twists of parts of the box and a few shoves revealed the last compartment...completed with a tiny portrait of Jiminy Cricket...you know...that "moral guide" from Pinocchio?  Yeah, him...and he had a message..."Find Me!"  Huh?  I did!  I just found you!  Nope...the search had only begun.

  Well...now it came to light that my smoke alarms were not so confernal after all.  Their batteries were fine...the beeps were not coming from them.  Mark had hidden some sort of noisemakers all over my house!  The beeps (chirps) were Jiminy Crickets and I had to find them to make the noise stop. Arghh!  What had my son done???  Beep..beep.  The search was on while he sat at the kitchen table chopping vegetables for our Christmas dinner that I was supposed to help him make...and to top it off, he had a big smirk on his face.  Ugh!  Crickets!  Why did they have to be electronic things that, as he informed me, would keep chirping for approximately 3 years...THREE YEARS!  I searched, he smirked as the morning slipped by.  Soon this became a family effort and everyone who was not involved in his sneaky scheme chipped in to help rid the house of Jiminy!  Oh, was I happy when my son-in-law announced that he found a cricket on top of the huge china cabinet!  Whew!  One down....beep...beep.  Ugh!  About a half hour later, my sweet granddaughter squealed that she found one!  I could do nothing but hug her! Oh, happy day!  Beep..beep.  Not another!  Yep...another.   About this time, both grandkids decided it was time to play with their Christmas gifts and several other of my "team" decided it was time to help their sibling who was now in the midst of preparing the dinner by himself.  (Ha!  Payback for sending his mom on this wild goose chase!)  They cooked...I searched with my only ally...Darling Daughter, Elizabeth.  Beep...beep.  We were back in that laundry room!  Now anyone who has ever been in the Little Bayou House can attest that searching any room would be a difficult task but that laundry room also doubles as a storage area for home canned goods, dehydrated herbs and most of my canning supplies.  It also houses three large freezers so searching there would prove to be challenging but Elizabeth stuck with me and we found the elusive Jiminy!  Wow!  What an unexpected gift!  It was so much fun to have the whole family involved and the search will be talked about for years to come.  Not to mention...I am glad the fire alarms are still in good working order and were not chunked too far out the back door!  Thanks, Mark!...Now, son...no more shirts for you for Christmas...it is payback time!  Beep!

  

The "Dead Crab"

   My brother is one of those people who truly appreciates any kindness shown to him.  This is quite evident when he receives my Christmas gifts to him each year.  My gifts have to be some of the most unusual to be gifted as I make him things literally out of "nothing".  Since we are no strangers to storms that wash debris into the yard and to catching our meals from the Bay, it is my habit to create a whimsical gift out of whatever I find.  He receives them with much glee and true appreciation as he claims that the work and thought behind the object far outweighs any money that could be spent.  I suppose...or...he humors me.  Still, each of the past gifts decorate his porch which is his main entertaining spot so I feel he may just find the things as interesting as I do.

  This year, I was in a quandary.  I had already used driftwood as a basis of his gifts for the past several years and wanted to do something a bit different.  A wondrous idea hit me when I was checking the crab pots and found that a blue crab had shed.  The soft-shell crab was destined to be supper but that discarded shell was meant for a "higher" purpose!  That would be my gift to Brother Jimmy!  Yep, he was to receive a "dead crab" this year!  After carefully cleaning the crab, I set to gluing it back to its original shape.  Then came the trouble of painting it.  Crabs, when they die, change colors.  I wanted this one to look as close to natural as possible.  The painting was no easy task because, by the time I did it, there were no live crabs to use in comparison.  I just had to wing it.  Once that was complete, I coated it with several clear protective coats and then tried to figure out a "frame".  Nothing fit.  Crabs are fat.  So...an old salvaged window from a discarded door became a suitable frame...of sorts.  A bit of rope found in the yard rounded out the decor! 

  While most folks would have sneered at my attempts, he loved it.  Since he does a lot of crabbing and soft-shelling, the idea struck a chord with him.  The simple gift now adorns his porch wall.  I am sure that all the folks that gather around are fully amused at the "dead crab" gift but I can rest assured that my brother loves his quirky gift...and perhaps his quirkier sister that has weird ideas!  

Everyone Needs A Broken Chandelier!

   I have finally had a chance to start thinking what I shall create with the broken lamp pieces that my brother gave me for Christmas.  Yes, he and I exchange odd things but to us they are treasures!  We understand each other so all is well.  As I was digging through the box of "lamp" parts, it became apparent that these are actually from an old chandelier. Well, that changes things.  My creation will most likely now have to be a hanging object instead of something mounted.  Still the treasure trove in intriguing and my brain is whirring with ideas but, first, these things need to be cleaned.

  When my brother found the chandelier, it had been dropped down inside of a large, plastic bin.  Over time, the bin was filled with water so the parts had become quite gunky.  So...what does one do with gunky parts?  Well, according to my brother who is a mechanic by trade, you soak the parts in gasoline.  Hmmm?  Something tells me that bronze should not be soaked in gas.  The parts were (ahem) cleaned...sort of...maybe...or maybe not.  I got to work this morning since it was very foggy and, at 4am, still too dark to go to the pier.  A soft wire brush, some wax polish and shoe buffer worked nicely for the restoration.  The process is time-consuming and I have a few scratched knuckles but the pieces are looking so much better!  I have about a fourth of the pieces buffed...and a lot more to do.

  The next few mornings will find me buffing the chandelier components and then the fun shall begin!  Another oddity will come to be and the Little Bayou House will be all the more beautiful because of it.  THIS, I look forward to doing.  Finally, there will be something beside chores filling my day.  Son has assured me that his foot has healed enough for him to take over cutting the firewood for the remainder of the winter so, perhaps now, my mental state can improve.  Being creative can do that!

"Best Kind of Gift"

   A couple of years ago, I was talking with my brother and he made the comment that he did not want gifts of "things I have to put in the house" for Christmas.  It seems that he is in about the same boat I am in with the house filled to the max.  There IS no room for anything else.  I keep telling folks to stop giving me things that take up space.  Don't buy me some cutesy knickknack because you have no idea what to bring...bring yourself.  That is it.  Both my brother and I have come to realize that "things" are not what are needed.  Kindness is.  So, I vowed to not get him anything that needed to be put "in" the house.  Instead, I found a way to let him know that my heart wishes him well but without the needless buying of things.  It has become a custom for me to give him hurricane debris!  Yep, hurricane debris!

  Storms have a tendency to wash just about everything imaginable up in the yard on the tidal surge.  That stuff gets stuck and it is a chore to clear it.  So, I hit upon the idea of giving it as a gift!  Now before you think I merely haul a wheelbarrow of garbage to his house, let me explain.  My brother loves all things to do with our Coastal living especially the overlooked things.  So, I have taken to salvaging driftwood from the storm surge lines and creating some oddity to give him.  We get a good laugh and then, if the whim strikes him, he can use the piece as firewood.  (I always remind him of that option!)  As an example, last year I created a life sized Great Blue Heron out of driftwood.  Life sized as in 4ft tall!   He loved it!  The crazy bird still stands on his deck with its head stretched high as it looks over the Bay.  In fact, he claims that everyone that visits loves his bird.  Aww...now I feel pretty good about that debris!

  This year, in keeping with the theme, I decided to get in the holiday spirit and make a Christmas Tree of sorts for him.  Again, that hurricane debris driftwood came into play.  The tree was put together with screws and jute string, strung with some mini lights and draped with Spanish moss.  I topped it with a rubber starfish that has been "floating" around here for years and tied on some shells as ornaments.  Once finished, I hauled the 3ft tall tree over to his place.  Yep...he loved it and immediately hung it on the wall of his porch.  Each evening, those little lights twinkle brightly as the glorified sticks of driftwood hold the decorations. 

  All of this just goes to show that Christmas is in the heart not in your hand.  Give something that shows you care.  Hurricane debris gifts?  Yep, I care enough to get creative with the "firewood" I give to him.  We both get a good laugh and lots of hugs.  You might be wondering what he gave to me?  Well, my gift is a bunch of really neat pieces of an antique chandelier that he found.  He handed me a box of the dismantled light parts and I was thrilled.  He knows how much I like to repurpose old things in my creations!  My head is already spinning with ideas of how to use the treasures!  Merry Christmas, folks.  Don't give cluttering gifts...give time...give love...give from the heart...or....give hurricane debris!  It is great to have a brother who can find the love behind a gift of driftwood.

At A Loss For Words

  So it was not enough that my sweet niece, her husband and son came to the Little Bayou House and made my whole Christmas a lot brighter, they had to outdo themselves by returning.  Well, Eva, their son and a family friend came.  Erik was not able to be here in person as he works on a riverboat but with the magic of technology, he was able to be in on a huge surprise.  And, WOW!  What a surprise!  I am at a loss for words to describe the feelings going on inside of me right now.  

  If you recall, it is a big part of my Christmas to make a special batch of cookies for Erik.  With his sweet nature, he has always bragged on the cookies so it was only natural that I bake for him.  When they came to retrieve his annual gift of baked goods, I offhandedly mentioned that my arthritis was acting up and I would have to wait before baking any more of that type.  The dough is particularly difficult to get to come together with just a small hand mixer.  Out of pure sweetness, this family opted to gift me an amazing stand mixer!  It is so beautiful and big and powerful that I am almost intimidated to try it. Son promised that tomorrow, he will get me over my uncertainty and help me figure out this new gadget.  "In no time, you will be using it with ease." he assured me.  I hope so...I hope so.  For now, it sits on the counter and I admire its beauty.  Will I actually learn to use it and churn out some wondrous treats worthy of such a machine? 

  While receiving such a gift is phenomenal, what is truly mind-boggling is the love behind it.  Erik and Eva care about me and the discomfort I am having.   They sincerely care.  It is beyond heartwarming.   Several times this evening, the love and kindness shown has caused me well up with tears.  I am so very blessed...so very blessed.  

  

It was meant to be

Back when I was a teenager, I was restless just like any other of that age.  I felt that growing up on the farm had limited me.  I had high ambitions!  I wanted to take the world by storm and be "somebody".  I wanted off the farm and out of the area.  Just like so many teens, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do or how I was ever going to achieve any of my lofty goals with no cash but I just knew that this simple life was not for me!  "As soon as I can, I am out of here!" Ha!  Those famous last words can always come back to haunt someone by being as absurd as anything!  I left that farm alright and moved just about a quarter of a mile west.  Yep, since that day that I left the family home, I have lived just a stone's throw away.  There I settled and have been happy since.  I love living on the Bayou with all of my critter friends!  I love the water, the marsh and even the smell of low tide.  I guess you can say it is in my blood.  My grand intentions of making a huge mark on the world has turned into a desire to leave very little footprint when I leave.

Without realizing it, I do believe my settling here was "in the stars".  Fate knew long before I did that I would become one with the area.  Today, I found evidence of just that.  Hanging on a post in my living room is a small plaque.  This was something that I had made for Pop years ago.  I remember that it was one of those Christmases that money was short (not a rare occurrence on the farm).  I decided to make all of my gifts that year.  I have little recollection of any of the other crafty presents but this one was handed back to me after Pop died.  Being about fifteen years old at the time, Granddad helped me saw the board, make little scalloped edges with the router and secure a rope at the top. We had seen similar blank plaques in the stores but could make one far cheaper.  Cutting the plaque was the hard part.  Finishing it was easy.  I chose to woodburn a pelican for Pop since he was always talking about "Old Gus".  I figured if he liked a pelican enough to tell stories about it, then he would surely like it to be immortalized on a hunk of wood!  Pop did like it.  When he opened my pathetic gift, he beamed like any good father would.  The plaque was immediately hung on the wall and stayed there until his passing nigh on thirty years later.  Now the thing hangs in my house and most likely will stay on the post for a good time.

When I look at my feeble attempt at drawing a pelican so long ago, I think of how that it was a beginning. I started drawing more critters and perfecting the skill of noticing life around me. This showed that at least I was aware of the critters of the Bayou and the importance that they were in Pop's life.  That importance has lapsed over into mine now.  A simple homemade gift might have foretold my entire existence had I listened to the calling of the Bayou long ago.  But I, like any other teenager, needed to express myself..my wants, my likes and my dislikes.  Funny how all of that changed with a few years.  My wants, my likes and my dislikes all pivot around the Bayou.  It is here that I belong....at least for now.

Shopping in all the Wrong Places

Michael went back in the creek bed to see if any dead trees needed to be removed.  These he chopped down and hauled up the hill to be further cut for firewood.  Michael prefers to use an ax instead of the chainsaw as he says it gives him a good bit of exercise.  (Only my son would see the extra work as a good thing!)  He made several trips back and forth until he had several logs to chop into firewood sized pieces.  His logic being that it was far easier to haul a tree out of the creek bed than to haul armloads of small twelve inch long cut logs.  When I heard his ax chopping through the logs, I went out to stack the wood.  All of the twigs were cut into "starter" and put in the bins near the woodstoves.  The larger logs were stacked on the rack near the garden.

After working for several hours, we were a bit exhausted.  I suggested it was time for a cup of coffee to which he readily agreed. "I'll be right back.  I have to get something." he said as I headed to the kitchen.  As he jogged back down to the creek bed, I thought perhaps he had forgotten a tool.  Michael is a stickler for caring for his tools!  He always collects them and wipes them clean before storing them.  He is so much like his two grandfathers!  After just a few minutes, he was back at the door.  "Got you something!" he said.  Hmmm..I am not sure this was a good thing.  Just what does one bring his mother from the creek bed?  Back in the day, I would not have been surprised to find a frog, turtle or snake being hauled into the house but hopefully, he has outgrown those days.  I stepped outside just in time to see him turning on the water hose.  Uh, oh.  Now what?

He actually had something rather neat.  Most women would cringe at his "find" but the wheels in my mind started twirling!  What could I do with this and where would I put it?   "Merry Christmas, Mom!  I got you a Gnome Home!" he grinned.  There sat a stump.  Yep, a stump.  When he chopped down a dead tree, he noticed that the remaining stump was rather oddly shaped and had lots of nooks and crannies among the roots. Several parts of the tree had rotted leaving holes that looked a lot like little rooms and hallways.  On the outside, a lovely green moss covered a good bit of the bark. It was, indeed, a most interesting stump!  With that, he pushed and pulled until he had uprooted the thing.  He knew that I would find it intriguing!  Wow!  This thing was so neat!  I am quite sure that I will somehow find a perfect place in the garden for my little Gnome Home!  We giggled a bit about the fact that he could give me something like this and I would find it perfectly normal.  I really do love it!  He looked at me and made the comment that it was easy to get presents for me.  "Anyone that cannot find the perfect gift for you, must be shopping in all the wrong places, Mom."....only my son...only my son.  You have to love someone who knows you so well that a tree stump is a great gift!

The Red Box

I received an early Christmas gift today.  Early this morning, I was handed a red box.  Not just any red box but "THE" red box.  My sister delivered gifts a bit early this year since it is a "far piece" between our houses.  She happened to be down this way and decided now was the time.  She hauled in a rather large red box and set it on the dining room table.  "Here is your gift!" she said with a little giggle. Then she proceeded to open the box and disperse gifts for other family members.  I was in the midst of protesting as we had set a one dollar limit on our gifts to each other and this box was definitely not purchased for a dollar.  "Well, I just could not pass it up!  I got it for a just a few dollars and look!  It is red!"  Susan knows that I have a thing for red!  I love it!  The Little Bayou House is practically painted red!  She continued, "Dale asked if it was too bright but I told him it was for you..it was NOT too bright!" By this time she was finished emptying the box.  "Here you go!  Merry Christmas!" She handed me the empty box.

Now granted this is quite a large box and it is covered with red leather but most folks would have found it a tad strange to receive an empty box as a gift.  Not me.  I ask you, "Is a box ever really empty?"  Nope, if you look deep within you can find all sorts of things that are far more memorable than any trinket that could have been put in there.  When I looked into the box, I found good old fashioned Commonsense.  Susan understood that I have a storage problem here and knew that a hefty storage box would prove useful.  Make that box decorative and the Commonsense is doubled.  I would not have to find a place for my box once it is filled with many items.  Taking a second look in the box, I found Whimsy.  She and I always manage to see the happy, fun side of things.  The box being red proves that we both like the unexpected!  Delving a bit deeper, I was able to grab ahold to a healthy portion of Reliability !  The sturdy box was built well and would serve long!  Next to surface was Versatility.  The box was definitely versatile!  I immediately made plans to use it as a Christmas decoration but later it would house crafting supplies!  After Versatility, came Practicality, Adaptability and Thoughtfulness.  All were in there ready for me to unpack.

Lastly, when I looked into the box, I saw Love, lots and lots of Sisterly Love.  There was an enormous amount of Sisterly Love contained not only deep in the depths of the box but spilling out from all sides!  This was the most endearing thing in the box.  That Sisterly Love binds us together through thick and thin, through the good times and bad, from our childhood to our golden years.  Yep, that empty red box was filled to the brim with the most wondrous of treasures!

Little Treasures from Brothers!

The Little Bayou House is decorated from top to bottom with all sorts of fantastical things.  The Christmas Season has become more of time of remembrance for me than the eager anticipation of what is to come.  I find myself cherishing things from long ago more than any new items that I purchase as decorations.  It is true that I find all decorations for the season beautiful and wish at times that the house could stay adorned with all of the reds and greens but alas, that would soon grow to be a bit tiring.  This year, things are a bit more rustic and a bit more nostalgic than years past.  I pulled things like antique toys from their hiding places in closets and put them out under the Christmas trees.  Oil lanterns, rope garlands and even burlap made their way into the decorating theme this year.

Michael helped me to gather some fresh cedar and pine branches today.  These have been placed on shelves and the mantles.  Pine cones and red berries fill in the areas nicely and add a cheery touch.  In one of the windows of the dining room, I placed pine branches and red and green fairy lamps.  In this window, there are three shelves.  When I was poking the pine on the top shelf, I picked up a small oil lamp to be placed along with the pine.  A memories started flooding back from days of my childhood.  This small lamp was a gift from my oldest brother when I was only about seven years old.  Money was hard to come by and we, as kids, had to earn pennies to spend on our gifts for family members.  Pecans, Dogwood berries and Red Bud seeds were all picked and sold.  Our share being a penny a pound.  That did not add up very quickly but if we worked hard, we could save at least a dollar or two!  The little lamp probably only cost him a few nickels..he got one for me and one for my sister.  It mattered not that the lamp was inexpensive..I loved it.  I still do.  I have both of the little lamps..hers and mine.  They sit on the shelf each year as a reminder of a happy childhood.

Next to the little lamps, sits another gift that I received about the same year.  My youngest brother (who is just a bit older than me) gave me a little Christmas elf.  This has to be the cutest elf ever made! Recently, I have seen a lot of these as they have now become popular again.  None are as cute as mine!  When my brother gave me this, I can remember falling in love!  My Little Elf never left my side!  I took him everywhere!  When it came time to pack away the Christmas decorations, I cried for Mom to let me keep Little Elf.  She relented and the elf lived with me all year round!  It is a wonder that it is not ragged and torn to bits but I suppose I handled it with love as it is still relatively intact.  It is a bit grubby and a lot faded but not so much that I could ever discard it!   Even though I came in possession of a dozen or so other little elves over the years, this one is still a favorite.  Even Michael told me earlier that this was always his favorite as well. Mom used to hide the elves all over her house when my kids were small.  Each time we would visit Mom and Pop, (which was almost daily!), the kids delighted in finding the elves!  They never knew just where they would find them!  Sometimes an elf was perched on a picture frame while another might be hiding on the piano.  Mom and Dad enjoyed not only hiding the elves but watching the kids hunt for them!  Simple games...good times.  Now the little elves peep from the branches of the Christmas Trees or hide among the garland at my house...and Little Elf is still my favorite!  hehe...And those two brothers are favorites!

The Christmas Gift Tree!

Occasionally..ok, quite often, I get one of those harebrained ideas stuck in my head and there it stays until I at least attempt or convince someone else to attempt to make it come to fruition.  This particular thought occurred to me long ago..way back years ago right after Hurricane Katrina.  Anyone who saw our place could fully attest to the mountains of debris that washed in with the flood waters.  By mountains, I mean in some areas, it was every bit of ten feet deep!  It was like the master of all treasure hunts once we started cleaning.  I was amazed at all of the stuff that had come from who knows where.  Of particular intrigue was the amount of furniture or parts of furniture.  This all seemed far too much of a waste just to toss on the burn pile so a goodly amount was set aside with good intentions.  Yes, I did refinish and restore a ton of it but there still remains a lot that is just parts of tables, dressers and beds.  My harebrained idea involved some of these pieces..mainly the beautifully hand-carved pieces that were once drawer fronts of antique dressers.  How in the world could I throw these pieces on the trash pile?  I did not.

This week, Son asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  I know he hates to shop about as much as I do which accounts for my usual "Christmas Pizza"!  Michael would always just tell me that he would treat me to a pizza when we were taking down the decorations after Christmas had passed.  This was greatly appreciated after all of the work of the holidays and after all of the sweetness of great quantities of cookies.  But this year, I was ready for him to ask his question!  "Hey, Mom, what do you want for Christmas?" he queried.  "I know just what I want!" my answer took him aback!  Then I dove into explaining just what he could do for me!  I told him that I wanted a Christmas Tree!   He questioned this as we had just put up and decorated two very large trees..one in the dining room and another in the living room.  "No, no, no...I want one for the hallway!" I exclaimed!  He stared at me and then at the hallway.  I suppose he thought I was as batty as a loon at about this point.  Our hallway is a mere three feet wide and putting a Christmas Tree in there would be slap nuts!  I persisted by explaining what I wanted. My description of the tree left him more confused than ever until I gathered together the pieces.  Then he began to understand.  My tree was to be made from all of the ornate carved pieces that I had saved from Hurricane Katrina. And so, he set to work.

I am now the proud owner of a very unique tree!  He made it exactly how I requested and it is perfect!  After a rubbing of green paint and some wood stain, the tree is ready to be installed in the hallway.  Tomorrow, he will cut a "tree stand" to be mounted beneath the tree itself and with two small nails, my tree will stand in all its glory!  The hallway will be decorated. I will have a Christmas gift that will last a lifetime and the beautiful handiwork of artisans that hand carved the wood will not have been wasted!  This is a win/win situation for all of us!  I love my tree and I love Son for not thinking his mom is too crazy!