Christmas Thought?

   Christmas has come and gone and has taken a part of my heart.  My eldest son, wife and grandkids have gone back to their home in Florida and daughter and son-in-law have made their escape over a couple of towns from here.  Elizabeth and Robbie will be back tomorrow to share New Year's dinner with us but, for now, the place seems to be empty.  I am still not ready to tackle the task of "de-Christmasing" so the decorations shall stay for another week...maybe more unless I get the energy.  

  Christmas decorating at the Little Bayou House is never the same.  Sure, most of the ornaments are used year after year but the manner of decorating can be entirely different.  This year, the living room was outfitted with as much "Victorian" clutter that it could hold while the dining room was nothing less than country/bayou.  Both seemed fitting...both were enjoyed by all who visited so I count it as a success.

  After unleashing the frenzy of gift-opening, a thought occurred to me.  Why do this?  Every year, we stress over what to give, panic over undelivered or late packages and overspend.  Why?  All gifts were received with grace and appreciation but the most oohs and ahhs were expressed over the handmade gifts. My three adult kids handmade a gift for their siblings.  I was fully impressed with their creativity and the excitement, giggles and love proved that those simple gifts were the best!  No, I did not get photos.  I wish I had.  Hopefully, I will do better next year.  Now, I am in "gift-making" mode.  I do believe I shall try to handmake each and every gift for this next Christmas.  

  Perhaps, if I stress this idea enough, each member of the family could jump on the bandwagon and give homemade gifts.  Nothing needs to be overly elaborate nor expensive...just something given from the heart.  Isn't that what Christmas is all about anyway?  Love?  Even though the official "day" has passed...the love and giving should continue.  So....Merry Christmas, folks!  

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!  

Bringing the Manor Back to its Full Glory!

  Today, I painted the house....both inside and outside!  I even painted the roof!  Of course, I am not referring to the Little Bayou House but rather what shall from this point forward shall be called the "Tiny Bayou House"!  In the readying of the place for the visit of the grand-littles, I repainted the old dollhouse that Darling Daughter had when she was a tyke.  It has been a long time since she played with it and, over time, it had become quite grungy.  The house had become a makeshift shelf in the bottom of a closet and held all sorts of items that just did not seem to go anywhere else.  Well, they found a new place to go and that place was the garbage can!  The dollhouse was hefted up atop the dining table and the paint job commenced.  Now the dollhouse can return to its full glory as a plaything for the Grand Princess.

  The story behind the dollhouse is almost as precious as the house itself.  Years ago when Mark and I had toddlers of our own, money was short at times.  Mark was working in the construction business and, as we all know, weather dictates when workers are on the job.  No work...no pay.  It just so happened that around Christmas one year, the weather was quite rainy (about like this year!).  With the rainy season, jobs were scarce so we had pennies to spare for gifts.  Old Santa was in dire need of some help.  His elves got busy and created all sorts of magical things as gifts for our kids.  Stuffed animals and doll clothes were sewn, wooden boats and cars were built.  It was fun for us to see just what we could create on a budget of nothing.  Mark built a house. The dollhouse for Darling Daughter was made purely from scrap lumber and odd pieces scrounged from relatives' sheds.  He worked at my folks' home so that Elizabeth would not see the dollhouse.  When it was carted home long after the kiddos were in bed, I had to paint the thing in the upstairs closet!  Again...fun times.

  The Tiny Bayou House shall take on the new role of entertaining the next generation.  It has been painted and sits ready to occupy its new (old) residents.  I have plans of stitching a few outfits for some of Darling Daughter's old fashion dolls so Mary Ruth, the Grand Princess, can pretend to her heart's content.  I do not know who will have more fun...me, reviving the old toys or the grandlittles playing with them come next month!