Green Wellies

Wishing Night ceremony...

Wishing Night ceremony...
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

Taking inspiration from Riana, a flickr contact who lives in France, and the Wishing Night ceremony she described, I held my own tonight to say farewell to a fabulous year and to wish in the new one.
I stamped some pieces of paper with wishes not only for me and my family, but for my world of friends and the planet Earth, too. The one marked SOULS was for all of the family members and friends who have left us in countless years past. My neighbours joined in the celebration on my little front porch. It was raining! We used metal bowls to catch the ashes as we burned the paper, scattered the ashes in the garden and then lit a red candle to draw the good thoughts inside. There was heartfelt intent behind each and every wish...even if our cloudy west coast skies hid the full blue moon.
Happy 2010 and may you get all that you dream of!

Another tea towel day!

Another tea towel day!
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

What started out as a bit of a lark when I found a couple of vintage screen-printed tea towels at the thrift store has now become a growing collection. I have found close to 35 towels, no mean feat in a small town. That's why I couldn't believe it when two different packages from two different friends arrived in the mail on the same day and each contained two tea towels. Deb, a friend who volunteered in my classroom for years, sent the V.E. Day towel along with a very British 1000-year Millenium one. Thank you so much, Deb! My collection is growing in leaps and bounds.

A tea towel day!

A tea towel day!
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

When I opened the mailbox, there were two surprise packages waiting for me...and both contained vintage tea towels! Here are the goodies that were in the one that Donn sent to me from Ontario...lovely ironed towels, packages of seeds from her garden, little handmade scrubbies and a sweet ticking bird. What a treat!
Thank you so much, Donn. It's the perfect green wellies gift.

Good morning bird tree...the earth says hello

Good morning bird tree...the earth says hello
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

The big carved crow gives up her spot in the area between the dining nook and the living room to make way for the bird tree each holiday season. This tree is the perfect size for my cottage. Actually, it's the ONLY size that would work in the limited space I have. I gave the family vintage ornaments to the kids for their trees and kept only the birds. I keep adding more each year, mainly thrift store finds. I tucked in five more birds last night and now the flock numbers 46! More is less and less is more.

My wellies will be greener!

My wellies are green!
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

The book I ordered finally arrived from England. For some reason, I thought this was going to be a thin one, but at 380 pages, it's slated to be a good winter's evening read. The author is Anna Shepard and her dedication is, "To my mum, the master of making the new from the old."
It's a month by month exploration of the tricks and ideas to help us become more green...in the home, in the garden, what we wear and what we eat. I can't wait to tuck in!

Real skirt for the tree!

Real tree skirt!
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

I think the idea of using a real skirt or kilt under the tree is a brilliant one. I saw the article, "Skirting Tradition" in the latest edition of Country Living magazine (December/January 2010) and decided to look for a kilt to go under my little bird tree. I found a small one in the children's clothing section at the thrift store. It's a tree skirt in every sense of the word...for less than two dollars!

Pudding molds aglow...

Pudding molds aglow...
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

When Gwen was here visiting with baby Chloe for a week, I gave her some of the old pudding molds that graced the table when she was young. It made me realize how much I missed the glow from them, so I dug out more that I'd saved in an old basket. I replaced the pot I was using as a candleholder on the kitchen table with these ones for the holiday season. There's a lot of good family memories wrapped up in them. I always had a candle going for each meal, including breakfast and for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'd lay a row of the molds down the center of the table...embellished with sprigs of bittersweet vine, cedar or pine sprigs from the back woods.

Gathering in the glass

Gathering in the glass
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

We had a glorious walk on the beach this morning. It was sunny and warm, with no wind. The wave action with the last tide must have been perfect for leaving beach glass behind on the shore. I came home with these beauties in my pocket!

Digging out the woolies for winter...

Digging out the woolies
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

December first...time to sort through the old basket that stores my stash of gloves, scarves and hats. Some are slated for the thrift store (from whence they came) and others are now at the ready for winter. These are two of my all-time favourites...a hat knit for me by Helen Morgan, a flickr contact (and now dear friend) who lives in Australia, showing beach pebbles, waves, Casper, Indy and even my tea pots and my fingerless gloves, knit by Gwen that match the men's work socks I wear all the time. Bring on winter...but not the snow!