December 6th was 'Mitten Tree Day', so Aaran and Byuri gathered every mitten they could find, and took them outside to put on a little spruce tree....
Another memory - the year with no 'Christmas'. It was 2016, and our daughter-in-law, whose birthday is at the very end of November, asked for us to make a gingerbread village together. So we got together at our house on the first Saturday in December, and spent the entire day baking and decorating. The icing was not dry enough for them to take the little houses home, so they stayed at our house....for much longer than anticipated. So I took the opportunity to take some photos of them with my dolls. Tillie and Cinnamon were the only two Kaye Wiggs tinies at that time... I'd made a little gingerbread dragon 'self-portrait' for Winston.... But then my Mother, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's for eleven years, reached the final stages of her awful disease, and we spent ten days at her side as she finally slipped away on December 22nd. I had managed to take a few more photos earlier in December, but that was the end of it, as the family, instead of celebrating, spent Christmas Day planning a funeral. Which is why these photos are so personal to me. No fancy costumes, no elaborate sets, and no stories, but they were the only 'Christmas' photos taken that December. *To see more photos - the Gingerbread Village
Today, December 6th, is St. Nicholas Day. My little Kaye Wiggs girls were excited when he showed up to deliver their goodies personally... The girls had already received chocolates and oranges in their wooden shoes, which they'd left out the night before, but St. Nicholas wanted to hand out the chocolate letters to everyone personally... "We both got a 'T'", said Tillie to Talyssa, who was already starting to eat hers.... Hope had opened hers as well.... "I still haver a few more to hand out..." ...and he passed his staff to Layla to hold for him. Then after giving Cinnamon her 'C'.... ... he offered an 'R' to Raillie.... "Thank you! I love these!' Shy little Lenny had been hiding in the back.... But St. Nicholas coaxed her forward.... "I have a letter 'L' here, just for you...." "You've been such a good little girl this year..." "I certainly wouldn't want you to miss out." 'Thank you...."
Every day on Facebook I'm shown 'Memories' , photos I've posted on that same day in previous years, and there's so many great photos showing up, that I thought it might be nice to revisit some of those older Christmas posts here as well. So I'm starting with 'the Toy Store'.....
December 4th is 'National Cookie Day', and Byuri had been busy baking... She loved baking and decorating cookies.... She offered some to her friends.... "This one is delicious!" Erin took a couple to try....
December 1st was 'National Pie Day', and also 'Eat a Red Apple Day'.... "How come you get pie, while I get the apple?" "Okay..... you take this slice...." "...and I'll cut myself a new one...." "...and then we'll both have pie."
The children's class had been rehearsing for the upcoming Christmas concert.... Effie, who had been taking singing lessons from an opera star, got to sing a solo.... Aki was having a bit of difficulty with her bells........
I have another new camera. I ended up returning the T3 which I got two weeks ago. After trying it out and looking it over, I discovered a deal breaker - the data card went into the bottom of the camera in the same slot as the battery, and that little door would be covered by the shoe of my tripod, making it a total pain to constantly be removing the card to check my photos. No good. So now I have a different model....the Canon Rebel EOS T8i.... This camera has many features that I actually prefer, so it looks like this one is a keeper. It will still take some getting used to, but I have started using it, and with far more success than the T3.
I still need to update my cataloguing system and switch to the new Photoshop, because some day when I inevitably need a new updated computer, my old systems won't work anymore. But in the meantime our son has made it so the new image files will still work on my antiquated systems, so I can take my time easing into all the new technology. December 1st was 'National Tree Lighting Day'.
The tree in the living room was all decorated, and it was time to plug in the lights.... I have lots of ideas for continuing Naomi and Baron's story in the new year, and even though I really should be focusing on the pre-Christmas photos right now, I just couldn't resist making a new gown for Naomi. After all, I'll be needing several new medieval gowns for when Naomi starts her new dress shop. Her contemporary one was easy, since I already had all kinds of fancy costumes and gowns that she and her assistants could be working on, but I don't have any spare Medieval outfits - just what all the ladies are currently wearing. So I thought I should start with Naomi herself. That gold gown she wore earlier would be way too fancy to be wearing around the castle every day. She'd need something more 'everyday'. So I chose some fabrics.... The dress went rather quickly since it didn't have nearly as much embellishment. I love doing the beading and embroidery, so really had to restrain myself to keep it 'simple'... I think this new gown will be so much more suitable for chores around the palace......and for whenever she gets around to starting her new Medieval dress shop..... Now I want to make some new shirts for my three knights to wear - something more casual - so they don't always have to be wearing their chainmail.
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
May 2024
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