December....

My pictures are SO out of order... but you'll just have to put up with it... here are the boys accompanied by Oma's arm, playing with the marble set. As kids, we adored this toy at Mom's hairdresser's place, fascinated with how the marbles spin around and drop and roll. We always have to keep an eye on Aaron, that he doesn't make a meal of the marble but it was fun nonetheless. It was fun to share new toys with them and to watch them growing in understanding. The memory of their sweet hugs if enough to warm the very cockles of my heart (not sure where exactly the cockles lie, but i'm sure they're there somewhere!)
All right... so it's December, as i can tell by the nip of the cold on the tips of my fingers as i type... the furnace hasn't kicked in yet... and it's a little chilly here at the Meadows. But i was running through my pictures last night and since i need to keep up with my prolifically blogging sibling, i thought i'd better churn out an update and share a few pictures detailing the last few weeks in my life. The pictures are by no means all-encompassing... but a little snippet of life. Above is my attempt at holiday decor - some Christmas lights swirled around in a bowl with some candles and some sparkly things... funny thing is that when i went to Rach and Mike's for dinner the other night, what did she have on her table but something similar, involving lights and a glass bowl and Christmas balls... are we children of our mother or what? But hey, it looks super gezellig and that's what counts right? I feel like i could probably put little mini-lights all over the house - decorating all the window and door frames until my house would look like an advertisement for them or a warning as to how not to be efficient with power usage - specially since i don't like LED lights much...
Here's the next creative bit... yes, Mom and Dad, i raided your place for boots, mittens and clippers and headed off into the field to gather rosebuds... oops, sorry, no rosebuds at this time of year... but rather red sticks, red berries on very prickly branches, pine branches and some other random weedy, naturally sculptured things. I had to fend off a dog which came running at me and growling/barking. I wasn't sure if he was being friendly or angry, but at risk of losing essential fingers, i fended him off with the thorn branches and we came to an uneasy truce and he let me get away with my raw materials. I stuffed them all in my trunk and wondered what exactly i was going to do with them... i'm sure my neighbour who just happened to pull in at the same time as me was wondering greatly what i was up to. Maybe i missed my calling, cause man, did i enjoy poking around with those branches and having something turn out kinda neat. The picture is kinda dark because my flash stubbornly will not work, no matter what i do with it, but you get the idea...
Its partner in crime evolved out of the fact that i had some corkscrew hazel branches which i had also stolen from the home gardens and i thought i had better use them but they didn't fit in the big urn character-wise so they got their own container. I think i might need something shiny in there cause it's a little blah but still kinda fun! Since it's based in a chamber pot, i suppose i should come up with some sort of creative name for it... sprucing up the pot? Pining away for you? Going to pot? All suggestions welcome!
Also, my blinds were installed this week past... i really like them, a lot. Just saying. Very cozy and now the neighbours can't peek in at night and it feels oh so cozy in my kitchen!
Another picture of the blinds, you can see "before" and "after". Quite a difference i would say.
In November, my little nephew Aaron was over at my parents with his mom and he was just not feeling well. His breathing was really funny, kinda panting like and he just was not himself. We decided to brave the night and spent Friday evening in the ER. The staff were good, we were in and out in 4 hours thereabouts. He was a total charmer with his red hair, his cute fuzzy pyjamas and his yellow boots, he impressed everyone i think! He had an xray done which unfortunately showed some pneumonia poor little guy. So with a dose of antibiotics, we were on our way home. Aaron was so good the whole time we were there - only getting hyper a few times, then looking like a million bucks of course - that's always the way isn't it? I am ever so thankful we have a good medical system and don't have to trek miles on foot to get to the nearest medical provider who may or may not even have the expertise or meds to take care of us like many people in this world of ours have to do.