Each Little World

A bowlful of Christmas

Over the years I've picked up a lot of inspiration and tips for holiday decorating from my sisters-in-law. I love to watch what they do with items that come out every year as well as seeing how they incorporate new treasures. My sister-in-law Sara and I both set out a bowl or platter of ornaments and objects on a prominent table in our living spaces. I think we both started with natural items like pine cones and pomegranates, slowly adding a bit of glitz and glitter over the years. I can look at her grouping and mine and remember certain items we bought on joint shopping excursions.

Sara put a string of battery-operated lights on hers which makes a quiet statement while letting you see the lovely ingredients more easily. I used my short string of lights for another project but seeing her display has convinced me I need to get a strand to add to mine. 

I always use the same Win Byers black and red platter for my display. I bought it for Mark as a wedding present after he'd admired it at one of our favorite local galleries, though it is so full of objects the color is barely visible.

Mine still has quite a few natural items like clove-studded pomander balls, large pine cones and dried pomegranates. Though this is the first year that I've had such a wealth of dried pomegranates that I did not use them all.  

 That's because glittery pomegranate ornaments are taking over, along with glass, varnished and metal pinecones. 

My tip for this type of holiday display: Store all the items in one container, along with the lights, so you don't have to go searching when you want to put this together. And don't forget to label the outside of the box!

Recent Reads: One for the holidays

When I first became aware of blogs in the early 2000s, all the bloggers I followed lived in the United Kingdom. They were bakers and gardeners and knitters and cooks and above all, readers of books. It's on those blogs that I discovered so many books and authors that were new to me and have since become favorites. It's also where I found Persephone Books which I've written about so many times that I made it a category on my blog

I still read many of those blogs, though not as often. But every time I visit I learn about a new book that I want to read. My latest discovery is "The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, stories and essential recipes for midwinter" by Nigel Slater. Slater is described as an "award-winning author, journalist and television presenter." He's also written a food column for the Observer, a UK newspaper, for 25 years. I knew his name but that's about all. I had not come across this book locally and thus took a chance and ordered it sight unseen. I could not be more pleased with the result of my leap of faith as I found the book to be much richer than its title implies.

The book does not have a dust jacket; instead there's a nice fabric cover with gold and a ribbon page marker. There are lots of food photos as well as holiday store windows, Christmas trees, Advent calendars and the like. The pages are bright white with type that's easy to read and recipes printed in a size that is useful — though the measurements are all metric. There's an index in the back so you can easily find a recipe but no table of contents.

Instead the book opens with a generous introductory essay and then offers a daily dose from November 1st until February 2nd aka Candlemas Day. That was always a church-going occasion when we were growing up. But now the recipe for "Lemon, orange and basil ice" and Slater's description of a snowy morning in Japan are of much more interest to me. Since Slater was generally unknown to me, I looked him up online and discovered that he also has a lovely garden behind his house. A dreamy garden (below) to say the least, if you are an Anglophile like me. 

I found Slater to be a witty, opinionated, knowledgeable and amusing writer. He describes looking at bare trees in winter "when they are at their most peaceful . . . like watching a loved one asleep." Or how about this: "The flavors of winter come at us like paper-wrapped presents in a Christmas stocking." And then he goes on for half a page enumerating those flavors and fragrances. Each evening I sit in front of my fire and read that day's entry. I'm not sure if I will ever make any of Slater's recipes but the text is evocative enough to satisfy my needs. 

Nigel Slater portrait by 4th Estate; the other photos are from Wiki

Since  we''re already at the end of November, you will have missed reading a third of the book if you follow along day-by-day the way I am. But then just think of all that you will have to enjoy next November when you pull it off the shelf and open it again. Reading this could easily become an annual holiday tradition. 

NOTE: Since I bought this book in September, I have seen it in the holiday listings of a number of independent bookstores. So I would first check with your favorite local bookstore before you go online.   

Fiber Friday: Olbrich Botanical Gardens

I've said it before and I will say it again: The Growing Gifts shop at Olbrich Botanical Gardens is an unsung treasure trove of treats. Clothing, accessories like hats and scarves and bags, books and greeting cards, home decor objects like trays, vases and candle holders and lots of fun (and educational) items for children. I am often at Olbrich for evening lectures when the shop is closed. This being the holiday season, I made a point of stopping this week to see what they had in store for local shoppers. Almost everything that caught my attention was some kind of textile item.

I brought home this assortment of Alpaca socks (and one pair of cotton) to add to my stash. At $19.00 a pop these might seem like an outrageous extravagance. But I've been saving up to get them as they are the softest, warmest and most delightful socks I've found in years. The only ones to equal them were the hand-knit pairs my sister sent me for a few Christmases. I have cold feet year-round and wear these socks year-round as well, making them a necessity and well-worth the hefty price tag. 

The shop had a pair of these creatures for sale: this resting version and the other standing with its head bent down as though foraging. They are probably between 18 inches to 2 feet to give you a rough estimate of the size. Big enough to add a lot of drama to your holiday display.

They are from India, covered with white-on-white embroidery.

I did not get the prices on items (other than my socks) as the displays were so full that I didn't want to take a chance on upsetting anything by sticking my winter-coated arms in there twisting and turning price tags.

As you might expect, they had loads of felted, furry and feathered ornaments.

I was quite taken with the folk-art feeling of these felted trees. 

Olbrich's gift shop also had these funky 1950's style trees in an assortment of sizes and colors. Perfect for anyone doing color-themed decor or looking for mid-century modern holiday items. 

Matching garlands of felted spheres are available. Note that these are handcrafted by women's cooperatives in Nepal. Thus buying these supports women along with Olbrich.

Remember, members of Olbrich's Friends organization get a discount at the shop, among many other benefits. There are 8 levels of membership. You can find all the details here.

A little Christmas in August

I thought I would write about the arrival of rain late last evening but it is raining too hard and it is too dark at 6:45 a.m. to go out and check the rain gauge. But rain in August is a lovely sound!

Mark and I spent half the day on Wednesday doing errands and a bit of fun shopping. Just before we left State Street, we dashed into A Room of One's Own bookstore to get the latest copy of The Progressive which our book club is reading this month. It'a choice that gives us a bit of a vacation from a big book and also fits better into a tighter schedule between meetings than usual. Our trip into Madison's longtime feminist bookstore for a magazine resulted in me getting four books (3 new hardcover and 1 used hardcover book) and Mark got four as well, though his group included more used books. But one of mine requires only a brief read each day and you could skip the reading if you feel like it.

I have a similar calendar book with photos by Mick Hales that is 6 inches x 9 and 1/2 inches but this one's large square 8x8 inch format makes for a bit of drama while providing room for text about a garden subject and a spot for you to write in important dates.

I was thinking I would put it away until January but Mark set it on the kitchen counter opened to the proper day. Who am I to argue that my gift to myself should wait another four and a half months before I start to use it!

If you look closely you can see that the illustration for today is a garden seat that is enclosed in a plexiglass pergola. I love the idea though I wonder if it would get hot without any openings for a breeze to blow through. Each photo in the book also gives the name/country of the garden designer. This is by Ulf Nordfjell from Sweden so maybe it never gets hot enough for plexi walls and ceiling to be an issue. 

All-in-all a delightful present that also gives me a lovely garden to look at when it is too rainy to be out in my own.

This is a new book, just published in 2018, by Prestel Publishing whose beautiful website is worth a visit. I am receiving no remuneration for this blog post. Should you decide to buy a copy, support your local independent bookseller rather than Amazon if you are able. 

IAVOM: Holiday transition

I am so pleased with this big arrangement that was in my red room for Christmas that I decided to bring it out into the light of day. I don't mind that the berries are fading and the Eucalyptus is drying up, turning pale and papery. The white pine branches are the ones that I clipped from a pile of curbside evergreen debris in December.

In this location, there's room for these big branches to take a visual breath. Plus my new blue and white vase nicely echoes Tom Sargeant's painting on the wall behind it.

I never did manage to get our wooden putti candleholder out for the holidays. Now that we're into the new year he can play cupid until we tire of him and want another change. 

I added two small wooden bowls to this grouping so cupid would not be the only brown item in the display. But then the blue and white vase looked lonely so I grabbed this Chinese bowl that has as much brown on it as blue.

At the other end of the table is another blue bowl with a bit of brown in the interior almost hidden by the white pine branches.

It wasn't until I bent down to get a shot of the blue swirls on the outside of the bowl that I realized the ceramic lamp base, the table and cupid were in their own little swirly world. 

To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, stop by Rambling in the Garden. 

Art update

Mark framed eleven of my collages as my Christmas present this year. He actually started making these frames over a year ago when I created my original collages. This fall when he got back to putting the frames together, staining and waxing them, I made more collages so I would have enough to fill the frames with a couple of extra choices.

As it turned out, we decided to put a group of eight above the fireplace and one in the dining room. These are a quirky size: the frames are 13" x 15" and the collages are 5" x 5.75". That was done so they would match the collages Mark has made over the years. Initially we thought we would do a "His & Hers" display. But then we decided I could have the limelight. 

When I looked at a few of Mark's collages, I discovered that his have quite a different feel than mine even though we pulled material from the same huge pile of paper ephemera that we've stockpiled over the years. The collages below are shown in the order they are displayed above, going from top left to right and then bottom left to right. You can enlarge these images if you double click on them.

Mark pointed out that mine all tend to have a horizon line.

An artist friend noted that most of them also had circle motifs of some kind. I did realize that as I was making them and tried not to overdo it. But what are ya gonna do when a shape or color attracts you more than others? 

I've often used letter forms and text in my artwork in the past, so I knew they would show up here as well. 

Before I began, I brushed and spattered gesso on a pile of assorted papers. I definitely wanted to have pieces with my own "mark making" on them to be able to incorporate.  

The collage directly below and the last one both use 19th century photographic plant images that are from an old Metropolitan Museum calendar. I had a number of photos of me that I took in the early 1980s when there were still photo booths in the 5 and dime stores downtown on the Square. I decided that if famous artists can do self-portraits and other kinds of self-referential work, so could I!

Our paper pile includes blue prints, all kinds of handwriting bits, foreign stamps, Japanese papers — an endless supply waiting to see the light of day again.

Besides the Met Museum art and my photo, this one has leaves from our Locust tree glued on.

A new vase

It may be cold outside, but it's Monday and that means it's time for the first vase of the new year. We treated ourselves to this Japanese-influenced container just in time for the holidays.

It's one of many beautiful creations by Richard Jones of Studio Paran in Madison. We found it at the always alluring Abel Contemporary Gallery in Paoli. I would describe this as an Ikebana-type container made of darkened bamboo with a hand-blown glass insert that rises above the top of the bamboo.

I filled it with evergreens and berries for a festive holiday look. Then I spent the rest of the evening thinking it just wasn't the right arrangement for such a spare container.

The very next morning I ran out into the garden (it wasn't so cold and there was no snow on the ground) and took a cutting from our bamboo, Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda'. I replaced most of the evergreen foliage with this stem of bamboo. 

If you look closely at the photo below, you can just see the rounded and carved ball on the bottom of the glass container. It sits inside the bamboo so that its curved edge peeks through the opening. 

To see what kind of vases other gardeners have put together this morning, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this Monday meme.

Fiber Friday: A fun find!

I found this embroidered Indian textile not long ago at Passementerie in Middleton during their fall sale. That shop is always full of delicious items including my favorites: jewelry, china and textiles. Though this didn't have much info on the price tag, it appears to be a Toran, a traditional dowry item from Western India. Typically they are embroidered and appliqued and often have small mirrors worked into the design. 

It's the perfect backdrop to a few of our toys that we put on display for the holidays.

Christmas meditation

More foraged greens

I often cut a few branches of Arborvitae for holiday arrangements but I don't take winter prunings from any of my other trees or shrubs. So it was especially nice to be able to forage an assortment of greenery from the pile at the curb in my neighborhood. I curved the longer branches around this ceramic plate next to the front door. It is under the roof overhang and needed a little sparkle to make it more visible, so I added a beaded ornament.  

Then I clipped more branches to various lengths in order to make a display for the front hall in my one gallon red Haws watering. 

 The berried and variegated stems were additions from the grocery store. It looked a little too somber with just greens.