In the days of nowhere...

The days after the new year night and beore Christmas seem like days nowhere. You have a free week, but you cannot afford a holiday trip anywhere so you stay at home with your books and films and the interet. You don't venture outside much unless you are invited anywhere for it's dark soon after ou get up and you mostly don't have to get any food since you have plenty of leftovers from new year night. Sometimes you unwrap you cross-stitching you've been doing for (five) years and still haven't done those final touches to think it complete. Sometimes you get o read the book you've meant o read for ages and you can afford to be engrossed in it. Yesterday I picked up "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder which for various reasons I left unfinished on page 120 this summer. And it felt really nice to be totally engrossed in a book after many days. True, in my mind I jokingly regard some passages as "material for technical translation classes", for it has some deailed descriptions of carpenter work etc., which I have to reread one or two times before I can picture how building a roof or making a beadstead looked, but on the whole I think it's a great book and look forward of reading the series further, for, again, it's a book on immortal values, and it being written so simply makes you feel snug and warm like the little girls Laura might feel tucked up in her little bed in their little house.

New Year Here

The town on the 29th, when I bought my tree:

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My real tree in many years! The last time we had a real tree for the new year was when I was ten, Nothing can compare to its smell and shape which is not so perfect as that of the plastic trees but more endearing! Unfortunately the only tinsel I had when decorating was red ;-)

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New year night at the neighbours'. Barsik has grw a lot since I last time took pictures o him :-)

Happy New Year!

In the past ten years we've collected quite a few New Year cards (indeed, they are new year cards, or maybe new year + Christmas, since we are a country where everything was turened upside down after 1917 and we associate all the Christmas traditions like the tree or cards or presents with new year celebrations...and celebrate Christmas in the new year but don't make much fuss of it since main celebrations and presents have already taken place on 31 December/1 January). I've scanned some favourites to display them here.

No year ever went faster or me than 2008. Let 2009 be a happy one. I was looking through a newspaper today, and it mentioned it was a good sign if something happens to your clothes during the new year night. They mentioned torn stockings... Let the hole on my stocking I accidentally made with a zipper mean a lot of luck soon ;-)

Holiday cards

The three new ones, and I think I am not buying any more this year!

Elisabeth card

Made something to create a bit of pre-holiday mood (again, doesn't look exactly as I imagined!). I'll be updating more soon for I scanned some Christmas/New Year cards and I have also renovated the look of my dressing table a little so a couple of fotos to follow.

I finally found a little time to get out my big box of paper and make something. In view of the current crisis such things may be a good alternative to bought postcards. I'd be making them crisis or no crisis though!

Happy New Year from the new year!

It was very-very low key this year. The plus is we had an earlier dinner so that there were only snacks and champaigne left for midnight. Then we tasted different chocolates and Vanillekipferl - these are almond and vanilla bisquits I tried baking for the first time (a German recipe)! And then went to bed. The first new yer day was beautiful, clean and crisp and sunny and the year really felt new!

What have I been doing in the new year? Reading Jane Eyre (It's ages I meant to read it and finally got to in anticipating the new series that will be aired tomorrow. Frankly, the language is too wordy and I wish the story had more pace, but I have quite a pleasant feeling reading it. I still prefer Anne of all the brontes though!), drawing and making cards (we decided to do without New Year presents this year to to clutter the flat with stuff anymore, but I promised some crafts for Christmas to the family!) and typing a story on my laptop. I'll make my resolutions on Christmas eve as usual!

It's too cold even in the flat and I am lazy to go out. It's a pity since I wished I would spend more time in the open!

Pictures:
our new year table, my "unconventional" tree and yours truly, the more conventional tree in the living room and yours truly, again, reflected in the cupboard glass! I'm happy as to how my white tree looks this year, I've got new decorations (and sadly already broke one hardly had I hung it on the tree!), including some from Salzburg, and the Kaethe Wollfahrt birds are right there as usual too! Plus I have found place for all the old decorations too, including the red glass ball and the birdie we've had since I was for. The lights on the green tree keep being well 22 years already! Or 23, I'm not sure, I'm only about a year older then them :-))

Happy New Year!

The New Year is approaching slowly to us. I am back from Grandpa Frost's now and I proomise pictures later on. For now, a happy new year to everyone, let it be happier than 2007!

Now I am running do do lots of things about the house and organize a family party, see you in the new year with all the pics and works I planned to post here last year but did not have time!

Love,

Irina

:)

Going on in the Christams/New Year spirit

I decided to give handmade cards this year and I'm quite plesed with the first one. Funny to think it's made of advertisement cards, chocolate and teabag covers (can you discern TWININGS on the tree?) :-)

Look here!

I did not plan to buy any decorations this year but well... I could not just pass these by. Hand-decorated and all as written on the package (and it almost has my name lol!). Glass decorations are beautiful. They make me this of childhood and feel more real now though there were times when I thought them old-fashioned. Now I think them timeless! And I also remember tears for any broken glass hare or bear or any other favourite! But now I can be more careful with them then when I was 6!

It felt lovely to be listening to Nena's song from Weihnachten (Christmas) album on the train and be watching the sun going down, very pre-holiday. And I caught a glimpse of the beautiful fading day when coming home (from the window).

Happy pre-holiday mood to everyone reading this!

Happy New Year!!!

We have merrily seen 2007 in, let it bring all the best to everyone!

Picture: My New Year tree this year, the presents were still unwrapped :))

We had a merry time opening them today!

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!

Here holidays come in this order!

And here comes my New Year-Christmas tree from last year. Made of a long white plastic decoration wound around a wooden pole. Self-made actually. It cost me 10 times less than an ordinary Christmas tree, but looks quite unusual and stylish! I'll be making it this year again, with adding some ornaments I bought this year. Real glass decorations, the ones reminding me of those in my childhood. I also must help two grannies with their trees. Will I ever find time? Only week left before the New Year's eve/and that's a working week!