Like trying to catch water in a lace hanky

the days are rushing by.

Last week was a little slower for us as far as doing family things together.

We had good friends over for a play date /cookie making party
We went to the library and were fortunate enough to snag How the Grinch Stole Christmas
We made popcorn and cereal strings and hung them on the tree outside for the birds to eat (unfortunately we're in Monsoon season here in Vancouver so they quickly became soggy strings)
I went to the public Yule ritual

My brother made a surprise stop for a few days and we took him to Bright Nights in Stanley Park. It was the absolute wettest trip to the train we have ever experienced, Our luck with good weather for train rides is usually fantastic, this time not as much but it wasn't cold and we did get to see "our" Santa. We've been going to see this Santa since the Peanut was 5 months old, he's the same Santa every year and that helped with getting Peanut to feel comfortable enough to sit on his lap for the very first time. We took our second family photo with Santa and were pleased to donate to the Burn Victim fund.

The train itself was beautiful again this year.

Decking our halls

As the 25th of November falls in the middle of the week this year, we are decorating our tree today. This is the first year Miranda will help with the decorating. I'm excited about sharing the experience with her and a little nervous about the aftermath.... What if helping to decorate the tree gives her the idea that she can pull on, yank, or knock over the tree at will? It's a very distinct possibility.

I've already started with the pro-active "tell the toddler what's expected" mantra and I'm hoping for the best. I'll keep you posted on how well that's working out. Or if it's a spectacular failure I'll post full descriptions and pictures.

One of our family traditions is to add a new ornament to the tree each year. Because we've decided to do our holidays handmade this year, the new ornament this year is one made by Funktionslust We ordered it last week and it arrived safely in the mail yesterday even prettier in person than it was in the shop. Funktionslust is a fairly new Etsy shop opened in May 2008 and is chock full of lovely glass pieces from abstract sun catchers to gorgeous pendants and earrings.

My personal favourites are Abstract Distraction no.3, Abstract Distraction no.1 and Mossy Pendant and her tree ornaments are little works of whimsy to add to your holiday decor. We'll be treasuring our blue tree ornament for years to come.