Magic Discovered

Oh, how sweet the holiday magic is in our home this year.

And, as a side note, I predict this snow globe will not survive 2010. The desire for "Tanta" and more "Snow" is grand.

Merry Stitchmas? Holiday Wishes From Our Local Yarn Store

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Halcyon Yarn 2010 from Halcyon Yarn on Vimeo.

Okay, this is so absolutely adorable and so sums up the wonderfulness of our local (yet internationally acclaimed) fiber store.

Serious Inspiration

This is the next must-have. A silk sky scarve. Read on....

Thanks to the tip from LoveVermont, I discovered Cup of Jo (This IS the way of the blogosphere, isn't? One thing leads to another and, then, hours later you find yourself immersed in something and can't remember how you got there!) whose post today was about THE most unique and fabulous scarves.

Seriously amazing.

Maine artist Maria Alexandra Vettese photographed afternoon skies in Cushing, Maine in October and had the photographs printed directly onto silk. These scarves (in a very limited production) are sure to chase those winter blues away, don't you think?

Check out the full collection.

If you don't already know about Maria Alexandra Vettesse (Mav), she is also the co-author of 3191 Miles Apart, a daily visual blog between two friends living 3191 miles apart.

Ten Gift Ideas Teachers Will Really Love

December is well underway--how are you holding up during this holiday crunch? Found the perfect gift for everyone on your list?

How about all those teachers and/or caregivers? I personally struggle with this --not because I don't want to give a gift - but because I want to give a gift that they'll really love. So this year I've polled a bunch of teacher friends and family and compiled what I think is a pretty interesting list.

• A special card or note made by your child. Nothing makes a teacher more appreciated than hearing from one of their students directly!
• Homemade edibles. Homemade jam and a jam knife (perhaps even a funky vintage one picked up at a yard sale or thrift store). A pottery bowl full of homemade granola. A loaf of bread.
• Movie tickets for teacher and friend/spouse. I picked up some plastic move-style popcorn boxes in the dollar section at Target -- thinking it will make a cute package with some popped corn as filler; tickets and maybe even some Good N Plenty or other movie style candy.
• Anything handmade. A knit scarf. Mittens. Earrings. Whatever your craft is!
• A new plant for the classroom. Let's face it, January can be tough -- a lovely new plant might just help!
• A customized SIGG water bottle. One teacher friend said she loved getting one of these which included words selected by her class.
• A gift certificate. Give your teacher a treat. Pool resources with other parents and splurge on a gift certificate for a massage or dinner out.
• A magazine subscription. A year-long subscription to a magazine that features something your teacher loves -- gardening? crafting? running? Or, perhaps a subscription to a magazine that will benefit the classroom.
• A donation to a charity in your teacher's name. Is there a cause that is super important to your teacher?
• Parent coupons. Promises from you. Offer to help plan a classroom party. Lunch delivered for a week. A homemade ready-to-take-home dinner delivered at the end of the day. A commitment to help organize the room or help with a project. Be creative!

One of my favorite ideas came from my sister. Her school's PTA is creating (has created?) giving trees -- each teacher has put wishes (ranging from pencils to pillows for the reading corner) on the tree and parents are encouraged to purchase items off the list. In some ways this might not seem like a gift to the teacher -- but so many teachers spend lots and lots of their own money buying basic supplies like tissues, pencils, etc. that I believe the idea of not doing this would indeed be a gift!

Any other ideas out there? Please share!

December: A Planner

December is one of my favorite months. Especially in Maine. Maine is just SO Christmas-y. Even my husband, a die-hard western mountains guy, will agree. Even though we're always trying to simplify and scale back, our December is busy. Really busy. Here are just some of the things we have planned:

• Cutting winterberry so I can make wreaths, fill baskets, etc. My husband hates this tradition as it involves making him trudge (usually when he's not prepared) into marshy areas to snip many, many branches. For extra fun, I make him hold the winterberry as I make wreaths.
• Heading to Wolfe's Neck Farm for their annual Night Tree Event. It's a wonderful event that includes hanging out in a barn listening to a reading of Eve Bunting's Night Tree, making animal-friendly ornaments and then taking a short hike into the woods to hang the ornaments and enjoy cocoa and cookies around a bonfire. Good old fashioned fun, if you ask me. Last year I missed this event - a real favorite - and, instead, we organized one of our own. It was a dreamy evening in the snowy woods, decorating ornaments for the animals, standing around a fire eating nuts, date rolls and homemade bread.
• Cutting our own Christmas tree. If you have never cut your own, try it. It's a great tradition. This site will help you find Christmas Tree Farms in Maine (and I'm certain other states offer similar resources) if you don't have your patch of evergreens to peruse.
• Christmas Carolling on The Bath Trolley. Yup. It's true, in this little town of ours, you can go carolling on the trolley (our public transportation). Every Friday night between now and Christmas.
• Planting Paperwhite and Amarylis bulbs so I'll have something to enjoy come January. How-to in days to come!
• Shopping. I don't have a huge list because we have scaled back giving -- and sought out alternatives to gift giving - in recent years. But, still there is shopping to be done. I hope to include an Old Port Portland shopping trip in the mix -- and maybe even use my daughters as an excuse to ride the horse drawn carriages around the holiday lit streets.
• Decorating. Greens. Winterberry. Candles. Cranberries. Simple and festive.
• Riding the Candy Cane Train. A benefit for Tri-County Literacy, this train ride from Bath to Wiscasset is about as charming as can be. Carolers. Santa. Storytelling. Hot cocoa and cookies. And, a view to boot. 
• Making cinnamon ornaments with my girls. How-to will follow in the days to come.
• Sing! One of our favorite events in Bath, Sing! is a free community sing at the Chocolate Church for Performing Arts.
• Baking cookies. Oh, how I'd hoped (could I still pull it off?) to host a cookie exchange with girlfriends.
• Addressing holiday cards.
• Celebrating the Solistice. Not sure how yet. But, I'm thinking of creating a new tradition for my family.
• Making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I love the King Arthur Flour dough mix. And, it is super cute to make it one of their paper forms.
• Creating simple Christmas magic.
• Spending lots of time with friends and family.
• Drinking prosecco with pomagranate seeds and juice. That was oddly (?) placed after spending time with friends and family.

What do you have planned!?!

Signs of Christmas Maine Style

This time of year in Maine (am I being narrow minded here -- does this tradition happen elsewhere?) one finds evergreen wreaths placed in many unexpected places. And, I'm so glad. It is such a wonderful thing to be caught off-guard by an unexpected evergreen wreath--it instills an instant sense of joy and wonder. Truly.

Today, I saw this one and just had to share. Now, this is "so Maine".

By now, many (but certainly not all!) lobstermen and women have pulled their boats (and traps) out of the harbors until warmer days when flocks of tourists come back to this great state. It's a familiar scene to see boats jacked up, resting. Peaceful, yet a tad bit sad. Well, not the Westside (the name of this lobster boat) -- she looks mighty cheery and in-season.

Keep me posted on evergreen wreaths you find in mysterious locations.

December- John Updike's Take

In keeping with tradition here at Maine-ly Home, here is John Updike's poem "December". If you haven't already purchased a copy of this book, I highly recommend A Child's Calendar. The book is filled with lovely illustrations and a John Updike Poem for every month of the year.


December

First snow! The flakes,
So few, so light,
Remake the world
In solid white.

All bundled up,
We feel as if
We were fat penguins,
Warm and stiff.

The toy-packed shops
Half split their sides,
And Mother brings home
Things she hides.

Old carols peal.
The dusk is dense.
There is a mood
Of sweet suspense.

The shepherds wait,
The kings, the tree--
All wait for something
Yet to be,

Some miracle.
And then it's here,
Wrapped up in hope--
Another year!