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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

This or That Thursday: eDition 12

Don't let that fading sunlight fool you, by the time it reached those leaves there was
nothing warm about it. Winter has settled in, it's been deep freeze days in these parts 
lately but better late than never I like to say.
 
Hello. I've been absent from This or That Thursday for awhile and it's lovely to be back! So what happens when Andrea is down with a cold for two weeks before Christmas? Well the Artist does most of the Christmas shopping, no Christmas baking is done and you get to see some of my Christmas pics in January. Pretty swell, huh?



And how are the chickens you ask? Oh...you didn't? I guess not but I managed to change the subject nonetheless! They are well, very well indeed. They donated 42 eggs in December despite not reaching full laying potential until the last week of December. I'm surprised that the Chantecler is not more popular, especially in areas that experience cold winters. These birds are out, every day, regardless of the weather. Through snow, cold winds, and even rainy days nothing seems to inhibit their desire to forage. 


You didn't think I was going to let you off the Christmas hook that easy did you? Aren't these houses sweet? My dear friend Deb at Loyalist Cottage painted her own last year and I was all over the poor girl with questions about how to make them. So she sent me this lovely little trio with the caveat that I have them decorated for this Christmas. Houses painted...check! I decided to go with vintage colours that I use to decorate our mudroom each year. After painting them, I covered them with glue then applied glass sparkles, using glow in the dark sparkles on the roofs. The Artist bought styrene sheets, painted them an amber colour and glued them to the inside walls to form windows. He made the doors out of box board, a sturdy kind similar to the thickness of a cereal box. Thank you Deb!

Ember enjoyed her first Christmas. We used a little reverse psychology with her and ignored her interest in the tree and it worked. Once she knew she wasn't going to be chased for playing with the tree her interest quickly feigned; it helped that she had surgery the week before Christmas. It was planned surgery, one Ember in the house is plenty, and fortunately we couldn't have timed it any better. Just a few days before her big day she became very vocal and after a day or so I quickly realized that she was in heat. I have never experienced a cat in heat before and I hope I never do again. Her displays of affection were more than a little off-putting. Good grief, no wonder there are so many cats out there! She recovered nicely and is back to her old self again, albeit a tad more subdued.
So despite a nagging cough, no baking and limited photo taking, 
this was one of the best Christmases on record, all because of these three. 

~Be well friends!~





Thursday Favorite Things



14 comments:

Seeing Each Day said...

Sorry to hear you weren't well in the lead up to Christmas. Hey, I love those houses - normally I'm not a glitter person but it works brilliantly here - great job, you must have been so pleased with them

Lori said...

Love the cat photo, it's beautiful!

Liz said...

Love those houses!! And the first image.

Mommyof2girlz/StephD said...

LOL, yes kitties in heat are very demanding for some lovin..lol Glad to hear she is doing well now. Wonderful holiday captures, love Embers and the elf one in particular. Oh and the new header looks awesome :)

Lynne said...

Love the Snoopy artist ornament . . . the houses are wonderful, love the colors . . . It is great to see the family in their winter garb . . . love the eggs count!

Sorry about your cold and cough . . . those darn "cold things" know the precise time to arrive, don't they?

It is 2012 . . . Be well my friend . . .

~from my front porch in the mountains~ said...

The Artist and J are real men! They can "fry up and the bacon and bring it home"-love our guys!
If we lived on the same road we could have shared a sofa, watched chick flicks, and moaned about your sickies and my Fibro! Two peas in a pod :)

I hope you are back to your self! Stay well-those chickens need their Mama!
xo, misha

Susan said...

These are some amazing shots. And yes...it looks really cold!

Michelle said...

Great photos and I do love those little houses.

Chris said...

Well what a coincidence I've been plagued with a bug of some sort two. Your photos are beautiful and it's interesting to see chickens foraging on snow laden ground. I'm hopping around today from Katherine's Corner and I plan to return and follow you blog hope that's okay. Get better soon. BTW it's very very hot here in Australia

Lisa ~Suburban Retreat~ said...

Happy New Year Andrea! Nice to hear that despite feeling under the weather you were still able to enjoy the holidays. Looking forward to visiting all your 'older' posts.

deb duty said...

So glad you had a wonderful Christmas despite the cold. As usual, I enjoyed a few chuckles while reading your post. I'm surprised those chickens don't mind the cold. I sure wouldn't want to be out there. Love the snoopy ornament and your little village is beautiful. The colors you chose are perfect! And the photo of your cat with the tree is just lovely.

Katherines Corner said...

So sorry to read you were under the weather for the holidays. no fun. Happy to have you back and thank you for participating in the Thursday Favorite things hop. I hope you made some new bloggy friends. Hoping your weekend is a sweet one xo

Carole M. said...

I enjoyed each of your photos

Rose said...

I am sorry you were sick...been there done that myself a time or two. Not fun!