Morphing ornaments

Even in the same season, certain kinds of decorations can switch around, try on new personalities.

You've seen this jar plus fruit ring plus tray:

You've seen this set of candles and pinecone rings:

And you may even remember this thrifted basket, which has been holding napkins:

Last night I wanted something different on the table. I stole the jar from the fruit ring and the rings from the candles, and put them in the basket. (We have some of those plastic tealights, because they're safe and non-messy.)

Da-daaa.

Frugal Finds and Fixes: Paisley and Pantry Edition

Recent frugal finds:

A set of three vanilla candles and two fancy rings, half-price at Michael's. They're sitting in a yard-saled pie dish. I liked this set especially because the holiday rings can go away, but the candles can be used anytime.

I also got a frosty-berries pick for half price, and cut it up to put in Mr. Fixit's grandma's goblets. I was looking for some bagged greenery at the thrift store but didn't find any, so new-but-cheap was second best. The most frugal and ecological would be real dried plants, but we have to be careful around allergies.

Mr. Fixit's grandma made the cloth with crocheted trim, about fifty years ago.

A frugal find for Mama Squirrel: this paisley shawl from the thrift store. It can also be worn as a blanket scarf.

 Another frugal find that became a fix: a pair of grey bootcut jeans for a dollar, but they were too long for me, and I think somebody else short wore them first, because the hems were scuffed. I decided to invest a few dollars in getting them hemmed nicely at my favourite local cleaner/fixer shop. (Places like that are disappearing too fast these days.)

I've already posted about the hat, which goes with the shawl, which goes with the jeans (and almost everything else except bright red).

The storage room in our apartment is part tools, part storage, part pantry. The pantry part has been pretty random; things went wherever they fit. Adding Christmas baking ingredients and other holiday things was sending it into overload.

This week I did a KonMari-inspired cleanout, just on the pantry section. I sorted the food and other supplies into large boxes and bins that would fit on the shelves. Because the containers were so random, I covered the fronts of them with flowery giftwrap. It won't last forever, but it's a good-enough fix for now.

This was frugal for more than one reason! Besides using the boxes and paper on hand, getting more organized helps us make better use of our small space, and keeps us from re-buying things we didn't notice we already had.

Plus it makes me happier when I walk in there and see all the colour and flower power.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 10 of 12: Streams in the Desert

Three weeks till Christmas!

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children:

"So, too, of that other fountain, of  justice, with which every child is born. There, again, the stream may flow forth in either, but not in both, of the channels, the egoistic or the altruistic. The child's demand for justice may be all for himself, or, from the very first, the rights of others may be kept before his eyes.  

"'It's not Fair!'––He may be taught to occupy himself with his own rights and other people's duties, and, if he is, his state of mind is easily discernible by the catchwords often on his lips, 'It's a shame!' 'It's not fair!' or he may, on the other hand, be so filled with the notion of his own duties and other people's rights, that the claims of self slip quietly into the background. This kind cometh forth only by prayer, but it is well to clear our thoughts and know definitely what we desire for our children, because only so can we work intelligently towards the fulfillment of our desire. It is sad to pray, and frustrate the answer by our own action; but this is, alas, too possible."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason: 

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. " ~~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Charlotte Mason concludes this section with a strong warning, particularly about training children in their rights and duties, but applicable to other areas of teaching (academic and beyond), and also to our own inner struggles. It is this: don't say you want something, even claim that you are praying for something, but then sabotage the work of the Holy Spirit..."by what we have done, and what we have left undone."

Now, we are not building robots, or training dogs. Children are individual persons, and are not to be brainwashed, coerced, or tricked into particular behaviours. But we may not just wring our hands (even prayerfully) if there is action that needs to be taken, or enabling that needs to stop.

Don't work against the grain of the brain. Don't pray for heaĺth but continue in poor lifestyle habits. Don't pray for money but waste what you have. And don't say you want children to be loving, or fair, or honest, or diligent, or generous, and then not offer, first, early training in these things as habits; and then guidance in furnishing the conscience, and equipping the Will to choose what is right.

And does this relate to Christmas, or Advent?

"Lest we should think this a hardship, this kind of good begins on a level far above the creatures, for God Himself, as Son, from all eternity renders back to God as Father by filial obedience the being which the Father by paternal love eternally generates in the Son."~~ C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

God's holiness and justice, plus his outpouring of grace and mercy, is fulfilled in the Incarnation.

Things to do this week:

In the 1977 world of Family Circle Christmas Helps, "Three Weeks Till Christmas" didn't expect that you'd have the whole gift thing, um, wrapped up. This week gets only one double spread of photos, but they range from a "quick-to-sew door pull" and an ice-skate punch-needle stocking, to a star made from toilet paper tubes and a candle ring of pinecones and nuts. Actually the candle ring is the nicest thing on the page, and it inspired this:

Don't give me too much "Christmas Helps" credit for that one: the ring of fruit was a gift several years ago, and I just added the glass hurricane jar and put it on the tray I found at the thrift store. We use what we have.

One thing that the magazine seems to time right, though, is the suggestion that you round up and decorate any baking containers or gift boxes that may be needed in the coming weeks. It's also handy to have semi-disposable containers if you are going to potlucks and worry about leaving a favourite food carrier behind or having someone else accidentally pick it up. (Ask me how I know.)

Coffee cans used to be common recycled packaging (and even baking tins); but what we often have more of here are plastic tubs from salad greens and baked goods. But if you're a less-plastic shopper in the first place, you might prefer canning jars.

And here's something to put in the containers. The recipe was originally published in Vegetarian Times.

Thrifty finds today

Four things for nine dollars...works for me.

Acrylic scarf (I could not pass up those pink and purple zigzags)

Metal basket that is going to hold napkins for now, but which may become a Christmas decoration

No, this is not a strange-looking pumpkin pie; it's a wooden tray with a shallow rim and handles. Second choice for the base of a Christmas decoration, or maybe it will hold baking.

Accordion file, which is going to hold stationery and cards-to-send.

Day...two. (On garbage restrictions and making things out of nothings)

Yesterday's post about One

The number Two has a particular significance right now in terms of Stuff. In a very few weeks, our area moves to limited garbage pickup, and we will be allowed the equivalent of two fifty-pound garbage bags per week, and garbage over the limit will have to be tagged with (you guessed it) Two-dollar bag tags. Except that the idea of a fifty-pound garbage bag seems excessive, especially since they also have a rule (quite logical) that the bag has to be able to hold whatever's inside it. Right now a limited pickup seems weird and hard to get used to, but I suppose it will be like the introduction of always having to use telephone area codes from a few years back: after awhile you can't remember what it was like just to type in a seven-digit number.

So the question is not only how we are going to be able to master the art of packing and lifting fifty-pound garbage bags (says I, who have never in my life had to weigh garbage), but (more relevant) what's going or not going inside those bags. Which comes back to the questions of what we buy, what we use, how we use it, how we dispose of it. Because if we buy a thing, at some point it, or its outsides or insides, are going to be left somewhere. And obviously, the fewer things that end up in those Two bags, the better.

For us, the main alternative is going to be the Green Bin (food waste, paper napkins, pet bedding).

The second strategy is something we already try to do: use things longer and in different ways so that we don't have to buy as many new things. I am not of the school that thinks hot-gluing dried-out pens in a wreath shape makes a pretty wall decoration (if you remember a certain book review I wrote awhile ago); but I do hang onto things and try to make them work in new ways. The photo below was our not-quite completed hall decoration this Christmas (I added some red beads to the cups later on). The inner and outer glass jar parts were bought several years ago, and the bits and pieces inside the jar were a lot of absolutely useless trimmings from old thrifted candle rings. It's sitting on one of those wicker holders you use with paper plates, surrounded with pinecones cut from more candle rings, and tied with some ribbon that came on a gift. I even had the red candle in our stash. The doily and cups were inherited from Mr. Fixit's grandma.

More to the point of this post: Where Is It Now? As of yesterday, the cups, doily, and flat basket are back in the cupboard. I stored the ribbon and pinecones...maybe we'll use them again. The jar full of trimmings is also in a cupboard. I may use it as-is next Christmas, or maybe not.

The third strategy, and one that I think we may have more trouble with, is using fewer containers that have to be disposed of. Buying refill or bulk options, things like that. I like mixing my own sloppy joe and taco seasonings (and there's no package to throw away), but it's never been under coercion. We don't shop at warehouse club stores, or buy the giant economy size (especially with just three people, one guinea pig); but we may have to double-think anything that comes in a non-recyclable box.

Will the Limit of Two make much difference to the way our Treehouse runs? I'm trying to see it as a learning opportunity rather than an annoyance...and it's not like we have a choice in the matter. So stay tuned.

In the week when Christmas comes: Thursday

Let every steeple ring a bell
With a joyful tale to tell,
     In the week when Christmas comes.

~~ from "In the Week When Christmas Comes," by Eleanor Farjeon

A real-time view of three days before Christmas:

8 a.m.: Lydia has just left for school, and I have just fed Muffin a bowl of lettuce and carrots. I'm reading through the blogs on my feed, including why we need to teach arts instead of subjects at Circe, a poem by Malcolm Guite, and a pantry post from Coffee, Tea, Books, and Me. I have butter softening on the kitchen counter (for whatever I might need it for).

9:45 a.m.: Mr. Fixit has gone on his usual Thursday treasure hunting, after we both spent a few minutes clearing snow. Lydia had mentioned that we were low on some things, but I didn't see how that could be, until I checked the flour and the white sugar. Oops. Some creative compromising was required, but I do have the baking plan figured out now, and the table is  covered with pre-measured bowls of flour, raisins, and chocolate chips. There is also a loaf of stuffing bread already going in the breadmaker. (It has to dry out for a couple of days.)

12 noon: one load of in the washing macine, one in the dryer. Most of the baking dishes done. Bread out. Three kinds of sweet things and one orange-cranberry loaf out of the oven. Ingredients collected for fudge-making later.

I need some lunch and some Christmas music.

2 p.m.: Mr. Fixit came home and we got everything swept, boxed, folded, hung, dried, and/or put away. I had a bit of time to check e-mail and read Overdrive library books (I'm trying to reach my Goodreads goal).  Muffin came out of his cage for a human-visit.

4 p.m.: We decided to have an easy dinner, so there's a pan of frozen cannelloni in the oven. Mr. Fixit is going around the corner to check our mailbox, because for the second winter in a row, Canada Post refuses to bring letters to our door. While he's out, he's going to pick up Lydia at her stop and save her the walk home. She gets picked up at our house now, but the dropoff point is a few blocks away.

6:30 p.m.: Dinner is over, the fudge is made, and Lydia is studying for a last-day-before-the-holidays history test on World War II. I am still working on library books.

10 p.m.: Some people are probably watching Christmas movies. We watched an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise and tasted the fudge.

And how was your day?

In the week when Christmas comes: Tuesday

Let every hall have boughs of green,

With berries glowing in between,

     In the week when Christmas comes.

~~ from "In the Week When Christmas Comes," by Eleanor Farjeon

Mr. Fixit and I went to Giant Tiger this morning. For anyone who doesn't know, that's a Canadian discount store chain which, as I usually put it, is where you buy flip-flops. But they have groceries too, and we needed to get a few basics. Strangely enough, it's also where we find our favourite brand of frozen cabbage rolls (doesn't everyone want cabbage rolls on Christmas?). And we found a small frozen cheesecake, someone else's Christmas request...stay with me here...and we replenished the lettuce for the guinea pig, and picked up some juice and canned goods and organic rice crisp things (for company). And a small cheap floor mat for the garage, because Giant Tiger is where you find small cheap floor mats for the garage. We came out with several full bags, and feeling happy enough about it all.

We made a stop at the bank, and then dropped into a large-but-upscale chain grocery store next door, because Mr. Fixit has sometimes found holiday meat items there, and he thought it was worth having a look. If Giant Tiger is a bit, excuse the expression, lower on the food chain than the store where we usually shop (like, Walmart), this place was a few notches above. What's the difference, besides the prices? I don't know...maybe it was the huge amount of expensive chocolates and party food in your face everywhere you turned. Or the smell of the lilies in the floral department as you went out the door. Definitely a change from the discount store.

The fancy store didn't have what we were looking for, but it was no big deal, we'll find something. I was more struck by the every-day-ness of the discount store vs. the as-classy-as-a-big-city atmosphere of the other one. That kind of "classy" is a bit too demanding for me...I imagine that food (and the lilies) all standing in spotlights like movie stars, bowing and waiting for the proper amount of applause. I think I prefer every-day-ness, even at Christmas. 

In the week when Christmas comes: Monday

This is the week when Christmas comes,

     Let every pudding burst with plums,

And every tree bear dolls and drums,

     In the week when Christmas comes.

~~ from "In the Week When Christmas Comes," by Eleanor Farjeon

The gift of the longest-possible Advent: a whole week for it to be The Week When Christmas Comes.

Yes, we have snow--plenty of it, unlike last Christmas. Lydia's school was even closed one day because of bad weather.

Yes, we have decorations. It's not looking too bad.

Yes, we have things to make cookies with, although nobody's done any baking because Mama Squirrel and Mr. Fixit have been down with colds and didn't want to "share the love."

But it's still too easy to focus on what isn't, what we'd rather have, what we could have done. I think everyone has some mental version of Dickens that comes to visit over holidays..It might be just a scrap of something missing, or a major discontentment, or outright grief. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not at today's rather blunt Vivienne Files post. Under the portrait of a glum-looking woman painted by Chagall, Janice adds this note:  "She's NOT Feeling Christmassy... Some years, you just don't..."  Is it a coincidence that the imagined character's "accent colour" is a somewhat Grinchy green?

Then I read Brenda's post "Beauty With or Without an Audience," and things made more sense. If beauty is important, then we need to make beauty, even if it goes largely unseen. Even if those who do see it rush past (like the legendary crowd in the subway who didn't stop to hear the famous violinist, although you can read the true version of that here, since we try not to do Tonypandy at the Treehouse). Sometimes we make the extra effort simply as an act of faith.

Beginning to look a bit like Christmas (Do-Vember #22)

Do-Vember

For most of the past many years, my holiday decorating rule has been to leave it all as late as possible. There were good reasons for this. We tried to keep Advent separate from Christmas, and it didn't help if we had too many Christmas things out too early. Later on, some years, we also put out decorations just before Christmas, but that was because people were busy or partly out of town, and we had to wait for everyone who wanted to help.

Today I put out a few holiday things. I think it's the earliest I've ever done this much decorating, ever. Again, there are reasons for this. We don't have too-excited small children anymore, but we do have adult children who have flown the nest and who will be in and out at various times over the next month. It just seemed like it would be nice to have a few warming-up-for-Christmas things around the house.

Decoration we bought at Ponytails' school craft sale, a few years ago (made by one of the students)

A basket of vintage Christmas carol books

Working on decorating the front hall. I made the candle jar decoration out of scavenged odds and ends, and put some bits of fake evergreen in the white goblets. I'm going to add some mini red balls or berries to the goblets, when I find some.

A basket of old favourite Christmas books, in a basket that was formerly a six-sectioned wine basket (posted about that here). After not using the basket since finding it in August, because I couldn't think of anything to put in the six sections, I removed the divider and now have a perfectly good plain basket.

Dewey and Chippie relaxing in front of the fireplace. (They won't stay there long if it gets too warm.)

Toning down the trimming up (Do-Vember #20)

Do-Vember

Popping up on Pinterest: The Holiday Decluttering Guide to Make More Room For Comfort and Joy. This is a post by minimalism advocate Courtney Carver, founder of Project 333. A few interesting links and thoughts for those feeling too busy, too bothered, or just "too." (Please note that doesn't mean I endorse every suggestion. Take what you can use and let the rest go.)

Christmas is coming (Do-Vember #13)

Do-Vember

I recently started a Christmas board on Pinterest, just to collect up ideas that were getting lost under other headings (was that Sewing? Crochet Patterns? Parties?).

Here are some of my favourites so far:

How to fold a disposable cup into a candy box (how's that for Sloyd?)

How to fold a green paper napkin into a Christmas tree

A pretty picture of jars with tea lights inside (but you can't click through for directions, it just goes to a weight loss site). I've actually saved up three or four jars like that this year, since we have a favourite brand of canned pears from Poland (really, don't ask), and they come in large jars. This is something I might actually Do.

Gingerbread Hug Cookies at the Wilton website, just because they are so unbelievably cute. Maybe not that practical, but cute.

Frugal Christmas is not an oxymoron

I saw an article recently explaining why "low fat" and "holiday food" really shouldn't go together. While I get the point perfectly, it's also true both that some people are on special diets and don't want to be sick over the holidays, and that, for some current lifestyles, this "holiday season" may extend all the way through November and December, not just over a couple of meals. So yes, in that case, some prudence would seem not to be a bad thing.

In the same way, "frugal Christmas" is off-putting to some people. Why would you want to hold back financially during a time of celebration?

The answer to that can be anything from "we're broke" to "we're being more intentional." But the truth of our generally-pretty-wealthy culture is that we usually have enough right around us to have a pretty good holiday. Enough food. Enough things to decorate with. Enough to wear. Enough entertainment. More than enough. Like homeschoolers who discover the wealth of their own books, like new parents who figure out that they don't need swings and special bathtubs, there is no sacrilege at Christmas in not hanging holiday towels, or in eating cereal or eggs for breakfast instead of making a multi-layered slow-cooker casserole.

Here are ten ways to enjoy a frugal Christmas:

1.  Most obviously: use the holiday things you've stored. Tablecloths, wreaths, LPs or CDs, stockings. Our tree is several years old, and we have ornaments that are older than we are. I have been known to put out Christmas cards that were received in years past, especially those with a meaningful message or from someone we loved.

2. Use "non-Christmas" things you have. Focus on light and warmth.  Bring out things like white glass and china, baskets, candles, wooden bowls, Mason jars, a dark green tablecloth. Going in a less traditional, more spiritual direction, you could display a thoughtful piece of artwork.

3. Keep your eyes open at rummage sales and thrift stores, especially during the off-season. I found this woven tablecovering at the Salvation Army store, and the plaid throw we used for a tree skirt came from a fill-a-bag rummage sale we went to on Hallowe'en.

4. Paper napkins can be one of the best deals out there.

5. Use your freezer or whatever food system you generally use to save time, energy, money and sanity. We continued to use our freezer meals throughout the holidays, and I also made cookies and muffins ahead and froze them.

6. If your family doesn't like super-fancy food or baking, don't do it; make familiar foods that they do enjoy. What's wrong with chocolate-chip cookies and Rice Krispie Treats, if that's what you like, or Grandpa likes? It's like that story from Doris Janzen Longacre's More With Less book, about how her grandmother frosted cakes only for special occasions, her mother used frosting more often but only on the top, and she herself frosted her cakes all over and made extra icing for her bowl-lickers. To quote my other frugal mentor, Amy Dacyczyn, sometimes we need to create margin, back off from our culture's "perpetual feast," so that we can appreciate things that used to be treats.

7. Make donation gifts. Two of the Squirrelings used this year's holidays to support causes that are important to them.

8. Use what's around your house...literally. I think it was on the Prudent Homemaker blog recently where someone mentioned decorating a tree that was right outside their glass doors.

9. Wear clothes you already have, especially if you are not expecting or expected to do a lot of upscale partying. Honestly, the closest I got this year to a "holiday party" was going to church and a couple of family events. I bought a red sweater dress at the thrift store, long before Christmas, and there was a green scarf in my stocking, so there you go.

10. Celebrate with joy and love.

Mama Squirrel's Daybook: Doing things, making stuff

Weather: still hanging in there, colder but still not quite "November." That could change.

News from the Squirrels: Lydia's school is having a Flop, Drop and Read day today (you were also supposed to wear pajamas to school). Sounds like they have been taking lessons from the homeschoolers.

Things we've been watching: We finally started the fifth season of Downton Abbey (I was on a waiting list at the library). Longmire. Death in Paradise. Two movies: Steven Spielberg's Super 8, and Finding Forrester (we'd seen that a long time ago, but it was worth watching again).

In the slow cooker: Chicken Cacciatore, from our freezer meals.

Also to eat: Applesauce Muffins, made from dry ingredients mixed ahead for Crockpot Applesauce Cake, but since the Crockpot is full of dinner, I did mini muffins instead.

What are the best deals at the dollar store? These candles-in-a-jar, sold for religious purposes. The pictures on them are just shrink wrap and come off easily. I bought four candles for an Advent decoration. (They're going to get some trimming.)

Using up thrift store finds: Do you remember this ribbon embroidery kit and the diecuts of Victorian children? (I thought they were stickers but they were diecuts.) 

I used them, along with a few other cutout photos, sticky letters, buttons and ric-rac, to make Christmas cards. The base for the cards was a package of blank watercolour-paper cards that we had bought several years ago and never used.

Also making: crocheted pinecones, with a pattern from Planet June. (I downloaded the pattern a couple of years ago and then didn't have a chance to use it.) I had a bit of brown yarn left from old projects, and then I found this strange-scratchy-textured stuff at the dollar store while I was buying the candles. I don't think you'd want mittens made out of it, but it's perfect for cones.

Crocheted Mitten Ornament

Today's Frugal Tree Ornament: I had just enough red yarn left to make one doll-sized mitten (from this pattern at Cobbler's Cabin). I put a little craft stuffing into it, ran a ribbon through the top, and scavenged two mini pinecones, greenery and tiny balls (on picks) from an old (thrifted) candle ring.

Treehouse, Christmas Eve

Transoceanic radio courtesy of Mr. Fixit. All photos, Mr. Fixit.

Making stuff

There have been holidays in the past when we've made a lot of gifts and decorations--usually when I remembered to get started really early.

And there have been other years when I don't think the glue came out for most of December. Sometimes we make gifts of the food kind, not the crafty kind. Coffee mix, or homemade candy. (This is one food gift we're giving this year. This one also looks very yummy.)

But I do like to crochet, when I have the right kind of yarn around. On the weekend I was fishing through a bag of stuff I'd picked up at a rummage sale, and found a whole spool of something red and shiny called "Corneta Metallic Yarn for Handknitting." This stuff is very fine, like fine tinsel; too fine to crochet by itself unless maybe you're a mouse or a Borrower; but when I used it with another old ball of red Speed-Cro-Sheen, it worked great. I had enough of the Speed-Cro-Sheen to make four coasters and another decoration. (picture coming soon) Now I'm going to figure out what else I could put the metallic yarn with--maybe some white crochet cotton.

And of course I blew the "what's in my hand" by going to Michael's to buy some Stiffy. So if you get a very stiff and/or metallic Christmas present from me, you'll know why.
I am intrigued by this homemade gift at Like Merchant Ships, which I won't name in case someone close to me might be getting some (Apprentice, keep your mouse away from that link). Follow the links and enjoy Meredith's usual beautiful packaging as well. (There are more of Meredith's packaging ideas on Frugal Hacks today too.)

We spent most of today cleaning, not crafting...I have this Advent instinct that calls out for space, room. Clutter and dust bunnies cleaned out both literally and metaphorically; the last of the Halloween candy eaten; space made for holiday decorations to come. But once we get that taken care of, we will find time to get creative too.