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Sunday, December 3, 2017

Village on the mantle




Poppy left this morning at 5:30 going to work at the deer processing plant. No way could I cut up a deer first thing in the morning...well no way could I cut up a deer, period!

Anyhow, I hardly had the front door closed and locked before the phone started ringing. It was Poppy. Mel, he said...you should get in the car and drive up to the highway to see the moon. The super moon! It is unbelievable! Should have, but didn't. Just something about going out before daylight, in the quiet cold morning, in my pajamas and driving up this dark path, alone.

and besides all that, I can't get a decent picture of the star over the mantle...and sure can't get a good one of the moon. Don't know if it's me or my little el cheapo camera?



The mood finally hit me to bring in boxes from the shop. Here's the little Christmas village on the mantle.



It was about finished when Poppy said, you know what would look good? A star in the center above the mantle. So, it was off to town! 



Stopping at the dollar stores and drug stores along the way, looking for a simple lighted star. Most of the stars were gaudy. Of course, it seems that "gaudy" is in style around here.






The little village is far from perfect, and my pictures are too dark. Things show up in the pictures; wires and light bulbs and figures out of proportion, but I like it! Wouldn't it be fun to live in a little Christmas village.

Our Christmas tree needs more work...and so does the yard! Every year there are more and more leaves. It is overwhelming, and here, the oak leaves fall through February. Yesterday, I raked leaves for three hours and hardly made a dent. Poppy suggested not raking at all. Decisions, decisions. Hope to be back soon with pictures of the knee deep, well, ankle deep, leaves. 

Love,
Henny







28 comments:

  1. The village is lovely and your mantle is a treat for the eyes. I miss the leaf mould that I used to make before moving to Wales, our road had mature trees on both sides. I don't miss the aching shoulders from all the raking though.

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  2. It looks wonderful, you did a great job. I don't blame you for not wanting to drive alone in the cold and dark, the moon is supposed to be big tonight too.

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  3. Well, good for Poppy. It's not often a 'man' has a good decor suggestion around here. lol The star just finished it off perfectly. I LOVE Christmas villages. I don't know why I have never started one. Your mantle looks gorgeous, Henny.

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  4. Your Christmas village mantle is perfect !
    My mother-in-law had all those little lighted buildings, I looked forward to seeing them each year.
    Love the star shining brightly above your village, what a great suggestion :)
    Seems like the leaves are getting deeper by the years, or maybe we are slowing down ?
    I missed the moon too :(
    Have a lovely weekend Henny.
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  5. I enjoyed seeing your Christmas mantle it looks just perfect! The new carolers fit right in! :)

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  6. Your little village is wonderful, and the star is perfect!
    My decorating has taken most of the week, what with everything else going on. The tree is finally up, and today I will begin to put on the many ornaments.
    The great news is we are beginning a week with no rain in the forecast! We'll be able to get outside and finish up the tidying up of the yard and get outside lights up! I was so tired of rain and gloomy weather.

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  7. Your mantle is so pretty . . . and the star is a nice touch :)
    Happy raking!
    Connie :)

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  8. I love your pretty mantel arrangement and the star is the perfect final touch!!
    Like Linda says in her comment, we're forecast to have a week or more of NO RAIN. The weatherman was saying that Vancouver may have the driest week in December in 10 years. We're not all that far away so that should apply to us as well.

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  9. Your mantle is beautiful. I like everything about it.
    I'm with Poppy, no raking at all. : )
    At the new house we are keeping everything natural, having no lawn at all. We will be in the woods. : )

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  10. The star was the perfect addition to your little Christmas village!

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  11. Gaudy seems to be the way everywhere.
    I love your mantle! Very warm and inviting.
    Had I remembered about the super moon, I don't think I would have seen it anyway. Way too foggy here this morning.
    A blessed Christmas to you all, Henny Penny!

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  12. Pretty mantle! I like your Christmas village a lot. My daughter who was doll house crazy as a chIld has a Christmas village now that she has grown up and I love to see it. She sent me a picture today after she set it up and I spotted a few new little things.

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  13. Your first photo could be a postcard; its perfect for Christmas. Love your fireplace, mantle and all the wonderful decorations you placed on the mantle. Love the adding of the star!

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  14. I love Christmas villages! We have some of the old dickens ones... but started giving them to the children for their houses since our cats tend to knock little breakable figurines about. As for raking leaves, I'm with Poppy... leave them be. I love seeing layers of fall leaves on lawns... think they're so pretty, but I've been told it wasn't good for the grass to leave them unraked??

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  15. You put the exciting in Christmas.

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  16. diane in northern wisDecember 3, 2017 at 4:39 PM

    Oh Henny, I just love your Christmas village. For many years I had a Dickens Village on a big table in one corner of my large kitchen and kept it up for years on end. Finally I tired of it and gave the pieces away little by little. Sometimes I still feel like setting up a little one, but haven't yet. I sure love looking at yours though! So pretty. Thanks for the great pictures!

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  17. Oh, my, I think your photos fine, and my boss always talked about visiting this one town...can't remember the name of it now...anyway, she happened to be there when it snowed, and she said, ;Oh, Rose, it was just like a Christmas village you see on TV....'

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  18. I think I would leave (haha) it all on the ground too -- here we have pecan leaves and pine straw. But hubby wants the yard to look tidy, plus he wants ALL those leaves/straw/cones/etc. to go into compost to make his dirt for next year. So he rakes it all up.
    Your village is lovely. I also cannot for the life of me get a decent photo of the moon :( It's just a distant blur. But I have a junky phone camera.
    I STILL need to do my Christmas decor. Woefully behind! And no inclination to get off my fanny and get it done!

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  19. Oh, this is a beautiful mantle. I love it especially the bears!

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  20. Love the mantel arrangement! Especially the bear, since I see bears a lot here at home. The star just sets the village off, Henny. You are right, gaudy appears to be in style. I heard on the radio that leaving the leaves on the ground is a good thing, that many butterflies apparently winter over in the leaves. ?? Don't know for sure, just heard it on NPR that it is a good thing to leave them on the ground. If they are a hazard, though, I guess its best to get them up. Have a Happy Day! Terry

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  21. You're selling yourself short. Your mantle is lovely! I love your aprons and enjoy your blog.

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  22. I think it sweet of Poppy to share the moon with you. I chuckled that you decided to stay inside, me too. ;-)
    I love the mantel, beautiful and the star is perfect.
    Merry Christmas,
    Carla

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  23. Love your mantel!!! My Christmas village is up all year in my sewing room. Every now and then I plug it in. I missed the moon cause it was too cloudy here. hugs, lj

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  24. The mantel looks great, Henny! I admit, I do not rake the leaves. I chop them up with the mower and then in the spring anything that's left will get raked out of flower beds when I do the spring clean up. It's not fun but at least at that time of the year I'm so excited to get out in the garden it doesn't seem so bad! By the fall I'm ready to put the garden to bed and move indoors for the long winter, and cozy up by the fire.

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  25. Yes, it would be fun to live in a Christmas village...well, maybe for just a day or so! Your mantle looks oh-so-lovely with the star shining down over the little village! My tree is finally finished. Of course, with me being me, I had to start over a couple of times, taking everything off, when things weren't going to suit me. I don't rake! I have wondered when out walking over the hill how many leaves there must be covering the trail.

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  26. Your Christmas mantle is beautiful Henny. I love the star shining down on your village and the bears are a cute comical touch. Seems Poppy has come a long with from not seeing why you would bother to decorate, to now giving you advice (and wonderful advice too!) on decorating. Will wonders ever cease? LOL And, I'm with Poppy on the leaves. Why bother to rake when the leaves will feed the ground naturally and improve your soil? Maybe just do the areas where you walk and forget the rest of the areas?

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  27. Mama, that is so beautiful!! Sigh. I wish our mantel was fixed. Jason had a beautiful wooden mantel especially made, but one of the screws became loose from the mortar in the bricks and we have to get it remounted. We went ahead and completely removed it so it would not fall on Mars or Amelia, who love the hearth. I love you, Mama. ~your girl

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