Friday, December 20, 2013

Christmas


Christmas is magical time up here at the Arctic Circle. First of all, it is dark most of the day. At the moment the sun is nesting and resting for a few days. There is plenty of snow and new snowfall happens frequently. The snow blanket is beautiful. It is cold. There is plenty of reindeer all around. 
All these facts are a good foundation for one's imagination. Darkness hides many secrets, elves first of all, they must be all around. In the silent darkness, if you look at the dark forest, you are bound to see something moving there, but truly it is impossible to tell what it is. On the new snow there are plenty of tracks, and you can guess (and sometimes also tell) who has been leaving them. When it is cold, the nearby forest snaps and squeaks, so there must be life under the snow. And the reindeer, the brave survivors of the arctic, roam around the corner, look as if they have plenty to tell, but prefer to stay silent.
Mysterious north!  
Here inside the house Christmas preparations are almost done.
The sheep started her job few weeks ago. At first she put up few decorations to get into the right mood for the season.
The badger wiped away all the leaves and old dust for Christmas to arrive at a clean house.
The otter has been fishing for days.
The bunnies and the birds have been practicing carols.
Even the fox
has promised to leave the bunnies and the birds in peace,
as has the wolf, he is eating only gingerbread pigs.
And the little bunnies made snowmen with carrot noses. (When the girls were small, we never could put carrot noses to our snowmen, no matter how big the snowmen, the dogs always got their noses.)
The elf in the bathroom is in his usual place,
as is the angel in the upstairs bathroom. (I made these two long time ago, and years of duty have affected both of them, the other one has cracked his hat and the angel's ears are damaged.)
All is well, all is good.
Time to sit back and enjoy... well, almost anyway.
With this I thank you all for coming by during this past year and I wish you and your loved ones the best of Christmas time! 
Wool with you and we will see in January 2014!
Lene
PS. I have not seen the reindeer for a couple of days. I am sure they have been gathered together for the big day.
PPS. And yes, the reindeer do belong to someone, they are not wild.

44 comments:

  1. What a lovely post! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous17:25

    Thank you for your posts. They are lovely and appreciated. Happy holidays to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your words are magical Lene. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of your world. Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beth in Maryland18:39

    This post is as magical as the forest you describe! Many many thanks for sharing your world with us, and a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous19:04

    Dear, dear Lene,

    Thank you for drawing me into the magical world you have created with your many talents. Now when I hear the little noises in the woods, I will think of your description of elves. I am in love with the pictures of the sheep and with all your felted creatures. This post is a true Christmas gift. oxo Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dearest Lene,
    I have been following your blogposts for quite awhile now, just love them. Thank you for sharing a little corner of your world with us. Today's post is so magical, I am in awe of your creativity and talent.
    Best wishes for the solstice and for the new year to come...hugs to you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous20:39

    Dear Lene,
    Your felted creatures are truly magical. I love you story. Thank you for sharing with us this last year. I am always amazed by your writing, drawings and all things. I am happy you let us into your life. Happy Holidays and may the New Year bring you and your family joy and health.
    Deb

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a lovely post! I love all of your felted animals, especially the badger, otter, and fish. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas, and much health, happiness, and love in the New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Lene, I have been ooing and aaing for a while now...I love the badger and the fox and your sheep are perfect...A little bit of magic in the cold Arctic night...
    Thank you so much for sharing and wishing you and yours the best for the Season!
    P.S. Our deer are wild and roam around the island year around...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous21:52

    SO cute !
    patricia

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have loved reading your posts right from the beginning and this one is just perfect. Thank you for sharing your talent with us again. Love and merry Christmas from the hot sunniness of Australia.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh Lene, you are so talented! I love all the Christmas decorations. I usually sit here reading your blog silently, but I wanted to wish you and your family a truly merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous22:24

    What a beautiful perspective you have! I feel like everyone here has been so grumpy about the dark - we are fellow northerners here in Canada. You have reminded me of the beauty all around me and to cherish it in both its dark and its light guises.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, I thought the reindeer were wild! I love your felted creatures….

    ReplyDelete
  15. Karen J00:22

    Dear Lene, what a delight to read this post. I love the carollers. You are a truly talented woman and you make me smile. A very merry Christmas to you and your family and best wishes for 2014.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous00:40

    Lene,

    I have read and enjoyed every single one of your posts. You are extremely talented and generous with all you create. Please continue to post in 2014! Without your Arctic world to look forward to reading about, my days would be just a wee bit empty.

    Warm wishes for a lovely holiday with your family and a wonderful new year..Denise in Ohio

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous00:51

    I am so glad you let your imagination loose through your creations. I am always inspired by them... drawings, quilts, felted objects and more. Thank you. Helen

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous02:37

    Lene,

    Such fun and love and wonder you bring to us this cold time of year. Thank you for creating such a lovely heartfelt story and creatures to depict it. So happy you share!
    Terrie

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sandra02:55

    What they said ^
    And Happy Christmas, Lene. Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Maureen04:11

    I hope you will take this post and expand it into a children's book! I read it to my five year old granddaughter and she just loved the magic of it all! You have a true gift, Lene...please consider sharing it with all the children of the world!
    Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and abundant blessings in the new year ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous04:22

    I love your felted critters and the story about the woods, but most of all I LOVE the sheep illustrations. You are so talented!!

    All the best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (full of wool, of course).
    mk
    p.s. we had a massive snowfall today and everything outside sparkles :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Looking at your creatures and reading about dark woods and reindeer make me smile. Now there is a soft spot in my heart that had forgotten gifts of the spirit. Thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:22

    What a wonderful magical world you live in! Thank you for your posts I look forward to reading them so much. With all best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

    Sue
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous14:02

    Thank you for a wonderful post. I, like so many others, love to read your posts and to see you works of art. I wish you and your family a wonderfully Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. Best wishes. See you in 2014!

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a magical post! Thank you, Lene. What a wonderful smiley way to start my day. Your creatures are all so very special but the fox made me giggle with delight. I really admire your creativity. How lucky you are sweetie.
    Merry Christmas. xo

    ReplyDelete
  26. A beautiful post :)

    May your Christmas be all that you wish it to be x

    ReplyDelete

  27. Thank you for this post! It's put me in a most delightfully magical Christmas spirit! All the little creatures are so adorable! From my home to yours....MERRY CHRISTMAS and BLESSINGS FOR THE NEW YEAR!!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Merry Christmas Lene, and Happy Solstice. Thanks for sharing the photos of your beautiful creations, I love them.

    ReplyDelete
  29. So beautiful, Lene. Solstice greetings to you from a wet and windy England.x

    ReplyDelete
  30. Your felt animals are beautiful and poignant ...
    they have such character somehow.
    Love the way you lined them up to sing carols.
    Thank you for blogging and telling us about your world in the high artic...........
    All the best for you and your family in 2014

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh, Lene, you dear soul, thank you for sharing your world! Your little creatures are just heartwarming. Merry Christmas and the happiest and healthiest of New Years to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
  32. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thank you Lene for creating this beautiful gift to all of us at Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Merry Christmas to you and your family! And a Bright New Year!
    Thank you for posting and sharing your creativity with us!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Oh, what a delightful post. Merry, merry Christmas to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Linda23:55

    Blessed Christmas Lene! As I was reading your post I could feel a sense of peace come over me. And at a perfect time. I love reading about your world, your creations, your self. Looking forward to hearing more in 2014:)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous00:27

    Oh, your little felted animals are enchanting! Thanks for sharing this with me. I hope you and yours have a happy Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Madeleine02:35

    What a delightful and mystical post. Just wonderful — and wonder-full. Merry Christmas to you and your family and thank you for YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Kimi13:25

    Merry Christmas to you and your family. Wishing you joy in the new year!

    ReplyDelete
  40. deni16:22

    Merry Christmas to you and yours.
    Thank you for giving your blogger friends an insight to your world.
    Happy 2014!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous16:53

    Merry Midwinter to you and yours, Lene.

    Pat in Somerset, England

    ReplyDelete
  42. Merry Christmas! I truely enjoyed your post and plan on sharing it with my friends. Thank you!
    Karen from Nova Scotia, Canada

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous21:50

    Merry Christmas! Love the whimsical post.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I've decided that this post deserves to be a children's book. Of course, that leaves all the work to you, but...it is such a lovely progression of ideas and photos, drawings and felted creations that I'm certain it ought to be a book.

    ReplyDelete