Our gingerbread house cratered.

But we tried! I think I've had the kit in the pantry for AT LEAST 2 years. In some of my clutter purging, I've thought about tossing it, but I just held on ... So tonight, Belle and I attempted to build a gingerbread house. We got the walls up. We got the roof on. We got a row of candy down the center of the roof. And then things started heading south. One of the walls caved in and the "frosting" was too flaky to recover it. Next year, we'll start EARLIER and we'll start from SCRATCH.

Write your name in RUNES

This is fun: Write your name in runes. I tried to copy the pics of our names to post here, but it only copies one rune at a time, and I'm just not that patient right now. I'm actually in a flurry of Solstice surfing, which is NOT what it's about, but nevertheless ... Ben is playing a money game with Belle, so I have a few moments to myself and this is what I do with it. Several years ago, I could cast runes, but I'm not even sure where to find them now. I've thought often about making a new set, though. Maybe that will be a new year's project for Belle and me.

Happy Yuletide!

Twas The Night Before Yuletide
C.C. Williford '

Twas the night before
Yuletide and all through the glen
Not a creature was stirring, not a fox, not a hen.
A mantle of snow shone brightly that night
As it lay on the ground, reflecting moonlight.

The faeries were nestled all snug in their trees,
Unmindful of flurries and a chilly north breeze.
The elves and the gnomes were down in their burrows,
Sleeping like babes in their soft earthen furrows.

When low! the earth moved with a thunderous quake,
Causing chairs to fall over and dishes to break.
The Little Folk scrambled to get on their feet
Then raced to the river where they usually meet.

"What happened?" they wondered, they questioned, they probed,
As they shivered in night clothes, some bare-armed, some robed.
"What caused the earth's shudder? What caused her to shiver?"
They all spoke at once as they stood by the river.

Then what to their wondering eyes should appear
But a shining gold light in the shape of a sphere.
It blinked and it twinkled, it winked like an eye,
Then it flew straight up and was lost in the sky.

Before they could murmur, before they could bustle,
There emerged from the crowd, with a swish and a rustle,
A stately old crone with her hand on a cane,
Resplendent in green with a flowing white mane.

As she passed by them the old crone's perfume,
Smelling of meadows and flowers abloom,
Made each of the fey folk think of the spring
When the earth wakes from slumber and the birds start to sing.

"My name is Gaia," the old crone proclaimed
in a voice that at once was both wild and tamed,
"I've come to remind you, for you seem to forget,
that Yule is the time of re-birth, and yet . . ."
"I see no hearth fires, hear no music, no bells,
The air isn't filled with fragrant smells
Of baking and roasting, and simmering stews,
Of cider that's mulled or other hot brews."

"There aren't any children at play in the snow,
Or houses lit up by candles' glow.
Have you forgotten, my children, the fun
Of celebrating the rebirth of the sun?"

She looked at the fey folk, her eyes going round,
As they shuffled their feet and stared at the ground.
Then she smiled the smile that brings light to the day,
"Come, my children," she said, "Let's play."

They gathered the mistletoe, gathered the holly,
Threw off the drab and drew on the jolly.
They lit a big bonfire, and they danced and they sang.
They brought out the bells and clapped when they rang.

They strung lights on the trees, and bows, oh so merry,
In colors of cranberry, bayberry, cherry.
They built giant snowmen and adorned them with hats,
Then surrounded them with snow birds, and snow cats and bats.

Then just before dawn, at the end of their fest,
Before they went homeward to seek out their rest,
The fey folk they gathered 'round their favorite oak tree
And welcomed the sun 'neath the tree's finery.

They were just reaching home when suddenly it came,
The gold light returned like an arrow-shot flame.
It lit on the tree top where they could see from afar
The golden-like sphere turned into a star.

The old crone just smiled at the beautiful sight,
"Happy Yuletide, my children," she whispered. "Good night

Radishes

On Sunday, we planted carrots, radishes and green onions in each of 3 different test tubes so we can watch how they grow. It's only been 3 days and the radishes are growing like CRAZY. Some of them are half an inch tall. So we went in and thinned them out so that there would be room for the strongest to grow. The carrots are barely making a motion (we can see it in the dirt through the glass of the tube); and the green onions are getting a small sprout (also under the soil).

Belle learned how to work Sudoku puzzles today and she's doing VERY well, but not all that hooked on it like I thought she might be. She's spent most of the evening playing doctor's office with a broken keyboard and her plastic headset.

Our Gifts This Year

Well, as evidenced by the lack of new posts, we are staying very busy. But not in a "good" way. Just busy. So I told Belle what my gift to her will be in the new year -- It will be the gift of my time. And she has promised to give me more of her time as well. We are so caught up in the busy-ness that we are losing track of ourselves.

In the morning, we will be planting a carrot, a radish, and a green onion in individual test tubes and watching them grow. Will hopefully keep track of that here. Many pics to post, but not sure when I will have a chance to catch up.