The Other Christmas Project

What to do for the Mom-in-law's Christmas tree? My Mom-in-law loves Christmas decorations and so when she spends Christmas with us I try to give her her own tree in her room, as well as our usual one in the living room. She loves the sea so I decided to go with a sea life theme.


First off some wooden dolphin cut-outs.


Drill a little hole in them, attach a hanger and then paint them.


Add some blue beads for eyes


And then go crazy with the glitter!


Same idea with some seahorse cut-outs.


And then onto the shells. I picked these up the last time I visited my parents - not many seashells in Chicago!


The trusty glue-gun comes into play to attach hangers and beads. (The glue-gun is such a great invention!)


And then the glitter comes into play again! For some reason I was having camera issues here, so sorry for the blurry images.


Some of the shells need just a touch of glitter to enhance them and make them look festive


The plainer ones lend themselves to a more generous coating of sparkles


I tried to follow the natural patterns on these with the glitter


These were really fiddly and I think I probably ended up wearing more glitter than the shell!


It is only at Christmas that you can get away with all this glitter, and it is fun :)


Finally all the glittering was done


And it was time to put everything onto the tree


I hid the ugly tree stand with a piece of material and scattered more shells around


And voila! Sea side tree


Not sure if my Mom-in-law liked it, she didn't say but I had fun getting in touch with my inner five year old and getting covered in glue and glitter :)

Christmas Fare

One thing about me - I am about as artistic as a teabag! Never could draw, paint, play a musical instrument or do anything else remotely creative. That being said, as Christmas draws near each year, I feel the urge to 'make stuff'. It is definitely a seasonal thing and when the new year comes around the urge has passed. But each November, December the urge has to be satiated. Good old Martha usually has a few suitably simple projects that I can adapt. This was one of this years.

Take a dark green Christmas ball

Add a little snowfall

and some snow-covered trees

a flight of festive cardinals

Finally a gentle snow storm

And then hang the finished item on the Christmas tree.

2010 In Review

I am finally trying to get back into my blog again, a three month hiatus seems suitably inexcusable so I won't try. I'll just start at the end, of the year that is, and hopefully 2011 will inspire me. In the mean time, a whistle-stop tour through 2010.

The year began with a blue moon


We slowly crept our way through the seemingly endless Chicago winter



We welcomed a new member to our family! This is Winston II, he is an Ornate Horned Frog and he is very handsome.


And just when it seemed like the interminable winter would never end


We took a trip to somewhere slightly warmer


Wonderful, spellbinding, spectacular, beautiful Morocco


I fell totally in love with this magnificent country


I ticked off something that has always been on my bucket list - to ride a camel into the Sahara


And I discovered there was something else that needed to be added to my bucket list, and also ticked off! Racing a Land Cruiser along part of the Paris - Dakar route, awesome!!! I did that too.


We had to say goodbye to a dear member of our team at work, sweet, little Scabbers left us.


And when we got over his passing we had to look for replacement(s) - this is Diesel and Spike


I purchased a new steed - Shatan


Our beloved Chicago Blackhawks held us on the edge of our seats all the way through the playoffs


And finally won the Stanley cup


We attended their spectacular victory parade, along with a couple of million other folks


And whilst we weren't watching, summer finally sneaked into Chicago



The tall ships paid their annual summer visit and looked right at home on Lake Michigan


We got plenty of good conservation work done with the endangered Blanding's Turtles


For my birthday I received a truly special gift which I hope I will enjoy for many years to come.


The Bears season was at times rather hard to watch, yes we were at the New England game!


But it certainly had some redeeming moments


Including a new NFL record


And in 2011 the playoffs begin.
And so another year draws to a close


Happy New Year everyone.
And my New Years Resolution? To get back into the saddle with my blog and try to do at least one post per week! Gulp - what am I letting myself in for?
Oh, and that birthday present? Here is a little clue - My Backyard

BLOGGERS BLOCK

Is there such a thing as Bloggers Block? If there is then I have most definitely been suffering from an acute bout of it. Not motivated, not inspired and, knowing me, just too lazy. Hopefully normal service will soon be resumed but in the mean time I have been stalking my usual favorite blogs, even if I haven't been leaving any comments.

GOING BATTY

I know you are probably going to say that this next statement is defunct because I love all animals but 'I Love Bats!' I am not really quite sure why, maybe having lived in close proximity to them in Zambia for several years did it, although I don't think so, I think it goes further back than that. Maybe it is because they eat mosquitoes! (OK so maybe I don't love ALL animals!) I am not really sure what it is but safe to say, they fascinate me and I find them incredibly endearing and not even the remotest bit 'gross' as so many people seem to.
So imagine my delight when Andrew, our seasonal gardener at the Museum came in on Friday to tell me he had found a bat out on the Museum grounds. I grabbed my camera and hurried outside. And there he was snoozing quietly in the bushes, occasionally opening an eye to make sure we weren't getting too close.


A beautiful Eastern Red Bat Lasiurus borealis, just trying to get some peace and quiet after a busy night of eating bugs. Unlike many other species, the Red Bat is often found roosting alone and he had found the perfect little spot to hang out, until we came along to disturb his peace! We kept a respectful distance (yes I used full zoom), took a few photos and then left him to his sleep.


During September and October this species uses the storms that blow around the shores of Lake Michigan to hitch a ride further south as they journey to find warmer areas to spend their winter. And, coincidence or not, we had had a violent thunder storm the night before our little furry visitor was spotted.


Photo Credits - CJT