Christmas All Around
It's over. I'm basking in the luxury of getting back to work. Energized by having made it through another hectic Christmas, with all its demands and joys and energy drains, I sat down at the drafting board today and did five drawings for my book project. 39 more to go. It wasn't long ago I had 125 left, then 75...I'm making progress, slow as it sometimes seems. Work feels like a vacation after pulling Christmas off. Moms and Dads, you know what I mean.
Liam believes. He hears the jingle. This is probably his last Christmas, believing. And we made the most of it, reading The Night Before Christmas, cuddled in bed with Phoebe and Chet, while Daddy ho-ho-ho-ed, threw whiffle balls on the roof, rang sleigh bells in the deep darkness outside, and wolfed down cookies by the fireplace. Chet barked his head off and tore to the foyer window to bust Bill, but Liam was rooted to the spot, pure belief. His eyes were bugging out of his head. He was silent, mouth agape. And then he breathed, "Saint Nick!" Poor Bill never gets to see that; he's too busy being Santa outside. It is pure magic. Phoebe knows, but delights nonetheless. We exchange looks over Liam's head.
'Twas the night before Christmas, the children all tucked in their beds, and Bill and I sat before the tree and the fire and drank the beauty in. One guess who the giant red stocking, the one bulging with chew toys, belongs to.
Chet's toys were wrapped in kraft paper. Phoebe helped him a little. He reduced a $15 "chew-resistant" Booda dog Frisbee to tatters in about twenty minutes. It won't wobble, much less fly, now. A Doggie Hoots skunk was demolished, headless, in ten minutes. This is getting expensive. What do we give him now, cast iron chew bones?
When we were all done unwrapping at our house, I suddenly remembered the birds. They were waiting for their suet dough. I put out a double measure as a Christmas present to them. This pretty male redbelly must have stood under the mistletoe last night; he has lipstick all over his cheeks.
Jeez, have some suet dough, Mr. Reddy! Leave a little for your blue neighbors, how about?
More Christmas revels to come. Hope yours was merry and bright, as ours was. This is as close to a Christmas card as we're going to come!
Best wishes from Zick and Bill of the Birds!
posted by Julie Zickefoose @ 9:46 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Was that Phoebe up there? :)
Liam will always believe - I still do. Santa is very real.
I had three dogs in the house on Christmas Day and I posted a "Hollofilled Christmas" on the 25th. Bostons destroy anything that is not made of steel.
Best wishes for a great new year!
You look very pretty there girl...
And a happy New Year to you all on Indigo Hill. My mom and sister loved their books, and I was finally able to blog about it all without ruining their surprise. We see The Polar Express every year and I always still hear the bell! ;c)
Merry Christmas and THANK YOU!! My dad bought me your book for Christmas and I love it! I immediately flipped thru to see if it was signed, and it was. I've never had a book signed by an author before and it was a great gift. Something to be treasured. Reading your blog, reading about your book, then receiving it as a signed gift - the connection of the internet is just such a cool thing.
Glad to hear you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!!
Your Christmas sounds and looks wonderful!
Suet dough - could you please point me to your recipe?
Merry Christmas to you all too and wishes for a bright and happy New Year from up here in Minnesota!
Julie,
Tom rings the sleigh bells from the farm my mom grew up on. He never sees the looks or hears the gasps and comments, yet he continues to give the girls his best performance. Homeschooling saved Zoey from the harsh awakening, being ratted out by peers. She put the puzzle together herself. Vivi is still wrapped up in it. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Julie, I remember seeing the suet dough recipe in your archives but I can't find it. Can you give it again or tell Naturewoman and me where it is in archives? Thanks!
Aha - Mary, you gave me the clue - I went to Julie's website, did a search and found the recipe posted on January 29, 2006 http://www.juliezickefoose.com/blog/2006/01/suets-big-deal.html
With my children my ex husband was always Santa at the pre school they attended. The funniest year was the one where my oldest figured out Santa was his Dad by smell. Who would have thought that a child climbing up on Santa's lap would hug him and say "Hey, Daddy is that you??? " after sinking his nose into Santa's neck! We laughed about that one for years and every parent that day told Bill he had to change his aftershave for next year. Don't you love the way these Boston's can wreck a nice toy in record time? Mine did the same thing!!!
It's never too late for a Zickefoose Christmas.
If you were not lucky enough to have a Zickefoose Christmas [or best of all, a Yak-a-foosian Christmas. see: http://yakherder.blogspot.com/]
You can go to National Wildlife's catalog site: www.shopnwf.org and look for item # 221062, which is Bluebird sweater with the artwork of Julie Zickefoose.
And best of all, although only navy background is in stock (this must mean it sold well), it is marked down to 24.97, from 44.95.
Swami swears on his yummy Christmas yak-milk cheese, that he is not compensated for this commercial!!
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
I do so love the week after Christmas, and, transversely, hate it. Boxes of opened stuff, toys half put together (and never put away like I ask!), plastic price tag thingies in the carpet.
BTW:
Anon...don't take it personally. Julie gets trolls on her blog, and someone who comments as "Anonymous" makes her a bit leery, I would think.
Dear Anonymous,
It's hard to know a person's intent through cyberspace, and Susan's right. I have good reason to be leery of unsigned comments. I didn't appreciate the implication that I would risk dashing Liam's belief in Santa for the sake of a blog post. FYI, at 7 years of age, he looks at the pictures, but he doesn't read my blog.
As to my reason for deleting your comments,I don't like to be scolded on my own blog, unless it's by my friends, who all identify themselves. I think it's easy to forget that an unsponsored blog is not a public service; it's something that the blogger does purely for enjoyment, the blogger's and the readers'. I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your first comment. It just hit me wrong, and I try to keep this blog a shiny happy place where people, including me, can come to escape.
aw....what a great photo of you two. Also, I STILL believe. I always will. Liam might too. Thanks for the HILARIOUS gog-eyed photos of Chet Baker, Blog-Star.
Post a Comment
<< Home