Coming home after picking up our Christmas present to ourselves [a new hi-def TV] we got quite a shock. Instead of going into the garage we thought it would be easier to pull in front of the house to unload our huge parcel. Imagine our surprise on finding this sight before our very eyes. What a strange ‘bird’ at our bird feeding station.

We knew a bear was around because Daisy had been barking at the fence earlier in the week to alert me to its presence in our woods, and yet again this morning. I could see the bear in the woods wandering aimlessly around. Poor beary-boo. It’s not cold enough to hibernate and I think she’s getting a bit tired of staying awake. She was laying down lapping up the seed I had spread earlier today for the birds. Too lazy to either sit or stand! I ran into the house for my camera [of course!] and stood on our front porch to take these photos. She wasn’t bothered too much by me and I spoke softly to her. When Rick brought the truck back again she decided she’d had her fill of sunflower seeds for the day.

It’s not Ursa, mother of the three cubs who was such a frequent visitor to our yard over the summer, but another smaller female. Ursa is much larger. This might be Doris, the bear that was hibernating under our neighbor’s deck when they moved into their house. This particular bear always leaves its signature mark: taking several pickets out of our fence as it attempts to climb over. Today was no exception. Three pickets lay discarded on our front yard, leaving a big toothless gap.

Our bears can rest easy this year as New Jersey has cancelled their annual bear hunt, which I am thankful for. I hope they get to take their winter slumber before too long. Otherwise, they might start getting pretty cranky….and hungry!

Last Saturday we went to get our Christmas tree. I knew just where I wanted to go since I had happened by there earlier in the week to take photos of the ‘inflatables’ [what’s that? don’t know what inflatables are? sorry, that’s another blog entry coming soon.] and saw that they had lovely trees. So, back we went.

The parking lot was a very different scene from a few days ago. People bustled here and there, trees were being bundled up in their mesh bags for transport and loaded onto tops of cars and into trunks. Trees were literally flying out of the lot as fast as they could prepare them. It all led to a real feeling of Christmas spirit. A car with a Christmas tree sticking out of the trunk by several feet went by with a little girl in the back seat smiling from ear to ear, hugging her small dog. I remember her face. I knew exactly what she was feeling because I felt that way too.

The minute we stepped out of the car the smell hit us. The piney, well…Christmas-y, fragrance emanating from these fraser firs was almost overwhelming. I am a horrible Christmas tree shopper. I am very choosy when it comes to picking out a tree. Just ask Rick if you don’t believe me. He has always hated this part of Christmas and mostly because I would go from tree to tree, rejecting this one and that one. It’s a lot like shopping and he’d just rather pick one and get it over with. These trees were all so perfect [okay, they were raised on a tree farm in North Carolina and pruned and pampered to be beautiful their whole lives] that I was literally spoiled for choice. Which one when each is as lovely as the next? I think Rick was very pleasantly surprised when we made the quickest decision of all time. We’ll take that one! And here is our tree:

Another thing that I am not used to seeing is the variety of roping and boughs that exists back here in the East. Different kinds of pine, spruce, boxwood, fir, cedar were all available by the foot.

They had many different kinds of fresh wreaths as well.

Finally, our tree was tied to the top of our car. The dogs helped, as you can see.

Just this morning, a few things touched me and made my day. All this happened while doing daily errands. First, in the bank, an elderly woman handed the bank manager a festive Christmas sack. He put his hand on her back and thanked her warmly. She smiled, and her face lit up like a little child as she said ‘I just baked that this morning.’ It’s been since I was a child that people did such things at Christmas. How wonderful.

Then in the grocery as I was sacking my groceries, an elderly gentleman sitting on a bench at the front of the store remarked on the dog toy I had just purchased for the dogs. It’s a silly Christmas tree with a reindeer head and arms that plays Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It caught his fancy and he proceeded to tell me about a toy he had for his dog; a frog with Louis Armstrong’s voice. I passed him the dog toy and he smiled as he held it to his ear and listened to its silly song.

Just outside the grocery another elderly woman took one look at me and admonished “WHAT? No hat on your head? What are ya, crazy?” As the wind blew hard, dry snowflakes at my face and I felt the frigid arctic blast that is just now arriving in New Jersey, I realized she was right. I really should have a hat on. She meant it kindly you know. She was just looking out for my well being.

I love living in a small town.

Above are examples of a few garlands I knitted last year. Each one is a bit different. They are fun, fast and easy to make. Finding the right yarn is sometimes a challenge. I wish I had kept the label wrapper from my favorite, but it doesn’t matter since I haven’t been able to find it here in New Jersey this year. You’ll need three skeins of yarn: two of the background color [a shaggy eyelash yarn works well], and one “fun” yarn like Lion Brand Fancy Fur that has bobble-like things that look like tiny ornaments when knitted up. Another good yarn is a paper flag novelty yarn, like one from Crystal Palace. Just use your imagination when choosing yarn varieties. To knit, use size 19 [26 inch] circular needles, cast on about 100 stitches with all three yarns [I know, I know, it’s a lot] and then just knit two rows of garter stitch for an almost instant garland. I got the idea from the Crystal Palace yarn website last year. So please, don’t use this pattern except for your own use. Here is their link.

Merry Knitting!

A few weeks ago I went with my neighbor Kim to the Holiday House Boutique at Lambert Castle in Paterson. This holiday fundraiser for the Passaic County Historical Society is a big favoriite. The castle is decorated festively with craft items for sale. Each year they decorate the rooms differently. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

Built in 1892, this impressive landmark is made of sandstone and granite quarried from the surrounding hillsides. It belonged to Paterson’s silk baron, Catholina Lambert. It’s an interesting story, and if you’re interested you can read more about the castle and its history here.

I was a good girl and didn’t spend too much money. I bought a unique bracelet and this adorable hand-stitched felt sheepie ornament. I thought it would make a good knitting totem.