hey, love, castle

My house is my castle and full of the things I call treasure ... but the roof is leaking again and I am uncertain of many things. yet rather than brood, I always seem to be somewhat observational in these situations and perhaps ever hopeful that fortunes will change... I would like to type this sitting in the kitchen sink, for I am in a rather Cassandra Mortmain sort of mood today...

Everything is so pretty but there is a terrible draught...

Under a fir tree

This little tea cup filled with fir and pine cones sits on my mantlepiece...

My birth tree is the Fir tree (the Mysterious)... and according to my reference this means I have extraordinary taste, I handle stress poorly, I love anything beautiful, I can become depressed at times, I am stubborn, I tend to care for those close to me as well as helping strangers, I am rather modest, I am a hard worker, I am talented, I am unselfish, I have many friends, I don't want foes, and I am very reliable...

I would say this description is pretty well accurate... and I am glad to be an evergreen.

heart shaped box

Today was one of those perfect sort of days. The frost was thick and there was ice on the lake, and we took a walk to visit our swans...

J was dressed in her favourite coat - she calls it her 'white bear'...

There was frozen moss...

a tree framed view of the palace...

and lunch in our favorite cafe with toast and pink milk and turkish delight ice cream...
and as we arrived home the snowfall came thick and fast... it looked soooo beautiful...

then we ran inside for more homemade gingerbread and hot tea but the fire...

today there was something magical in the air... something I wanted to catch hold of and keep in a heart shaped box...

gingerbread day...

Today we made Gingerbread men... Gingerbread fairies... and Gingerbread bunnies...

J had the best fun rolling and squishing the dough and decorating ...

and they passed the taste test too...

white bears

Gosh... we have colds and runny noses, little toddle-belle and I. We are truanting from playgroup and hiding indoors today with homemade soup, The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe on DVD (with some scary bits fast forwarded as she is too small), play doh and fairy lights...

The temperature has dropped to zero now and there is frost and rolling mist. I am re-reading North Child by Edith Pattou. It is wonderful, based on the fairytale East of the Sun , West of the Moon, a white bear takes a girl away to a place carved into rock. Oh how I love it. Set in Norway and another of the animal groom fairytales I love so... Just as Beauty in Beauty and the Beast has her room of books in Beast'd castle due to her love of reading, so Rose in this story has her room in the white bear's castle full of threads and yarns and a loom due to her love of making things.

There is also The Princess and the White Bear King. This book's artwork adorns my daughter room...

How I love white bears.