Winter Snow Kingdom.

This is just a teaser i guess, because these are not really available. i had so much fun with my Winter snow queen, that i knew i had to make more in the same wintry theme.

i'm not ready for winter at all, i haven't taken down my Autumn nature table yet...but after making the snow Queen i started to picture lots of different icy/snowy bendy dolls.
The first is this lovely Ice Fairy. She has lots of icy looking glitter on her wings.

i decided she really needed a matching Unicorn with an icy mane. The yarn i used the mane and tail is an icy blue with a strand of silver running through it. The horn is created from a silver ribbon, and there is a bit of glitter on the hooves.
This set is already sold, but i couldn't resist posting pictures of it.

i also decided our Winter Snow Queen, needed a Winter King. i just finished him up this evening, and i will probably make him a staff similar to the Snow Queen's tomorrow.
He has lots of glitter on his crown and cape. He is $15.

Wouldn't they look lovely on a winter nature table?


Although the icy fairy is sold, i do plan to make a few more that are in the same wintry theme. ..along with some gnomes and maybe knights? i may have to make another Winter King and Queen too...although i'm not sure i'll have them for sale...i'm very tempted to keep them for myself! :)

Have you entered to win the Winter Snow Queen yet? The giveway ends on the 7th so be sure and enter!!

Our Yule Tree

For the past 10 years we have always had a live tree to celebrate Yule.
We've had three trees total, i believe. After the holidays are over we replant the tree outside, and the next year we dig it up and bring it back inside again. We do this until the tree is too large to bring in, and then we go out and chose a new one. The tree becomes a part of our family for a few weeks each year, and we always look forward to bringing it back inside the next year. It's like a familiar friend to spent the holidays with.

This was Yule tree from a few years back, it was the last time this tree came inside with us. It had grown too tall, and really filled in the following year. It is now growing nicely on our property and has become home to birds and other critters.

This was our newest tree. It was inside for Yule 2008 and Yule 2009. It was short and squat and smelled absolutely fabulous! i truly loved it. We were hoping to bring it inside again this year.

Earlier this year, we had about an acre of land cleared. We planted clover, and will eventually use part of the area for goat pasture and part for a small orchard. The folks that did the cutting did a good job. They didn't clear cut, but instead took down select trees. It really opened up the area, and opened up a lot of possibilities.
Unfortunately our Yule tree was planted on the edge of the yard/woods where they were doing the cutting. It was near the kids tree house and still in our yard, so it never occurred to me that it would be in harms way. When the cutting was done, i went out to assess the damage and that's when i saw our Yule tree. It had been backed over by one of the big machines, and broken right at the base. :(

The kids are eager to get out our holiday decorations, and even though Dec. has just begun, i am already missing the presence of our Yule tree. We haven't decided yet whether to replace it, or hold off until next year. There is a chance we won't be home for the holidays. So it seems a bit silly to put up a tree, and yet it seems odd not too. Decorating our tree in pinecones, handblown glass icicles and gingerbread has always been one of my favorite traditions.

Winter Snow Queen Bendy Doll Giveaway

In the Spirit of Giving, i'm giving away this lovely Winter Snow Queen Bendy doll.

This beautiful bendy doll is the queen of the Winter Solstice. She transforms the world into a cold and peaceful landscape of snow, ice and crystal. She would beautiful on your winter nature table, or as a gift for your littles.

The Winter Snow queen is 3" tall.
Her cape and crown are removable. She is covered in glitter and sure to leave a few sparkles everywhere that she goes. :) She contains small parts and is not suitable for littles under 3 years.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!!

MANDATORY ENTRY

Head over to my for Sale page or browse my catalog of sold work and let me know your favorite item!

Please include your e-mail address or make sure it is visible in your blogger profile so i have a way to contact you if you win. Otherwise a new winner will be chosen!

EXTRA ENTRIES (make sure you did the mandatory first!!)
please leave a new comment for each extra entry. If you qualify for 5 entries, leave 5 separate comments.

1. Follow my The Enchanted Tree blog via google friend connect. 1 entry
2. Be a fan of The Enchanted Tree on Facebook. 1 entry

3. Share this giveaway with your facebook friends! 1 entry

4. Tweet about the contest leave a link to your tweet. 1 entry (can tweet daily, for 1 extra entry daily)

5. Add my button (top left column) to your blog 3 entries (leave 3 comments)
6. Blog about the giveaway link to this post, leave a comment letting me know where to find it. 3 entries (leave 3 comments.)

**Rules**

• Giveaway ends Dec. 7th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST
  
• Winner will be chosen via Random.Org. i will then contact them by email, and post the winners name on my blog.
  
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email or another winner will be chosen
• This giveaway is open to all USA shipping addresses
  
• International readers may enter, but will be responsible for shipping cost.
  

Day of Thanks and Food.

This year, our Thanksgiving was very nice. i feel so blessed and grateful to be able to spend the day with my family and eat lots of good food.

Store bought tofurkey Roast (not nearly as pretty as last years seitan) on a bed of home grown Swiss Chard, red potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes. The baby carrots came from the store, my carrots did not do well this year.

Our feast also included a layered bean dip, spinach pies, mexican sushi rolls and homemade Chevre with crackers. My cherry pie was a bit messy, but delicious. It was made from organic cherries we picked at our neighbors house.

Homemade pizza. Half has peppers, onions, portobellas and olives, a quarter has only olives and a quarter just cheese. :)

Lots of raw veggies and blackberry cobbler from our own blackberries. We had icecream and whip cream on top.

Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans and Swiss chard from the garden. Our very traditional looking 'but meat free' meal. :)

It was really nice having Nana and Pap share the day with us. We only get to see them a couple times a year, and this is the first time they've been here on Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for! i hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Preparing for our feast.

My folks will be here in the morning, and i should be cleaning and doing lots of food prep. Instead i'm procrastinating, and thought i'd put up a quick post. As a vegetarian family, we don't celebrate a totally traditional thanksgiving.

Instead we have a Feast of Favorites. Everyone chooses their favorite meal/foods and we have a huge Feast that usually lasts us a couple days. :)



Last year, i made a homemade seitan/tofurkey with wild rice stuffing and an orange juice tamari glaze. It turned out awesome, and now looking at the picture i almost wish i was making one this year. Instead, we opted for the store bought Tofurkey. It's kind of expensive, but is good and we only do it once a year. So it's kind of a treat.

i actually like the traditional Thanksgiving foods, so besides the Tofurkey i make stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, winter squash and sweet potatoes.
The rest of the family prefers nontraditional, so we also have pizza, bean dip, spinach pies and mac and cheese. :)

i really like to incorporate as much food from our garden as we can in our feast. This years garden wasn't the best, so there is a lot of things we'll be eating that are not homegrown. My spinach and lettuce got pecked up every time it start sprouting. i finally fenced it in, but it's not big enough to harvest yet. We do have plenty of red potatoes, and sweet potatoes. A few different varieties of winter squash and a few tomatoes.

i also have lots of greens! i'll pick these tomorrow right before we cook them. i like to saute them with kale in olive oil, add a splash of tamari and some fresh garlic.

i made up a Blackberry cobbler, from the berries in the freezer that we picked over the summer.

i also made a cherry pie, again from frozen cherries we picked this summer. This is my 'before i bake it' picture, because i knew when i bake it the filling would ooze out everywhere and make it not so pretty. Smells good though.

i'm feeling a bit melancholy. Last year on Thanksgiving, our dog Sampson was hit and killed just minutes after we finished eating. The truck that hit him was the only vehicle that drove down our road all day, and it didn't stop. It was the beginning of a downward spiral for me. It was very tough winter, and in a way it feels like i am just now getting out of that 'funk' that i was in for most of the year. It is hard to believe that an entire year has gone by since that day.
So, i'm looking forward to tomorrow, spending time with my family and enjoying our food, but i'm a little sad too remembering the events of last year.
Still, i am extremely thankful for all that we have, and all that we are.


Give Thanks

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength.

Give thanks for your food and the joy of living.

If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

Chief Tecumseh