New to the SHOP: Moose and Dove Ornament Kits

New to the SHOP: Moose and Dove Ornament Kits

This week a moose and dove join the Downeast Thunder Farm SHOP. The Moose is one of my favorites.  Spruced up with a wreath of holly, he makes a great Christmas ornament or gift. I’ve also added a Dove Kit that include metallic floss to make what could be a...
Treasures

Treasures

Just yesterday I talked about family treasures. Today I have been gifted with new treasures. A couple of years ago Paul and I took a class on carving and printmaking. He put those skills to use in his gift for me this Christmas. He created this wonderful woodblock owl...
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I sit here on a rainy Christmas Eve with my family watching Scrooge wondering where the time has gone. Didn’t I just put away last year’s Christmas decorations? The house smells yummy – cookies, cheesecake, munchies, bread, pineapple stuffing, and...
The Giving Season

The Giving Season

It’s that time of year when the Women’s Health Resource Library in town hosts their Christmas Tree Festival. We pluck baby balsam fir trees from the woods, pot them up, and invite folks in the community to adopt one and decorate it. The decorated trees and...
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

The wrapping is finished. I’ve got a good start on Christmas breakfast and dinner. The house looks somewhat presentable. I’m feeling conflicted – grateful Christmas is a once a year event – and sad that I’ve not had more time to enjoy the...
Gifts at Christmas

Gifts at Christmas

As I snuggled down in bed last night, Christmas Eve, I commented to Paul that Hannah didn’t negotiate a wake-up time for Christmas morning. Our 15-year-old is growing up. What a gift to be able to sleep in on Christmas morning! Yet, at 6:45 a.m. this morning I...
Wrapping Up Christmas

Wrapping Up Christmas

Christmas morning 2014 dawned bright and COLD. We are blessed to have this day together, cozy and warm in the comfort of our home. Many of our friends in the community are still without power following three crazy storms – the latest dropping freezing rain on us...
Christmas Reflection

Christmas Reflection

Christmas 2012. Not a child, not quite grown up, she finds great joy in the day. It’s not about what’s under the Christmas tree for Hannah. It’s about us all being able to share the day together. It’s the planning, the preparation, the making...
Not Your Grandma’s Christmas Cookies

Not Your Grandma’s Christmas Cookies

We finally got around to our Christmas cutout cookies this afternoon. Hannah decided rather than traditional Christmas cutouts, the cookies should be have a Downeast Thunder Farm sort of feel – moose, lobster, bears, and chickens. Quite the menagerie. A moose...
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

My great, great aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created this beautiful linoleum block print when she was an art teacher at Central High School in St.Paul, Minnesota. Carved with the help of her students, she sent these to family and friends as her Christmas card. Wishing you...
Loved Ones Ever-present at the Holidays

Loved Ones Ever-present at the Holidays

I spent much of the weekend cleaning and pulling out Christmas decorations. This wooden Santa face Mom gave me is perfect for one of our porch posts. I made a garland to frame my grandmother’s mirror using White Pine brush that Hannah gathered for me. An old...
Our Free Range, Organic Christmas Tree

Our Free Range, Organic Christmas Tree

For the past few years, we’ve been cutting a tree from the farm for our Christmas tree. These fir trees have not been groomed for the purpose, so they’re “au natural” or as Paul calls them – free range, organic Christmas trees. Started...
Our First Christmas Without Santa

Our First Christmas Without Santa

Santa didn’t come to our house this year. I knew the cat was out of the bag when Hannah asked me with a knowing smile, “Why do you have Santa’s wrapping paper stashed in the storage room?” You see, Santa wraps presents in this special Santa...
Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning

Chrismtas morning. Note how dark it still is outside! Snape the kitty taking Christmas morning in stride.