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Tuesday 9 December 2008

A "Fuzzy" Snippet of Christmas

Yes, ... I know ... the pictures are FUZZY ! .. Not something I would normally be proud of .. in fact I probably wouldn't be posting them at all in this condition.
But .. I had to .. you just can't get that warm fuzzy feeling with a hard cold flash .. and if I have to give up some quality of the picture to illustrate the "warm fuzzies" .. so be it !


Another thing we had to give up .. this year .. were ornaments .. I have some beauties .. but Miss Emma is a force to be reckoned with for the shear determination to bring me trophies .. or "take off EH !" with as many trophies she could possibly PICK off the tree .. so a few white poinsettias .. some Xmas crackers .. ribbon .. and hopefully the angel will make it through the holidays before Emma figures out she is there ?
These funny little people are my most favorite Dutch Christmas "guys" I had ever found while living in Holland for four years. They were sold at a Dutch flower shop for a Guilder each .. less than a Canadian dollar at the time .. I fell in love with them and bought a bunch as you can see . I love lining the family room stairs with them .. it just seems RIGHT ! .. What Emma may do with them could be another whole ball of wax though.
I don't mention Sophie because she is a perfect, albeit mature, little lady when it comes to the decorations .. what a good girl : )

20 comments:

tina said...

Very festive. I didn't notice any blurriness at all.

Gail said...

Thank you for #50...I love it when you inflate the numbers!

Your tree looks lovely...so you have to worry that Emma will climb up the tree to make friends with the angel? Oh Miss Emma...look at perfect Miss Sophie, not getting into trouble at all!

King Coal doesn't bother with the ornaments but he loves to swat the water...so it will be water and nothing else added to preserve the frasier fir we got this year...son is coming home for two whole weeks...did I mention he is bringing his giant dog?

Gail

Brenda Pruitt said...

I have to keep my stuff up on tables when I decorate for Xmas. I loved your photos. I didn't find them hard to see at all. I never use the flash on my camera. Too harsh.
Brenda

Darlene said...

I LOVE your tree and the Santas from Holland...beautiful! I know what you mean about the ornaments, we have a new kitten (I found) and she has been a nightmare with our tree.

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

How clever of you to cat proof your trea.

Amy said...

Beautiful decorations!

For some reason I'm having flashbacks to beer, jelly donuts,and two hoseheads wearing toques after reading this post....

Amy

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Amy ! Thanks girl, you got it!
So I didn't have to "steamroller" you for not getting it in fact : )
Yes .. hubby and I had our toques on .. we were eating jelly doughnuts, and that beer was Canadian EH ! haha ..

Hi Debbie .. it was the only option this year .. I got down here this morning and the tree is still up !!! and with decorations .. mostly ? LOL

Darlene ! .. That is so nice to hear .. I mean about "finding" the kitten and giving it a home .. I know they can be nightmares with just ordinary day to day things .. so I hear you girl .. it is tricky indeed : )

Hi Brenda .. Your home always looks so warm and inviting .. I bet it is gorgeous at Christmas !
I think there is a way to control how strong my flash will go off at .. in my manual .. that I haven't read as of YET .. but you know what I mean about too harsh at full strength : )

Gail .. girl you are very welcome ! I just had to do it when I read the last number count .. yes these cat kids are like real life sisters .. older well behaved one .. then younger sister in trouble all the time ? LOL
Emma loves water too .. she is constantly putting her spring toys in them .. so I understand King Coal's obsession ..
Oh my goodness .. a BIG dog coming home with some .. now that should be interesting girl !! : )

Hello there Tina .. thank you ! .. I'm slow decorating .. seemed harder this year to get going : )

Anonymous said...

Hi Joy, that really gets me in the spirit to decorate. I have been a Scrooge and not done anything to make the house festive yet. But your post and others are getting me in the mood. Emma sounds like a handful of fluffy trouble! So sweet but full of mischief. I always worry about our tree with Hazel, who chews the branches and generally likes to hang out underneath. She has also been known to climb the trunk so we have a very heavy duty tree stand! Love your ribbons.
Frances

F Cameron said...

Great decorating! I'm feeling so lazy about it this year. Gotta get motivated (I do have up a wreath and tabletop tree. Still have to get out the Nativity)

Cameron

Unknown said...

Don't count on it. Speedy has already discovered that she loves the poinsettas I left down low the best. Is nothing sacred to this little monster? Shouldn't she have outgrown this by now? I mean she's going to be 5 soon for pete's sake. And heaven forbid we try to lay the tree skirt flat, she's got it messed back up in just a couple of hours. I don't dare put any presents under there either because she likes to bite the paper off of them. I can't even try to blame the kids, I've actually caught her doing it in years past. She just gives me her best blank look like she has no idea that I'm even speaking to her, you know the one I'm talking about, right?

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful tree, Joy!!! It's just perfect. We had to give up having real indoor trees here (even a big Norfolk Island pine) for the same reason---our cats wouldn't just bat off ornaments, they'd pull the tree over in their enthusiasm. Now we have the psychoactive tree, which they ignore, and decorate the mantel and fireplace and kitchen table very elaborately. So far, so good! Maybe Sophie should write a "Miss Manners" manual for cats!!!

Pat said...

Don't have a cat now but have in the past...there was always a "Emma". Glass ornaments are out of the question !
Glad you're having fun.
Happy Ho Ho.

Nola said...

I love knowing I am not the only person having to decorate to accomodate my furry family! Your tree is lovely.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey Nola ! .. there are a lot of "us" out here that have to do this holiday very carefully .. worse than having little kids ! LOL
You are NOT alone girl : )

Hi Patsi .. yup ! cats and scary kittens can get into so many things you decorate with it is a nightmare .. that is why I can't decorate the fireplace mantle though .. they walk on that and nothing would be left on there .. jeez !

Hello 'ben" .. a BIG yes to that one .. there is something about a real tree that brings the true 'animal" out in cats .. it is fair game to them .. that is why we stopped so long ago with real trees .. I can't do the mantle which I miss, I have had some pretty things to use but nope ! Yes Sophie thinks the same thing every time she looks at Emma and shakes her head ? LOL

Hi Cinj ... and YES ! I so know that LOOK ! haha .. and as for the tree skirt ? same here too ! .. they both love to tunnel under it and everything goes everywhere !
The paper on the presents .. that is too funny you caught her in the act : )

Cameron .. it took me a while to do anything here .. and we still have the outside tree to do .. I don't know what it has been going on this year, but I'm so slow to do things too .. must be a "Grinchy" mood ? LOL

Hi Frances .. Thank you !
I'm glad to know I am not the only one having a slow start and decorating with the "girls" in mind constantly ! I have so many other pretty decorations but I have to wait it out with Emma until she grows up a bit more ? mentally ? LOL .. become more like Miss Manners Sophie ? Good Grief !

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Your decorations are very lovely! Makes me want to start singing Christmas carols...LOL...

As a previous ‘servant’ of cats, I’ve had my fair share of ‘Emmas’. These super energetic, overly-curious little felines can be quite mischievous, but they do contribute a lot of funny moments: toppled trees, broken ornaments, shredded angels, ‘tinselballs’ instead of hairballs... And then that sweet look of innocence, even when they're caught in the act. "Who me?"

Can’t help but love them…mischief and all!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Martha .. Yes ! they can drive us batty but we love them to bits .. and I have so much more in decorations that I would love to put out but I can't take the chance with Emma this year .. maybe next year ? Big sigh .. LOL !

Anonymous said...

Well, I had a great visit and love your Christmas photos! The second I saw the tree, I wondered about the feline factor. Good to hear that one of them is sedate.

Your little Dutch stair climbers are so cute... my boys would have them stacked up in the cellar, by now. It's pretty plain in this house, as in no tree or decorations. So, I decorate around the front door and have a lighted wreath. (The little darlings! - GRRR.. kidding, mostly.) /Deb

P.S. You're right - they do seem to own us!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Deb .. I kept suggesting maybe not doing the tree this year .. but the guys won me over .. BUT .. we all knew the decorations had to be scaled way back too .. and yes at least Sophie is not so naughty as Emma .. hey I am surprised my little stair santas are still in place too ! haha

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Love the Christmas guys on the stairs, a guilder each was a pretty good bargain. ;-)Now we will have to see what your little bundle of fur is going to do with them.

Your Christmas tree is looking good! We won't have a Christmas tree this year because of puppy Tara. All the members of the Bliss team are very good with Christmas trees and decorations as they leave them alone, well mostly. ;-)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Yolanda ! Merry Christmas to all of the Bliss team : )
Yes ! .. I thought it was a very good bargain too .. I think it was the Henriks ? flower shop they had a few of them around and what gorgeous things they had too !
Your sweet puppy .. well .. I almost nixed the tree this year thinking Emma would be up and down it all the time .. so far , just a few Xmas crackers have been snatched ? LOL
The little guys on the stairs ? .. well I am pleasantly surprised .. all but one is accounted for girl ! hahaha