Baubles and Wobbles

Christmas Greetings 2014

Here we are once again at another Christmas season and once again I'm totally overwhelmed but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love this time of year from the houses all decked out in their illuminated finery, to the muzak playing in the malls, to the food, food, food that you're allowed to indulge in to your hearts content. After all, worrying about your diet is what New Years is for, right?

I don't know about you but I've spent enough time this past year worrying about things and I  am taking a break from all of that.  One thing I love to do to de-stress over the holidays is to 'light-spot' christmas lighting displays by hitting suburbia to see the creative results by those who love this time of year as much as I do. There is a sense of community to be found along with a healthy dollop of christmas spirit. You don't have to have any religious sensibilities to appreciate this time of year either - simple appreciation for friends, family and the child-like joy that wells up in your soul at this time is all that's needed.

Take advantage of lower gas prices and do a tour of where you live - I'm sure you'll be surprised at how an undemanding task like sitting in a car can reap some sparkling rewards :)

Lights ! Lights ! Found in suburbia in Woodstock, Ontario

This year, at the new house, I decided to do a bit of outside decorating. I have never been able to accomplish this before so the potential to go all out was there, lurking below the surface of practicality but I did manage to restrain myself. Nothing like an implacable budget to keep the christmas faeries in line ! So while I wanted to go "Griswold" on the tree and house, I ended up going "Charlie Brown" instead. My Magnolia  at the front looks very scraggly without the leaves so I picked up a wagon load of oversized ornaments and hung them from the tree after wrapping the base with white lights. It really does look like a Charlie Brown tree, which is just fine by me. I'm just happy I got to join in the fun this year. Gotta love that dollar store !

Simple materials from the dollar store

My Christmas craft project this year was something simple and inexpensive but oh so pretty when you're done. What started me thinking of doing this wreath is that I have an assortment of handed down ornaments from my mother that I don't usually put on the tree. I don't decorate with a gold scheme but I still want to utilize the ones my mother gave to me. So to practice and to see the effect, I decided to use balls I already had along with some balls and a wreath purchased from the dollar store. It was an easier project than I thought, or I should say it wasn't as messy as I thought it would be. Me and a glue gun usually means burns and taking a chisel to the glue that ended up everywhere but where I needed it. 

Directions are pretty straightforward. Start with the inner and outer edges then fill in the centre with assorted sized. Fill in any holes with some mini ornaments. If you have some special ones you'd like to showcase, then add those at the end in strategic places.

Now that I've made this one, I'll be making either a wreath or a garland with my mothers glass ornaments for next Christmas.

Handmade joy !

For Christmas dinner this year I am not doing a fowl as I usually make, but am going down a food alley I've never gone before. Rabbit. That's right, I'm cooking rabbit. Now before I get people with their "up with bunnies" T-shirts all riled up, I should point out that rabbit has been eaten the world over for centuries upon centuries. It's a good lean protein that is easy and cheap to raise. 

I will be posting the recipe I've come up with along with the sides I'll be serving. Check back over the next week to see those posts :)

Christmas Menu

Green Pea Soup with Mint

Goat cheese, Pepper and Artichoke bundles

Rabbit in White wine with Pearl Onions, Carrots, Celery and Grapes

                   served on a grilled Portabello Mushroom

Sauteed Potatoes with Bacon and Chives

Roasted Honey Walnut Beets

I hope each and everyone of you have a fabulous and safe Christmas holiday!

Edit Dec 29 2014: I decided to make the goat cheese bundles for New Years instead and I went with my recipe of Rabbit in Cider instead of wine. The pearl onions were changed to chopped sweet onion.

all text and photographs ©michelle levasseur The Groaning Board

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Editorial: To be real or not to be real

Editorial

To be real or not to be real

Like most families that have been established here in Canada for 6 or 7 generations, my family enjoyed a pretty typical and generic ‘Canadian’ Christmas as did everyone I knew. Of course there were some minor variations among friends and family, such as some friends opened presents on Christmas Eve while many others did as we did and opened them Christmas morning. Stockings went up on Christmas Eve to partner the fresh, just-decorated Christmas tree and the boughs draped over doorways and stairs. We used the old-fashioned strand tinsel that would get everywhere, deliberately and accidentally. (At least one of we three girls would end up dressed as Tinsel Girl before we were done.) We were in the church Christmas pageant every year and we went caroling around the village and in old age homes. In every home, in the church and in our small public schools there were real trees. Christmas tree smells, sounds and the never-goes-away stickiness of tree sap are a permanent part of my idea of Christmas.

When we were teenagers my parents invested in an artificial tree—bizarrely when we were living in Timmins, Ontario, surrounded by Christmassy trees. Since then I haven’t had a real tree, including all these years as an adult (I’m 43).  I purchased my first tree for my own place when my son was seven months old. It was a four foot table model that I donated a few years later when I purchased the seven foot model I still use today. I also inherited my parents five foot tree when they upsized as well to what I laughingly call “A big-assed tree!” and it is. The circumference around the damned thing must be at least four feet! I supposed I have gotten so used to having an artificial tree, and thinking it was an ecological purchase, that a real tree just doesn’t cross my mind now.

Lately though, I have been wondering my place in the real vs. artificial discussions. When I was introduced to artificial trees there wasn’t the hullaballoo about plastics they use in the trees, like there is today. We know now that the PVC in the trees is carcinogenic and some made overseas can contain lead. We know that these trees and the other Christmas ornaments made from PVC will hang around our landfills long after our children’s children are grandparents. We know the real costs to the environment from long distance shipping in massive amounts and we know that outsourcing jobs that could and should be done within our borders(a lot of artificial trees are made in Asia) is akin to slitting ones throat.  Do I still want to use my artificial trees? Do I donate them and effectively pass the buck on to the next family? Do I continue to use them until they CAN recycle PVC? Or until I die, which ever comes first?

Well, some would say that a one time purchase of an artificial tree is better than the gas you burn driving to either a lot or a U-cut farm or the shipping costs for the trees you find in shopping malls etc. I have done some research and it seems that while having a real tree is a viably green thing to have in comparison to an artificial one, there are some drawbacks and a few things to consider when choosing what type of real tree. Yup, you read that right; what type of real tree.

I found a few options online for alternatives to cutting down or getting a cut tree from a retail lot/farm. One such is a live “bulb” tree that goes into the home as a Christmas tree and 4-5 days later it goes outside as a living addition to your landscaping. Of course, this does require some preplanning as the hole has to be dug before ground gets too hard and you must be careful not to let the tree ‘wake up’ but it’s worth it to give Mother Nature a helping hand.

Another option is to decorate an outdoor tree as if it were inside. I like this one as you get to share your decorating talents with the neighbourhood! Or if being on centre stage doesn’t appeal to you, you could always make your own tree using boughs and branches you pick up off the yard or on a nature walk. Stick the flora into a nice heavy pot, decorate with your best ornaments and enjoy a totally free, in all ways, Christmas tree. Charlie Brown, eat your heart out.

If none of those options sound good, purchasing a cut tree from sustainable farms that either minimize or cut out pesticide use altogether is a good compromise. (Some commercial growers will use pesticides on their trees even if they advertise ‘no fertilizer’ as an unspoken assurance that chemicals aren’t used on their trees). Choosing a small, well established business that is local can cut down on the transportation emissions and costs. Cities and towns that do not have a composting or mulching program for Christmas trees will experience overload in the landfills. This problem can be eliminated by either storing the tree as deadfall on owned property and letting nature take it back or by mulching it in a chipper.

So on one hand we have PVC’s, eternity in a landfill, possible lead contamination, transportation emissions for imports, and outsourcing of jobs and on the other hand we have some pesticide use, some irresponsible harvesting, transportation emissions for out of town supplies, beautification possibilities in landscaping, fresh air contributions, and helping the local economy.

I think that when we move to our own land in a few years to build our home and business, the big-assed tree and his little brother won’t be making the trip with us. I hope the next family who gets them will enjoy them for many, many years. But that's just my take on things.


Happy Holidays!
Michelle and Family
2012

Click here for an article on picking the right tree

Click here for an article on choosing a living Christmas tree

all photos in this article ©Michelle Levasseur

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