An extra poetry post this week...
how could I resist?
( 'Twas the Night Before Christmas... )


A Visit from Saint Nicholas-- more popularly known as Twas the Night Before Christmas--
was published anonymously almost two hundred years ago.
It's authorship is still a point of debate, but it has become an English language classic,
and helped shape the way we currently celebrate Christmas.

Speaking of holiday traditions, here's one we miss out on in the U.S...
while searching for the text, I found old cover art (British, I'm guessing) that depicts
the Christmas Fairy sprinkling candy (and by the looks of it, possibly some of those dreamed-of sugar plums...what a mess that'd be, lol!) over the bed ^^

Tags: holidays, poetry fridays
Current Mood: busy

I can't say for certain without research, but this poem seems to combine multiple old Christmas traditions.... it's an interesting one.

Misteltoe
by walter de la mare (1913)
Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.

Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice,
but only, Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen—and kissed me there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If, by the by, you'd like some mistletoe of your own,
you can get some fresh and very reasonably priced from a family farm!
They sell it every year from their shop on Etsy.
(Just do be aware that the berries are poisonous. It should be kept well out of reach of children or pets!)

Tags: etsy, poetry fridays

They came today! lol, I literally walked in carrying all my wrapping supplies EXCEPT TAGS and was wondering if I had any leftover from last year.... and bam!
You had already supplied them ^^ Thanks so much!

Those free creativity gifts which I haven't sent out yet should be going out in January and February, by the way.
If you haven't received yours yet, please email me your address at shecountscrows ( at ) gmail ( dot ) com!
(particularly if your name is Natalie, because girl, you're gone-gone-gonesky. Where'ja go, Natrat?)

By the way, quick news round-up:
Perhaps you too have noticed, while browsing recent news tidbits, that various banks (Bank of America and Citigroup included) are suddenly paying back the money they borrowed via the Economic Stimulus Bill!
And while I was pleased to hear that, it also seemed suspiciously sudden.
And then I remembered reading about this. heh.

Also, speaking of news tidbits:
Merry freaking Christmas!
love,
Iran

Tags: news stories

Matt got up after only a handful of hours of sleep this morning
to go with his brother and help his Dad move the contents of their attic to a garage...
I've just come in from church and errands, and
he was trying to tell me about it just now, but even after a good long nap and a tea,
he's still a bit too tired to really be coherent.

Matt: There was all kinds of things up there, like, stuff from Country-Kitchen days, and everything!

Me: oh yeah? Like what?

Matt: like Boxes! Empty boxes and full boxes, and really, there was this box full of just boxes
and giant bicycles and an old iron and an antique flamethrower...

Me: *eyebrows raised very high*

Matt: wait, not a flame-thrower...

Me: GIANT bicycles?

Matt: well, no, like *he holds his hands up to indicate one foot in height*

Me: ...*kneels, then falls onto kitchen floor and laughs until he retaliates with tickling*

Tags: quotes