Both the Geek and I are not big into Christmas. Of course, as long as Kaefer was with us, we celebrated it and I also used to decorate the house. We had a Christmas tree that Kaefer and I decorated, a Christmas village (that Kaefer later sold for more funds during college) and the traditional wooden figurines from the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains in East Germany) that I unfortunately cannot find anymore. I suspect it's in a box up in the attic and I certainly won't go there anytime soon. We had an entire angel orchestra - it looks like this:
Thankfully I still have the Kurrendesänger (carolers) because they are in our grab-and-go box. These are the ones that we had when I was a child. They were sent to us by a family in East Germany whom we always sent packets during the years when Germany was divided into two countries. This is my favorite Christmas decoration.
I was glad that I found the Schwippbogen, also handcrafted in the Erzgebirge. The candles are made of beeswax and almost doll sized, thus very hard to find around here. One of my students gives me a package of them every year, so that I don't run out.
The only "big" thing in terms of Christmas decorations are the lights on our home. The Geek and Kaefer used to put them up together, but now the Geek has to do it alone. And he does a great job.
We don't call them Christmas lights but winter lights since they stay up at least until Valentine's Day. They make our rather dark corner cheerful and people who walk along here really like that it is not that dark in those early winter evenings. At 10 o'clock at night the lights are switched off and turned on again in the morning at six for 90 minutes.
The Geek really goes to town with these lights - they are all around the fence as well and even grow into the lower parts of some trees. The best part? These are all LED lights and consume about 100 watt of energy (as much as just one of those old 100 watt lightbulbs) and they're all connected to only one outlet.
This is for Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date with this week's prompt "Christmas lights". Foodwise I don't have much to show today. Our wonderful bread baker has been sick for several weeks and we're running out of bread (we always buy several loaves from them at the farmers market and freeze them), so I decided to bake our own bread again. I didn't take a photo of the first one, but remembered to take one of the second, a whole wheat bread with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
I didn't cook any elaborate meals for dinner, just linguine with fresh spinach, cream and cheese. It's quick and delicious.
My last photo today is my morning view from the window at the top of the stairs. I love when the fog still hangs around and is slow to lift. It has such a lovely, dreamy atmosphere - my favorite morning mood.
20 comments:
I love your ornaments, your light and your view. Your bread looks delicious too.
The Xmas lights are just gorgeous. The pasta looks yummy
We are polar opposites, Carola, not a single light illuminates our house! Actually, this whole trend of outdoor lights seems to be waning here, and fewer and fewer houses are lit up each year. I suspect that it’s a combination of the cost of buying/replacing them, the work involved in erecting the display, the energy required to run them, and a general toning down of Christmas madness. Happy holidays - David
Hello there! I didn't post on my blog for over two years and today I wrote wrote and published one. And of course I had to look at my favorite blogs from my blogroll. Lovely decorations, especially the Erzgebirge ones.
...let your light shine! ☃️ 🎄 ❄️ 🎅🏼
Das ist sehr schön mit den geschenkten Kerzen!
Und, wow, ihr habt ein großes und sehr schön dekoriertes Haus! Und Winterlichter klingt super.
Essen: Hmmmm, lecker, beides.
I love your beautifully lit house. You have a good one. Hugs, latane
All your beautiful photos! Beautifully lighted house and garden! Beautiful bread! Beautiful linguini! Have a great holiday.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Love your winter lights.
Wonderful foggy picture.
Beautiful lights and delicious food!
In my neck of the woods, the Sun reigns most of the year. So, outdoor lights get powered by solar enegy. Awsome!
Tus adornos de Navidad son preciosos. El pan seguro que estaba riquísimo. Feliz Navidad.
I love your little people display.
Coffee is on.
I think Christmas is about decorating. But to each their own choices. Your house looks lovely, and I really like the sky line view. We never decorate outside.It is a lot of work, and then it needs to come down either (if we're lucky) we have no snow or not until spring, when there are enough other things to do. But I like seeing photos of other people's decor. Happy weekend. hugs-Erika
You have some nice Christmas things, but I love the lights. We don't do Christmas here but I like seeing the decorations of others. Great morning photo too.
I adore your outdoor lights. I have plenty inside my house, but none outside on the house.
Liebe Carola,
wir sind auch nicht so die großen Weihnachtsdekorateure, diesmal hat Herr Rostrose draußen nichtmal das Licht angebracht. Ich muss aber zugeben, dass es bei euch sehr schön aussieht. (Wir setzen dieses Jahr hauptsächlich auf Kerzenschimmer.) Auch eure alten Erzgebirge-Figuren finde ich sehr hübsch und nostalgisch.
Dein Brot sieht gut aus - mein Mann ist bei uns der Brotbäcker, ich finde, dass er das besser kann als mancher Berufsbäcker. Gestern in der Pizzeria hatte ich Spaghetti mit Spinat und Oberssauce, etwas Lachs war auch noch dabei :-D
Wirklich sehr stimmungsvoll, die Nebelszene!
Ich hoffe, mein zweiter Antwortversuch per Mail hat es zu dir geschafft... danke jedenfalls nochmal für deinen Hinweis!
Alles Liebe und noch eine schöne Adventzeit,
Traude
☕🧸🍷🕯️☃️🕯️
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/12/weihnachtliche-lichter-klimts.html
LOVE your lights. The Geek should be praised -- he does a much better job than I do, that's for sure. I'm glad you leave them up a long time. That makes me happy when I see the lights at night.
Your carolers are wonderful as is the candle piece. I would be heartbroken not finding that wonderful angel choir. These are exquisite.
You have so many Christmas decorations ... so how do you say that you and the Geek don't do Christmas anymore ... I would have liked to see your decorations when you were doing Christmas. The lights on your lovely home are delightful and the Geek is to be complimented. I know you miss your Kaefer, is she still off to school? So Winter lights it is. We used to leave our lights up, but last year our Association sent us a letter telling us they must be taken down ... I was offended by it, so this year we didn't put any lights out. Like you, when there are no Children around we don't feel the need to do all the decorating. Another thing I don't do is bake so I am impressed with your bread. I used to bake, but I found I couldn't resist eating my baking and it was not good for my figure, if you get my gist 🤣 I do love Linguini and yours looks delicious. It would be nice if you posted the recipe :) So relax, heal and enjoy the remaining weeks of the Christmas season, Carola ...
Andrea @ From the Sol
The lights are so pretty, and light up this darkest time of year. Kudos to your Geek! I have a German pyramid brought by my daughter from Germany. I love lighting the candles and watching the winter scene spin by.
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