November 2013
Dear Liz & Micah,
When I first found out that this would be your first Christmas alone together, and you only had four ornaments!, I started a plan to make some for you.
I thought, "what kind of ornaments would they choose? Probably woodsy natural." I started with the birch snowflakes, from the cabin of course. I love glitter, but I don't see it as your choice, so I used a few crystals, which I might add are either Czech glass or Swarovski, along with some cheap plastic buttons.
Next up: the leather boots. The darker tan leather is new. The lighter tan leather is the repurposed remains of my work gloves. The idea came from the boot ornaments we got on our family trip to Finland (Christmas of 1995). The boots also remind me of the hiking boots Dad gave me for Christmas in 1976. You now have those, Liz.
The mittens: again, either Czech glass or Swarovski – no cheap stuff here. They are made of fleece. I have a couple similar mittens that we've had since we were married (1981). My mom gave them to me (though – she didn't make them).
Then, I had seen these cute little critters and wanted to learn how to make them. It's a technique called "felting." I got natural wool, and created some faceless Scandinavian gnomes. I once heard a story that if you were kind to them (left them treats at night), then they would be good to you. (Maybe that's where leaving cookies for Santa started!) But if you ignored them, then sometimes they would do devious things, like hide things, knock over glasses, etc. I thought it would be fun for you to have some. They also remind me of the gnomes we bought in Norway (1982), though I wasn't aware of the story then. To make them fancy, I added real pewter charms. I also tried to make a chicken and a mouse, to mess with the gnomes. (I still think you might have real chickens someday... hopefully not mice.)
The sweet little fawn was my grandmother's, Nanny. It might look nice next to a candle and some greens. You don't have to keep it forever. It's been hidden here forever. It's just time to pass it on.
And finally, a couple "woodies." Slices from the redbud outside our family room window, here in Oklahoma. It watched over us for years. It was dying, so we just cut it down.
So these things... in this Christmas box are for you both... from my heart.
Merry Christmas with love,
Mom / Boon
P.S. The box is a cookie tin, that we bought while in Nuremberg, Germany (1997?).