Squeak!

Colored lights upon the tree
Rocking horse and snow fairy
Gathered round the fire at night
Carols sung by candlelight

Hayley Westenra Christmas Morning

I don't know what it is about this year that's making me so excited for Christmas. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm always excited for Christmas. But most of the time, we don't really start decorating until December 6th or 8th. And that's normally okay. Normally I feel like that song:

Save a little Christmas

for Christmas.
Save a little spirit, 

put some love away. 

Think about the shepherds

in fields as they lay.

And save a little Christmas

For Christmas Day!

And I still feel like the day after Thanksgiving is too soon to start decorating and being all Christmasy. 

But for some reason, December first rolled around, and I was filled with total and  utter Christmas zest. I wanted to decorate ALL the things! I wanted to sing ALL the carols! I wanted to bring out ALL the lights! 

There's a Johnny Mathis song called "Need a little Christmas" that reminds me of me right now:

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stockings,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now!

 Setting up and decorating our Christmas tree is a long process, because we tend to spread it out over the course of a few days. (Setting up, yes. We have a fake tree. It's a very nice face tree, but it lacks the invigorating essence of pine.) 

So I was put in charge of setting it up with the help of my little sisters and nieces. 

They were so excited.

Disturbingly excited.

Bella was quite overcome.

And then, about fifteen minutes into it. My dad, my brother, and Amy joined in the fun. 

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.

 It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;

  

That finished, the next day was Saint Nicolas' Day, and we all put out our shoes with much ceremony and tradition. The little kids always love Saint Nicolas' Day. 

Since the Christmas tree wasn't done, we put up the lights and garland later on.

So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.

And today! Today we got our first real snow of the season. (I'm actually glad. I was ready for snow.) It wasn't that much, only a foot and a half or so, but it was icy. Luckily we have a naughty donkey snowblower. My daddy loves it.

After we shoveled, several of us older girls crowded into Kat's new beast of a Land Rover, and drove over the mountain to go Christmas shopping.

That was fun.

We finished up the day with stew. STEW!! And put the ornaments on the tree.

For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter.
 

I think Christmas trees

are like seeing magic

 

 And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after,"
Need a little Christmas now.
Need a little Christmas now!

Johnny Mathis Need a little Christmas

Cheers and God bless!

Merry Christmas!


 

Picture Saturday, Thanksgiving, and other things

Seven Random Facts!

1.) I know when I started this post, I had a bajillion things to say. Now I have nothing.

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Not only did we feast, we played Crack the Case.

And took selfies

It was really rather jolly.

2.) I am done with the illustrations for Jack's book!! I am happy! It's been fun. It's been a freaking challenge sometimes, but it's been fun.

3.) Speaking of illustrations, I finished the character sketch for my brother. I am really rather proud of it. The lion is supposed to be ethereal. He's saber-toothed. He's cool.

4.) Drawing is one of those things I love, but I hate. Most of the time, I love it. Heck, even when I'm in the "I hate drawing" mood, I love it. But there are some times, when I look at my work, and then I look at other people's work.... and I fall into the pit of despair. Like, "How dare I call myself an artist! My drawings stink!" *cue sniffles and going on a youtube/pinterest binge.* Oh well.

Thanks to Kat, I now have a picture that sums
up how I feel about my artwork.

5.) Having finished Supernatural (actually, we just caught up with the episodes being aired right now...) we started watching Agents of SHIELD. Oooooooooh. There's a show I can recommend!! (much, much faster than I'd ever recommend Supernatural. It's way cleaner.) I love it! Coulson and Fitzsimmons are the best, but I actually started liking the whole team. Just yes. Go watch it.

Coulson

Fitzsimmons

6.) This is what happens when Bella and I sit next to each other with a piece of paper. We filled up both sides with Supernatural quotes. We are bizarre.

7.) I'm actually using my Dad's computer right now. For some stupid reason, I can't upload pictures to my blog on mine. ARG! Anyone know why that is?

8.) Can you guys freaking believe that it's the last day of November!? Christmas is only a little over three weeks away!!

I am so excited!!

Cheers and God bless,

Treskie

HAPPY DOCTOR WHO DAY!

Think about it....

50 years of Doctor Who. 

That's a long time. 

Quite long, indeed. 

Which is why there is extreme cause for celebration. 

*Cue celebration*  

So, want to know something funny? 

Almost everyone in my family is a Whovian. This means that the 50th anniversary is a pretty big deal at our house.

The thing is.... we don't have cable.

So at the time of the airing, we go to BBCAmerica, where we thought we would be able to watch it. The countdown began. And three...two... one.... 

AND IT WASN'T SHOWING. 

Frantic typing away ensued, while everyone in the house with a computer tried to figure out how to watch the special. We couldn't find anywhere.

Horror set in. 

We were going to miss the once in a lifetime experience. 

No, scratch that. We were missing the once in a lifetime experience. 

And then... magic happened. 

We remembered that our friends up the street have cable. 

One phone-call later, we were all on our way over. 

We only missed the first ten minutes. 

Isn't that lovely?!?

It was really, really good, you guys. It was super fun! And while I still don't think of John Hurt as the Doctor, I liked how they explained him. 

Anyway, to celebrate, I decided to redo the Doctor Who tag from Tasha's blog party last year. 

1.) If you decided to name your first born child after any Doctor Who character, male or female, who would it be?
     Amy. Because I love Amy and even like her name. (and that way, I'd also be naming her after my sister, so it's a bloody win/win.)

2.) What is your favourite colour of the Doctor's shoes?
Oh, I like the red ones.

3.) Look around yourself and name the one thing that is TARDIS blue in your house!
     My TARDIS. Obviously.

4.) The Doctor is going back in time again, which historical era should he visit?
     The American Revolution. Meet Washington. Awweeesomme. 

5.) Would you REALLY go with the Doctor in the TARDIS?
     Eeeeeh. I'm a coward. I don't know.

6.) Who's your favorite Doctor and why?
     Before, it was Nine. I love Nine, he's fantastic. But then we got to Eleven.... and he became my favorite really fast. He's super sweet, but he reminds me of Nine in a lot of ways. 

I don't think he gets enough love.

7.) Would you be afraid to spend Christmas in London?
     Nope. I have total faith in the Doctor. 

8.) Do you look at an ordinary screwdriver and think 'this could be a bit more sonic'?
     Every. Single. Time! It's absurd!

9.) Angel statues, plastic mannequins, Christmas trees - what ordinary everyday object would you love to make an object of terror to Whovians were you Steven Moffat?
     I think cameras. Every day, ordinary cameras that would like... snap you out of this world and into a parallel one that would suck the life out of you slowly. And if you deleted the picture of you, you'd die. 

...... That would be freaky. 

  
10.) The TARDIS lands in your garden and the Doctor steps out. What is the first thing you say to him?
      Doctorrrrrrrrr! 

11.) Who is your favorite actor who has played the Doctor so far and why?
       I really like Matt Smith. He's nice. 

12.) Have you seen any Classic Doctor Who? If so, which Doctor/episode(s) is your favorite?
      I have not. I mean to, eventually, but I'm watching a bunch of others at the moment, and I don't have time.  

13.) Which are the creepiest, scariest and all-out meanest baddies in all the Who-niverse?
      I feel like I should say the Silence, but I can't remember.... who are they? What are they? ..... Silence?

14.) Who is/are your favorite Companion(s) and why?
       Amy and Rory, hands down. I love their relationship with the Doctor, I love their  relationship, and I like their character development. (I also love that they're married and not just together, you know?)

15.) Did you cry more watching Doomsday or The Angels Take Manhattan?
       I think I cried equally. Doomsday was better, plot wise. But Angels Take Manhattan was awful at the end. SO yeah. Equally. 

16.) What is your favorite quote from the show?
       For some reason, the one from Vincent and the Doctor has made itself my favorite. I don't know why. It just makes me happy. 

17.) Which Doctor (including all previous regenerations) would you most like to be the companion of, and why?
        Eleven! He's sweet. I like sweet people.

18.) Which of the following are you more scared of, the Daleks, Cybermen, or the Weeping Angles?
       The Weeping Angels. I don't like them. I want them all dead.

19.) Who are some of your favorite guest stars in the series?
     

20.) What was your first experience with Doctor Who and how did you hear about the series?
       There was a great deal going on about it in the blogging world. And then I went over to someone's house to babysit, and I watched Father's Day and I was like, "I like me this stuff. This stuff is like Star Trek: the Original Series. I must watch more."

And then some friends loaned us Nine's season.
     
And it all went downhill from there.

21.) The Ninth Doctor said, 'Fantastic!', Ten said, 'Allons-y', and Eleven says, 'Geronimo'; what would you like to be the signature exclamation of the Twelfth Doctor?
      Och, aye.

22.) If you were trapped in an episode, which one would it be?
       I'd be stuck in a library with faulty lighting and shadows that eat people.

23.) Which is your favorite episode with each Doctor (Nine, Ten and Eleven)?
       Nine: Father's Day, and the Parting of Ways
       Ten: New Earth, Silence in the Library, and Doomsday
       Eleven: Most of his. The Vampires of Venice, Amy's Choice, and a Town Called Mercy are some of my favorites.

24.) After watching a certain Doctor Who episode, did you summon up the courage to try fish sticks and custard?
       I haven't yet, but I plan too.

Annnnd, that's it!

It ended up being a really nice day. I wore my Doctor Who shirt:

I blogged:

And did the rough draft for my little sister's TARDIS decorations.

We're going to watch Thor again in theaters tonight.

It should be fun.

Happy Birthday, Doctor Who!

And now I'm going to leave you with this video because it's awesome.

FANTASTIC!

ALLONS-Y!

GERONIMO!

Oh, and PS. Do the Google Doodle. It's fun.