Yule Ball - sorry to be late

I have gone back and forth of how best to post for this event. We have had many bad setbacks and tribulations of late (seems to be life, most of the time)
 There is no decorating anymore, sadly. Hubs is 70 and I am 51 and have several physical disabilities.
the kids are grown and out. I do not even think we will bother with a tree again this year (3rd year)

I decided I would look for decorations that I WOULD LOVE to have in or out of my home, or things that are similar to how I used to decorate.

My YULE Alter is not ready yet, as tonight is the full moon, and I will be blessing everything that is going on my alter.  If you are part of the next yule blog party you will see my alter.

 

Click here to go to the main page for all the YULE ball blogs.  MANY THANKS TO

Dana at On the Broomstick and Tenae at The Witch of Howling Creek.

for hosting this Fabulous blog party!

I am going to share, some awesome images, some great links for YULE LOGS (the edible kind)
and some quotes or poems.  Additionally I'll be giving away a home made ornament, that is made with spun glass and some collage work.  That will be the last item added to this post. and it may not get added to later.

Rules for the giveaway:
*MUST comment here on this post, a REAL comment, not just "Please add me to the giveaway"  tell me something about the post you like, or share something that is similar to your own decor
*MUST be a follower
*MUST, MUST, MUST add your email to your comment, I suggest using this format: sallyjo AT charter DOT net (listing your email with the correct symbols etc, is a good way to start getting more spam, as the internet "spiders" will pick it up. ----- My last giveaway came down to less than 7 people, as all the other comments did NOT have an email listed.
*drawing will be approx. 9pm est on Wednesday 12/14

Now for My Wishes and Hopes for Smiles and Good things for all of us, captured in beauty, food and good thoughts.

Isn't this just so welcoming? To me this says "You're home, be at peace"

 "I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
-   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I have found now, in my "beginning Crone years" that I seem drawn to the blue and white and silver decor, more than the bright mixed colors I used to like.  I am still very fond of the country Christmas decor also..woodsy, pine cones, plaids etc.

"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."
-   Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing

Can anything be more soothing to the soul than the flicking warmth of a candle? Even a solitary one makes me feel different, than I did before I lit it. How about you?

 Ron and I used to make wreaths and other shapes like Tress and stars with wire forms and pine cones and other decorations, and sell them at Christmas bazaars :) I kind of miss that!

 Isn't this Gorgeous!?

"Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a loom?  There are many weavers, who work into the pattern the experience of their lives. When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew. At first, we are not sure that we discern the pattern, but at last we see that, unknown to the weavers themselves, something has taken shape before our eyes, and that they have made something
very beautiful, something which compels our understanding."
-   Earl W. Count, 4,000 Years of Christmas

This is the Gavle Goat (2 dots over the "a" in Gavle)

The Gävle Goat (known in Swedish as Julbocken i Gävle or Gävlebocken), located at Slottstorget ("Castle Square") in central Gävle, is a giant version of a traditional Swedish Yule Goat figure made of straw. It is erected each year over a period of two days^[1][2] by a local association called the Southern Merchants in time for the start of advent. Another version is erected by a group of students from the Natural Science Club of the School of Vasa. The Natural Science Club's goat holds the world record for the largest Yule Goat, but since 1994 the Southern Merchants' goats have been larger and have had more publicity. The goats have become the subject of a 'tradition' of regularly being torched by vandals.

(read more about this particular goat, and its history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4vle_goat)

The Yule Goat is one of the oldest Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbols and traditions. Originally denoting the goat that was slaughtered during the Germanic pagan festival of Yule, "Yule Goat" now typically refers to a goat-figure made of straw.^[1] It is also associated with the custom of wassailing, sometimes referred to as "going Yule Goat" in Scandinavia.

Its origins might go as far back as to pre-Christian days, where goats were connected to the Norse god Thor, who rode the sky in a chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, and carried his hammer Mjöllnir. The "Prose Edda", written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, relates that when Thor kills and cooks the goats, their flesh provides sustenance for the god and his guests, and after Thor resurrects them with his hammer they are brought back to life the next day.

(read more about this tradition of Yule, and its roots and meanings here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_Goat)

 Scandinavian goat ornaments

 Father Christmas riding the Christmas goat

I personally do not do the "goat" thing but perhaps some of you do.

"Yule, is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half.   Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.  Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb.  Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider."
-   Yule Lore  

This picture was taken from a Yule Log Workshop. 

This is another item Ron and I used to make an sell. I am going to start them again...until I run out of birch again. I know that they can be made out of any wood but birch and oak are the traditional.

A Couple of Alters:

 These are  very beautiful examples. What is on your Alter? or what will be on your alter?

I had to remove the photos of yule alters I had here, as one of them I was called out on and asked to be removed

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne."
-   Robert Burns

 This one is one of Martha Stewart's  the mushrooms are meringue (links below)

Some wonderful links from Martha Stewart for yule logs with edible decor (pine needles, twigs, nuts, leaves, mushrooms)

Chocolate and Nut Yule Log - Martha Stewart Recipes 

Chocolate-Peppermint Cake - Martha Stewart Recipes  

I plan on making this cake!

 Buche de Noel - Martha Stewart Recipes

 Yule Logs - Martha Stewart Recipes 

 Pistachio-Chocolate Buche de Noel - Martha Stewart Recipes

 Birch de Noel - Martha Stewart Recipes this is the one I am planning for next year (as I do not have all the tools needed)

Woodland Sweets - Martha Stewart Food

all of these are super cool! 

 I am imagining you sitting at this beautiful table with me, and we are toasting each other, and new turn of the wheel!

 May you have all the warmth and love the season offers!

Remember to click the image up top for the main blog...all the blogs are listed in the comments section.

Here is the Ornament I am giving away:

 Spun glass, German Victorian scrap girl angel on chipboard, gesso with glitter used for snow, and I added stickles to the wings and the tree.