Santa's helper, Ken's friend, Allan

Santa Claus is the most magical being in the world.  In one night he travels around the world in a  sleigh pulled by 8 tiny reindeer  delivering gifts to all the good boys and girls.  Or does he?

In some countries he appears on December 8th. In other countries, he comes on January 6th.  Maybe your family receives gifts on December 24th.   Perhaps your home is visited by La Befana or Dred Moroz or Father Christmas.   Saint Nicholas is  another welcome guest who brings presents at this time of year.

It matters not, the job gets done on time because Santa has many helpers.  These helpers preside at parties, listen carefully to wish lists while sitting on festive thrones posing for photos with children and pets.  Santa's helpers collect money for charity and ride in parade floats.  They distribute Christmas baskets of food for Christmas feasts.  They help Santa answer the millions of letters sent to the North Pole.

This year, Ken's friend, Allan, wants to be a Santa's helper too.  Ho, Ho, Ho.

Festival of Lights Barbie

Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year and in 2017 falls on December 21.  Winter is a very difficult time in northern climes.  It is depressingly dark, freezing cold and food can be very scarce.

While nothing we can do hastens the passage of the Earth around the sun,  people use sympathetic magic in an attempt to speed the return of long light-filled days.

Decorating our homes with sparkling lights (ostensibly to celebrate Christmas) is really a form of sympathetic magic.  We are trying in vain to lure the sun back.

The ancient tradition of burning a Yule log in the fireplace is based on the same idea.  Thinking that like engenders like, people would build a ceremonial fire in an attempt to bring back warmer weather.  Sometimes, now, we might just eat the rolled cake that represents that solstice fire.  Not everyone has a fireplace and that chocolate icing is delicious.

Barbie thought she'd hang lights on herself.  It may or may not affect how long winter will be.  It will certainly affect how great she looks. 

Ken Celebrates Canada 150

Canada Day in Ottawa was marked by huge crowds trying in vain to get onto Parliament Hill to watch the show. 

I volunteered at the Museum of Nature in the fossil gallery.  I think I talked to a million visitors, many of whom were there for the very first time.  My husband walked up to Major's Hill Park to enjoy the buskers.  He stopped at a booth where a group of Sikhs were teaching people about turbans.  When he met me after my shift, he was wearing a beautiful red turban.

For Sikhs, turbans are symbols of equality and dedication to a life of truthful living and  a high moral standard.  While a turban serves to keep a Sikh's long hair clean and tidy, it is not a hat but a two meter length of cloth that must be wrapped and unwrapped every day thus serving as a reminder of a Sikh's core values.  The colour, size and shape of a turban hold no specific meaning.

Tersh's bright red turban is very festive looking and perfect for Canada Day.  Ken also wanted to celebrate so he got one too.

Marathon Barbie

Marathon Barbie

In honour of Canada's 150th birthday, the annual Ottawa Marathon will be a run across Canada.  Each water station represents a province and I am the  captain of Team Saskatchewan.  We will be sporting  corsages of wheat tied with green and yellow ribbons to honour the provincial flag.

Runners from around the country voted  Ottawa Race Weekend the Best Race of 2016.  They loved the big crowds of spectators, the wicked fast pace of the 10 km (I’m quoting) and the enthusiasm of the volunteers. Apparently there was an impressive vibe (still quoting).

 

Organizers are anticipating about 43,000 runners in the six events and 2,500 volunteers.  My team of 40 stalwart souls is a seasoned group of elites.  We'll be there at 6 AM pouring a couple of thousand cups of water and  rehydration drink.  

Look for Barbie at kilometer 11.  She'll be wearing this dress and waving her stalk of wheat while she cheers.  On marathon Day, we are all winners.

 

Procrastinating Barbie

Truth in advertising.  This was going to be Valentine's Day Barbie 2017.

The outfit needed a heart-shaped necklace and nothing I owned was quite right.  Unsurprisingly, I didn't get to the store before all the Valentine's Day merchandise had been put away.  I hate shopping and go to great lengths to avoid it.  People who like stores are  people who are successful shoppers.  If you go shopping for a red shirt and you find one that fits, is a reasonable price and suits you, you experience an exciting glow of achievement and you will repeat the exercise.  If you go and don't find what you want, are dismayed with the image in the mirror when you do try something on and then suffer from sticker shock when finally you find something you might buy, then you become a reluctant shopper.  Reluctant shoppers procrastinate.

But wait!  Mardi Gras was two weeks later and with some additions this would be a great dress for a masquerade ball.  Um, missed that deadline too.  I would need to make a mask entailing sparkles and glue and tiny sequins.  Tomorrow, I'll make the mask tomorrow.  Reluctant crafters procrastinate too.

Barbie always does everything thoroughly and long before the deadline but if she were a procrastinator, this would be her dress.

Hopsacking Barbie

It's funny how fabrics, colours,weaves and patterns come into vogue and disappear again.  Hopsacking is a case in point.   It was originally used to transport hops, an essential ingredient in beer.  I found a reference that said hopsacking was used for men's suits but I remember it from the sixties, when it was printed with wild patterns and sold for women's clothing.

In grade 9, home economics was a required program for girls.   The sewing teacher gave us a choice of patterns for a jumper and told us to buy a length of hopsacking.  I bought a pattern for a drop-waisted jumper with a circle mini-skirt  and a length of brown corduroy that was not suitable for the pattern.

There were 24 girls in the class.  We shared the 6 sewing machines, the 6 tables, the 6 ironing boards and irons.Most of the class was spent waiting for a turn to use something.  I didn't get a chance to lay out my pattern at school so I took it home.  The suggested layout didn't work with a fabric with a wale so I brought it all back to class and the teacher did the layout for me.

I had access to a sewing machine at home so I did most of the sewing there and just sat and chatted during class time.  The project was progressing well until I got to the zipper.  We were supposed to do a lapped application.  I followed the instructions carefully, removed the basting and sighed.  I ripped it all out and did it again.  And again. And again.  I accidentally tore the back seam allowance with my seam ripper.  I showed my teacher who sighed and put the zipper in for me. She did a great job.  I don't remember my mark on the course.  I wonder if it was higher because the teacher did such a good job or lower because the teacher did the job.  No matter, I wore that jumper until it was threadbare from washing.

Barbie followed the instructions, bought an appropriate piece of hopsacking and made this.  All by herself.

A Christmas Carol Barbie

Barbie Cratchit

On December 23rd, we attended a performance of A Christmas Carol at the National Arts Center.   A newsletter touting the show described  sets and costumes uniquely all in white.   I was unimpressed as the NAC had done a white costume and set staging of Pride and Prejudice a few years ago.

But I was wrong to doubt.  To begin,  an actor with a white cane took the stage.  He told us he had 9% vision (hence legally blind) and illustrated his level of sight by asking us to cover one eye completely and then to peer through a tunnel formed over the second eye with our other hand.  The rest of the cast walked among the audience carrying large baskets filled with illustrations of the sets and costumes.  As we passed the beautiful sketches around, the actor explained that while the drawings were in glorious colour, we would see the show in white as someone with limited vision might.

Then a second actor took over the stage. He told us (through an interpreter) that he was deaf and mute.  He demonstrated how to applaud for a deaf person (hold both hands at about ear level and rotate them) and he taught us the sign for one person and the sign for everyone.  His movements were beautiful, graceful, elegant and eloquent. 

Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

And then, for the next two hours, they made magic.

Barbie's romper

Last summer rompers were seen everywhere.  They look great on Barbie!
 














Lucky me, blue rompers were the required gym uniform when I was in elementary school;  completely impractical in the loo and they fit no one well. 

You have to be a fairly good actor to carry off a beach romper like this with aplomb.  What was the costumer thinking!