The Sweet Angel Chimes
The sounds of angle chimes ring through my Christmas memories. When I was a little girl, we always had Swedish Angel Chimes playing in the background at Christmas. I don’t remember how many nights we lit them during the holiday season, but we probably went through a ton of candles each year. The funny thing, there’s nothing super special about these chimes, they’re actually kind of cheap; yet somehow they’re magical, even now.
A few years ago, my mom gave my sister and I each a set for Christmas, we were both delighted. That may have been the same year my dad got a nice wooden Christmas pyramid, which is also a hit with our nieces & nephew.
Mr Chiots and I have been lighting our little set of angel chimes in the evenings. The ringing of the bells goes perfectly with the Christmas music in the background. I should buy an extra set to keep in my Christmas box in case this one breaks. They still sell them over on Amazon and probably other places on the internet. Someday, I’ll buy a wooden pyramid like my dad’s, but there will always be a set of these little golden angle chimes ringing here at Chiot’s Run.
Is there something like this that you remember from Christmases long ago?
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The Sweets aka Little Softie
Last week, a few people asked about The Sweets, our little half feral garage cat. She made the move with us, with flying colors thanks to those Thundershirts! I had half tamed her before our trip and she’s become even more tame afterwards. She’ll even sit in my lap now (every now and then). She’s really good about letting me pet her, though she still won’t let Mr Chiots pet her very often (unless he’s the bearer of a chicken wing or some food for her).
This little cat is really worth her weight in gold, we’re so glad her mama brought her to Chiot’s Run so long ago. She’s a valuable part of our family, one of the only pets actually earning her keep. If you’ve never heard her amazing survival story, check out A Series of Unfortunate Events.
She gets the HUGE garage all to herself and she seems to love it. She’s claimed the upstairs as her domain. We leave a side window open for her to come and go as she pleases. Back in Ohio we had a pet door in the garage for her.
She’s been such a great outdoor cat. Back in Ohio she kept our gardens free of moles and chipmunks and our garage free of mice. So far it looks like she’s being a great mouser here as well, I often see her hunting mice around the chicken coop. Perhaps a cat door into the storage area of that building will help keep any mice out of the chicken food.
Funny thing about this little black cat, we didn’t give her a proper name because she was a garage cat and we didn’t want to get attached. We started off calling her “Little Softie” but then she earned the nickname “The Sweets” because of her personality. We really do love her and are certainly glad she’s here in Maine with us.
Do you have nicknames for your pets?
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Quote of the Day: Gandalf
“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love.”
Gandalf the Gray in The Hobbit
When Mr Chiots and I were at this movie on Friday, this line immediately struck me and I knew it would be my quote for today. I have certainly found this to be the case in my life. Small deeds of ordinary people really help make the world a much better place. There have been countless small experiences that make my day almost every day. This is one of the benefits of working for a small non-profit.
It can be something simple as having coffee with your neighbor, turning in a lost item, paying for someone’s lunch, spending time with someone, listening, planting a seed, buying from a local farmer, or just smiling at someone on the street. I think, far too often in our drama focuses society, we think it has to be big boisterous visible acts that make a difference, but in reality it’s all the little things that get noticed and remembered.
What small acts of kindness or love have made the most difference to you?
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A Night on the Town
Mr Chiots and I don’t make it out often, we’re just not out on the town kind of people. We rarely go to movies or out to eat. About the only places we go are the bank, Post Office, local farms, and the farmers market. Yesterday however, was an exception.
We left home early to hit the farmers market, then we were off to get our passport photos and run a few other errands. Our main goal was to watch The Hobbit at the old restored Colonial Theatre in downtown Belfast. Since we were out and about for so long, we grabbed some dinner at a local restaurant.
I certainly enjoyed a grilled bacon cheese sandwich, a cup of clam chowder and some sweet potato fries. Mr Chiots went all out with fish and chips. Of course I had my trusty Real Salt in my purse as I always do!
We also spent some time walking around the downtown area, picked up a holiday puzzle at the game shop, looked at tons of yarn in the yarn shop and dreamed about future sewing projects at the fabric store.
Then we were off to the movies. No popcorn and soda for me, I stowed a bar of good chocolate in my purse which we enjoyed during the show. We had a great time. That’s one of the good things about not getting out much, when you do it’s really a treat.
What’s your idea of a nice “night out”?
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It’s a Wrap
We finally came up with an idea for our Christmas card. If possible, we like to incorporate something significant from the year into our cards, this year, moving to Maine was fairly significant. We thought and thought, trying to incorporate it into our cards in some way. Then it hit me, moving boxes. For the past 6 months our lives have been filled with many boxes. Thus, we decided it would be fitting for them to grace our Christmas card.
I was joking with Mr Chiots that we should just set up a Christmas tree of boxes. Then a lightbulb went off in my head – that’s what we’ll do for our card.
The back looks like this, we added our new address on it and a box for addresses in photoshop. And off to the printer they went. No doubt, next week I’ll find myself at the kitchen table addressing all my cards to friends and family. If you would like to receive a Chiot’s Run Christmas card, message me your address with the contact me form to the right.
Do you enjoy getting holiday cards?
