Feelin a Bit Wired Before the Holidays?

This is a strange Christmas post....I'm not sure where it's going...



Several years ago, I inherited a sizable collection of vintage Christmas ornaments from a family friend...
most of which were pink...
...and then there was this spider ornament...



I've never seen a spider Christmas ornament before...
...it seemed to want to make a home on my Swedish wire trivet...
...I decided to "google" a Christmas spider....
...it turns out that there is a German Ukraine folk legend called "The Legend of the Christmas Spider"...

Once upon a time, long ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year.... The day on which the Christ child came to bless the house. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner in the ceiling to avoid the housewife's busy cleaning. They finally fled to the farthest corner of the attic. T'was the Christmas eve at last! The tree was decorated and waiting for the children to see it. But the poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the Christ child's visit. But the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could peep through the crack in the door to see him. Silently they crept out of their attic, down the stairs, and across the floor to wait in the crack in the threshold. Suddenly, the door opened a wee bit and quickly the spiders scurried into the room. They must see the tree closely, since their eyes weren't accustomed to the brightness of the room... so the crept all over the tree, up and down, over every branch and twig and saw every one of the pretty things. At last they satisfied themselves completely of the Christmas tree beauty. But alas!! Everywhere they went they had left their webs, and when the little Christ child came to bless the house he was dismayed. He loved the little spiders, for they were God's creatures too, but he knew the mother, who had trimmed the tree for the little children, wouldn't feel the same, so He touched the webs and they all turned to sparkling, shimmering, silver and gold! Ever since that time, we have hung tinsel on our christmas trees, and according to the legend, it has been a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the tree.

...and not only that but I found instructions on how to make a beaded spider ornament...
Who knew?



These pretty little blue ornaments came from Anthropologie...



...I have to find a new route to work so I don't drive past that darn store...



I really like the way the shiny blue ornaments look in this antique wire basket which I found at an estate sale many years ago...



I really like how the wire basket stands out against the stark white snow...
...contrast and texture...



I told you I wasn't sure where this post was going!

If you haven't signed up yet for my 300th post Give-Back you may do so here!
The 3 lucky winners will benefit from this obsession with Anthropologie...
You have until noon on December 26th to sign up. Good luck!

For those of you who have asked...it appears that the 2010 winter edition of Somerset Life is due out on January 1st... unless you have a subscription in which case you may have already received your copy!

Enjoy these last few days before the holidays!
Dan comes home from school tomorrow!
Then the fun begins!
:)