This marks my last NaBloPoMo post 2022. A big shout out to all the other participants and a big thank you for getting everyone organized goes to San from the in between is mine.
I plan to keep blogging – not quite sure what about and how often but the intention is there and I think I can manage at least ones or twice a week. So I am writing it down here: I am here to stay! I read somewhere that forming a new habit takes on average 66 days but since I enjoyed the last month lets hope for the best.
Today I managed to pull out a couple Christmas decorations when I had the house to myself. A German Christmas is not really complete without an advent wreath. It’s a standard (or also not so standard) wreath that has decorations and a candle for each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas Eve on top. Each Sunday you light an additional candle so that on Christmas you have all 4 candles lit up. When I was little there was one incident where we were all extremely lucky. Apparently a candle wick can keep burning inside the candle even though it looks extinguished. That is exactly what happened one year when my parents went to bed and thought the candles were out. We were very lucky and the table the wreath was sitting on was only smoldering and did not catch fire. The only thing that happened was that the living room needed a renovation. Even the sugar in the bowl was black from the smoke. It could have been so much worse. We got a table made of graphite after that and the candles were sitting on metal holders ever since that would prevent the wreath from catching fire. A couple of years ago I found this glass box above that holds 4 candles at Target and I have been using it instead. It’s filled with a string of lights and Froebel stars.
I also took out these little angels. My mom used to have a pottery studio and these are from her. She did hand building mostly but also had some precast pottery like these angels and snow man especially during the holidays. We spend many an afternoon helping her paint them when we had time. I am not sure I would have bought them myself but they always remind me of my mom.
This concludes my last post of this fine NaBloPoMo season. I hope I will see/hear some of you around and you keep checking in on me even after NaBloPoMo.
Home here and there 
Lovely Christmas decorations. I didn’t know that about the candles.
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Yikes! Things could have ended so badly. When I was a kid, my Mom once leaned against a corner counter while talking to my older brother and me. There was a lit candle behind her (she didn’t realize) and her long hair caught on fire! My brother spotted it right away and we were in the kitchen so doused it out in the sink, but it smelled horrific…and she needed a haircut.
I love that pottery set from your mother. Christmas decorations can have such deep sentimental ties (I have something that is my favourite by far and it almost makes me want to cry from how much it transports me back to my childhood.
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I am glad your mother was ok! Hair goes up in flames so quickly.
Seems like the holiday season does get us sentimental, doesn’t it? But that also shows that the memories we make with our kids now will last hopefully in the same good way 😉
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Congrats on a successful NaBloPoMo. It’s been so much fun and I’m super excited to have found your blog and have a new bloggy friend.
That story about the candles is so chilling. It’s so lucky that all that happened was the living room had to be renovated. We’ve had three major house fires in my town in the last year with deaths and while I’m pretty sure it was cigarettes that caused them (maybe?), it’s still a reminder to us during this season of lighting candles and fireplaces that we need to be super careful with flames!
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Agreed! Fires are super scary and this memory definitely makes me more cautious. But I also got one good memory out of it – when we renovated the living room and the wall paper had to come off my parents let us draw on it first. That was lots of fun.
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I enjoyed learning about your Christmas traditions while living in Germany. I was really interested in learning about the Froebel star. It’s pretty cool that the name comes from the person who invented Kindergarten.
I’m so glad I met you through another friend’s blog, all thanks to NaBloPoMo. ❤️
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Glad to met you, too! This past month has been a wonderful opportunity making new connections.
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So proud of you for jumping in with both feet and finishing NaBloPoMo so strong… I heard that forming a habit takes 21 days, so it should be well-established by now 😉
I loved reading here every day and getting to know you better (after following each other on IG for such a long time already, right?)
Phew, that was a close call with the advent wreath. I’ve been using battery operated candles for a few years to be on the safe side re: fires. But I love the tradition of an advent wreath!
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My friend has flickering electric candles from Pottery Barn(?). I have to say they look quite realistic when you don’t look to close.
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I know it’s a German tradition to have real candles as ornaments. Yes, a little dangerous, but so pretty.
I love the angels- like you, I might not buy them myself but knowing they came from your mom makes them extra-special.
I hope you keep blogging regularly! I loved the new blogs I discovered during NaBloPoMo.
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I feel the same way. I was almost strange to wake up on Friday and not having to write anything. I will do my best to keep it up.
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That candle incident is so scary! I am terrified of fire, which is why I have to check everything 3 or 4 times when I’m leaving my apartment to make sure everything is turned off, haha.
Congrats on finishing NaBloPoMo! So excited to have found your blog through this challenge.
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I am so happy to have found all these awesome blogs throughout the month ❤
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