Ice.Ice.Baby

My inlaws will arrive this evening around 6.30pm so I'm busy making the place as tidy & clean as I can, but don't worry I'm not on my knees, scrubbing the floor. I just mean that I'd like to have a maximum of things in order, and not all over the place ! Two boys can be VERY messy, and a creative mama too !!! ahahah !
Boy it's freezing outside (btw, my MIL is going to faint, she hates cold), and I couldn't resist showing you the photo of the birdbath before I added hot water to break & melt the ice layer, and loaded the birdfeeder with seeds. (I have a happy troop of a dozen sparrows on the balcony to prove they're enjoying !!) It froze with wind I suppose, as the water shows some waves !The advent activity calendar is going along nicely, and I'm only one activity late. (still need sewing the felt board landscapes they drew) Not too bad, right ? (yes, please reassure me, thanks) Here is a pic of Day 9 (decorating cardboard wreath) *finished* activity :Activities Advent Calendar - Day 11 : making Dot-to-Dot pictures ! Fun ! I had planned to look for online ones, but I found at random a lovely book at the supermarket, full of Christmas dot-to-dots pictures ! So it is perfect for today ! I had found one online on Jan Brett's fabulous website. If you never visited, and that you know Jan Brett from "The Mitten" or "The Hat", then you're going to spend quite a lot of time on the her website !!!And one last thing before going to pick the boys at school ... just showing the ones of you who had not seen it last year (my blog was not on Blogger then), the word "NOEL" I had made with cardboard remnants. (yes, re-using these cardboards from Amazon *again*) I had chosen a font on the computer, had printed them (outlines only, to save ink), had cut them, had traced the outline on cardboard, had cut cardboard, and then I had painted them (one side only) with gold paint (I had a small pot of acrylic paint from my teen age - talk about old !) & when it was still wet, I had dusted with gold glitter. No varnish, nothing more to it. I don't expect it to last a lifetime, but well protected, it will last many years. I simply put them on the wall, with a bit of BlueTak (adhesive gum). It's so practical to be able to put it anywhere you want to, and not to have a hole done in the wall ! Easy peasy ! Taking a good pic was trickier !! LOL I love the idea that you can write any letter, any word, paint with any color to match what you have in mind !OK, gotta go now or I'll be late !! Big hugs to you all ! xoxoxo