The Twelfth and Last Day of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve drummers drumming, (drum roll, please),

Eleven pipers piping, (add piping),
Ten lords a leaping, (and cavorting),
Nine ladies dancing, (and dancing),
Eight maids a milking, (leave them be so the milk doesn't spill),
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings, (hold that, then crescendo),
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, (rallentando),
And... a.... part-ri--dge....in... a.... pear.... tree! (You may applaud your singing.)

This is the last day of the twelve days of Christmas. It requires a great and glorious party, with singing, and leaping and dancing. Enjoy!

This Nativity scene is put up in our town square every year, where the Christmas story is read three times a day during Advent. It stays up until after Epiphany, so the Kings get their day, too. (I took this picture yesterday.)

Epiphany

Tomorrow is Epiphany. On the calendars here it is called Heilige Drei Könige Tag/ Holy Three Kings Day. I expect we all are busy today preparing Three King's Bread (yeast rolls with sugar and sliced almonds on top, made in a ring, with one roll having a king figure inside - so one person will be crowned for Epiphany), and glitzy containers for gold, frankincense and myrrh for the table/family altar, and the "We Three Kings" song to intersperse with the Catechism readings on Christ's three-fold office (after each verse of which a person presents a "gift"/container to the Holy Family - set out on the table/altar), and Bible readings from Matthew 2 and Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60. All of this will be celebrated with the last lighting of the Christmas tree. We don't get the day off for this festival (some places in Germany do have a public holiday), but everyone in our household has orders to get home from work and school as soon as possible, because we always celebrate.

Wise Men arriving from the East to be in Bethlehem tomorrow.

Assemblage Angel

Sometimes - actually, often - thoughts in my mind on various subjects provoke an idea for a creative work. Today, too. For lots of years I have had to stuff the compulsion aside until "someday, later,"  but today I decided to make something. The thoughts have to do with having much in place for answers to some prayers, but having to wait on God's timing for the realization of the answers. So it is also with art supplies on hand that want using, but need focused attention and my space organized (after two decades of Too-Busy). So what I did was to do what one must do: take what one has on hand and make some meaning in it, even if the parts themselves appear to be junk or useless. The result might be funky, but the making is good for the soul.

This is what I had out originally, and I might do something with it next; but it wasn't quite what I wanted for today...

...so I found brass pieces, from old Brockenhaus finds, metal blanks, jewelry findings, and odds and ends.

I punched holes, wired, added jump rings, stamped, beaded, arranged and re-arranged....

So I put this and that together to assemble an angel, a messenger of God to remind me to be patient and all will happen in due time.

.... until I had this.

But it could have more. Maybe. One son advised "less." Your opinion is invited:

Does it want the flower, or not? It could have a top hanging loop added, but it has a loop in the back of the head now.

Does it want the skirt, or not?