In keeping with the day, am going to put up another pic of the Smidgen. Many thanks for all the kind comments on the earlier ones! She is, of course, terribly dear to us.
The pic is even relevant to this short post. It was taken as we went out to cut the Smidgen's first Christmas tree, so she's actually just 11 months old in this one. The cool snow looks good at the moment, since it's 90°F right now.
Living in the woods, people expect things to be laid back and easy-going. But it isn't. I travel for our business, and the business itself is always hectic. So often the little things I want to do- for myself- don't get done.
I've wanted, since this picture was taken, to make a pillow out of the needles of that Christmas tree. It was a balsam (planted by ME, years ago) which was the tree I remember most from my own childhood. SOOO fantastically fragrant.
Today- I'm going to take the time, and strip the needles, and do it. Finally.
Yep, I still have the branches. The ones from 2 years ago are getting pretty tatty, to be sure. Most of the needles are dropped. I can just sweep up the remainder. The balsam we had this most recent Christmas will be the main contributor to the pillow; the needles are all still clinging. I'll have to scrape them off. Time consuming. But I'm looking forward to putting my head, tonight, on a pillow that smells like Christmas, and childhood.
Thanks to Spice for giving me the time.
Anybody out there ever made a Balsam Pillow before? They're a well recognized item of trade- souvenirs of Maine, etc, for centuries. But when I googled to find instructions- all I got was ads for selling/buying. How do you DO it?
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4 comments:
Yes, how DO you do it? All I could think while I was reading this post was that it will be a very prickly sleeping adventure.
Ok, here, check this out.
Hiya Crunch- liked your seaside adventures. Balsam is NOT prickly- mostly. The needles are blunt. Gotta get the twigs out. The tourist materials are usually encased in a brocade-like fabric; heavy. Thanks for the source- that's the first recipe I've seen!
I have made "Christmas Tree Pillows" for my children for years. You can use a pillow you already have or sew a square and fill with batting. The tree needles are so fragrant, you don't need many to make the pillow smell wonderful. Just sew a handful into a 4"x4" packet made from a tightly woven cloth. Then insert the "needle sachet" into the larger pillow.
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