Holiday Ikebana - or at least a very close approximation of it.

Do you find you have a point in the night when you give up trying to sleep and just accept life as it comes, get up and make hot chocolate?  For me, it's 4am.  If I manage to get to sleep after 4, then I won't get a proper sleep cycle in and will end up more grumpy than with no sleep.

Right now I'm worried about my hen.  She has high spirits, but says her foot hurts ALOT!  She also doesn't like me squirting medicine down her gob twice a day.  All that, plus being locked inside with us humans instead of playing outside with her flock (who spends most of the day at the front door asking for her to come out and play) - all that, makes me feel like a big mean... um, thing.  Hey, it's 5am, I've been awake all night, forming words doesn't really work all that well right now.

In other news, during the summer we grew some cut flowers which were exchanged for Ikebana (Japanese traditional flower arranging) lessons.  I'm not very good, but I try hard, that must count for something.

This is my attempt at a holiday arrangement.  Holey in two forms (female berries and a male vertical sprout for fertility) to celibate the holiday season, some willow sprigs that are just starting to open their buds as a reminder that spring is just around the corner, and some sage to spice things up a bit.

Working with holey was a mistake.  It is really hard wood and does not like the spiky things.  I think it's jealous of them as I got poked more than once by the leaves.  But you know, it's sort-of festive looking even if I didn't get the traditional ikebana form correct.  I'll try again with something a bit less spiniferous next time.