Here's a lamentable lametta story. In the 80s we had a cat. The cat became obsessed with the new thing we had bought and strewn around our Christmas tree... lametta. The cat ate the lametta. The cat walked around with lametta strands dangling (about 15 cm long) out of its bum. Lametta banned for ever more. The cat survived.
Regarding the ethics of sourcing one's Yule log, it's important to remember that logs in forests and woodland are very important for biodiversity and you shouldn't just take them willy-nilly. If you can, it might be better to source them from a local timber plantation. No guarantee that they'd let you have one, and they might charge for it if they do, but it never hurts to ask. Alternatively, you can always get a Yule log cake, dowse it in high ABV liquor, and flambé it symbolically.
I live in an area that has so little nature, all nature is either protected, or a park. So I'd have to make an effort to find a place where I'm allowed to just pick up logs.
I live in southern US, deep in the bible belt. I am definitely in the broom closet. My only nod to paganism is the little seasonal displays on my entryway table that go along with the wheel. Wish it could be different, but I fear for my safety in our current political environment.
I live in Texas, and while I was kind of out of the broom closet, when I got a new job with an extremely Christian boss I couldn’t be open about it anymore. With the political climate, it was probably a good idea anyway. We have a local pastor who’s made the news for, among other things, wanting to bring back the death penalty for witchcraft…
You “unethically source” it by rifling through your neighbours JülLogges without his consent. You should also try to avoid fondling another witches Jülbols
There is nothing better than a Friday evening having a good whine over something that takes my mind off of the crap going on in the world. It’s so nice to just detach for a moment and discuss something fun and not so serious. Thank you for your time. ❤
I Belgium we have Saint Nicholas, which is the single most important kids holiday on December 6th, so most people here refuse to mix both and we put out Christmas decorations on December 7th or later.
That's spread to the UK as well. Traditionally the decorations were for the 12 days until January 6th. I remember the sideways glances decades ago when some people started putting up decorations the first Saturday in December.
I grew up in the '70s too (US though) and seasonal/holiday decorations were a big deal in our home. It was Mom's thing, she always changed up everything from decor to her oven mitts to correspond with the seasons. For Christmas we had moving boxes of decorations. When I was about 5 yrs old, she bought a 7-foot artificial pine tree that snowed fake snow (super tiny plastic balls). The motor & snow container were hidden in the basket base, tree pole was hollow. Turn it on and the snow was propelled up the pole and showered down the branches from the angel topper's arse, uh skirt. 😆 The basket base caught most of the snow and the stray pellets were small enough that the pets ignored them. We had that for a few years until the motor died.
Ages ago I was a volunteer helping to create a walking trail in a small woodland road side park. Some California Live Oak branches were cut during this process. They were all destined to be turned into wood chips. I was given permission to take one home. I crafted 3 Yule Log candle holders! Still rustic, but ends sanded & each had 3 holes drilled to hold taper candles. I gave 2 away to friends that weren't able to have an actual Yule fire. I still have the 3rd one over 30 yrs later.
Was so very close to balling here too. Powerful and sincere and so reassuring. I'm one of those privileged ones and it still hit me right in the feels.
Thank you especially for the end part of this video. While I'm in no physical danger, I don't have anyone around me I can explore my journey with, and have been quite relentlessly mocked for wanting to know more about witchcraft and paganism. You've been a great find, ( the internet still has some positives to give, yay!) and the kind of fearlessly authentic person I'd like to see myself become one day.
I offer a hearty "Bollocks to them" to the people that have mocked you. It's been the path to joy for me, and I hope it will be for you too. You're part of the GOC crowd now, so don't have to be alone if you don't want to
I want to say, i needed that uplifting ending. Ive been in the practice for almost 13years, and the things going on around me now have me tempted to run back to the broom closet. Its scary, and your words are so reassuring. Thank you.
Wow, that bit at the end there was so kind! I don't really know what else to say except thank you. I wish I had something like this channel when I was more curious about wicca/witchcraft/etc. Unfortunately, those spaces were oversaturated with commercialism & I wasn't able to find meaning in it. But finding this channel reminds me of that innocent curiosity I once had and my cold, cynical heart warms just a little bit. Thank you again and it's nice to have a laugh at some overpriced junk in these trying times.
21:03 I have had the same log for 30+ years now. It's around 20" long. I picked it up off the covenstead's grounds. I decorate it with holly and ivy. It does hold three candles: white for the Maiden, red for the Mother, black for the Crone. It gets lit on Solstice but resides in the hearth of my useless fireplace from about now through the first week of January. I'll bring you more fleece in February. The autumnal fleece are all on sale at Joanne Fabrics now. Love you!
I once wrote a letter to Santa on fancy parchment paper, and left an offering of a glass of green chartreuse, as a spell. It was very effective. Uncannily so. I got exactly what i asked for, which turned out to be not something I wanted after all!
We put mushrooms made of meringue on ours. And other mushrooms which are pralines, because New Orleans. It’s more work, but first mushrooms and pralines, which keep. Boozed up cake lasts if you have to bake early. Lock up pralines. They disappear quick!
@elizabethclaiborne6461 Meringue mushrooms and little chocolate truffles with maybe some sugared cranberries, and stems of rosemary to mimic evergreen branches.
Oh my lands! I forgot about the crepe paper. We pasted ours together and wrapped them around our tree. Good times. I still put cloves into oranges and set them about. ❤
On behalf of every Canadian, I apologize profusely for the Yule Logge. And yeah, it's about 40 quid, not including the shipping. I'm assuming this is someone buying a bundle of Christmas firewood and just going to town with the hot glue.
@@GrumpyOldCrone It's not a nationwide joke as far as I know, but for about 15 bucks you can buy small bundles of three or four birch logs (for decor) at Christmas tree lots. I'm assuming these people are upcycling as hard as they can go.
❤Thank you also for the message of hope that better times are coming for us and our community. I was hoping that it was only me feeling this way about the state of the world and regression!
I'm totally with you on the over commercialisation of christmas. Even in my lifetime (mid 80's era), it has changed so much. I do the whole putting up decorations and giving presents more for the kids, but once they're older, we will be toning it down to more a Yule celebration. We do a little of both already, but we certainly don't make it a stressful time or end up in debt over it. I seriously hope it doesn't go too far with the commercialisation of panganism. You see a lot of it with the 'Witchy Aesthetic' people already. I also really liked the heartfelt positive bit. I'm only recently stepping out the broom closet. The door is open a crack, but I'm not quite there yet. My husband also practises, and my kids love that mummy is a witch, but everyone else I don't really make it obvious to them. Like yourself, I had to also bottle up my practise for a good 11 years with my ex. I feel like I have so much catching up to do. I'm so glad you were able to open up again and take off the mask. I'd love to see a video more about your own practises and what you do and don't like.
Growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada, Christmas decorations were always shiny and sparkled. Lots of tinsel garlands, big colourful lights, shiny Christmas bulbs and that stringy shiny stuff we called icicles. The cat loved to eat it. Now my tree is all natural decor I collect myself for the most part and lots of lights. I think we have your weather here now, it’s 7C and raining outside. No snow.
Yup. That definitely sounds like English weather. I recommend making a mug of tea, staring out of the window and saying, "I think it's clearing up!" every 20 minutes for the proper experience.
I've calculated my own that's insane! Mother nature's provides us with plenty of pine cones and all kinds of wonderful things for free and to give thanks for.
I love that watching all of the Alien films is a Christmas tradition in your house! One of the problems of looking for an actual little log is a) it degrades the environment needed for tiny critters b) some of the tiny critters that might hitch a ride into your place if you take the log will, in many parts of the US and Canada, include ticks, which can carry serious diseases. Damn things are disproportionately thriving due to climate change! You might want to have a plan for thoroughly brushing off every bit of that log several times before it enters your place.
It's not Christmas until we've done at least a couple of them! (I've seriously no idea how this became a tradition. It's almost impossible to explain to people sometimes...)
@@GrumpyOldCrone Somehow, over here in Ontario Canada, near the US border, New Year's Eve is a time when some channel, somewhere, is playing Planet of the Apes movies. Always. Since the 1990s. I don't know why. I find it quite amusing each year! But I don't usually watch them.
Oh wow, that ending was beautiful, u made me teary. I really love what you're doing on here. Your approach is so refreshing. Its been bothering me what has happened to witchcraft lately, it's portrayed as just a style, a fashion choice. Thank you for bringing back legitimacy and calling out the nonsense. You're fantastic fun, please keep doing these videos. The world needs more funny outspoken genX snark, I mean, how else will the kids learn! Thank you Annie, you rock xx
Yes our dog ate potential to the silver sparkly stuff and was running around the yard what tinsel hanging out of its ass and my mom made me go pull it out of his bum I use the hot dog tongs I never told her that I used them though LOL😅😊
Oh double commenting, regarding yule logges: my city puts on a display at a public park every december called the "Trail of Lights", it's a trail with light-up displays and carnival food and our big ginormous radio tower gets decorated like a christmas tree. It's a real good time. They also have a Yule log. And it's a LOG. Really massive, a whole tree in a pit. I will always remember going to see it as a little kid and just staring in awe at this powerful, wild, ancient thing. So that's what Yule logs mean to me.
I don't have a Yule log, I have a Tío de Nadal. A Catalan traditional log with a face, 2 legs, a Catalan beanie and a blanket. They put a tiny Tió down at the start of December then the kids feed him tangerines and such and he grows throughout the month. On Christmas eve they sing a song about the Tió shitting presents and then presents come from under the blanket. I just have him as a little Yule pal I talk my blessings for lived ones into. I also have a caganer, also catalan, which is a little squatting figurine you hide in the manger, and is supposed to bring luck/abundance when you find him. Catalan Christmas traditions are a lot of fun and feel very pagan to me.
After working in retail for so long, trust me that warning not to burn the log anywhere but a fireplace is needed! It turns out that common sense isn't really all that common. I keep track of the sabbats with a seasons tree. It's just a foot tall tree that I change the decorations on depending on the time of year. I have it full of dried mums & maple leaves eight now but I'll switch over to more yule style in another week or so.
I feel grateful to be in the Southern Hemisphere where our Yule is in July - we've just come out of Beltane and heading into Litha and so don't tend to have to our seasons drowned out by shrieking commercialisation. 🌞 Really lovely positive message at the end - in 40+ years of practise I have treasured my times of working privately by myself as times of huge learning, growth, and finding my way to personal and magical authority 💙
I've spent years as a solitary, but as times change, and my heart along with it, I'm ready for group work now. "Personal and magical authority" might be my favourite phrase now.
Mannn you are so dead on point about the commercialism! one of our main benefits as pagans being that we can finally dip out of that collective madness of commercial christmas and immerse ourselves in our own seasonal observances that’s chill and brings joy, spirit and meaning (no pressures, competitive gift giving or expectations does wonders for enjoying a spiritual event). But you’re also right on about the commercialism now is creeping into our observances🙈
Woohoo! 🙃 For 1 cent, you can ride a mechanical pony named Sandy! She’s here at our semi-local store chain if you’re ever in the States! (Great Lakes area.)
Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooo much for your posts.. fun laughter and serious parts the end had me in tears. hope to men and women your a life saver to many ..
I just came across your channel. I am so happy to have found a kindred spirit. Finally someone else who is fed up with the bullsh*t that abounds out there concerning our ancient craft. Keep it up!!
Your video today had me laughing, that is the main reason I listen to you. Thank you Your message at the end was beautiful and heartfelt, compelling indeed.
If you want to see a REAL pinecone, come to Reno Nevada 🇺🇸 and I'll take you up to South Lake Tahoe and gather some huge pinecones! One moment while i get my tape measure ... Ok, the one I keep on my altar is 7 inches tall (18 cm) and 15 inches (38 cm) in circumference! Thank you for the sweet and hope filled words about the broom closet. I have recently begun being "out" more, and at 60 years old and newly dedicated I feel great ✨ Blessed Be ✨
I didn't know what this decoration was called till now. I'm a late 60's child who grew up in the catering/banqueting world. Consequently my experiences of Christmas was not like the majority. Six weeks of diner and dances 6 nights a week. Christmas lunches for nearly 200 people. Boxing night functions etcetera. I realised early it was all a con in too many ways. I'm boring. I live with what I like to look at 24/7.
My kids are the children of musicians. They have a similar perception of Christmas! Always tons of music work around the end of the year, and never any time for family. Glad I changing the kind of music I do to make time for family
Yule Balls! makes me think of Joerg Sprave from the slingshot channel, who is very German and likes to say "Steel Balls" in a very similar fashion. He also works with a lot of "wood" and "rubber" too, because that is how you make a slingshot. Steel Balls!
Delightful fun! Yes, we see those silly bits of kindling all over the place. I've got a rick of firewood on order, could make a killing if I were heartless.
I haven't done much with shorts, to be honest. I was doing something wrong as I found they took longer than doing a proper video! I need to get my head around it, as I've had a couple of fun ideas....
Good to see you again Ms. Crone, you have such a knack for witty quips and biting commentary. I really enjoy listening to you whinge while i sew and drink tea. 😁😁😁 Your vids have been a bright spot for me in a difficult month. Cheers
It makes sense that a small log from Canada would cost $70-100. Trees and pine cones are so rare there don't you know 😆 I remember lametta, but we called them " icicles" and stuck them to the TV screen because they had some strong static cling going on.
New viewer, here; having tons of fun watching some of your videos the past few days. I know your whole thing is the Grumpy Old Crone, but this entire video is filled with love, care, passion, and quite the opposite. Happy holidays to you and yours
Beautiful message Annie. I have learned over the years to be very careful who i choose to talk to about my witchcraft practice. Where i live is still pretty conservative sadly. Start talking about spirit or ancestor work and they literally think you're the devil incarnate. Great post 💐
I’m an Australian Pagan so we have the hideous cross over of northern traditions with an Australian climate. Kids celebrate Halloween when it’s clearly Spring, adult Pagans engage too. I want to smack my head against a brick wall. I take comfort in Yule Balls.
I always wondered how that sat with Australian pagans. I just figured it made me uncomfortable because I'm set in my seasonal patterns and ways, but people south of the equator would be set in their own...
@ It’s a complicated issue. Just about all of our childhood tv and books come from the Northern Hemisphere. Even our Christmas cards have snow on them. Our social media is nearly always Pagans of the Northern Hemisphere, so it is like having a foot in both worlds. Our community is so small here, so I understand while people want to celebrate the Northern Sabbats.I know some people who do both. Even Christians celebrate Easter in Autumn to be in sync with Northern traditions. It’s a bit crazy.
There was also a tradition of celebrating Walpurgisnacht in Spring as a witch holiday. Maybe that could be the southern hemisphere version of Halloween.
I try not to get furiously angry about it. I generally fail. It's like they've squeezed every penny out of Christmas, so now it's time to squeeze the pagans! NOPE.
I am loving the pine cone wishing thingy - I am going to make some as firefighters for my friends 😂they will of course not cost me anything. Love your channel I think you should do a post everyday - they make me happy ❤ love listening to you voicing all the stuff that goes through my head but dare not say out loud
I have a pot full of stray wax leftovers, I am going to try dipping mine in some wax too. Tip: if you roll them in a tiny bit of copper sulphate, it makes the flames a pretty colour too!
😂 This channel is so funny! My favorite is the late night text message! You are going to receive everything Yule Ball, Jul Logge this winter solstice! You know that this will happen? 😅
Me thinks I have found a new tradition for my mom’s fruit cake recipe. I’ll just turn it into a Yule log. Goddess knows the amount of spirits marinating that cake will turn it into a proper flaming log. Nice way to remember family at Yule. Note: Mom’s recipe is actually edible, not one of the cakes-in-tins that get shipped out at this time of year (allegedly the same cakes year after year). Thank you for your wonderful channel.❤
Also o grew up in Belgium in a very traditionally flemish family and we always celebrated both Christmas and Yule. Not with a Yule log because I hadn't heard of that until adulthood and only in the English speaking world but by jumping over a big fire and making salt dough tree ornaments. So the fact that people needs to hide pagan traditions from Christians is relatively new information for me as well because my Catholic family happily did both because both are part of our cultural history.
Ah yes, a seventies Christmas 😊I remember them well! To be fair no one had any money in the uk, there was high unemployment and riots, it was an interesting decade to grow up in! My mum went all out, balloons, tinsel, and paper chains ( my sisters and I made) peppermint creams and angels made from paper doilies that we made at school. Let’s face it, the seventies is referred to as the decade that good taste forgot with good reason 😂 on a more serious note, your ‘positive bit’ made me choke up a bit, I’m currently studying in the safety of nighttime, when everyone is safely tucked up in bed. Wondering if I will be hunted down by angry villagers with torches and pitchforks! I’m reading as much as possible and watching a lot of UA-cam just your lovely self, hearth witch and oak witch ( thank you so much for the recommendation by the way!) and your last statement of empathetic kindness and compassion resonated deeply 😢 so thank you for that , oh by the way, your hair looks gorgeous! So shiny and the plait looks very pretty ❤
I love your humour. New subscriber. Lets get you to a whole fish to go with those chips. I predict your channel is going to rise faster than you think. Lets check back this time next year. Thank you for the laughs.
0:42 old german proverb: "wer den pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des talers nicht wert" (="whoever doesn't honour the penny, isn't worthy of the dollar") also *YULE BOLLS*
I love that! I was brought up with "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves" which feels like a similar sort of vibe! YULE BOLLS!
Yes it is her in the states if you ever get a chance while visiting the states come to my neck of the woods up her in the Northeast Georgia Appalachian mountains to Helen Georgia. Or go to Gatlinburg. Our Helen is supposed to be like a old German town I've never been to Germany but they decorate the whole town and it's quite beautiful.
German is lovely. Bits of Bavaria are like distilled Christmas. I love the US for a whole load of different reasons. Some of the most spectacular scenery ever. Another friend posts pictures out of his window of the Tetons every morning. I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to wake up to spectacular country like that.
i've just discovered your channel yesterday and i gotta say, while i haven't a clue about witchcraft, this is incredibly educational. not to mention entertaining! remind me of my nana(in a good way i assure you) when she would get chatty with the girls over tea.
I really like the idea of a yule log, but i live in southern California, so because im not trying to set my roof on fire (we r basically in a constant drought and the state seems to always be on fire somewhere) i very very rarely use my fireplace. It has become the perfect spot to store and age mead that i make. 😁 btw, who the hell is paying $80 for a tiny log with candles stuck in it. Lol. That is just really really funny. Its not surprising though, cuz i saw someone on etsy selling rocks, like rocks from the front yard (for painting, but didn't come with any paints, just the rocks), the other day. That made me laugh also.
I enjoy decorating with mistletoe and holly during Yule tide. Unfortunately my feline house mates limit my mistletoe to the fake silk variety. Deer Mother also figures in my decor.
We have a little deer diorama I add to every year. My usual shop now stocks grey deer in the right size (they're only little - I don't have room for a full size deer anywhere in my house!), so I'm going to add one of those this year...
This is so strange that you bring this up. Recently I was thinking along similar lines. I wondered if I could find plastic trees as well as Ornaments gor Spring, Summer , and Autumn as well as the usual Winter/Christmas tree and decorations. I found quite a few for Autumn but very lityle for Spring and Summer. Like you I would love to celebrate all 4 seasons. If you could advise me and help me with Spring and Summer's I would be very grateful.
Pfft. I could buy a small bit of firewood at work for US$11, along with cheap dollar store tapers and mulling spices at work and *still* not spend almost $100 on a Jül Logge. Heck, I'd still have money left over to get yarn to knit mom arm warmers or socks or something *useful*. Cheezus...
Lmfao I have been saying Yul Bools since watching the video. I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one. I also had my life completely shattered and it changed me forever in 2017. 2018 was just as traumatic so I understand that tower card. I came out of the broom closet and no one was surprised lol I’m out and proud!!
Omg. I used to work at Joann's, and I cannot fully explain the hell that is the amount of fleece we would get befor Thanksgiving. I remember one year we had like eight bolts of black fleece still an overstock from the year before, and they sent us like 5 or 10 more bolts and I was standing there unloading things like "what the fuck are you guys thinking?!" Now I'm out of workplace that's in charge of our own ordering instead of a computer and headquarters doing it and it is so so much better. Now when we get too much of something we actually know why. Lol
Yüle Bolls - Annie, the Grumpy Old Crone Bunny Buttons! - Evie, of the JillianEve channel Jül logge - Annie, the Grumpy Old Crone There must be something going around! $21 CAD for *one (1)* wax coated pine cone?! It's only a few weeks since Becca Lewis made a video about making fire lighters by dipping pine cones in wax. She collected the cones from the woodlands around her house and used some of the wax from her bees. (Ack, most of us, me included, don't keep bees but you can buy wax if you need it.)
I love how you put all of this insanity into perspective. Like, it's literally a small piece of wood with stuff glued on it!!!! I myself have decided not to do any Christmas decor this year, not because I don't like it, but I have 2 cats, and I am not willing to make myself crazy this year. Plus, I am the only one who decorates, and the only one who takes it all down, so nope!! I have my Halloween decor out all year round, so I will not be moving anything! In fact, I might make a Yule Log to have for Christmas instead of a tree, although the cats still may mess with it 😂. Luckily, I live in Upstate NY, and I can get a log from my yard! Thank you again for another wonderful video, and laugh! ❤
As well as my dog eating the lametta, after I left home, my cat ate a proper glass ball when we was a kitten. It was terrifying. By the time I'd heard him crunching it behind the sofa and clocked what he was doing, he'd eaten about 3/4 of it. I was utterly convinced he was going to die. The vet was utterly convinced he was going to die. In fact, all that happened was that we got the sparkliest litter tray in the history of catkind for about 2 days. He lived to be 22. Animals!!!!
I just had a quick look on Google again and I can't believe that I have found both Spring Christmas Trees and Summer Christmas Trees. Also some decorations to go with the trees.
Speaking of Yule Logs, I also grew up in the 1970's and like you we would have the traditional chocolate log but also we would have a small wood log which we would decorate and have a hole in it where we would stick a candle. I don't know if you had the wood lig with a candle stuck in it, please let me know either way.
Love that plait in your hair Annie, really suits you. Also, your hair looks very glossy and smooth- what do you put on it? (Maybe a segment on “GOC Tried and Approved” products could be a regular thing?) Great video and a welcome return to you being the Santa of Snark.
I may have to make myself a "Santa of Snark" t-shirt... There's not really anything special on my hair - I'm the lowest maintenance woman ever. Whatever shampoo and conditioner is cheap at Aldi!
So, $55 for a decorated Yule Twig? Which - make no mistake - some fool will try to have a “Yule ceremony” burning it on a plate on the coffee table. We watch the Resident Evil movies. And, as Americans, it’s required to watch Die Hard. 🤷🏻♀️
Here's a lamentable lametta story. In the 80s we had a cat. The cat became obsessed with the new thing we had bought and strewn around our Christmas tree... lametta. The cat ate the lametta. The cat walked around with lametta strands dangling (about 15 cm long) out of its bum. Lametta banned for ever more. The cat survived.
EXACTLY THIS!!!! Only with a Rough Collie. It was... unforgettable. I'm weirdly pleased I was not alone in this experience....
@GrumpyOldCrone Christmas eve, my mum carefully pulling lametta out of cat's bum. Unforgettable.
SAME situation but lametta was about 50cm long. Never since we buy that thing. Cat was ok. My mom was shocked but still laughing about it EVERY YEARRR
We had the same experience with our cat in the 80s 😂. That long tinsel was terrible when we had to pull it out of her butt ✨💩✨
I'm happy everyone's critters recovered without a trip to the Vet! Some lametta, or tinsel, eaters are not as fortunate.
Regarding the ethics of sourcing one's Yule log, it's important to remember that logs in forests and woodland are very important for biodiversity and you shouldn't just take them willy-nilly. If you can, it might be better to source them from a local timber plantation. No guarantee that they'd let you have one, and they might charge for it if they do, but it never hurts to ask. Alternatively, you can always get a Yule log cake, dowse it in high ABV liquor, and flambé it symbolically.
That is a good point! I discovered Stag Beetles in our Primary School's rotting pile of old fence posts once....
I like the sound of that cake!
I live in an area that has so little nature, all nature is either protected, or a park. So I'd have to make an effort to find a place where I'm allowed to just pick up logs.
Fair point here in the UK, but these logs come from Canada…..and Canada REALLY has a lot of forest.
Like…..seriously a lot.
😂😂😂@@GrumpyOldCrone
I live in Palm Springs, California. We now say YULE BALLS as a regular part of conversation.
As is only correct and appropriate. YULEBALLS!
Happy Yule Balls it’s spread across the pond now.
I can only apologise!
I live in southern US, deep in the bible belt. I am definitely in the broom closet. My only nod to paganism is the little seasonal displays on my entryway table that go along with the wheel. Wish it could be different, but I fear for my safety in our current political environment.
Sending so much love and strength. Isobel Gowdie walks beside you in power.
I totally understand! These next four years are filling me with trepidation and fear. 🤗 to you!
You have many friends and allies near and far, never forget that. None of us are really alone and together we are a formidable force. :)
I live in Texas, and while I was kind of out of the broom closet, when I got a new job with an extremely Christian boss I couldn’t be open about it anymore. With the political climate, it was probably a good idea anyway. We have a local pastor who’s made the news for, among other things, wanting to bring back the death penalty for witchcraft…
I am in the same situation, same geographic area. We have to find new ways to have community. Just know we are not alone. Heartfelt thanks to GOC💕
I’m looking forward to the bag of chips video. 😄👍
Lots of vinegar! Yum!
You “unethically source” it by rifling through your neighbours JülLogges without his consent.
You should also try to avoid fondling another witches Jülbols
Logge consent is very important....
😂😂😂😂 needed this giggle going into the holidays. Eff retail.
😂
There is nothing better than a Friday evening having a good whine over something that takes my mind off of the crap going on in the world. It’s so nice to just detach for a moment and discuss something fun and not so serious. Thank you for your time. ❤
Thankyou for being along for the ride!
Here in the US we fight about how quickly to put up Christmas decor and how quickly to take it down.
I Belgium we have Saint Nicholas, which is the single most important kids holiday on December 6th, so most people here refuse to mix both and we put out Christmas decorations on December 7th or later.
That's spread to the UK as well. Traditionally the decorations were for the 12 days until January 6th.
I remember the sideways glances decades ago when some people started putting up decorations the first Saturday in December.
Is it still traditional to wait until after Thanksgiving, though?
I grew up in the '70s too (US though) and seasonal/holiday decorations were a big deal in our home. It was Mom's thing, she always changed up everything from decor to her oven mitts to correspond with the seasons. For Christmas we had moving boxes of decorations. When I was about 5 yrs old, she bought a 7-foot artificial pine tree that snowed fake snow (super tiny plastic balls). The motor & snow container were hidden in the basket base, tree pole was hollow. Turn it on and the snow was propelled up the pole and showered down the branches from the angel topper's arse, uh skirt. 😆 The basket base caught most of the snow and the stray pellets were small enough that the pets ignored them. We had that for a few years until the motor died.
That's crazy, but I love it!
Judging by the smirk on my fiancé's face every time you said Yülebolz, you might have started something.
Sorry! (not VERY sorry, though....)
😂 I'd probably worry if you were. Now, to annoy my coworkers wit Jülbols. 😈😈😈😈
Ages ago I was a volunteer helping to create a walking trail in a small woodland road side park. Some California Live Oak branches were cut during this process. They were all destined to be turned into wood chips. I was given permission to take one home. I crafted 3 Yule Log candle holders! Still rustic, but ends sanded & each had 3 holes drilled to hold taper candles. I gave 2 away to friends that weren't able to have an actual Yule fire. I still have the 3rd one over 30 yrs later.
And saved £81CAD! Go you!
Dammit, why did The Positive Bit have me tearing up this time?!?
Thank you, Annie, for being you.
Yes, that was a very powerful statement.
Yeh, same here.
Annie is a truly Lovely woman.
Was so very close to balling here too. Powerful and sincere and so reassuring. I'm one of those privileged ones and it still hit me right in the feels.
Thankyou so much
Lovely message for us closet witch crones. Blessed be and many thanks ❤
Sometimes a warm, safe, dry closet can be the best place to be for the time being.
Thank you especially for the end part of this video. While I'm in no physical danger, I don't have anyone around me I can explore my journey with, and have been quite relentlessly mocked for wanting to know more about witchcraft and paganism.
You've been a great find, ( the internet still has some positives to give, yay!) and the kind of fearlessly authentic person I'd like to see myself become one day.
I offer a hearty "Bollocks to them" to the people that have mocked you. It's been the path to joy for me, and I hope it will be for you too. You're part of the GOC crowd now, so don't have to be alone if you don't want to
I want to say, i needed that uplifting ending. Ive been in the practice for almost 13years, and the things going on around me now have me tempted to run back to the broom closet. Its scary, and your words are so reassuring. Thank you.
It's a scary time to be any sort of minority. Thinking of you.
Wow, that bit at the end there was so kind! I don't really know what else to say except thank you. I wish I had something like this channel when I was more curious about wicca/witchcraft/etc. Unfortunately, those spaces were oversaturated with commercialism & I wasn't able to find meaning in it. But finding this channel reminds me of that innocent curiosity I once had and my cold, cynical heart warms just a little bit. Thank you again and it's nice to have a laugh at some overpriced junk in these trying times.
Stay curious. You also don't need a label for your practice (unless it's literally a specific practice like Ásatrú, Braucherei, etc).
I hope your curiousity has fired you in the direction of something fascinating and wonderful
21:03 I have had the same log for 30+ years now. It's around 20" long. I picked it up off the covenstead's grounds. I decorate it with holly and ivy. It does hold three candles: white for the Maiden, red for the Mother, black for the Crone. It gets lit on Solstice but resides in the hearth of my useless fireplace from about now through the first week of January.
I'll bring you more fleece in February. The autumnal fleece are all on sale at Joanne Fabrics now.
Love you!
EVERYONE! THIS IS MY ADOPTED MOM! (And witness to the JoAnn Fabrics breakdown....) She's the best.
Love you, too
I once wrote a letter to Santa on fancy parchment paper, and left an offering of a glass of green chartreuse, as a spell. It was very effective. Uncannily so. I got exactly what i asked for, which turned out to be not something I wanted after all!
I'm disappointed, Santa!
Well, now I'm tempted to make a yule log for dessert this Christmas. Haven't made one of those in ages.
I'm hungry now. It's nearly 1am and I want cake.
We put mushrooms made of meringue on ours. And other mushrooms which are pralines, because New Orleans. It’s more work, but first mushrooms and pralines, which keep. Boozed up cake lasts if you have to bake early.
Lock up pralines. They disappear quick!
@elizabethclaiborne6461 Meringue mushrooms and little chocolate truffles with maybe some sugared cranberries, and stems of rosemary to mimic evergreen branches.
Yes, make a Yule log - delicious!!
Bet you end up buying one from M&S 10 mins before they close on the 24th- just like the rest of us!
Oh my lands! I forgot about the crepe paper. We pasted ours together and wrapped them around our tree. Good times. I still put cloves into oranges and set them about. ❤
I'd forgotten the cloves in oranges! I might have to do those this year - love them
On behalf of every Canadian, I apologize profusely for the Yule Logge. And yeah, it's about 40 quid, not including the shipping. I'm assuming this is someone buying a bundle of Christmas firewood and just going to town with the hot glue.
I think the shipping would cost about $70 Canadian at least! Craziness.
I know so many lovely Canadians! Honestly, part of me wondered if it was a nationwide joke, and it would arrive in a Tim Horton's bag or something....
@@GrumpyOldCrone It's not a nationwide joke as far as I know, but for about 15 bucks you can buy small bundles of three or four birch logs (for decor) at Christmas tree lots. I'm assuming these people are upcycling as hard as they can go.
on behalf of every canadian, i dunno wtf a quid is. speak canadian.
A quid is a pound- £1.00
Just checked and right this minute £1.00= $1.75 Canadian.
We need a Yule Bolz T-shirt :D
OMG. I think you might be right. I'm actually cackling at the prospect!
❤Thank you also for the message of hope that better times are coming for us and our community. I was hoping that it was only me feeling this way about the state of the world and regression!
It is difficult to escape the shape of things at the moment. But there is always hope.
I'm totally with you on the over commercialisation of christmas. Even in my lifetime (mid 80's era), it has changed so much. I do the whole putting up decorations and giving presents more for the kids, but once they're older, we will be toning it down to more a Yule celebration. We do a little of both already, but we certainly don't make it a stressful time or end up in debt over it. I seriously hope it doesn't go too far with the commercialisation of panganism. You see a lot of it with the 'Witchy Aesthetic' people already.
I also really liked the heartfelt positive bit. I'm only recently stepping out the broom closet. The door is open a crack, but I'm not quite there yet. My husband also practises, and my kids love that mummy is a witch, but everyone else I don't really make it obvious to them. Like yourself, I had to also bottle up my practise for a good 11 years with my ex. I feel like I have so much catching up to do. I'm so glad you were able to open up again and take off the mask. I'd love to see a video more about your own practises and what you do and don't like.
I'm totally going to do some videos based more around what I do - not a single video, but a series of them :-)
Growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada, Christmas decorations were always shiny and sparkled. Lots of tinsel garlands, big colourful lights, shiny Christmas bulbs and that stringy shiny stuff we called icicles. The cat loved to eat it.
Now my tree is all natural decor I collect myself for the most part and lots of lights.
I think we have your weather here now, it’s 7C and raining outside. No snow.
Yup. That definitely sounds like English weather. I recommend making a mug of tea, staring out of the window and saying, "I think it's clearing up!" every 20 minutes for the proper experience.
@ honestly, I’m sitting right here with a huge cup of tea but enjoying the rain because it could be snow and that’s a 4 letter word here.
I've calculated my own that's insane! Mother nature's provides us with plenty of pine cones and all kinds of wonderful things for free and to give thanks for.
I agree 100%. We have a park nearby with lots of lovely pinecones on the floor. I will collect my onw too!
I love that watching all of the Alien films is a Christmas tradition in your house!
One of the problems of looking for an actual little log is a) it degrades the environment needed for tiny critters b) some of the tiny critters that might hitch a ride into your place if you take the log will, in many parts of the US and Canada, include ticks, which can carry serious diseases. Damn things are disproportionately thriving due to climate change! You might want to have a plan for thoroughly brushing off every bit of that log several times before it enters your place.
It's not Christmas until we've done at least a couple of them! (I've seriously no idea how this became a tradition. It's almost impossible to explain to people sometimes...)
@@GrumpyOldCrone Somehow, over here in Ontario Canada, near the US border, New Year's Eve is a time when some channel, somewhere, is playing Planet of the Apes movies. Always. Since the 1990s. I don't know why.
I find it quite amusing each year! But I don't usually watch them.
For years growing up I was in charge of the Christmas decorating, my biggest rule was to wait until after Mom's early December birthday.
Very sensible! I'm usually a mid-December decorator. Apart from Lockdown, when we just decked the halls in November for the hell of it.
Oh wow, that ending was beautiful, u made me teary. I really love what you're doing on here. Your approach is so refreshing. Its been bothering me what has happened to witchcraft lately, it's portrayed as just a style, a fashion choice. Thank you for bringing back legitimacy and calling out the nonsense. You're fantastic fun, please keep doing these videos. The world needs more funny outspoken genX snark, I mean, how else will the kids learn! Thank you Annie, you rock xx
Thankyou so much :-) I'm having a blast here, so have zero intention of stopping!
Yes our dog ate potential to the silver sparkly stuff and was running around the yard what tinsel hanging out of its ass and my mom made me go pull it out of his bum I use the hot dog tongs I never told her that I used them though LOL😅😊
This is priceless! The bum lametta thing obviously happened to a few of us!
Well, the dog was alive and therefore warm and they are called hot dog tongs. Makes sense to me.
Oh double commenting, regarding yule logges: my city puts on a display at a public park every december called the "Trail of Lights", it's a trail with light-up displays and carnival food and our big ginormous radio tower gets decorated like a christmas tree. It's a real good time.
They also have a Yule log. And it's a LOG. Really massive, a whole tree in a pit. I will always remember going to see it as a little kid and just staring in awe at this powerful, wild, ancient thing.
So that's what Yule logs mean to me.
I bloody love that! That's exactly what a Yule Log SHOULD be!!!!
I don't have a Yule log, I have a Tío de Nadal. A Catalan traditional log with a face, 2 legs, a Catalan beanie and a blanket. They put a tiny Tió down at the start of December then the kids feed him tangerines and such and he grows throughout the month. On Christmas eve they sing a song about the Tió shitting presents and then presents come from under the blanket.
I just have him as a little Yule pal I talk my blessings for lived ones into.
I also have a caganer, also catalan, which is a little squatting figurine you hide in the manger, and is supposed to bring luck/abundance when you find him.
Catalan Christmas traditions are a lot of fun and feel very pagan to me.
That's amazing! Thankyou so much for sharing... I so want to ask you more about this....
After working in retail for so long, trust me that warning not to burn the log anywhere but a fireplace is needed! It turns out that common sense isn't really all that common.
I keep track of the sabbats with a seasons tree. It's just a foot tall tree that I change the decorations on depending on the time of year. I have it full of dried mums & maple leaves eight now but I'll switch over to more yule style in another week or so.
I like the idea of a multi-season tree. That's pretty cool....
Sings:
It's Jül Log, Jül Log
It's big, it's heavy, it's wood
It's Jül Log, Jül Log
It's better than bad, it's good!
Thank you, Ren & Stimpy
I feel grateful to be in the Southern Hemisphere where our Yule is in July - we've just come out of Beltane and heading into Litha and so don't tend to have to our seasons drowned out by shrieking commercialisation. 🌞
Really lovely positive message at the end - in 40+ years of practise I have treasured my times of working privately by myself as times of huge learning, growth, and finding my way to personal and magical authority 💙
I've spent years as a solitary, but as times change, and my heart along with it, I'm ready for group work now. "Personal and magical authority" might be my favourite phrase now.
Mannn you are so dead on point about the commercialism! one of our main benefits as pagans being that we can finally dip out of that collective madness of commercial christmas and immerse ourselves in our own seasonal observances that’s chill and brings joy, spirit and meaning (no pressures, competitive gift giving or expectations does wonders for enjoying a spiritual event). But you’re also right on about the commercialism now is creeping into our observances🙈
I blame social media and pinterest to a great extent. But we should totally stop letting it happen.
Woohoo! 🙃 For 1 cent, you can ride a mechanical pony named Sandy! She’s here at our semi-local store chain if you’re ever in the States! (Great Lakes area.)
Hold on! I'm coming!
Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooo much for your posts.. fun laughter and serious parts the end had me in tears. hope to men and women your a life saver to many ..
Thank you for your really kind words
Lovely to catch up! I can imagine someone who pays ££ for a hot glued log would put it on their dining table and light it…
As mentioned a couple of comments previously, it's wise never to underestimate the amount of common sense some people have.
I just came across your channel. I am so happy to have found a kindred spirit. Finally someone else who is fed up with the bullsh*t that abounds out there concerning our ancient craft. Keep it up!!
So much bullsh*t. We should all be calling it out!
Thanks so much for sharing, especially the positive bit. A chocolate yüle logge sounds delicious! ✌🏼😋🪵
They are very delicious indeed!
You have to make one! It’s possibly a British thing ( like mince pies )But honestly, it’s delicious! 😊
Your video today had me laughing, that is the main reason I listen to you. Thank you
Your message at the end was beautiful and heartfelt, compelling indeed.
Thankyou very much!
The algorithm could have been a lot worse for you lol 😂 Yule bolz! Thank you for cheering me up 😊
Any time!
My gratitude runs deep. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm in the United States and this really helped.❤️
So glad!
If you want to see a REAL pinecone, come to Reno Nevada 🇺🇸 and I'll take you up to South Lake Tahoe and gather some huge pinecones! One moment while i get my tape measure ... Ok, the one I keep on my altar is 7 inches tall (18 cm) and 15 inches (38 cm) in circumference! Thank you for the sweet and hope filled words about the broom closet. I have recently begun being "out" more, and at 60 years old and newly dedicated I feel great ✨ Blessed Be ✨
Your pine cones are the same size as the YULE LOGGES! Glad to hear you are edging out and being happy.
I didn't know what this decoration was called till now. I'm a late 60's child who grew up in the catering/banqueting world. Consequently my experiences of Christmas was not like the majority. Six weeks of diner and dances 6 nights a week. Christmas lunches for nearly 200 people. Boxing night functions etcetera. I realised early it was all a con in too many ways.
I'm boring. I live with what I like to look at 24/7.
My kids are the children of musicians. They have a similar perception of Christmas! Always tons of music work around the end of the year, and never any time for family. Glad I changing the kind of music I do to make time for family
Considering the fella I saw who lit up a Pikachu firework on his bed, yeah there's probably someone who'll light that on their carpet
Noooooo! Really????
Yule Balls! makes me think of Joerg Sprave from the slingshot channel, who is very German and likes to say "Steel Balls" in a very similar fashion.
He also works with a lot of "wood" and "rubber" too, because that is how you make a slingshot.
Steel Balls!
I have to go and look now!
I just wanna say you're fantastic, and your videos has Helped me to Ground my self within my practice and ask the word why a lot more!
Delightful fun! Yes, we see those silly bits of kindling all over the place. I've got a rick of firewood on order, could make a killing if I were heartless.
I'll have to watch your shorts I haven't seen them come up but I'll be looking for them so maybe you can get something more than a bag of chip's 😂.
I haven't done much with shorts, to be honest. I was doing something wrong as I found they took longer than doing a proper video! I need to get my head around it, as I've had a couple of fun ideas....
Good to see you again Ms. Crone, you have such a knack for witty quips and biting commentary. I really enjoy listening to you whinge while i sew and drink tea. 😁😁😁 Your vids have been a bright spot for me in a difficult month. Cheers
I'm so sorry the month has been poo :-( Glad I'm with you whilst you sew and drink tea. I'm quite big on sewing and drinking tea myself!
Wax dipped pine cones would be used to kindle a fire. But I wouldn’t pay for them- and definitely not that much!
Exactly - perfect firestarters. But not at $21CAD a pop...
It makes sense that a small log from Canada would cost $70-100. Trees and pine cones are so rare there don't you know 😆
I remember lametta, but we called them " icicles" and stuck them to the TV screen because they had some strong static cling going on.
Canada: hot, dry, treeless desolation. Yup. Definitely.
I love you, and can't wait to watch your channel each week...❤
That's really kind, thankyou!
I remember the crepe paper! It had a distinctive dusty, slightly acid smell.
I'd forgotten that! But you are absolutely right. And always very slightly dusty....
New viewer, here; having tons of fun watching some of your videos the past few days. I know your whole thing is the Grumpy Old Crone, but this entire video is filled with love, care, passion, and quite the opposite. Happy holidays to you and yours
YULBOLZ!!!!!!! (sorry)
Beautiful message Annie. I have learned over the years to be very careful who i choose to talk to about my witchcraft practice. Where i live is still pretty conservative sadly. Start talking about spirit or ancestor work and they literally think you're the devil incarnate. Great post 💐
It's a distinct possibility in a lot of situations, I think. I despair sometimes.
I’m an Australian Pagan so we have the hideous cross over of northern traditions with an Australian climate. Kids celebrate Halloween when it’s clearly Spring, adult Pagans engage too. I want to smack my head against a brick wall. I take comfort in Yule Balls.
I always wondered how that sat with Australian pagans. I just figured it made me uncomfortable because I'm set in my seasonal patterns and ways, but people south of the equator would be set in their own...
@ It’s a complicated issue. Just about all of our childhood tv and books come from the Northern Hemisphere. Even our Christmas cards have snow on them. Our social media is nearly always Pagans of the Northern Hemisphere, so it is like having a foot in both worlds. Our community is so small here, so I understand while people want to celebrate the Northern Sabbats.I know some people who do both. Even Christians celebrate Easter in Autumn to be in sync with Northern traditions. It’s a bit crazy.
There was also a tradition of celebrating Walpurgisnacht in Spring as a witch holiday. Maybe that could be the southern hemisphere version of Halloween.
Thank you! ❤
You're welcome 😊
1 penny! celebrate!
I intend to! Woohoo!
We did not have those crepe paper things in the US, we had the fluffy tinsel things
Tinsel on the ceilings? That's so FANCY! This is why everyone thought the US was the country of dreams. The crepe paper was a bit poo, to be honest.
Haha! My family had one of these Yule logs when I was a kid back in the mid seventies! My older siblings made it from stuff they found in the woods 😂
Did it get burned or just sit there, living it's best logge liffe?
@ it lived it’s best log life as a candle holder on the coffee table. We did burn the candles though😄
I was taught that the yule log was the Christmas tree from the previous year with the branches trimmed off... Does anybody else do this?
I hadn't heard this, but I like the reusability of it!
Yes they definitely are. I hate how it's becoming so commercialized
I try not to get furiously angry about it. I generally fail. It's like they've squeezed every penny out of Christmas, so now it's time to squeeze the pagans! NOPE.
@GrumpyOldCrone true!
I am loving the pine cone wishing thingy - I am going to make some as firefighters for my friends 😂they will of course not cost me anything. Love your channel I think you should do a post everyday - they make me happy ❤ love listening to you voicing all the stuff that goes through my head but dare not say out loud
I have a pot full of stray wax leftovers, I am going to try dipping mine in some wax too. Tip: if you roll them in a tiny bit of copper sulphate, it makes the flames a pretty colour too!
I love Autumn and I'm the most drawn to Samhain. I keep Autumn stuff up year around.
My dining room mantelpiece ALWAYS has an autumnal display on it.
Lovely end message - meant a lot to me
It's a hard time for so many. Holding you in my heart.
😂 This channel is so funny! My favorite is the late night text message! You are going to receive everything Yule Ball, Jul Logge this winter solstice! You know that this will happen? 😅
I fear you may be right....
Me thinks I have found a new tradition for my mom’s fruit cake recipe. I’ll just turn it into a Yule log. Goddess knows the amount of spirits marinating that cake will turn it into a proper flaming log. Nice way to remember family at Yule. Note: Mom’s recipe is actually edible, not one of the cakes-in-tins that get shipped out at this time of year (allegedly the same cakes year after year). Thank you for your wonderful channel.❤
I need to make and feed my cake. Lots and lots of brandy....
Yes you are very lucky it's starting to be seen more here in the states but it's still and not as excepted as it seems to be in the UK.
I have so many friends and chosen family over there, and it's a very different scene, for sure.
Also o grew up in Belgium in a very traditionally flemish family and we always celebrated both Christmas and Yule. Not with a Yule log because I hadn't heard of that until adulthood and only in the English speaking world but by jumping over a big fire and making salt dough tree ornaments. So the fact that people needs to hide pagan traditions from Christians is relatively new information for me as well because my Catholic family happily did both because both are part of our cultural history.
That's fascinating! Mr Grumpy Old Crone and I were *literally* just talking about the co-existence of Christian and Pagan traditions....
Ah yes, a seventies Christmas 😊I remember them well! To be fair no one had any money in the uk, there was high unemployment and riots, it was an interesting decade to grow up in! My mum went all out, balloons, tinsel, and paper chains ( my sisters and I made) peppermint creams and angels made from paper doilies that we made at school. Let’s face it, the seventies is referred to as the decade that good taste forgot with good reason 😂 on a more serious note, your ‘positive bit’ made me choke up a bit, I’m currently studying in the safety of nighttime, when everyone is safely tucked up in bed. Wondering if I will be hunted down by angry villagers with torches and pitchforks! I’m reading as much as possible and watching a lot of UA-cam just your lovely self, hearth witch and oak witch ( thank you so much for the recommendation by the way!) and your last statement of empathetic kindness and compassion resonated deeply 😢 so thank you for that , oh by the way, your hair looks gorgeous! So shiny and the plait looks very pretty ❤
I love your humour. New subscriber. Lets get you to a whole fish to go with those chips. I predict your channel is going to rise faster than you think. Lets check back this time next year. Thank you for the laughs.
Riches untold!!!! (I'm very partial to a bit of fish...)
I feel like an Ice Cream Yule log is one of those pretty silly things to buy for the season. Tasty tho. lol
Om nom nom!
0:42 old german proverb: "wer den pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des talers nicht wert" (="whoever doesn't honour the penny, isn't worthy of the dollar")
also *YULE BOLLS*
I love that! I was brought up with "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves" which feels like a similar sort of vibe!
YULE BOLLS!
Yes it is her in the states if you ever get a chance while visiting the states come to my neck of the woods up her in the Northeast Georgia Appalachian mountains to Helen Georgia. Or go to Gatlinburg. Our Helen is supposed to be like a old German town I've never been to Germany but they decorate the whole town and it's quite beautiful.
German is lovely. Bits of Bavaria are like distilled Christmas. I love the US for a whole load of different reasons. Some of the most spectacular scenery ever. Another friend posts pictures out of his window of the Tetons every morning. I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to wake up to spectacular country like that.
i've just discovered your channel yesterday and i gotta say, while i haven't a clue about witchcraft, this is incredibly educational. not to mention entertaining!
remind me of my nana(in a good way i assure you) when she would get chatty with the girls over tea.
Thanks and welcome
I really like the idea of a yule log, but i live in southern California, so because im not trying to set my roof on fire (we r basically in a constant drought and the state seems to always be on fire somewhere) i very very rarely use my fireplace. It has become the perfect spot to store and age mead that i make. 😁 btw, who the hell is paying $80 for a tiny log with candles stuck in it. Lol. That is just really really funny. Its not surprising though, cuz i saw someone on etsy selling rocks, like rocks from the front yard (for painting, but didn't come with any paints, just the rocks), the other day. That made me laugh also.
Just... rocks? How bizarre...
Also: loving the mead-y use of the fireplace!
I enjoy decorating with mistletoe and holly during Yule tide. Unfortunately my feline house mates limit my mistletoe to the fake silk variety.
Deer Mother also figures in my decor.
We have a little deer diorama I add to every year. My usual shop now stocks grey deer in the right size (they're only little - I don't have room for a full size deer anywhere in my house!), so I'm going to add one of those this year...
❤❤❤
This is so strange that you bring this up. Recently I was thinking along similar lines. I wondered if I could find plastic trees as well as Ornaments gor Spring, Summer , and Autumn as well as the usual Winter/Christmas tree and decorations. I found quite a few for Autumn but very lityle for Spring and Summer. Like you I would love to celebrate all 4 seasons. If you could advise me and help me with Spring and Summer's I would be very grateful.
I think I need to do some more seasonal decorating videos!
My husband and I look forward to your rants!!
Thankyou so much!
Pfft. I could buy a small bit of firewood at work for US$11, along with cheap dollar store tapers and mulling spices at work and *still* not spend almost $100 on a Jül Logge. Heck, I'd still have money left over to get yarn to knit mom arm warmers or socks or something *useful*. Cheezus...
😂😅 😲. 🤣😂😮. The price, pardon my French, bloody hell.
Your french is right up there with mine!
Lmfao I have been saying Yul Bools since watching the video. I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one.
I also had my life completely shattered and it changed me forever in 2017. 2018 was just as traumatic so I understand that tower card.
I came out of the broom closet and no one was surprised lol
I’m out and proud!!
Sounds like we had similar paths - I raise a glass to freedom!
Omg. I used to work at Joann's, and I cannot fully explain the hell that is the amount of fleece we would get befor Thanksgiving. I remember one year we had like eight bolts of black fleece still an overstock from the year before, and they sent us like 5 or 10 more bolts and I was standing there unloading things like "what the fuck are you guys thinking?!" Now I'm out of workplace that's in charge of our own ordering instead of a computer and headquarters doing it and it is so so much better. Now when we get too much of something we actually know why. Lol
I save SO much money not working there anymore, btw.
Just think of my pale english self having an emotional breakdown in the fleece aisle...
Oh great. Now I'm crying on a train. Just going through milton keynes so people will just think its that.
Could be worse. Could be Stevenage.
Yüle Bolls - Annie, the Grumpy Old Crone
Bunny Buttons! - Evie, of the JillianEve channel
Jül logge - Annie, the Grumpy Old Crone
There must be something going around!
$21 CAD for *one (1)* wax coated pine cone?! It's only a few weeks since Becca Lewis made a video about making fire lighters by dipping pine cones in wax. She collected the cones from the woodlands around her house and used some of the wax from her bees. (Ack, most of us, me included, don't keep bees but you can buy wax if you need it.)
I keep my leftover wax in a big pot, I'm planning on doing a bit of firelighter creation myself. But I won't be selling them for $21CAD!
Laughing. As the saying goes, a fool and their money are soon parted. Exploiting the naive isn’t cool though.
I love how you put all of this insanity into perspective. Like, it's literally a small piece of wood with stuff glued on it!!!! I myself have decided not to do any Christmas decor this year, not because I don't like it, but I have 2 cats, and I am not willing to make myself crazy this year. Plus, I am the only one who decorates, and the only one who takes it all down, so nope!! I have my Halloween decor out all year round, so I will not be moving anything! In fact, I might make a Yule Log to have for Christmas instead of a tree, although the cats still may mess with it 😂. Luckily, I live in Upstate NY, and I can get a log from my yard! Thank you again for another wonderful video, and laugh! ❤
As well as my dog eating the lametta, after I left home, my cat ate a proper glass ball when we was a kitten. It was terrifying. By the time I'd heard him crunching it behind the sofa and clocked what he was doing, he'd eaten about 3/4 of it. I was utterly convinced he was going to die. The vet was utterly convinced he was going to die. In fact, all that happened was that we got the sparkliest litter tray in the history of catkind for about 2 days. He lived to be 22. Animals!!!!
I just had a quick look on Google again and I can't believe that I have found both Spring Christmas Trees and Summer Christmas Trees. Also some decorations to go with the trees.
Wow. Just... wow....
Speaking of Yule Logs, I also grew up in the 1970's and like you we would have the traditional chocolate log but also we would have a small wood log which we would decorate and have a hole in it where we would stick a candle. I don't know if you had the wood lig with a candle stuck in it, please let me know either way.
Nope, no log with a candle! Only candles were on the saucers during power cuts...
Love that plait in your hair Annie, really suits you.
Also, your hair looks very glossy and smooth- what do you put on it?
(Maybe a segment on “GOC Tried and Approved” products could be a regular thing?)
Great video and a welcome return to you being the Santa of Snark.
I may have to make myself a "Santa of Snark" t-shirt... There's not really anything special on my hair - I'm the lowest maintenance woman ever. Whatever shampoo and conditioner is cheap at Aldi!
Your hair looks so lovely in this video
I wish I could claim some kind of product magic. Sometimes I just have good hair days!
⭐️❤
So, $55 for a decorated Yule Twig? Which - make no mistake - some fool will try to have a “Yule ceremony” burning it on a plate on the coffee table.
We watch the Resident Evil movies. And, as Americans, it’s required to watch Die Hard. 🤷🏻♀️
Will admit that I'm not convinced it's Christmas without Alan Rickman taking a bit of a swan dive off the Nakatomi Plaza Building...
does your Jül logge have shrinkage? Seriously though, we made those in first grade :/ Someone else drilled the candle holes though
Don't judge me! It's cold!
"shrinkage" 😂