Raindrops on roses, er, well, not exactly

***hearing and singing the tune of My favorite Things. . .
Raindrops on tree limbs and on dirty windows. . .

Cooped up inside till no one knows when tho’
Toll-frees keep calling, ring-a-ling, ling
Here are some shots of my favorite things. . .

Or I should say a few of the things I’ve found for gift giving which is making me happy during such gloomy days. . .

Michael’s Woodcrafts. . .remember the post on Michael and his beautiful wood work? Well the things I ordered from Michael, as part of my Christmas gift giving, have all arrived!! True to form, they are so rich and beautiful—nothing like the sight, scent and feel of finished wood. .
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com

Here is a shot of some local honey (Wally’s Bees out of Newnan, Georgia just south of Carrollton) accompanied by one of Michael’s hand turned ice-cream scoops. . .local honey is always a welcomed gift by young and old. Here we have local wildflower, as well as my favorite, Tupelo. Tupelo is the cadillac of all honeys —it is only sourced from Tupelo trees which are only found in extreme southern Georgia and Northern Florida. Here is a nice little link to the Tupelo bee keeper information page:
http://www.tupelobeekeepers.com

I also recently discovered a local potter who throws the cutest “cat bowls”—each bowl is finished off with raised eyes, and cheeks adding personality and character to each cute piece. When I find her card ( I know it’s here somewhere in this oh so organized life of mine—yeah, right) I’ll provide her information.

She also makes the most delicate ornaments–the stamp of a cat on a thin disc of white clay fired then finished off with gold foil

I found this little woolen cutie at Scott’s antique expo in Atlanta. Despite his not being of antique caliber, I still thought he was most adorable. . .for the squirrel loving step mother of course. . .

And finally from local potter Melanie Drew here in Carrollton at Blue Heron’s ceramics, these farm to table mix and match ceramic plates. I’m going to find some local goat cheese from Carpa Dia Cheese
(http://www.atlantamagazine.com/covereddish/2011/07/21/capra-gia-same-guy-same-goats-new-outlook
here is a link to an article in Atlanta Magazine regarding this local little gem) and some locally made artisan crackers, to accompany the plates, topped off with some locally made wooden spreaders, all nicely tied up with burlap ribbon— to give to those gastronomic individuals on my list—personal, handmade and full of eclectic homey goodness.

Department store gifts are cookie cutter nice and safe but there is just something most special about giving a gift which is the product of one person’s hands and talents, only to be shared with an appreciative recipient.
May you think outside of the box this holiday season when presenting gifts to family and friends. . . it can make the gift buying experience that much more enjoyable as the receiving is simply an event oh so very sweet!!