When last we saw Edmond Elf, he was outside waiting for a mysterious visitor (after getting into the eggnog.)  As it began to grow dark, Edmond realized that his visitor was not going to show that day. He assured me that his visitor would show up, but Edmond must have gotten his days mixed up (stupid Ephone).  So, he encouraged me to dust off my Christmas piano music and play some tunes that he could sing along. So, I obliged the little elf and turned to some of my favorites. Edmond, of course, favored anything having to do with Santa, elves or toys. Although his favorite is Joy to the World.

Some of the traditional songs I played inspired him to check out one of my nativity scenes. He was absolutely enthralled with the baby Jesus and sat quietly while I played “Silent Night”, “We Three Kings” and “Away in the Manger”.  He told me my playing was magical, but I scoffed and told him he was probably just emotional about the whole meaning of Christmas.

Don’t say anything to him, but his voice isn’t very good, although he sings with great enthusiasm. I was hoping that he was done with the singing because it was beginning to make my ears bleed, but as I sit here writing this, I can hear him  “Fa la la la la-ing”  in another part of the house.  Frankly, I’m not in any hurry to see what he’s up to now, considering what he got into after the singing.

After I finished playing I thought it was safe to leave the room for a while.  But as I walked by the living room later on, I saw that he was terrorizing a small Christmas village that my youngest son sets up every Christmas on top of the piano.

The Villagers all seemed to be running from him in terror as he merrily yelled out, “Fe Fi Ho Ho Hum, I smell Christmas Cookies,” and “Bring out your Sweets” and other terrifying commands.   Sigh.  I asked him to please leave the peaceful villagers alone and help me clean the house for Christmas Cleaning Day.  That seemed like a good idea to him and he hopped off the piano to help me out.

He quickly lost interest in cleaning when he saw that it involved wet rags, brooms and smelly sprays that did not in the slightest smell like Christmas or cookies baking.

He found his chance to be a treetop Elf Angel and without any Lightning Bolt throwing angels around, he climbed the “tree” and declared himself Master of the Universe or some such nonsense. When I didn’t make any sort of comment, he hopped off the tree and ran down the hall shouting, “Run, run as fast as you can.  You can’t catch me I’m the Ginger-Elf Man”. (Note to self:  Stop reading Children’s Stories to Edmond.)

I didn’t pay much attention to him until I heard paper ripping.  Then I did run down the hall and here’s what greeted my wondering eyes:

My sudden entry into the other room startled him and caused him to fall into the package that he had opened up.

Serves the little imp right.  He told me he thought it was an early Christmas present for him because it had his hat on the outside. And even if it wasn’t an early Christmas present for him, he saw that it wasn’t wrapped very well, so he was trying to rewrap it for me.

“You know, Edmond”, I said with a large sigh. “I do not have time today to be chasing after you and cleaning up your messes. Company is arriving at the house tomorrow and I needed to get the house in shape. “  He said he thought the house looked pretty good, but probably needed more lights and maybe another Christmas tree or two.  He offered to help.  I don’t know what got into me, but I decided that I needed to contain him for a while just so I could get some things done around the house, finish wrapping (and re-wrapping) Christmas gifts and do a little cooking.

So…I contained him.

At least I put him in a Christmas cup.

(no elves were hurt during the filming of this post.)

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When I got home last night it seemed a little quiet and then when I walked into the kitchen, I was greeted by this. What in the world was Edmond Elf up to now?

I decided that I wouldn’t interfere unless he got into real trouble just because I was curious to see what he would do.  He eventually discovered that if he flapped his one arm and kicked his legs, he could swing the door. I still wasn’t quite sure what he was up to, but I did think it was more than just swinging around on a cabinet door.

He apparently enjoyed swinging around, because he swung back and forth a couple of times before he collapsed inside the cabinet in a fit of giggles. He is a merry little elf.

It seemed that Edmond wanted to try some Eggnog, which I wouldn’t have minded. All he had to do was ask. However he had other ideas.  He apparently spent the afternoon watching old Christmas movies and got the idea that the eggnog needed to be spiced up with more than nutmeg.

So, when he got down the whiskey, dragged out the eggnog , and began to unscrew the top off the whiskey, I thought it was time to step in before he got into big trouble. When he saw me, he tried to make up some story about a friend coming by and how rude it would be if he didn’t show his friend some hospitality.  I suggested that there are other ways to show your “friends” hospitality. And when he took one whiff of the Whiskey, and just about keeled over, he agreed.

Anyway, he said he had a better idea about how to greet his “friend” and hurried out the door while I was cleaning up his project.

Hmmmm, maybe he really was expecting a visitor. I wonder who?

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Edmond Attacks the Santas

I was just beginning to think that Edmond had been fairly good since his last adventure.  I figured “Cookie”, his girlfriend, was a good influence on him.  He had made a beautiful Christmas card and he was keeping a low profile.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.   This morning, as I rounded the corner the above scene greeted me!  What?

Shock and Awe

I have developed a little Santa Collection over the years and I put them by the front door to greet any visitors that may come by at Christmas time.  Apparently, Edmond decided he would have a little fun with these Santas.  He dragged a bag of mini-marshmallows into the entry and began pelting the unsuspecting Santas.  Several of them fell over out of shock.  The rest were in awe of what the little elf was capable of. I guess he figured he was already in the “Naughty” category, so he might as well go all the way.  No sooner had I shooed him away so that I could clean up the carnage (no Santas were hurt during the filming of this post), when I heard the candy jar top being unscrewed.

I hurried into the other room, and discovered this:

Edmond Pop

I need to apologize to the men in my life because I had accused them of eating all the candy when all along it was this little imp.  The bad thing is that he wasn’t the least bit remorseful.  In fact, he was rather proud of his accomplishment and offered me first lick.

Edmond put in his thumb and pulled out a pop

I didn’t think that was a good idea, so I told him that I was on a diet.  He looked a little hurt, so I assured him that it was the thought that counted.  Probably the whole candy thing was a ruse because just as I was beginning to relax a bit, he was off on his real mission:  to challenge the Angel Christmas Tree Topper.

Edmond Challenges the Angel

Luckily, she’s not quite as sweet and gentle as she looks.  She put the potential coup down in one quick lightning bolt aimed just past the little elf to teach him not to fool with her.  I was a little surprised because I had never seen that side of her before. (Note to self:  Don’t tick off the Angels.)

I think that whole episode scared a little bit of sense into Edmond because he hurried away and hid.  Unfortunately, he’s not very good at hiding.  I found him  in the basket of Santa hats with his hands covering his eyes.  I guess he figures that if he can’t see me, I can’t see him. I pretended like I didn’t see him so he would stay there for a while waiting for me to find him.  Every time I walk by the basket I hear giggling.  I’m sure he will figure it out soon enough and then I will have my hands full.  But, for the time being I’ll let him think I’m still looking for him.

Edmond "hides" in the Santa Hats

PS. you may be wondering why I have a basket of Santa hats.  When you visit my house at Christmas time, we always invite you to get into the spirit and wear a Santa Hat.  You would be surprised at how wearing a Santa Hat can brighten your day and make others feel good too.  Joy! to the World Christ the Savior is born.

If you would like a mini portrait shoot, contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net.  I’ll make sure I leave Edmond at home.

Edmond Finds a Girlfriend

Edmond apparently got into my digital scrapbooking stash overnight and created a few items for me. Ever since he saw the Shelf Elf with the cute Barbie in a flashy Barbie car, he’s been busy trying to find a suitable companion for himself. He rummaged around until he found “Cookie”, but she came with a reindeer chaperone. He seemed to be okay with that because she is such cute “arm candy”.

He also got into the spirit of Christmas decorating by decorating a Christmas Card.

Edmond's Christmas Card

I don’t think he understands the fine art of subtlety.  Here’s a piece of advice, Edmond: Less is more.

Anyway, my oldest son and his darling girlfriend stopped by last night on their way to a Christmas party at a local winery (Miraflores).  So I snapped a few photos of them while they were here and all dolled up. I put together a sweet little Christmas card with one of the pics.

Of course, not to be outdone, Edmond had to get into the act and again inserted himself (literally)…

Edmond inserts himself

It’s kind of  ironic that Edmond would do this to an otherwise lovely Christmas card because my oldest has always been a ham and frequently tweeks me by doing something goofy in a picture.  Payback is a bother.

I don’t know where he gets his weird sense of humor…

Anyway, as I was getting ready to post this, I happened to find this very lovely Christmas card underneath a pile of digital scrapbooking stuff that Edmond neglected to put away.  My sentiments exactly.

.

Never a dull moment around here.

If you’d like to have a portrait to help you remember these types of moments, contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net

Christmas Reminder Christmas Card

I stepped away from my desk yesterday as I was waiting for a short slideshow to load (Schmautzhaus Christmas: The Joy of the Tree).  While I was gone, Edmond apparently found some sticky notes and a red pen.  I guess he felt that I needed some Christmas reminders. I’m mostly okay with his mild pranks so far.  He is a merry little creature and helps to insert joy into my day.

However, I did see something that is a little concerning to me:

Green Screen Elves

He somehow encouraged some other elves (previously jolly and helpful fellows) to help him find a green screen and moved it into my living room.  I’m not sure what is going on, but he is rather jaunty about the whole thing.  We’ll see…

Meanwhile, I’ve finished editing a few more portraits that I really like and are reminiscent of the season.  I hope you enjoy them too.

Hollywood Glam

I’m anxious (and a little nervous) to see what Edmond will do next…

If you would like a portrait session, contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net for details, or head on over to Sierra Springs Photography.

Edmond Uses a Rotary Dial Phone

When I was young, but old enough to babysit my younger brother, I used to try to get him to behave by pretending to call Santa Claus and report his bad behavior. This always worked. The odd thing was that I would call Santa on the “magic” telephone…the curtain pulls. Payback is a bad thing, they always say. I found Edmond using a phone I picked up at the Thrift Store last week. I got it because when the power goes out at my house (which it does frequently in the winter) we don’t have any way to communicate with the world. So, I got the old rotary dial, no electricity necessary telephone. There was Edmond chattering happily away with “a nice man in a red suit”, telling him about some of the things that he has observed around here. I’m not liking this at all…

Edmond Leaves a Christmas Present Hint

After finding this Christmas Card from Edmond yesterday (hinting that he wanted a flashy car that comes with a pretty girl for Christmas), I finally sat down to look at what was on the memory disk that he left me yesterday.

Edmond helpfully points out his best shots

He had been a very busy elf.  He started off by hiding my favorite Christmas CD’s (Frank  Sinatra, The Rat Pack, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Mannheim Steamroller etc.)

He then substituted his own collection of whacked out Christmas CD’s.

After that, he began to harass the other Christmas decorations and made fun of some of my Christmas purchases.

Covering Snowman's Eyes while one of his Homies Eggs him on

Edmond Makes Bunny Ears Behind an Unsuspecting Santa

My Paper Mache Angel...sigh

Edmond Makes fun of my Christmas Air Spray

He even taunts Obie T. Dogg.  Lucky for Edmond, Obie does not prefer to chew on stuffed toys.

Obie T. Dogg and Edmond

And finally he mocks the photographer…Me.

Posing Guide...another sigh

It’s tough to be mad at him, though.  Last night I sat him down in front of the TV to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.  He discovered what the true meaning of Christmas is:  Christ was born on Christmas Day.

Edmond Learns the True Meaning of Christmas from Linus and Charlie Brown: God's Love for Us

I was glad to be reminded of the Joy of Christmas (Christ) and the joy of Christmas (merriment and fun).

A Portrait to remind me it's all in fun

This morning when I went over to my computer to do some editing of a photo shoot I did on Saturday, I discovered an elf in my coffee cup with a memory card.

The back story about this elf is that about two months ago a friend took me to a “Seconds” store in Carson City Nevada to “look around”.  I discovered some darling elves made by “Annalee”.  I purchased six elves dressed in red and green to add to my collection of bendable elves.  Everything was fine until we brought down the Christmas decorations from the attic.  That’s when the mischief began.

I’ll take a look at the memory disc and see what he’s been up to, but I have a weird feeling about all this.  I don’t know too much about shelf elves, but I’m thinkin’ they are supposed to stay on the shelf.  At any rate, here’s a couple of my favorite photos from the photo shoot.

Red Dress and a Mink

Red and Green look good on her

Blue Truck Red Truck

I’m sensing a theme here…

Santa Obie T. Dogg

So…maybe you’ve noticed that I decorated my blog for Christmas.  I got up early this morning, lugged all the virtual boxes down from the attic, cranked up the Christmas music and decorated my heart out.  If you stop by, you are likely to catch the fever and end up with a Santa Hat on your Facebook profile, or some such nonsense.  (Obie T. really is happy about Christmas.)

I always like to take a peek at my pics from the previous Christmas at the Schmautzhaus just to be reminded of the decorations and the activities that we did.  I apparently took some photos of some of my decorations last year and now I can’t wait to bring them all down and decorate up the house.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Christmas makes me happy.

My husband brought home a bunch of cool 3D glasses from a store on Friday night so that we could see a couple of Super Bowl commercials in 3D.  The commercials were pretty cool, but I thought the people in my house were much more interesting.

Above, the men watch the game in the “man cave”.  The women basically stayed out of this room because there was way too much testosterone going on in there.  All of the men were rooting for the underdog Cardinals, so they were a little disappointed with the outcome.

The women mostly stayed in this room to watch the game …I guess “watching the game” is a bit of a stretch since I don’t think any of us really watched the game, but we did enjoy each other’s company and the 3D glasses.   One young man vacillated between the rooms wanting to hang out with the men in one room and his girlfriend in the other.  Poor guy.

Here’s my three men…my husband, and two sons…enjoying the commercials.  See what I mean about having more fun watching the watchers than the commercials?

And here are a few of my favorites.

I don’t think any of these photos will go down as my all-time most beautiful pictures, but the memories provided by these photos will last long after the loveliest of my photos have been forgotten.