I want to wish all of my friends and blog buds a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. I think most of us are happy to see this decade fade into history, what with 9/11, Katrina, the recession, job losses, illness, etc! My prayer for all is that the year that ushers in the next decade is better for all of us! See you in the new year….
Terry
Well, this is one of those days where the phrase “watch our what you wish for…you just might get it!” I wanted a white Christmas for years and years—well, my blog friends, this is the year to make up for all of those warm and dry holidays! Just a tad TOO MUCH (!!) as we are in the midst of a blizzard that is expected to continue into Sunday morning. The winds are now picking up, and we have about a foot on the ground so far. Perfect day to stay inside and enjoy the decorations and lights. I went out earlier to try to clean off my poor little Honda – this is what it looked like only one hour later!
I just LOVE how the snow plow buried me in! LOL.
Pretty! And it smells so clean and cold. I’m about to go out and take a walk – I’m not crazy about the depth of the snow, but I do love this winter weather.
I haven’t been online too much this week – busy with work, and in the middle of the week, had a birthday!! Had a lovely day with friends and mom, and can’t quite believe the years are wracking up! Got this adorable goodie from my girlfriend in Colorado – so cute!
Thanks, Deb!
And some last minute (and final) decorations…
I tried to do the prim garland, but…ehhhh, just didn't like how it turned out. So, I stuffed it along with a sting of tiny white lights into a big glass jar, and I really like it so much better!
Looks toasty warm in the dark.
I had gotten this pretty tin stocking as a gift a few years ago, and i just love it. It always go up at the holidays.
I have been admiring your beautifully decorated homes all month, and I am so inspired by your talent and creativity! This was one of those years where I just didn't have the time or energy to do my usual crafting, baking, etc – long days at work, busy weekends trying to catch up with errands, etc. I guess lots of people have pared down the holidays this year! It seems like Christmas and Hanukah came so quickly – here it is only a few days away.
So just in case I don’t get a chance to post again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a warm and happy holiday, full of family and friends, blessings for the new year, and snow! (oh, wait, got that one now! LOL!) If you are also in the line of the snowstorm, please be careful and stay warm!
Happy Holidays, my friends!
How are my blogbuds? Hope everyone had a good weekend. Here in SE Pennsylvania, we had our first teensy weensy snowfall. Actually, it was delicious. It was cold, the snow (such as it was) was enough to cover the lawns and windshields, and I loved every second of it! I was out doing some errands when it started, but then when I got home, I curled up with a nice cup of hot coffee, a good book, and just enjoyed it! Of course, now it’s all gone, but the cold has remained, and I hope that winter has finally arrived.
I must admit, though, that I already miss the autumn! The trees -- that were so beautiful and lit up in golds and reds only a week ago—are now bare. Oh my, what a fast season! It seems that it arrived slowly and ended quickly!
I’ve been busy with work, but still finishing up some decorating. I don’t know how I could have possibly lost my box of Santas, but then again, I’d need to be crazy to move every box around in my closets – I’d either end up with a concussion or a mess!! I found some time on Sunday to even get to a redo.
In rummaging thru the closets (looking for my Santas), I came across this --
Since I’m not a summery kind of girl, it just wasn’t used because it didn’t fit into anything prim. I redid it with some paint, and now it’s this:
Filled with holiday decorations…
and the big hairy boy checking it out! (sorry for my sock getting in the way!)
Let’s see… what else have I been putting together?
(what a face, huh?!?!?)
Back to business…
I filled one of the goodies I brought back from my trip to Emmaus back in early November with some greens and candles..
Found a small string of tiny colored lights that I added to my mantle. Hard to see in this pic, but it looks sweet in the darkish living room. Here’s a view with darker light --
I did find my prim Santa who is watching things from my living room wall…
Oh – and I picked up this adorable pillow at a small craft barn near my office.
And this little bad boy stays out all winter.
And a favorite prim stocking hanging in the dining room…
And that’s it so far! Just little touches – nothing too big. I just love seeing your beautiful homes on your blogs!! Wow, they are just fabulous!
Well, my dear friends, I guess I better grab some dinner before it gets much later! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a wonderful week!
~Terry
I hope every one had a lovely Thanksgiving – mine was wonderful as in addition to the holiday, we celebrated my mom’s 97th birthday! She spent the day with me and we hung out, had some good laughs, loved her presents, and she took home lots of leftovers! She’s not the biggest fan of turkey, but since I do Thanksgiving as a 30+ year tradition, we’re superstitious and I do the same thing every year. LOL! I love turkey, so later, I’ll dig in to another turkey dinner. YUM!
So, as I mentioned in my title, I’m trying to get into the spirit. I took it easy on Saturday, but I pulled out some of my decorations… I seem to have lost the box with the good stuff! I decided that it was too warm to feel Christmas-y, so I thought I’d give my imagination a nudge by thinking about my favorite things about this time of year…
I just love when the Christmas lights go up – I drive around at night and just take them all in… this is a home outside of Philly. Pretty, huh?
The Big City is so pretty during the holidays, especially at twilight.
Some years, I run up to New York just to see Manhattan at Christmas. Not sure I’ll have the time this year, tho.
It’s not Christmas without at least one reading on A Christmas Carol, and about 10 viewings of the movie versions! LOL.
Anyway, I thought about what I wanted to do with the apartment this year, and I decided to do the ‘less is more’ concept this year. For one thing, a small space like mine can look too cramped with too much decoration. And. with me not home during the day, the cat can get into things that aren’t good for him!! So, I decided to do a little greenery, some lights in baskets and such…but keeping it simple. These pics didn’t come out good at all (cheap camera!!),but I’ll keep trying!
remember the thrift shop chairs I got at such a great price? They are in my dining room now…
…with a few little goodies on the table.
A wooden bowl filled with greenery and white lights.
Some fresh greens here and there…
And a basket full of greens and colored lights – my favorite! (They look white here…)
And some simple pretties for the mantle.
Well, I’d better get off to work now… hope you all have a wonderful week!
To all my wonderful blogbuds I have met this year, I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with this….
and this……..
and this…..
and this!!!
Whatever your traditions…whomever you are missing this holiday…remember all that we have to be thankful for… and enjoy the holiday!
~Terry
Then: Most of us over a certain age can answer the question, “ where were you 46 years ago today?” The day that changed America. Those of you who are younger, who were born after Nov 22, 1963, may not even realize the America you were born into because of the events of that day.
I was a fifth grader, sitting in class that day. The teacher was called out of class, and came back with a grey pallor to her face. We could see she had been crying, but at that age, we couldn’t quite imagine what horrible thing had happened. All she said was that the president had been shot, and to gather your things and go directly home. I looked at the clock and it was 1:15 EST. When I got home, my mom had our little black and white TV on, and she was sitting on the sofa crying. Except for meals and sleep, my family sat in front of the TV for the next 4 days, from death to burial, as it was called. (My brother’s senior prom was cancelled that night, and five years later, his graduation from college was cancelled because of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. Those moments of our generation….) How could this happen? In America?
I think my love of history was born that weekend, and I’ve been stuck on that weekend in November ever since. I read every book, watched every documentary, video, and news broadcast (all available today both on the web and for purchase). Like when you rub your tongue over a sore tooth, each time I watch it I feel that same way – that sadness, that ‘what if’ feeling…. those gut wrenching black and white images….the end of American innocence.
This is what we lost.
Idealism. Class. Intelligence. Youth.
What would America look like today had JFK not gone to Dallas? Would we have had the Viet Nam experience? Would we be so cynical, so divided, so angry? Would “the sixties” have happened as they did? Would we have had Nixon, Watergate? We’ll never know.
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Now: Well, I’m on vacation this week, and man, I need it. I had another week of driving all over the place for the flu vaccine clinics. I felt like I was living in my car, and my car looked like I was, too. Today, I finally cleaned it out, good it washed in and out, and it started to look like my little Civic again. Not going anywhere – just want to tinker in the house, (doing Thanksgiving here) and get a start on some modified Christmas shopping.
My girlfriend and I did craft shows and thrifts today – and she went CRAZY!!! She bought, and bought, and then bought some more! I loved watching her have such a good time – she has had a rough year. I bought one thing – a fabulous chair in the thrift. I love this!! At the craft show, I was very careful not to buy what I could make myself, or what I didn’t really get hid over the head with. Anyway, I picked up this dining room chair for $20. Once I clean my DR, I’ll show you how it looks!
Hope you’re having a great weekend! As always, thanks for stopping over to see me! I hope to be back before Thanksgiving, but just in case I don’t – I hope you and yours have a most wonderful holiday.
There is another side of the flu epidemic – flu clinics!! Here is southeast PA, the vaccine has arrived and the agency where I work has been contracted to supply the nurses – like, 200 RNs!! As the manager, I have spent the entire week driving all over two huge counties checking in at every site. Very organized, but thousands of kids coming thru each school site in a just a few hours. Very organized, very orderly, very crazy!! I was at 5 different sites just today, driving over 100 miles in the nor’easter – yesterday was the same. I haven’t been able to keep my eyes open after 9p this week – and my legs – OH MY!! Sore!! (ok, so I am an old lady!!)But, the good news is that I was able to get my seasonal flu shot on Monday, and my H1N1 shot on Wednesday – what a relief. I’m lucky that as an RN, I was able to get my H1N1 vaccine – the counties may not be be able to do the adult general population until mid December. So, that’s why I haven’t even been able to check out all of your blogs this week – just exhausted! Even my laundry basket full of folded clean clothes has been sitting in my living room for 4 days. Maybe now I’ll be able to get things back in order, because next week… I start it all over again!!!
I wanted to show you some of the things I got when I went up to Emmaus last weekend. I mentioned some firkins…..
How much do I love this firkin??? What a bargain at $10. Already primmed in mustard. And how about this one….
(before)
and after….
And, let’s see… what else… check these out holders for $10 a piece. Can you believe it??
The textiles were an Aunt Daisy purchase, but the 2 small holders (already primmed!) were at the antique mall down the street from Aunt Daisy’s that was telling you about. The seller is moving to Virginia, so everything in her booth was 50% off. Great timing on my part, eh? Will show you them again once I get my decorating started…. and I’m thinking about what to do with the textiles.
This is what the old furrball does while I’m working my butt off… what a life. LOL.
Good luck to everyone doing craft shows this weekend… we’re having some awful weather here with wind and rain, but there is a flea market down the street tomorrow morning that I just may have to visit!
Hope you’all have a great weekend. I just want to get some rest!
Saturday was a perfect day to take a ride to Emmaus and stop in at Aunt Daisy’s – my favorite shop in the world! I talk about Aunt Daisy’s all of the time, but seeing is the only way to really show you the beauty of this farmhouse-shop. So grab the drool rags, blogbuds!
First of all, it was a perfect November day today. Crisp, sunny, golden day. This is what the shop looks like from outside the barn, where the have sale items.
A lovely small town, in Lehigh County. Is there any wonder why we love the Fall?
Before you get to the shop, there is a small outside structure, which ‘back in the day’ was a smoke house as well as where baked goods were made. Now – prim and early American goodies!!!
Inside…. the most wonderful furniture and accessories…. most of the rooms decorated as they would have looked way back when….
What a perfect bedroom!
I loved both of these items – esp.. the old St Nick!
drooling yet??
Want more??
I love these textiles, and I picked up one or two.
Finally, I went up to the attic where there is MORE!!!
OK, I’ll take one of these, and two of those….
Is this perfection, or what?? So well made, too.
In my next post, I’ll show you what I just had to bring home! And, I stopped at a cute but HUGE ‘antique’ mall where I priced up some very reasonably priced goodies..including a firkin! Gotta keep you coming back, right?"?LOL!
Hope you’re all having a great weekend! I’ll be doing some gardening at my mom’s today – uh oh, I’ll need Ben-Gay after that! LOL. Hope you enjoyed the pics!
