A START ON CHRISTMAS

I'm finally getting a slow start on the Christmas decorating.  I couldn't decide which direction to go; so by default, I'm continuing last year's theme:  Tradition, Plaid, Nature, and some Vintage Farmstyle thrown in!

 I doubt my amaryllis blooms will last until Christmas, but they are so pretty with the pine cones and feathers.

 The red bucket is one of several wooden buckets I've accumulated over the years.  It usually holds my clothespins for transport to the clothesline.  The candle holder is a disc spacer from the farm equipment salvage yard.

I'm joining the following parties - please, check them out for a lot of inspiration for your Christmas decorating.

The Vintage Farmhouse for Creative Things Thursday

No Minimalist Here for Thursday Open House

Delightful Order for Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

The Dedicated House for Make it Pretty Monday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday Treasures

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday

Knick of Time Interiors for Knick of Time Tuesday

Vintage on a Dime for Welcome Home Wednesday

Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Old Time Farmhouse for Farmstyle Christmas Decor on Mon. 12/3

Fishtail Cottage for Natural Christmas Decor on Tues. 12/11

Have a Daily Cup for Vintage Christmas Decor on Thurs. 12/13

Southern Hospitality for Christmas Vignettes on Tues. 12/11

Savvy Southern Style for Christmas Vignettes on Sun. 12/2

WEATHER, THOUGHTS ON SNOWBIRDING, AND AN AMARYLLIS

I occasionally need to do a post that is all over the place -- today is the day---

"Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.  Red sky at night, sailors delight."

Amazing photo taken by granddaughter, Caitlin

Our weather has certainly been delightful -- in the 70s most days, which is unusual here in late November.  However, we definitely need some moisture.  THINK SNOW!!!

And, thinking of snow; my friend, Jan, and her husband are snowbirds.  They spend six months of the year (Summer and Fall) here in Colorado, then they head south in their travel trailer for six months in Texas and Arizona.  They love it, have a grand time and are always anxious to hit the road when the middle of November rolls around!  

I'm afraid I just couldn't be a snowbird.  There are just too many things I would miss about not being at home in Colorado, including the following: 

#1 - To me, there is nothing better than a Colorado winter.  Sure it occasionally gets cold and snows; but within a few hours the sun comes out and it is glorious!    

#2 - I'm spoiled and lazy.  I don't want to spend six months without my dishwasher, washer, dryer, and recliner!

#3 - Even though our house is not huge, we do have two bathrooms plus there is room enough to have time apart.  

#4 - I would miss our local church home.  There is something comforting about knowing what our routine is every Sunday morning.

#5 - Even though I complain about cleaning house, I would miss my stuff.   

#6 -  I need to be home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays - I don't want to miss any available time with our family. Our son is close enough that he comes to visit for a couple days whenever he is on a school break.  And, our daughter and grandchildren live within a couple of miles from us and they pop in frequently.   I don't want to miss a single silly moment of that. 

I don't think I'm cut out to be gone from home for too long.  I do enjoy a vacation for 2-3 weeks, but not six months.  How about you?  Could you snowbird?

Before Jan left, she gave me this amaryllis for my birthday.  It sure has been enjoyable watching the blooms unfold.  What a wonderful reminder at the beginning of this joyful season of God's plan for everything !

Thanks, Jan, and have a great trip!

Join with me in checking out these weekly blog parties:
Little Red House for Mosaic Monday
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday Treasures
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday

A PIE FOR THANKSGIVING

When I got married 54 years ago, I didn't know how to cook a thing.  My mother never wanted anyone in HER kitchen making a mess, so I had never even made cookies.  I was well prepared to clean house, do laundry, sew, collect dishes, etc. etc. -- but cooking -- no!  I think that my future mother-in-law was worried about her son's survival, because she gave me this Betty Crocker's cookbook at my bridal shower.  

 So, the first week of marriage in September 1958, I set out to teach myself how to cook from this book.  It told me with detailed instructions how to boil an egg, make gravy, and even a 3-picture layout on "Know Your Raisins".  Since I was always good at doing mathematical word problems, I was off and running.  By Thanksgiving, I was ready to make a pie.  The first one was a pumpkin from the recipe on the pumpkin can - not so great, but passable.  The next pie I made was an apple using the following recipe from the cookbook.  A Hit! See that blue star - I put that on the recipe page back in 1958 to indicate that this was a recipe to repeat.

 I now prefer this variation of the basic apple pie shown just below the original in the book.

The butter/brown sugar/flour crumb topping adds just the right amount of caramel gooeyness!

From the the wear and tear on the cookbook, it looks like I've finally taught myself how to cook.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

CHANGE IS GOOD???

I thrive on change!  But after living in this small house for 15 years, there isn't too much we haven't already changed that was feasible.  Sure, I would love to knock down more walls, build a stacked-stone fireplace -- maybe add on 1000 square feet.  But, at our stage of life, none of that type of expense can be justified. So, I have to be satisfied with little changes, such as the following.

I've shown this wardrobe that's in our dining room in previous posts.

 It has been holding part of my dish obsession.

 Recently, I've missed having my quilts out as they have been stored in a dark closet for several years.  Light can be very destructive to cotton fabrics over long periods of time.  Now that we have changed out our old windows for those that block UV rays, I decided that the quilts deserved to be seen in the light of day again.

 Maybe it's a LITTLE overkill.

O.K., maybe 63 quilts is a LOT of overkill!  I can always put the curtains back up on the doors. 

(And I didn't even get out the bed-size quilts.)

I'm partying again at the following:
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday Treasures
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
No Minimalist Here for Thursday Open House Party
Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday

NEWEST ACQUISITION

Things keep finding their way into our home.  Things I never knew I wanted -- things I never knew still existed!

The other day on his way back from visiting his 98-year-old mother, Bob stopped at an antique store in the town where we grew up.  This store is hardly ever open, but just happened to be this day.  On a shelf in the backroom was this old milk pail.  Nothing too exciting, EXCEPT that the name crudely painted on it was the name of my grandmother, Mrs. I. F. Haines!

 Back in the day, we never had milk cows on the farm.  The farm/ranch was a large operation of beef cattle and sheep.  So, Grandma had to fetch her raw milk from a local dairy.  Thus, the milk pail with her name.

 The dealer said that he had bought the pail at one of two different auctions that my Dad had held years ago.

They were so formal back then with her married name on a lowly milk pail.  She was always Mrs. Haines to everyone, but Grandma to me!

I'll be joining the following blog parties.  Stop by these blogs to check out all of the inspiration provided.

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday Treasures

Knick of Time for Knick of Time Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

Vintage on a Dime for Welcome Home Wednesday

Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

ANOTHER WOOL PILLOW

With all of the political stuff  -- to say nothing of the endless baseball and football games -- on TV recently; I've needed some handwork to do in the evenings to keep my sanity.   Bob usually controls the remote!  So, I started another wool applique project for a pillow.  I really didn't intend for it to be a Christmas design, but this is what it ended up to be.

 I used scraps of recycled wool from Goodwill that were left over from previous projects.

 I've been asked if my pillows are for sale; but, sorry no.  I'm terrible at production sewing -- once the prototype is finished, I'm ready to move on to something else.  There aren't any patterns available either --  I just make them up as I go.  For years, I made quilt patterns for publication in books and magazines; and now, that I'm retired from doing that, I don't want to think about if something is patternable, etc. etc. There are some advantages to being old and retired.

Previous wool applique projects can be seen here and here.
I'm off to Goodwill to find a suitable garment to recycle for my next project -- there's still a lot of football (plus, now basketball) on television to endure!

Check out the following blogs for inspiration.  They never disappoint!
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
The Vintage Farmhouse for Creative Things Thursday
No Minimalist Here for Thursday Open House
 Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special