The Stockings

 The stockings are hung on the stair rail with care.  Because the mantels too small and too close to the fire. 

Their ready for candy ,some nuts, a round  juicy orange, a peppermint stick and a blushing red apple.  They bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart just seeing hanging awaiting a few smiling faces on this Christmas morn.  Sometimes the small moments are the best.  Enjoy your small moments this Christmas Eve

An Angel

An Angel of The Lord Came Down

And Glory Shown Around. 

A Blessed Christmas to and yours.

Santa Is Coming

Santa is coming!  It's almost time.

He is on his way!

I made him some cookies just today!

But I'm really not ready so I will have to scurry.  Wishing all of you the most wonderful of Christmas Seasons. 

Lacy Lampshade

A couple of weeks ago I unearthed a basket of lace trim I bought at an estate sale.  I had no purpose in mind just thought so much beautiful trim shouldn't go to waste.  Tonight I sat down and in about an hour turned it into this.

Can you guess what it is?

Why it's a lampshade of course.  Look at the soft glow peeking through all the different textures and fabrics. 

I just wrapped all my ribbon and trim around the frame of a lampshade and tied it at the bottom.  I really like the way the dangling ends give it such a whimsical look.  Wouldn't this look lovely in a little girls room or a guest room.

To think it all started with just a wire frame and some found trim.   This is a very easy project.  There is no gluing, no sewing and no pattern.  With different trim I think the looks you could get are endless.

Stand, Table, Chest?

I just ran this cute little guy down to my antique booth At Time Goes By in Greenwood, Mo.   But as I was writing the tag I couldn't decide what to call it.  Is it a stand, a bedside table or a small chest?

Anyway I wish I had taken a before photo.  I found him buried in a damp basement at an estate sale.  All the paint had peeled off the sides and legs from the damp.  I brought it home and used a putty knife and sand paper to get rid of the peeling paint.  Gave it three coats of an off-white paint and used a hand sander to distress it a bit.  When I sanded it some very pretty blue popped through that I wasn't aware was there.  But I was so pleased with the result and couldn't have planned it better.  Love it when that happens.

Now I hope someone likes it as much as I do and takes it home for Christmas even if I don't know what to call this piece of furniture.

Silver Birds

When I went home to clean out my Mother's house I found some thing I remembered being in the house from the time I was a small child.  These two silver pheasants were one of the few things I brought home with me.  My Mother always kept them sitting on the dining room table or in a hutch.

The birds are fairly heavy and appear to be silver.  They are salt and pepper shakers and to fill them you screw off the heads.  I have never seen anything like them in any antique shops or flea markets that I have visited (and I have visited quite a few). Has anyone else ever seen similar salt and pepper shakers?

I decided to use them as part of my Christmas decoration this year.

They are sitting at the base of my Christmas tree nestled in among some  red Christmas balls, poinsettia, and fir branches.  I have to say they look like they are enjoying their part in this holiday season.  I know my mother would enjoy that I have given them a home and am using them this year.

Lampshade

You know how sometimes you get really bored with the things in your house.  I have felt this way for sometime about the lamps in my living room.  Looking around in stores I felt that even in discount stores it was to much for my pocket book to purchase new.  So I found several old brass lamps at a local thrift store.  First I painted the lamp with hammered bronze paint. 

I found some wired burlap ribbon online at Crate and Barrel.

I made three roses out of the ribbon to glue on the lampshade once it was finished.

I cut ribbon in strips to fit the shade and glued it on with fabric glue.  This was a spur of the moment project and if I did it again I would buy some clothes pins to clip at the top and the bottom as I glued.

I couldn't find my glue gun so I clipped a flower to the shade until I find it.  I almost like the flower so much I may forget the roses I made.  For under $15.00 I have a new lamp and shade.  Have two more lamps to go so will let you know what they look like soon.

Seventy Years Ago

Two momentous events occurred seventy years ago today.  What must of you will remember if you are old enough is the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Secondly, I was born on that day seventy years ago.  I woke up today thankful that I can still jump out of bed and can do all things I still want to do.  I  may do them slower and for shorter periods of time.  My second though was I will not get a birthday card from my mother this year.  She was always so faithful in remembering my birthday and pointing out how old was getting.  And she wasn't of course.

No special plans except going to my oldest daughter's for dinner with some family and friends.

Hope you all have a good day and remember the men and women who gave their life for our freedom on this day so long ago.

Almost

 Thanksgiving day came with much ado.  Thirty seven guest so stuffed and so happy left little time for the next big event.  But now I have to hurry because Santa is due.  Christmas has arrived in spots and in places.

Remember my friend who I couldn't decide if he should go or should stay.  He is now dressed for the anticipated holiday.  The tree is aglow and looking so pretty.

 I popped a few deco in a little small box, found a red candle and Poinsettia.

The angels are happy keeping watch over it all.

Now I've only one job left I must do.  It seems fall still spills over the table in the hall.

Well it's almost done.

Not Quite Yet!

With temps in the mid 60's today I knew if I wanted to get some final yard work done before old man winter was breathing his icy breath down my neck I needed to get busy.  We have had several frosts so I assumed all my plants and garden had gone to sleep for the season.  Under a pile of leaves I found this plant happily blooming and looking as if it was Spring.  What a nice gift in the middle of November.

While pulling up tomato vines I found these three fellows snuggled

down close to the ground under all the dead foliage. 

So I guess it's not quite winter yet.  But probably tomorrow.

Bob & I

I lost my baby brother early this morning to that ugly monster cancer.  He has put up a brave fight since he was diagnosed in late April.  He did his chemo, radiation, had most of his stomach and esophagus removed but that monster still invaded the liver and lungs.  I was twelve when he was born so he sometimes felt more like my child than my brother.  He would have been 59 in March I will miss he so much he was such a good, gentle man who loved his garden and cooking for his family.

This is a photo of him and me when I went home for my Mother's funeral.  Rest now dear brother.

Have You Ever

Have you ever done something so stupid you didn't want to call anyone and tell them you needed help?  This weekend while hubby was chasing the invisible deer through the forest (they must be invisible as he didn't bring one home) I decided to move the furniture around to make it more cozy by the fireplace.  You may have read my previous post where I discussed the fact hubby thought my cute bench wasn't made for relaxing winter evenings.  I decide the love seat in the computer room would make a much nicer seat for fireplace viewing.  If it goes in a room it has to come out - right!  I even measured all the openings to make sure the love seat would fit through the door the way I planned.  I removed all the legs just to be on the safe side.  Through the first door no problem.  Second door in the hall not quite a good fit.  I shoved, I puffed, and said a few not so nice wordds.  But it would not budge.  It was stuck tight.  I finally got up enough courage to call my SIL and asked him if he could stop by and help me a few minutes.  He was very gracious and didn't laugh too long or loud.  We had to lift it straight up in the air until it touched the ceiling because the door frame was 1 1/2" smaller at the bottom of the door then at the top.  Who would of thought?

Here is the poor love seat stuck in the hall tilted on it's side.

This is my door frame after we finally squeezed the love seat through. It will need some serious sanding and painting before hubby comes home.  I guess sometimes it doesn't matter how well you plan it just doesn't work. 

The love seat looks great in it's new place in front of the fire.  Guess I will have to pour hubby a glass of wine and build a fire as soon as he gets home.  Maybe he won't notice the door frame.

First Impressions

I first saw this young man at an estate sale.  As I passed him by I thought how haughty and regal his demeanor.  Certainly not the kind of personality that would fit into my casual life style.

On my second walk through,  I thought you know he would look nice in some one's home that has a beautiful foyer or sitting on a buffet in a formal dining.  So perhaps I should take him home and find him a fitting home through my antique booth as he does have a certain air.

Well, he came home with me and found a home in my living room until he could go to the booth.  As the days went by I noticed that perhaps he wasn't really haughty but probably just a contemplative man.  As you can see he didn't even protest when I deck his immaculate clothing with a few fall leaves to celebrate the season.  So for now he will grace my humble home.  And on second thought maybe first impressions aren't  always the most accurate ones.

Decisions

This Spring while I was doing a little fluffing to make the house look a little lighter and more springlike I brought one of my garden benches inside.  I folded a couple of quilts to soften the wooden slats, covered it with a spring green throw and added a couple of pillows.   

It sat there all summer looking cute but we didn't use it much as it faced the fireplace.  A couple of weeks ago I decided it should look a little more like winter and fall so I headed to one of my favorite thrift stores to see what I could find.

Look what I found in my favorite color. RED!  I found all this bundled in a plastic bag for under $5.00.  It is a bed set for a twin bed.  It included a bed skirt, two pillow shams, a round table cloth, a small square tablecloth and three pillows.  I cut some foam to add to the quilts as you could still feel the slats even with all my padding.  I was so excited by the color it added to the room.  But last night as we sat watching our first fire of the season my hubby said.  "You know this bench isn't very comfortable I don't think we are going to like sitting on it all winter."  So what do I do?  Let him suffer all winter because I love the look or find somewhere else for my treasure? 

Just A Peek

Thought I would give you just a peek at some of things in my booth.

 I liked this fallish looking basket filled with dishes in autum colors.Included is a tablecloth in case anyone wants to go on a picnic.

 This side has a lovely picture with brightly colored fruit and flowers.  An animal print throw and pillows blend with the colors nicely.

This is the cutest little side chair.  It would be perfect in a bedroom or as an entrance hall seat.

I painted two wrought iron charis a lovely lime green and reupholstered the seats in a leafy lime green and turquoise pattern.  I also painted a small half table to match.  This morning someone bought one of the chairs and the table.  I had envisioned them around a small round patio table so I thought people would want two chairs.  The lady said she wanted it for a desk chair for her daughter's room. Now I hope someone else  is looking for one lone chair. 

One Down

I have so many things I still want to do in my lifetime I will probably never get to do them all.  But last weekend I got to cross one thing off my list.  Several times in the last two years I have been slated to take a hot air balloon ride.  But the weather never was right for take off.  Finally on Sat. morning I got the call.  What do you mean meet me at the airport at 5:00 a.m..

We were guests at a magnificent sunrise.  The weather was perfect in the low 70's with a small skiff of mist floating just above the dew laden grass.

Oh look the pilot and balloon are here  Well,  I am not sure I am flying in something that comes in that small of a package. 

This is my hubby and oldest son.  Can you tell they have never done this before.  Just waiting for instructions.

OK, the next thing we do is light a fire to heat up the air the fan is blowing into the balloon.

That didn't take long at all!

The view is exciting from up here and the reflection of the balloon in the Lily pad pond is breathtaking.  The sun is warm on our shoulders and it is fun to wave to all the envious people below who have come out watch us float by. 

Wonder if they would invite me to coffee if I dropped in.

Well it looks like when it's time to land you just pick a nice backyard.

All this really has to back in that bag.

This is the top of the balloon.  It reminded me of a giant spider web.  So graphic too.

Took a lot of assets to get all the air out of the balloon.

This is my granddaughter M.  She really enjoyed her first balloon ride and is taking a little rest before we load the balloon.

This is our pilot Becky Petrehn and the granddaughter.  If you look closely at my granddaughter's hands you can see the leaves she captured as we flew low enough to touch the tree tops.  If you would like to have a balloon adventure contact Becky at Balloon Ad-Ventures.  913-9158150 is her phone number.  She is a

 great pilot and fun too,

Well one dream down only a thousand to go.