Rainy Saturday Fun

We had a rainy Saturday today; drenching rains. I wonder how much snow it would have amounted to had it not been rain? I'm waiting for our first big snow but not toooo big! 

Now that the Christmas decorations are packed away, I've been rearranging things but do you ever have certain things in your home that you will NOT change? Its almost like they can't be moved or the whole house would go into chaos! Silly, I know! but there are some things I will not move...I do love to move lots of other things around though and I feel like it gives them a new life. 

Look at this awesome Santa candy mold I received as gift! I don't want to put it away! I may leave it out! 

I didn't put my red truck away either! Instead I took out the sack that said "North Pole" and added some shreds and chickens! It goes perfect along side my another favorite gift I received of the flag:

Even though it was raining, my daughter and I went for brunch in town today with my son's girlfriend and her Mom. I love to be with them and we have a lot in common which makes it even better. What an awesome entrée I had! Nutella & Banana Stuffed Crepes! I'm not kidding. Nutella heaven!After our brunch, Caitlin and I went to Hobby Lobby. Christmas items were cleared out and I wasn't really looking for any of that now but was looking for and found some great homespun style material.

What  great selection. Above is what I came home with. I just got a new sewing machine and now I can get started on some projects. I got a few other things including some decorations for my chicken coop and artificial flowers for the front door basket and other spots. That store is a wonderland. Tobacco baskets of every size were there. I also saw those animal prints I see many people talking about:

I also bought this metal bird wreath. I bought it for my parlor room but so far I hung it in the kitchen. I need to find a place for it. At 40% off I couldn't pass it up.

Well, that's about it for me tonight! I hope you have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow!

Hello 2019

Good Morning! Here's what 2019 looks like outside my window this morning! Enjoying the glow of my lights and my coffee before everyone wakes up!

I read that we shouldn't make New Year's Resolutions; that the word just doesn't sit well with people and ultimately we fail. We should make New Year's commitments! The word commitment doesn't give us much wiggle room to fail. Well, resolution or commitment, whatever you want to call it, begins today! 

So do you have any? I have a few! One is to sew better! I just ordered a new sewing machine for simple projects and I am "committing" to using it as much as I can!

I am also "resolved" in keeping this blog! I didn't realize how much I missed writing it!

I am "determined" to get this little guy in to my house! This is Salem, and he eats and sleeps here all day and all night but panics when I bring him inside the house and won't stay! I'm an old pro at rescuing cats and this guy is a challenge but I will do it!! He is so affectionate and loves our family but its the fear of the indoors that is keeping him from staying in!

Another commitment is to learn more of the old style Italian recipes my Grandmothers made. I prepare all the meals for my Mom who will be 89 this year and I enjoy making some meals that I know are ones she enjoyed many, many years ago or ones that she made before she stopped being able to prepare her own. Some old school recipes! I've been doing really well with it but I can do even better!

Of course, there is more reading to be done. I still read quite a bit especially my Amish fiction books but even more would be better. 

I want to do a great job as table leader for Ladies Bible Study at Church. I hope I can meaningfully relay the word of God through our study to the amazing women at my table. I didn't expect to take on this task but God is leading me to accept and I said yes. My blessings are abundant.

Time to get this day started! Happy New Year!

The Curtain Falls on 2018

Are you ready for the new year? Are you ready to look upon 2019 as a clean slate and a new beginning? I try to do that every year and approach it with a refreshed attitude. New adventures, new friends, new things to learn, new things to look forward to. It's also a time of reflection upon those we lost, or things we had planned to accomplish and never quite got there. Or thinking one thing would happen and another did instead! Remember God has a plan for us all. Its actually every exciting if you think about it! Every year we have a fresh start. Tomorrow I will tell you some of my plans and wishes for the new year. 

My tree had to come down on Friday. Sadly. It was dead; "dead as a doornail" as Charles Dickens says. Not the needle dropping kind of dead but the "you could snap off a branch very easily" type of dry. The gingerbread tree in the foyer will be up for a few more days but as much as I love (and I DO LOVE) to decorate for Christmas, I also don't mind removing it after it's over and, like the "new year" having a fresh start in the house too. 

So with cup of coffee in hand, I begin. As my husband works repainting some of our rooms and reorganizing our basement now that there is new carpet, it's a team effort of starting 2019 off to a fresh start! I find that when he is working on a project in our house, it become all encompassing.

 We'll finish in time for an early dinner out tonight and I'll be counting my blessings as we are enjoying our quiet evening. I hope your night is wonderful and your new year is wonderful!

Happy Holidays! Remember me?

Is anyone out there? Hello...I know its been a long time...is anyone  there to reconnect through blogging with me? :)  I have spent so much time working on my Facebook pages about Country Decorating, Amish and all the seasons that I sadly abandoned my blogging. If you'll have me, I'm here again....Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

So much has changed and so much has not! Life is interesting and fun and when I thought as my kids got older that the special times would be fewer because they are now "older" I was wrong! Life is joyful; my kids are my best friends. We are a happy foursome--Billy, me, our son Billy and our Caitlin. And more than two years ago we added another love to our bunch and that would be my son's girlfriend Brianna. She fits right in as does her wonderful family. 

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I especially enjoyed them this year because I started earlier! I made it a point to get things accomplished and ENJOY accomplishing them instead of feeling rushed and stressed. It made all the difference. Shopping earlier was key! I started during the Summer for the many that we exchange with.

I decorated slowly. Some each day. Adding some, moving it around...I will tell you it was perfect and I will do the same next year. 

I'm just waiting for our first snowfall. I love snow! Usually we would have already had a storm but we haven't seen any snow since right after Thanksgiving. I'm crossing my fingers. 

For now I thank you for reading my post and I hope you will come back once again! We all have so much to share!

Winter Recess Week

Happy President's Day! I hope you have the day off. School is closed all week for Winter Recess. Actually, it feels like Spring! Two weeks ago we had 20 inches of snow and today it's 60 degrees! I think we can be fooled into thinking that Winter is over though and as much as I enjoy Winter and the snow, I start to get a little anxious for the flowers and sunshine around now...Down came all the snowmen, snowflakes and anything else Winter related in decoration around my house. I put away the mittens that were across my windows:

and up went the St. Patrick's Day tree! I love St. Patrick's Day! And I'm so happy Easter is in April so that each holiday gets its own fair share of attention. I hate when I was mixing St. Patrick's Day décor with Easter bunnies!

Last weekend CAitlin had a Valentine themed party/sleepover at our house with six friends.

The girls had fun making crafts and delivering Valentines to each other because each Valentine was either a craft or a game so they had so much fun. My punch was a big hit. I tell you it's amazing the fun kids can have at just a simple party with no bells & whistles just punch, desserts and crafts. Throw in a sleeping bag and they have a ball.

I'm waiting in the mail for a few things I've ordered and I was so happy to see these awesome crows:

This lady makes some great country/primitive things and I also ordered two little mice sticking out of a boot from her. Can't wait to get them!I don't think I'll put the crows outside; I'm thinking I will put them perched somewhere in the house! But here's a funny story! My son came home with a huge box of cow related items for me! Someone was getting rid of it all and he couldn't pass it by!

A huge set of cow canisters, hooks, creamers, toothpick holders, and other décor. Some of it was still in the packages. What a surprise. What I'm not using, I found some homes for! It was fun just going through everything. And lastly, my husband on one of his trips to South Carolina stopped in a Cracker Barrel and brought me home this awesome light!

I just love him!  I put it on my kitchen counter! Well, I think that's about it....time to let the chickens out for a walk in the yard! They are loving this weather too. Too bad we'll probably have a blizzard next week! HAHAHA

Saturday!

Happy Saturday! I am about to go make some breakfast this morning with eggs from my chicken coop, but I first wanted to update the ole blog! Finally getting the house back in shape from after Christmas and I certainly don't rush too much doing that cause I love all the stuff! Can't wait till Christmas comes again! For now, Caitlin and I are planning her Valentine themed sleepover so it's all about the hearts right now!

Did anyone happen to notice that Easter is in April this year? I am so happy! When Easter is in March, I feel like it's too crunched together with St. Patrick's Day. Plus I like when Easter is in April cause then the weather is a little nicer and it makes me long for Spring and planting and all the fun of Springtime.

I haven't had too much time for crafting lately but I do have some projects I plan to start very soon such as a redo of a wooden window I have as a decoration and I hope to do some Easter crafts. I had signed up on another blog of someone I adore to participate in her Valentine swap but I withdrew as I just don't have the time right now to create anything worth sending someone! Between appointments for my son and Mom, my down time has been spent shopping and cleaning! I am working on a cool Charles Wysocki cross stitch picture though!

I love my Valentine tree this year. It's bigger and better than ever! Each year I add to it. I should start thinking about transforming it into an Easter tree... For now I am enjoying the glorious red and white lights. I have heart decorations and red and white candy ornaments. Here's what it looked like when it snowed!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! but not too much.......

I don't know if I showed this already. I have several kerosene heaters and this one had a glass body that unfortunately cracked :(     So I had to remove the glass a while back and I found this awesome clear covered jar in the thrift store and put a timer/batter candle in it so it still lights and added my pip berries, etc....but it was still missing something. When I went o PA recently I found this great stamped burlap and bought it. What do you think? It looks adorable in person and I'm pretty pleased with the change.

Enjoy your weekend!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Once again the holidays have gone way too fast! Happy that I taped my favorite Christmas movies on Hallmark so that I can watch them when I please. Glad that most of the cookies are gone now so I don't eat any more! It was a great Christmas and a lovely New Year's. We even had a party in between. Today I plan to take it all down and leave up the snow people and any Winter related stuff. Thinking of Valentine's Day!

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Before Christmas I got a few bargains on some old fashioned Christmas decorations from the thrift shop and just had a great holiday all the way around!

 Our party table for our mid Christmas Week party! Some wonderful friends and family.

A couple of gifts I received was this awesome reindeer from my niece Donna:

The scarf and runner were made for me by my son's girlfriend's Mom.

Some other gifts I got was a lot of country stuff for my house. Some great books. A basket of crafting supplies with a Michaels gift card. Candles! ...gosh I was really spoiled!

We had a nice dinner for New Year's at one of our favorite restaurants and guess what? I'll be eating the leftovers while I take down the Christmas stuff!

Here's a great set from Home Depot in case you didn't see it. It's a fairy garden for Winter! I chose gingerbread! I bought Santa Claus's village for a friend. I think they're adorable. I went back to get more and they were gone!

Thinking of Valentine's Day! Gonna set up my Valentine's tree after all this is packed up! Happy New Year everybody!