Fun in the mail!

Recently, Elizabeth, of 'My Simple Journey' blog, hosted a Christmas stocking swap. Today, mine arrived in the mail, from Denise. It is such a pretty deep red stocking and was filled with little wrapped treasures!

I had fun opening the gifts, which included printed tissues, a note pad, a sachet, embroidery floss and needles, a knitted dishcloth, a candle and stacked snowman boxes full of candy. Thank you, Denise! :o) What sweet thoughtful goodies!

Also in the mail came a suprise package from Elizabeth herself. A box of Belgian chocolate seashells with praline filling. YUM! According to my calcuations from reading the box, I think there will be the perfect amount to count down to Christmas (one a day until the big day). That will be a fun chocolate advent for me! :o) The card so cutely states: "I thought you might need this to get through the next month. Chocolate solves all life's problems, according to Dave." LOL Thank you, Elizabeth! I will really enjoy these!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' brings back fond memories to me. I remember as a little girl, my older siblings teaching the song to me. I remember belting out loudly on 'five golden rings' part, as I'm sure most children enjoy doing. The adults always got a giggle out of it, which is probably partly why I kept singing it like that. Of course whenever I hear the song, it takes me back to those childhood times.

As an adult myself, when our daughters were young (pre-school and elementary age) we heard about providing the twelve days of Christmas for other people. We chose a sweet elderly lady, who lived not too far from us, was crippled and lived alone. We clued her family in on it, so they would know what we were doing.

We worked ahead of time as much as possible in planning out what we would be taking to her on each of the twelve days leading up to Christmas. Then each day, beginning on December 13, we stopped by her house and delivered a surprise to her. The original idea, of course, is to knock on your recipient's door and leave each gift anonymously, but with an elderly person who is not able to answer the door easily, we chose to hand deliver. The blessing in doing it that way, was she got company every day!

Obviously I can't remember what each thing was, but the idea is you give the same number of items that match the day of the song. Examples:

First Day of Christmas: One Christmas cookie
Second Day of Christmas: Two gloves
Third Day of Christmas: Three tree ornaments
Etc....

On the last day, the 24th, Christmas Eve, when you deliver your twelve items, you also give a wrapped gift that they can open the next morning on Christmas day.

All I can say, is the blessings were amazing as we took part in this! To see the joy in Ethel's eyes each day when we would stop by with some little surprises for her, was something we will never forget. Some days we could stay and visit with her longer than others. It was a blessing to all of us, and it created a friendship that bonded us together in a way we would have not had otherwise! It taught our little daughters the importance of sharing with others, and focused even more on elderly people.

Our dear little friend has been gone for years, but every time I drive by her old house, I can see her little bent and crooked body standing in her kitchen with a gleam in her eyes and a smile on her face as we presented the days' treasures to her. That memory will continue to live forever in my mind.

I'm sure some of you have participated in 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' in this way, but if you have not, I encourage you to do so. Pick a single lonely person, or a family in need and get out there and bless lives! You will never regret it!

Have fun!

Dear Hearts

Thank you, Dear Hearts, for all your kind words recently. It means so much to know that friends care and take the time to say so. I really appreciate your prayers for my husband, and we will continue to be comforted and strengthened by them! His surgery is in a little over 2 weeks, so I will be busy trying to get ready for Christmas early, so I can just take care of him once he's back home. Thanks again for caring!

Blessings and Smiles,
Janice

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Friends,

I am taking this time to wish you a lovely and blessed Thanksgiving coming up soon! I am going to take a bit of a break and will be back when time allows.

To be honest, I am feeling down (something I don't do often), but my husband's health is not well and I'm struggling with putting on a happy face to blog with. He will have major back surgery Dec. 11 and we are trying to finish up on some of our in-home projects before that time, so we are also very busy.

He has had two surgeries on his neck over the past several years, and will have a second back surgery soon. They will be removing all the hardware from his back , replacing it and extending the fusion. He has degenerative bone disease and he is living on strong pain medication day and night. It is so hard to see someone you love, someone that is so cheerful and always putting others first, suffer so badly. I'm just having a really hard time with it lately.

I do have so much to be thankful for, and give God the glory for the many blessings I have in this life.

I would so much appreciate your prayers for Jack, for some kind of pain relief and a successful surgery. Thank you.

God bless each one of you!

Janice

Vintage Stockings

I found these felt stockings recently at a thrift store and fell in love with them. Some loving hands long ago stitched every little detail on them. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed a piece of masking tape with a name on it, on the back of each one... 'Ursula' and 'Joshua'. I've decided to leave the names on them, in honor of the love this person must have had for these two....probably her grandchildren. If only they could talk. If you'd like to click on the photo and enlarge it, you can see some of the detail work.

Sunday Afternoon Walk

One of my garden friends that used to sit in my mom's yard and now belongs to me. What would you call him? I think he looks like one of the seven dwarves.

The only flower I have left blooming....a yellow snapdragon.

The metal sundial is full of water from the last time it rained.

Henny Penny taking a dust bath in a pile of dirt.

Little stone rabbit nestled in the fallen pine needles.

A baby volunteer oak tree will be cozy and safe this winter in a bed of pine needles.

Even with autumn here and signs of winter near, I still found a small Queen Anne's Lace thriving, though most of them are dried up and brown.

Near the Queen Anne's Lace was a Dandelion in stages of going to seed and growing new flowers. Dandelion tea, anyone?

Garden Notes

Our Japanese Maple tree amazes me with it's beauty every autumn.
Look closely and you will see the little fairy family!

Fairy princess gathering leaves.

A cozy spot surround by violet leaves and moss.

Warmth behind the Azalea bush.

Last year our little Sweetgum tree had all the same color of leaves on it. This year, it is two-toned with burgandy and shades of greens.

Violets loving the cold weather as they make themselves known spreading and climbing along the stone steps.

A close-up of two violet varieties growing in harmony together.

Christmas cards of friendship

I would love to celebrate the friendships I've made here in blog land, by exchanging Christmas cards with any of you who would like to. It's such a magical time of year and the tradition of sending cards wrapped in love is something I treasure. If you are interested in doing this with me, please contact me (my email address is available on my blog), and in the subject line put something about Christmas cards. :o) I don't want to delete an email from an unfamiliar address that might be one of you! *wink*. Thank you!

Set your clocks back!

Ahhh, we get an extra hour of sleep tonight! Sweet dreams!

Time is free,
and it is priceless.
You can't own it,
but you can use it.
You can't keep it,
but you can spend it.
Once you've lost it,
you can never get
it back ...

Harvey MacKay

In the bedroom

I have spent nearly the entire day in our bedroom doing some deep cleaning and deciding where to hang some things. First I hung a quilted sampler on a peg board already hanging by my side of the bed. My mother made this wallhanging years ago for me. On the hooks above the quilt rod, I have a garland of dried berries strung along. Above it, we hung the wooden sign 'Always Kiss Me Goodnight'. Now, when I say 'we' hung things up today, it was really my dh (with me supervising) and since it is his most UN-favorite chore to do for me, I don't ask him very often (giggle). Today, though, was the day!

Next, I moved a picture my daughter gave me a few years ago (a sampling of different vintage clothing items) on the wall to the left of the door, and an antique picture of a shepherdess that my dh bought for me ages ago, above the door.

Here is a close-up of one of the pictures. There is a strange glare on it from the camera flash.

Next, we hung up an old mirror my mother had given me about 20 years ago. Also joined on this wall with it, are a wooden peg board to hang my purses and bags on (thrift store buy), and two cute little wooden vintage shoes I got at thrift store the other day for .50 cents each. The umbrella is a Monet impression umbrella I bought at Victoria Trading Co. a couple of years ago. The rocking chair is one we bought from Cracker Barrel in Idaho about 7 years ago. (We don't have Cracker Barrels on the west coast). The shawl hanging on the back of the rocker was made by my dh's grandma who recently passed away at the age of 95. The crazy quilt pillow was made by my MIL, and though it is in need of some repair (thanks to a beloved puppy), it is still pretty. The bags hanging on the rocker are some misc. bags I've made.

Close up photo.

So my side of the bedroom has a new look and the cost was nothing...just a little rearranging and creativity and an almost willing husband to help it all happen! :o)

Keeping a beautiful home

Recently I've been reading some of my homekeeping books.

I have finished 'House Warming' by Emilie Barnes. It is a delightful book and I felt like I could just pick it up and read it for a second time immediately. It is all about making your home a welcoming place for family (and self) to return to after a long day, as well as friends stopping by or those who visit less often. Our homes need to be a welcoming haven to everyone, as if our entire lives were centered around that one person walking through the door. The author gives tips on decorating, displaying, giving our homes a warm, cozy and welcoming spirit. I learned a lot and it really made me think about the topic of hospitality in a new light. It is so wonderful to step into someone's home and smell the fragrance of a candle or something baking in the oven, to see a vase of flowers, things arranged pleasantly and so on. Even if our houses get cluttered (and believe me, mine does!), we can have a spirit of hospitality and make things as pleasing to the eye as possible, which sends the message: 'You are important and I want you to be relaxed and comfortable in my home!'. I highly recommend this book and will most definately buy more of Emilie's books. I have already set to work in both bathrooms adding some special and personal touches to the counter spaces.

The other two books are by Alexandra Stoddard. The first is 'Living a Beautiful Life', which I found at a thrift store about a year ago. The second is 'The Decoration of Houses', which was given to me by a friend. I am bouncing back and forth between the two and find them both very enjoyable to read. The front cover of one of them describes them perfectly: '...ways to add elegance, order, beauty and joy to every day of your life'. I need all the help I can get. While I love being surrounded by beauty, and always have, I do tend to struggle with creative ways to battle the clutter. With our house being on the smallish side and overflowing with people and two dogs, well, it can get a little overwhelming at times. I feel confident that I am going to continue to be inspired by books and authors such as these mentioned and am looking forward to each step of the way!

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady - November

A beautiful month in 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady', with leaves, toadstools and birds. It is so pleasant to step into the life of the author, seeing what was around her through her drawings and reading her words. It's a connection with the past.

'These early November hours

That crimson the creeper's leaf across

Like a splash of blood, intense, abrupt,

O'er a shield; else gold from rim to boss

And lay it for show on the fairy-cupped

Elf-needled mat of moss.'

R. Browning

Autumn inside!

I bought this adorable glass mosaic pumpkin a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to set it out as part of my fall decor in the house. A few days ago I purchased this pretty mum and placed in it and put it on the kitchen counter.

Stacked fabric pumpkins from last year and a ceramic scarecrow that a friend made for me many years ago.

My mother-in-law made this dried floral arragement in a beautiful rustic basket. I carefully store it after the autumn season is over each year, and it always comes back to the table looking great. The table cloth is vintage and the first one I've ever seen with orange mums displayed. It has a few little holes in it, but that's fine with me. I enjoy things which have been well-loved and well-used! I found it at a thrift store a few months ago.

A close up of the table cloth

I have so enjoyed seeing your homes and porches decorated for fall, I thought I would share a little bit of what I have displayed as well.

Happy November to all!