Christmas and After

There was no doubt that it would come and go fast. Feeling blessed that we were together for a little while.

The 22nd has a large star because that's Lester's birthday. They came that day and departed on the 25th for their drive back to Texas. Lauren dropped by on the 23rd on her way to Dyersburg to see her dad, returned for lunch on Christmas Eve, and had to leave Christmas Day afternoon for her flight back to Texas. We crammed a lot of memories into a short amount of time. 

Garrett and Gunner had girlfriends this year, and we enjoyed having Micah and Skylar. Wish four more could have been in the photo - Jason, Ryan, Justin, and Telsey.

The little ones added to the wonder of Christmas.

The big tree and all the ornaments are packed away. Memories remain. Thankful for the moments we captured on our cameras.

The house was very quiet Christmas Day afternoon with all the kids gone. Then we had a lovely visit from Lori and Cecil and two of their children Jakob and Jackson.  The rustic tree that Cecil made was a wonderful Christmas gift surprise. The brass deer and tiny lights complement the tree and make a quiet after Christmas scene. 

I wish you peaceful days as December winds down and joyful ones in the new year.

Hunting for Smalls

 It took some searching, but I was able to find tiny toys and keepsakes to put in the small stockings for Chloe, Kiera, Nick, and Lucas. I think Lucas will like his dinosaur ornament and jet plane. Nick has a Star Wars figure and steamboat pencil sharpener. The girls have trinket boxes to open with necklaces inside.

And of course, there's candy - Hershey's kisses, Tootsie Roll pop, and Lifesavers.

While looking for stocking stuffers I stopped to admire this vintage mirror.

Christmas ornaments were marked down, and three were so cheap and cute I knew they would be coming home. 

artist palette 

a painted spoon 

bag of popcorn

Our Christmas tree is full of ornaments and memories. This room becomes my favorite at Christmastime.

This bedroom is where I am now. The computer is off to one side. I wanted to show the open frame with the one star.

This last picture shows the mantel in our bedroom. To bed is what I need to do.

I am tired from housecleaning and running errands. Les and his family arrive  tomorrow afternoon. I will miss quiet times like tonight. But it will be wonderful to have little ones afoot and to witness their excitement over Christmas. 

Another Shopping Experience

My friend Kim and I spent Tuesday on the Covington Square and visited shop after shop. Oh, my goodness, there were so many Christmas sights in every store.

The first antique shop we visited had a talking Santa. Since we weren't expecting it to move and talk, it was a bit startling.

 At Upscale Resale these red and green deer ornaments were a lovely bargain due to  50% 0ff. 

 We had lunch at Old Town Hall Cafe.

 A friendly lady offered to take our picture.

I only snapped one photo of the outside decorations, but there were many to enjoy.

At another shop I decided on two pretty ornaments. Once I had them home, I snipped off the hanging loop and placed them in glass containers in make- believe snow. I placed the dainty trees on each end of the piano.






















My biggest purchase was a lantern that I added fairy lights to. The wreath was an old one I decided to use with the lantern.

Soon Christmas will be here. I've been getting some gifts wrapped.

Also made two different styles of Christmas cards for family members using rubber stamps and paint.

Decorating Craze

I keep adding extras to my Christmas decorating. Garlands are my latest additions to the kitchen window. These were two packages that had never been opened by Aunt Geneva. (McCrory Corp. 1987 Made in China) The one with tiny hearts is very pretty.

A bit of garland here

And ornaments dangling here

Now I can say I'm done!

Then again I may find something else.

Tiny Treasures

Yipes!!!! I am seeing too many lovely things when I'm out shopping. Yesterday was a fun day of browsing at three great places: Charlene's in Halls, Outside The Box and Something Special in Ripley. When I got home I had a beautiful Christmas card to open. Putting these two together in plain view on  a small shelf was perfect. The tiny tree in the tiny boot at Charlene's was too cute to leave behind as was the retro snowman with scarf and wreath.

Outside The Box had treasures, too. I decided on two ornaments from a decorated tree in one booth. The moose head and wooden turquoise ornament were my picks.

(The pretty star came from Something Special.)

The trunk and scale were nice larger items I admired.

Kim and I had a delicious lunch at Just Divine Tea Room. It was her first time to visit Charlene's Colony of Shops in Halls as well as the other shops in Ripley.
I'm glad she joined me for the drive and found some treasures, too. 

Kindred Spirits

It was a rainy, gloomy day, but a visit by friends Mary and Sam made it extra nice.

I'm posting this picture to save a memory. 

Mary will understand.

We like so many of the same things.

It's uncanny how many times we select similar items.
Crocks, bottles and jars, spice racks, pottery, Christmas ornaments, deer figures, books, pitchers - just to name a few.



We learned today that we have that same blue folk art rocking horse.

Christmas Touches Here and There

Christmas decor is popping up throughout the house.

To make room for Christmas decorations I had to store other things. I did keep out this one Willow Tree favorite.

 The ornament in the urn has sheer green netting. 

The  green metal box will hold Christmas cards this year.

These green ornaments are new this year. A local store had "Buy three and get one free" for its customers.

Still love this little dingy, broken child's cabinet. The hole at the back is hidden by the paper decoration. The old blocks spell out the message of the season.

The tree is new. I'm so glad Walmart had small retro trees with a vintage look.

Another tiny tree placed on a butterpat

A return trip to Goodwill was made for this small silver Made in India planter. 

I found the extra tree in a thrift store in Munford.

Thrifting and decorating are fun, especially in December.

A Day at Grams

This little guy was off from school due to sickness, but healthy enough to ask for his favorite breakfast at Gram's house - cinnamon toast and scrambled eggs. With that silly fox hat on his head I captured a picture.

Lucas and I read Christmas books. Two of them were pop-up books Ryan had received from Santa years ago. He added a bell to the advent calendar. We played the card game Fish. He and I played Hide and Seek with his green dinosaur. 

For lunch he only wanted ketchup on his hamburger. No cheese, onion, pickles or tomato. He has definite ideas about what he likes and doesn't like.

He was such a sweet buddy throughout the day. Very soon this stage of childhood will vanish. That's why today was so special.   

More Merry Decorating

 Here are a few more looks. I took my friend Mary's advice and moved the ornament cluster back to the kitchen.

Here's what I ended up with on the hall tree.

I didn't do much with the hutch this year, but I did dress up my green jug and vase.

 

This is a Goodwill tree I once bought because I admired all the tiny parts that someone had sown onto the green fabric. 

special objects on the shelves of my writing desk

The little blonde tree on the bottom level came from Walmart. This year they have had the cutest retro trees in different colors.

And finally the kitchen windowsill has gone through a few changes.

When I stumbled upon the NOEL sign at the Dirt Cheap store, I took down a tray with a Merry Christmas sign hot glued to its center. The tray was blocking too much of my view out the window. 

 It's hard to get a decent photo due to the faucet's shape.

But when my hubby complimented the window display, I knew this scene was staying.