What's Been Going On?

What a time.
What a gift.
And reflection.
Time spent well, without too much effort and much joy.
A lot of relaxing has taken place since December 25.
Let's look around at the high points. (Warning: Type A could have a problem with the following photos; A sincere lack of agendas or purpose involved in these highly unscheduled photographs. You've been warned.)

Now here is an exciting new Christmas Tradition coming to fruition: a forced (the most scheduled you'll see) narcissus, making it's blooming event Christmas week. A lovely addition to holiday festivities.

Nothing more satisfying to me than watching Hubby enjoying himself (when he's winning :D) playing games with the 'children'...Whether they be 8 or 28, he loves it and I love hearing them banter back and forth and whoop it up over a great play...
More soul food....

Clearly, this relaxed holiday celebration became contagious.
Here is Lovely Wife curled up, all cozy and comfy with a good book and her faithful companion puppy. We do get wild around here.

And what would Christmas be without a huge batch of cinnamon rolls? Throughout my reign as Chief Cinnamon Roll Baker, I have tried many a recipe. I proclaimed a recent recipe out of a Sunday paper, my all time favorite. Time consuming, but oh so worth it. I likes me a good good cinnamon roll....mmmmmmm

Then The Payoff.
After many, many years of hectic Christmas Mornings.
With lots of preparation and care to meet the needs (and wants!) of our lovely children, we find ourselves this year, on our own.
And it was very nice, thank you.
Getting up slowly, wishing each other a Merry Christmas, seeing to our own breakfast needs, preparing for the day by stoking a grand fire and getting the right book to perch near the fireplace with, the day of reflection and slower pace begins and it carries us through the days of sharing our home and hearts with all that we love and care about.....
Those that are away from us continue on into our thoughts and prayers and best wishes

So that was it..
Much to share, craft wise, now that the reveal has occured...
Counting down to the new decade with fresh thoughts, good outlooks and much anticipation...
Can't wait to share it all with you....

Comfort Night

Faithful Friend and I meet once a month.
Generally, at our favorite restaurant.
We usually stay there till they throw us out.
We linger longer than most of their customers, but they don't seem to mind. Too much.
Wednesday was our night to meet.
But it was cold and very rainy.
And FF had been at work all day.
Would be nice if we could just stay in near the fire.
Could I swing it on short notice?

Yes!

Crazy Dee had supplied me with enough leftovers from a previous feast that I could easily make FF and I a cozy meal near the fireplace.
Gather the wood! Turn on the Christmas music! Light the candles!
Make a Shepherds Pie from CD's gleanings, toss a salad and include CD's Youngest Daughter's most wonderful Squash/Sweet Potatoe/Chipotle Soup, brew a pot of hot tea and wait for FF to appear!

It was a lovely, cozy supper near the fire....
Thank you Lord, for Dear Friends....

New Furnace Fun

In celebratory style, once again Hubby and I have decided to help our home celebrate it's 90th birthday with a new heat system.
According to our furnace people, our current system is celebrating it's nearly 60+ years as prime heat source in our abode.
Lots of technology has occurred since the old boiler system was installed,probably post coal furnace in the 30's or 40's. Fifteen hundred pounds of iron was hauled out noisily starting on Monday. As you can see from the photo, it was formidable. And the photo was taken after it's surround and shell was removed.
And it's place?
A petite, 95% efficient unit, performing the same responsibilities with hopefully less fuel and higher productivity. We shall see when our January bills come in, historically our highest of the season.
Once again, in keeping with our government's incentives to create a more efficient environment and to keep our economy more fluid, Our Home gets new heat.

All this new furnacing requires me to be at home whilst the technicians are here...for three plus days....
What an opportunity to get some work done!
Two new bags and Baby Girls bread bags for all her homemade bread that comes out of her mix master and local bakery!
But first.
I needed to keep the home warm for the fingers to work in the coolest, wettest week so far...
Stoke up that fireplace!


Here are two that got completed this week...
The first one is terribly cozy, kinda like a pillow, it has so much interlining in it! Quilted pockets, outer pocket, magnetic snap and flap over. Ample and full for whatever you need to haul. A goody.
Then we got a little more tailored.
A nice swirly upholstery fabric with a brocade lining.
Button accents and goodly pockets.
Shaped right with a comfy strap..
These bags get to go to school to be sold to Purse Needy teachers and their friends.

Then there is the twin bread bags made from a previous bag owned by Baby Girl summers ago.
Don't we just love it??

Time to stoke up the fire!!

What Would You Do?

The Autumn has been gorgeous. The trees are just starting to turn, promising a golden show.
When the rain stops.
Can't complain too much. Just every other day, we've had 'The Rain'.
So what would you do?

First, get yourself a nice mug of soup to ward off the chill in the non heated house. (new furnace comes next week and trying to stall off using the old one...)



Then, make yourself a roaring fire to do your administrative work the Admin Girl gave you to do for homework. A nice, long conversation with Eldest is another good way to help perk up The Rainy Day. Listening to Miss Vivien in the background, imitiating mama on the phone, is quite the mood lifter.
Make sure you get all the info the Admin Girl needs to do data entry for your business. And be smug and warm in front of the lovely fire. With Companion Dixie by my side....

Pretty good option to a cold rainy October Day, huh?

Memory Maker

This is how it started.
Chilly October winds brought on the need for the First Fire of the Season.
The occasion also celebrates the arrival of Old Friends from Far Away.
A lifetime ago, we raised our children together as next door neighbors.
We shared our lives and lived better because of each other.
Our children grew up knowing that these neighbors were branches of their own family.
Talents and gifts were utilized and appreciated.
Then time and life happened and years go by and miles in between keeps the day to day from being a reality.
But then time comes for a reunion.
And it is sweet.
Time together melts the distance and reignites the friendship on a new level.
Meals shared. Thoughts and concerns aired. Prayers in His name are lifted up.

Spending time at Spring Mill State Park..
Slow down the pace..
Neutralize your brain from the input of the week.
Hike, rest, take in the pioneer past to appreciate the convenience of the day..
Go to the Inn for lunch..
Sigh and get ready to say good bye to our Old Friends...

The ending of a wonderful weekend...
Old friends, fresh hope for the future;
Encouragement for the day to day..
Gateway of hope..
Thank you Lord, for friends....

Good Busy

Today was the day that I begin to winterize the house.
That involves finding places for all the furniture taken outside for the summer and rearranging the living room furniture for good fireplace views.
I also had to find a new home for Auction Score of yesterday.
Couldn't put it too near the fireplace and risk drying out the wicker so it found a happy spot at the foot of the stairs. A convenient spot for putting on/off shoes and parking purses and a convenient pull in an extra chair location when the room gets needy for seats. It's happy there, don't you think?
Crazy Dee's expecting her Seventh Grandchild soon. There will be a baby shower this weekend and the 2G's Mama and I are working on a good group gift; a little registry and a little homemade makes a good balance. Homemade spit up cloths are fun and personal to the baby of the day. Little Jonathan Blair will be quite proud of his initials on his very own spit up cloths!
Fun, fun stuff!

Its the small things

This year, my home turns 90 years old. In respect to it's age, my husband and I decided to treat it to a manner deserving by sprucing things up a bit. Starting at the top, a new roof was in order. Who knows when the last time it's high peak had been walked upon? New gutters and downspouts added a ribbon like effect to the house package. And now it's my turn; I get to paint the trim around the first floor windows! (Obviously, I'm letting those with younger years and really high ladders do the second story!)



So yesterday, I'm fussing around the fireplace windows. As I'm balancing myself on the ladder by holding onto the limestone sill, I start to groom the chimney. I begin meticulously picking ivy roots from between the grout and pull old vines from around the brick. From my elevated view, I remember how many times my husband and I had driven around looking for houses with this tell tale sign of a fireplace. We would scout the older areas and like a odd game of I Spy, we would shout out our find of a house that had a brick chimney attached to one side of the house, with the customary set of windows on either side. This was our sign of home. Our goal, our longing, our dream, to have the kind of home that would draw our family and friends together around the peaceful setting of a wood burning fireplace.



Ten years ago next week, we moved into our dream home. The home that I literally would day dream about when I wanted to go to a peaceful place. The entry, revealing a generous living room, showcased by a far wall with fireplace and bookshelves flanking both sides and the obligatory windows above both. The staircase would be on the other end of the room, allowing it to be an auxiliary focal point. These two specific things were actually in my day dream that I had for many years. Imagine my surprise when I walked into this home the first time to see it in person and for sale!



So I meticulously continued to clean the chimney bricks, scrape the beloved windows and apply it's first coat of primer. At one point, I believe I even patted the decorative brick around the base of the chimney in some kind of weird affirmation of affection.



It is important to add, that my husband and I should never have been able to afford this house. We have been a one income family since our first pregnancy in the 70's. My husband did not graduate from college, even though the job he now has, requires it. I barely graduated from high school. Our third child was the first in my family to graduate from college and that was just last year. We have been your typical middle class family all our married life. And yet, we are living in the exact house that we would have parked our car on the street to look at many, many years ago. We would have discussed our best guess at how the house looked inside but never, never would have had the gumption to call a realtor over. But yet our dreams persisted and years later this factory rat and his unemployable wife entered the doors of long sought after dream.



Sigh.

God is good.