~ WAAAAAY Too Windy ~

Ok well it is waaaaaaaaaay too windy y'all and I am a nervous wreck!....I hate the wind!!....I actually do have a good reason too!....in Southern California, where I was born and raised, there is something called Santa Ana winds, well I called them Devil winds, either way, they're horrible!....like a dry hurricane, just awful....one day the devil winds were particularly fierce, I was sitting in the living room watching tv and what sounded like an explosion occurred and the front window blew in, I was soooo scared!....what had actually happened was an approximately 80MPH gust of wind blew a tree branch into the window and if I had been sitting on the sofa instead of the easy chair, I would have been hit full force with the broken window glass that was now all over the living room!....oddly enough one of my biggest fears was windows blowing in during those winds and it happened, UGH!!....so this wind we are having today is driving me nuts!

~ A Random Observation ~

Have you ever noticed how if you try to listen to Christmas music after Christmas it just doesn't work? Why the heck is that?? I love Christmas music but it just isn't the same even the next day!

How was YOUR Christmas?

Well there it went!....Christmas has come and gone for yet another year....it all goes by much too quickly for me!....we spent a few hours with our kids at their apartment and I managed to get a picture of all 5 of us....I am being brave in posting it because you have no idea how much I hate pictures of myself, yuck!....I'd much rather take pictures of my decorating, LOL....ok, next stop 2009!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I would like to take this special time to say how much I appreciate those of you who have taken the time to stop by and say hello. I feel that I have several new found friends out there and I am looking forward to the day when we can actually meet for a hug. Merry Christmas to you!! {{hugz}}

What Will It Take??

Ok so yesterday it was 32 degrees and RAINING....not snowing, raining! And today it's 30 and sunny....It's not fair I tell ya! PLEASE....everyone who has snow....please send some of that Snow Mojo to Central Virginia! Snow Mojo, I love that, thanks Barbara! teehee

I hope everyone is enjoying this joyful season, it all goes by much too quickly!

~ The First Day of Winter ~

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS GRAPHIC.

I PAID MY GRAPHICS DESIGNER TO MAKE THIS FOR ME.

Winter is my very favorite season. Growing up in Southern California, I never knew or gave any thought to the fact that there was a time of year when you could go outside and not have any bugs to contend with. I am terrified of wasps and generally dislike all bugs, especially flying ones, so to not have any bugs is a dream come true! Plus, I love the cool crisp air and when it snows, well I am in heaven! So I am celebrating this first day of Winter 2008!

Looking Forward to Laundry????

Never in my day did I ever think I'd be looking forward to doing someone's laundry! Let me explain....my youngest, who moved out a month ago, has been coming over every other Sunday to get his laundry done and so far, that is the only time I see him! So lo and behold, I am looking forward to doing his laundry every other Sunday! LOL....I did however ask him if he is missing anything about living at home and his reply was that he misses, "not paying rent and living close to work"....hows that for a warm and fuzzy mood buster! LOL

On a more festive note, I am working on taking some pictures of the Christmas decor around my home and the above picture is of a favorite vignette this year....the candy canes and gingerbread men were made by Barbara Young of Turkey Hollow Folk Art, I just love her work!....I put them in a basket with some faux greens and berries and set it on a sideboard that sets in a corner of my family room....I think it looks quite charming!

One Person's Kindness....

The other day I purchased a cute primitive gingerbread man handmade by Dawn Gunning of The Forgotten Barn....I have purchased many of her wonderful creations and know of her seemingly limitless ability to please her customers, so I asked if she would mind making a small stuffed star for me so that I may tie it onto a small tree I have in my foyer. Without hesitation she obliged and would not let me pay her for it! She even went to the trouble of sewing on a thingy so all I had to do was slip the star onto the top of my tree! Well I sent her a little thank you in the mail to let her know how much I appreciated that! I wanted to share how cute the little star is and of course how perfectly primitive the gingerbread man is hanging on an olde chair I have on the hearth!


Thanks again Dawn!!
Check out her wonderful creations at: http://www.dawngunning.blogspot.com/

Busy....Busy....Busy

Between packing up orders, decorating my home, and trying to figure out what to get grown kids for Christmas, I've been kinda BUSY! Oh and over the weekend husband and I painted our recently vacated new spare bedroom and I've got a bed coming on Saturday for it! We painted the room gray and the bed is a black pencil post. Still trying to decide on how good of a mattress a spare bedroom should have??

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Day full of warm fuzzies with family and friends!

I will not be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year as my daughter-in-law of just six months has opted to perform the tasks!....she joined our family here last year and asked if she could do the honors this year and I was most happy to oblige, haha!....cooking is not a favorite thing of mine and she loves it!....our family is very small, it is just me, husband, our two boys, and now a daughter-in-law, so our little famly will be having Thanksgiving dinner in a small apartment in the city (Richmond) which will be different!

An Emotional Day

My baby moved out today, he is 18. Our oldest moved out two years ago and got married last year, we just have the two boys. The older one and his wife have been struggling to make ends meet, they have been renting a house in the city (Richmond) for the past year, it is a very old house and has cost them a fortune to heat and cool. They have tried to go it alone without the financial aid of a roommate but have conceded that they need the help. So that's where my baby enters the picture. He is the only roommate they'd even consider because he's honest, responsible, not a slob, and has worked at the same place since he was 16. (He works for a local grocery store chain, started out as a bagger and is now a cashier) When presented with the idea of moving out he decided that it was time for him to move forward. I told him that there was no rush to move out, that he should consider going to college, but he wants to give this a try plus he knows that his brother needs his help. The three of them have rented an apartment in a high rise downtown and today was moving day.

So I guess we are now officially empty-nesters, and I just don't know how to feel. Should I feel sad or glad? The only plus I can think of is that I will have a spare bedroom to decorate, haha. But I am going to miss my baby terribly, he and I are kindred spirits. I mean it's only about twenty minutes away but I am already worrying about him having clean sheets and towels. ::::sigh::::

New Wares!

whew!....I have been busy adding new wares to my web shoppe....there are so many wonderful things to choose from....I am quite happy with the goodes I have found for my customers....here are just a few:

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year....

I feel that Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and I pray that nothing ever happens to change that. I feel so sad for those who have had tragedy strike during the holiday season and when Christmas brings nothing more than tears.

I spent some time this morning trying to "Christmas up" my blog and am going to ask my web site designer if she has any ideas on what I might be able to do to make my web shoppe look "Christmasy". Husband and I actually bought a new artificial tree this weekend. For the past several years we've had a 7.5 foot and with us going to be empty-nesters for the first time this season I decided that I wanted to try a smaller tree so we got a 4.5 foot that I'll place on a table in the spot where the big tree usually stands. This way I can use only my bestest ornies! That's all for now, enjoy the day and remember to vote tomorrow!

Our Fall Foliage Day Trip

Yesterday hubby and I went on our annual drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway to see nature's beauty and I was able to sneak in two stops along the way to a couple of shoppes I'd been wanting to visit as well! The Blue Ridge Parkway did not disappoint and we also checked out the frontier life exhibit displayed by the Shenandoah National Park Service. When you walk along the path you'll find a log cabin and several other structures including a pantry, of course I had to take pictures to share!

Grater Make-Do

I got this unique grater make-do gathering from Margo on ebay a couple of weeks ago, she has such awesome offerings, and just today I decided how I wanted to display it. I couldn't decide if I wanted to lean it somewhere or could it be possible that I actually have an empty piece of wall space somewhere in my house? aha!! I do! Next to the primitive cupboard in my breakfast nook was just the right spot for it to hang! Isn't it cool?

Anxious for peak foliage....

I just can't wait for peak foliage to occur on the Blue Ridge Parkway!....husband and I are making it an annual trek, this will be our third year, it's only about an hour and a half away!....I have been watching the foliage reports on the Shenandoah National Park web site and it looks like it'll be in the next week or two yippee!....I'll be sure to take pictures and post them here!....oh and here's the link to the foliage report: http://www.nps.gov/shen/parknews/fall_colors.htm

Wow it's almost October!

Time sure flies when you're having fun and even when you're not! ha!....I just finished updating my PictureTrail with fresh seasonal pictures taken around my home so have a look if you'd like!

Anxious for Autumn

I don't know about you but I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Autumn! Why you may ask? Well because aside from the fact that Autumn decorating is so much fun and that the colors of Autumn are so spectacular, the main reason is because Autumn means that Winter is just around the corner and I LOVE WINTER!! Oh I just can't wait for that cold crisp air, I just love it! It doesn't snow nearly enough here in Central Virginia but when it does it's MAGICAL!!

I just finished updating my web site with New Items as well as an Autumn Harvest catagory full of fun stuff! I've added pictures of a few examples!

My baby graduated from high school in June....

I am so proud of him.

My oldest son and his new bride....

I love them both and am happy that they found each other.

"There is only one happiness in life, to loved and be loved." ~ George Sand

All At Once!

Wow, what a wild couple of weeks this has been!....my oldest son eloped, then a couple of days later I turned 50 (which I was NOT looking forward to), then my baby graduates from high school....my head is spinning, so many milestones all at once!

We Have A Winner!

CONGRATULATIONS DAVID COOK!!

American Idol, it's down to 3

Well I was sad to see Jason go but I suppose it was time....I would love to buy a folky album of his so I hope he pursues a record deal. The only thing about American Idol coming to an end is that So You Think You Can Dance begins and I love that show!!

American Idol Results

I was very surprised that Syesha and Carly were the bottom and SHOCKED that Brooke was safe!....as soon as Ryan said that, I said, "CRAP! that means Jason is going home!"....I've been reading a message forum and the basically unanimous consensus was that Brooke would be the one to go!....anyway....I am glad that Jason lives to sing again!

I made a picture trail!

I just LOVE looking at the pictures people post of their homes so I decided to try putting some pics in an album on Picture Trail....have a look!

first time

Well I've never even posted to a blog so I'm not sure how to set one up but I'm giving it a go!....I think it's fun to see how everyone decorates their homes so that's probably what I'll be doing is posting pictures of mine!....I am absolutely crazy for primitives, even though I do not have a primitive home, I try to add my primitives wherever I can!