Deck the halls!!!

Today I'm joining those at House in the Roses for 'show your cottage Monday'. Thank you so much Cielo for hosting Cottage Monday.

I've been putting out a few things for Christmas in the past ten days or so and it is slowly beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. I really love this holiday season. I love the warmth that seems to radiate from everyone I come in contact with. The joy that is expressed in the songs I hear and the words I read. I enjoy the feeling of home that fills my heart with the desire to decorate every nook and cranny. I'm having to hold myself back from hanging wreaths on everything that moves. I want to hang them everywhere, including every horse stall on this place, but I will resist because I know I could not convince the horses not to try to make a meal out of them. I made T.T. Rabbit a little Christmas collar, but he doesn't seem to appreciate it much. Every time I put it on him he manages to rip it right off. I guess I can't force the holiday spirit on everyone! When I get a photo of him with it on I will share it, because he looks so darn cute.

I thought in this post I would show you a little of the decor around the cottage. There will be a lot of it that I will be sharing on the next few white Wednesdays, as most of it fits with that meme well and I'm running low on whites around here.

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving! The whole family agreed that the best part of it was eating the leftovers on Friday and Saturday and that maybe they will just show up the day after Thanksgiving. Thank goodness the food is gone now and I can get back to normal eating. Today is the first day since Thanksgiving that I have not been miserably full.

I wish all of you dear friends a lovely week!

I'm so thankful!!!

The countdown to Thanksgiving has started at my house. Since the family will be traveling over the river and through the woods to our house this Thursday, and I will be roasting the traditional bird who gave up his life to help us celebrate this wonderful day, I won't be posting white Wednesday, but because this is the week of Thanksgiving I knew that this post would be about 'some' of the things that I am most thankful for in my life. One of these thankful things is the friends that I have made in this journey of keeping an on line journal.

Today I went to the post office to pick up my mail and in my box was one of those awesome little cards that lets you know that you have a package. It was this beautiful cuff and ornament from a sweet friend that I have made through this wonderful blogging experience.

Judy at Tapestries of Nature was one of the first women to come to my blog and leave me a comment. Of course I wanted to visit her blog and make a friend. So I went and the rest is history. I was enamored by the beautiful art that she created. Then of course, there was the fact that she was going to be leaving for England to spend a few months there. This has always been a dream of mine. A dream that will not likely ever become a reality. So I was happy to just sit here across the pond and wait for her to come home and tell me all about it on her blog.

Judy's talent at creating beautiful things is really a gift. When I saw these lovely cuffs made from snippets left over from her creating, I fell in love with them. She wrote me and told me that she would love to make one for me. I loved the ones that she shared in a post on her blog, but when I saw it in person I was blown away. This cuff is exquisite. She had asked me what word that I would like it to say and it didn't take me long to decide that I would like it to say one of my favorite three letter words...JOY. I can wear it through the holidays and all year long. I hope you can see the beautiful details in these photos I've taken of it. Look at the back of this darling thing. It's beautiful too!

This gorgeous ornament was a complete surprise. Judy makes these with vintage buttons and seam binding. This will definitely find a home in MY home year 'round as well. It's way too lovely to put in a box with other holiday decor.

She put in this little receipt from Dec. 1912 in with the gifts. Doesn't it just give you chills to hold in your hands something that was held by someone so long ago. It does me! I love it! This is what makes my husband call me a 'moony woman'. This, and a lot of other stuff I say and do. Thank you Judy, from the bottom of my heart! Your friendship is a gift.

Thinking about all the things I'm thankful for is always good therapy for me. Of course I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, my family, good health, our home, and our friends, but there are so many things that I take for granted in my life that make it what it is. When I wake up in the morning I have a routine that I go through everyday. I don't vary from it much, it is a part of who I am. I am thankful for this routine...it makes me feel grounded and secure. I was thinking about this the other day when I was thinking about what I might be able to do for those this year who are less fortunate in life than me. Those who don't have a routine. Those who don't have a comfortable place to lay their head each night. Those who can't give their children the basic creature comforts that I enjoy and sometimes take for granted. Those whose physical and/or mental health have failed them. Am I doing enough to help my fellowman? Are my prayers for them enough? Is the little bit that I am able to give enough to make a difference? I don't know...but what I do know is that I am thankful for the little bit that I am able to do, for the empathy and love that I feel for them even though I don't know them. I want the muscles around my mouth to be strengthened by the act of smiling. I want to overcome shyness and have the courage to make eye contact with everyone I pass in my daily round so that they know that they are important to me. I want my words to uplift and encourage. Some days I fail miserably at all of these, but I'm thankful that some days I don't. This Thanksgiving I want to be thankful for not only what I have, but I want to be thankful that maybe I have helped someone to have something to be thankful for as well.


I hope that all of you dear friends have a wonderful and joyous Thanksgiving!

White Wednesday---over the fence...

I'm not sure what there is about a picket fence

that makes me love them so.

They just say community to me.

It doesn't matter to me if they are freshly painted or

or chippy and leaning, they are just so charming.

My dream of having one for myself has not yet

come true, but I still dream.

I have always imagined myself leaning over

the fence talking to my sweet friend Sarah.

Trying to solve the worlds problems

one conversation at a time.

I think a cottage looks so much more

inviting, so much friendlier

when surrounded by a picket fence.

Yes, I was the girl that always said

I wanted a house with a white picket fence

and a yard full of children.

Did you ever say that?






When I drive through unfamiliar towns,


I like to take the side streets and see all

the old homes and cottages with their

little white fences surrounding them.





All of these pretty little pickets were photographed

when I went to Hailey yesterday to run some errands.

The lighting was poor this day, so I apologize
for the pictures being a little dark.


Hailey is a small town 30 miles from my small


town Idaho. It is so full of charm that it just

seems to wrap you in it's arms.

I love towns like this.

It is much bigger than where I live, but still small enough

that is has retained it's wonderful sense

of community well.

No malls or shopping centers here.



Just a lot of cute picket fences!




Thank you to Kathleen at Faded Charm for

hosting White Wednesday every week.

Sanity day...

Today I drove the 60 miles to the nearest little big city

to go shopping and to buy our groceries

for the week.

My husband calls these my 'sanity days'.

These days are pretty special to me. I love the alone time

spent with just my thoughts to keep me company.

When you live in a town of about 450 to 500 people and there

are only two convenience stores in the whole place,

you really get to

where you crave getting out of Dodge and hittin' the stores.

Now don't get me wrong, I really love living out in the

country (sticks), but I would love to live a little closer to

a mall, or a Michael's, or a T. J. Maxx, than 60 miles.

Today was spent shopping for items to do some Christmas

projects with, and a little thrifting.

I found some silver plate that I couldn't seem to

leave behind. I love the butter dish.

I stopped at Barnes and Noble and did some serious damage

to my pocketbook. I will spend all of tomorrow looking through

and reading some of my favorite publications.

Have I told you before how much I love British decorating magazines?

These three are some of my favorites.

I also picked up this new Christmas CD of Andrea Bochelli.

It is AMAZING!

I played it all the way home. There are 2 songs on it that are

just so beautiful. No, I take that back, there are 15 songs on it

that are beautiful, but 2 that took my breath away.

'The Lord's Prayer' and 'I Believe'.

I had chills and tears in my eyes just listening to them.

I listen to Christmas music from now till the middle of January.

I love it!!!

I saw all sorts of great ideas for Christmas today and

I'm feeling very inspired.

All in all, it was a wonderful day all to myself.

I have all the garden work done for Winter, and look who

was a big help yesterday.

This is my sweet little garden faerie, Maddie.

She's my little 4 year old granddaughter.

You can see that the snow melted from that storm I

posted before. We have been enjoying days in the 50's

this past week.

We spread the last of the compost, which was my

final garden chore of 2009.

Now Winter can come to small town Idaho.


Have a wonderful Sunday!