Decorating and shopping

I have been busy getting the house decorated for Christmas.  And I’ve been letting go. In an attempt to make life a little easier for us I have culled through our decorations and have some in the car ready to donate. All of the white icicle lights which once stretched the whole length of the house are now going to be a blessing to someone else. Neither Don nor I are able to climb up on a ladder to put them up. We are making the outdoor decorations simple with a wreath on both our doors and two wreaths on the picket fence. I also plan to cut fresh greenery to put in an urn on the porch. I am also going through the decorations that I didn’t bring out to use this year and plan to donate those too. 

      I feel like I am moving into a different stage of my life. No longer do I have the energy that I once had. I want to make life as simple as I can now. And that includes simplifying the ways I used to do things. 

Wedding pictures

Here are a few more of my favorite wedding pictures.  

A busy season

I saw this sign while on my shopping trip yesterday to Erie. I went all by myself so that I could do some serious Christmas shopping. Our town is small and has no real shopping so I have to go an hour and a half to get to a city that has large stores. I arrived early so I thought I could beat the crowds. That was ok until the afternoon when the line at Kohl’s was 20 people long. I really enjoy looking around in my favorite stores like Hobby Lobby, Home Goods, and At Home. I looked a lot and didn’t buy a lot but got a lot of good ideas and could cross a few people off my list. 

   Since we will be going away for Thanksgiving and I have a lot to do to get ready I decided to do my Christmas decorating early. Today I started by removing all the fall decorations from the sunroom, living room, and kitchen. Then I dusted and swept. Now the rooms are all ready for the new decor. But not tomorrow. It’s Giggle Girl time and I will be playing cards with my friends. Tuesday is a luncheon of the Circle of Friends so I will start on Wednesday bringin up the bins. I always love to get things out and see how they will look this year. I usually have a theme. 

In 2007 we were celebrating Christmas in the sunroom. The theme that year was gardening.

In 2008 the garden theme continued. 

In 2009 a French theme prevailed.

2010 became the year of black and red. 

To be continued tomorrow.....

Pains of an unknown source

The things about old age that nobody told me....(I could write a book on that).  One of them is pain. Our knees, shoulders, and hips start to wear out at our age. I and a lot of my friends have had knee surgeries, meniscus or even replacements. Some have had hip replacements too. And recently one friend had a shoulder replaced. It is a miracle that joints can be repaired like that to eliminate suffering. So far my joints are holding up pretty well. But recently I have had shoulder pain for an unknown reason. The doctor believes it might be a frozen shoulder caused by not using that left shoulder very often to raise my arm. So I’ve been exercising and taking ibuprofen in case it is an inflammation. So far it still hurts when I raise it. If the pain doesn’t go away soon I’ll look into doing more about it.  Not only that but for the past few days I have had a sore hip which responded to capsaicin heat pads. Other than that my health has held up well. I recently got the first dose of a shingles shot. My sister Linda had shingles and it was not fun so I’ll avoid it at all costs. Sorry to bore you with my health stories (we all have them, don’t we?)

   Are you making Thanksgiving plans? We will be going to Chris’ and I am bringing the turkey and making the stuffing. I’ll also make a corn casserole that we all love. It will be Chris and Wendy’s first holiday as a married couple. I love it when the family gets together.

   

We were expecting a snowstorm last night but all we got is a few inches...just normal for this time of year. Winter is here. When I talk to my southern relatives it’s hard for them to imagine we have snow already although this cold front extends all the way to Tennessee. Now that the bears might be in hibernation it’s time we started feeding the birds. 

A cute decoration

This is a simple fall idea that I would like to try next year. 

Our first snow

One season turns in to another and so our winter begins. The first snow is always so beautiful as it clings onto the bare branches of the trees and bushes. 

Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.” 
― Mary OlivER

Thank goodness for the first snow, it was a reminder--no matter how old you became and how much you'd seen, things could still be new if you were willing to believe they still mattered.” 
― Candace Bushnell, Lipstick Jungle

Old Friend

This lovely 95 year old lady is Maryne Giering, my second mom. When I was growing up Maryne and her husband Ray lived two doors down from my family on West WAshington STreet in Bradford. Our neighborhood was the best place ever to grow up and all the neighbors were close. Maryne and my mother were like sisters. In the morning they would send the kids off to school. (Which was a short walk from our houses) and clean a while until one of them would say, “Come over for coffee” and they would sit and chat until the kids walked home from school for lunch. Each week Donna (another friend would pick them up in her car and they would go for groceries at the A and P and get green stamps. I felt like Maryne’s house was my house too. I played with her kids Jack and Jill and loved being around their family. Our families went together every summer up to an amusement park where the dads would grill chickens and drink beer while we all went on the rides. Ray was the principal at the elementary school and eventually the family moved to Clarion where he taught at the university. He was the one who was responsible for me returning to college to finish my education after I dropped out to care for my mother who had been in a car accident. I think the world of Maryne and suggested to a gal in my Literary Club (who also was a family friend of Marnye’s and the sister of my best friend in high school) that we make the two house trip to go and visit her. I hadn’t seen her since five years ago when we attended her 90th birthday party. 

Her daughter Jill made the trip up from Tyrone and her granddaughter also came over. It was so much fun reminiscing with them all. 

This is Lisa and my friend Kathy. 

Sammy, Lisa’s mom and Maryne’s daughter in law came over too and it was nice seeing her again.  

Sam, me and Maryne. Maryne still is stylish at 95 dressed with all her jewelry and a scarf. She is just as classy as she always was and the sweetest lady. She treated us to a lovely lunch at a nearby restaurant before we had to return home. I loved this visit and it meant a lot to her too. It was a great day to walk down memory lane and remember the good old days.  

Interesting Things

You should always have interesting things to look at...or what’s the point? (Quoted from Quintessence, a YouTube channel that shows decorated homes. )

 I love this stag that I found at a consignment store. He is sitting on some books that I found at an estate sale in North Carolina. 

I also picked up some more sunflower large stems to add to my arrangement this year. 

I discovered the leaf tablecloth at a house sale. On it sits a long box filled with pumpkins and fall decor along with deer antlers. 

I found the perfect place for this fall garland. 

The white candlestick is a new addition this year that I purchased at Southern Seasons in Raleigh. 

Leaves also adorn my candle-lier. I am looking for just the right electric chandelier to put over this table. 

I am trying to keep my mind in fall and not slip into the pull of winter decorations just yet. But I will be decorating before Thanksgiving because it is so late this year. The leaves are off all the trees now and it is our gray season. I am lighting candles every night to bring in a little hygge.

Wedding dances

Wendy sent me a few photos from the wedding...

This is me..

All about me

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? My morning pills. For thyroid and my stomach  (yep, that’s what you do when you get old..lol

2. Do you sleep naked? No

3. Worst physical pain you have ever had? Having a baby

4. Favorite place you have ever visited? Provence France

5. How late did you stay up last night? 11:00

6. If you could move somewhere else, where would you move? Southern Pennsylvania 

7. Which of your Facebook friends lives closest to you? Joan

8. When was the last time you cried? When my best friend died

9. Who took your profile pic? Me

10. Two of your favorite movies! Sixth Sense and The English Patient

11. What's your favorite season? Fall

13. If you could talk to ANYONE right now, who would it be? My best friend who passes

14. Are you a good influence? Of course

15. Does pineapple belong on pizza? No

16. You have the remote, what show would you have it on? A Million Little Things

17. Two people who you think will play along? My sisters

18. First concert you ever attended? Four Seasons

19. Favorite food? Ice cream

20. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Secretary or teacher

Will you share some of your answers?

Charcuterie

Have you ever done a charcuterie tray? I love everything about a tray full of cheese, fruit, nuts and meat.

It is easy to put together. All you need is a little of this and that. You can choose interesting cheeses..

from Baked in the South

Then add fruit...strawberries, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, etc.

 

Meat can be added too, there are no rules and it always looks great.

On Hello Lovely sudio

I made up one once for my Giggle Girls. It’s fun to look at and fun to eat. Try it sometime.

Women in Sunlight

“Of the great experiences of my life there are many, but nothing exceeds the plain happiness of a fall night at home....”.  From the very first pages that I turned I knew that I would love this book.

My sister Linda recommended it to me after she listened to the audiobook version. It is about three women...one an artist (me), one a chef (Linda) and one a gardener (Diane) who travel to stay at a villa in Tuscany. And it is written by the author of Under a Tuscan Sun, another of my favorites. Here is a brief summary...

If you met these characters at a dinner party, you would find them charming, if oblivious to their pampered existence. There is never, ever a moment’s hesitation over money. They furnish their rental villa with linens, fruit trees, antique garden tools and anything else they desire. One woman spends 1,000 euros on art and poetry books.

Author Frances Mayes (Will Garin-Banner Media Group)

And although these three women are expats, there is not a moment of that unifying frustration that all real expats endure: the broken dryer, the dishonest merchant or the terror of getting lost in a place where you do not speak the language. Somehow, Camille, Susan and Julia sail through as if they’ve never once had a hair-coloring disaster or eaten bad street food. Granted, the women are victims of a burglary, but their burglars leave them with a litter of adorable kittens.

Such are the trials in “Women in Sunlight.” Everything is delicious, colorful and charming. All the lanes are lined with cypress trees, all the women are fashionable, and everyone is always stopping for a quick espresso at a cute cafe. When Julia decides to jump off a high cliff, she lands safely in the water. When Susan learns Italian, she is fluent in no time. When Camille returns to her love of art, she is heralded as a new star. 

Later, one of them exclaims, “Home. We are at home! We didn’t know we could, would accomplish that.”

IncrediBooth

Eating lunch at the Weathervane where I had a delicious spinach salad with candied pecans, ricotta salada, brioche croutons, pear and basil balsamic vinaigrette. I also had a grilled cheese with smoked Gouda, house made Boursin, and white cheddar on sourdough bread. You can’t get anything like that in my hometown. 

Photo booth

I love playing with the photo booth app. 

Home safe and sound

Aren’t these just adorable? Diane collects Charming Tales and these little mice eating candy corn are about the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I am back home after a long and tiring trip. I travel straight through with only one stop for potty time and a drink and make it in six hours. After unloading the car and taking a quick shower I put everything away. I will show you my purchases tomorrow. Now I am ready to cuddle up on my chair and finish my book (reading A Perfect Wife). My sweet husband had a beautiful bouquet of roses waiting for me. He is so good not to object to my going away for a week but I know he is really glad to have me home. He even bought a roasting chicken so I wouldn’t have to cook tonight. So thoughtful. Our trip from Raleigh to Fredericksburg yesterday was miserable because of the constant rain but Linda drove for which I was very grateful. At her house last night we caught up on How to get away with Murder, drank tea, and ate scrambled eggs for dinner. We always have such fun so it was sad to say goodbye.

Diane and Jeff with Coco and Zoe.

More and more sister fun

Our fun has included artisan chocolates from The Chocolate Cafe....

Shopping in downtown Raleigh at Cameron village today at Pier One.

The Christmas decorations in the stores were out in full force. 

Cameron Villiage was celebrating seventy years and all around were pianos donate by local merchants and today they had professional piano players entertaining.

We had lunch at the Villiage Deli where we ate outside in the nice weather with Becky and Chris who met us there. We first went to an estate sale which turned out to be a bust...not a lot of things at huge prices. 

And of course we had room for a custard at Gooseberries.  

I got the girls these towels.