"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Monday, December 8, 2014

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas !

 We've been decorating for Christmas.
 We're not finished, and I am already exhausted. But it is a happy kind of exhaustion, a Christmas festive kind of exhaustion.
 We still have to put the tree-topper on , after I finish making it.
We only put a few ornaments on the tree this year , and I left a lot of decorations in their boxes in the closet under the stairs. In spite of using far less decorations, and deciding not to put lights up around the house outside, we still seem to have Christmas decorations everywhere.

This week I'll address, write in, and send out Christmas cards & presents and then the baking begins . It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas !

Monday, December 1, 2014

Santa & I Are Very Good Friends !



 My husband & I have been gone . We've been over the snowy mountains and far away, returning home yesterday. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with our sons, daughter, and their families. Just because Santa & I are very good friends, he visited us after Thanksgiving. He let me take a picture of him holding our new grandson ...
...and I even persuaded Santa to let me sit on his lap for a picture. ( Shhh, don't tell anyone, but Santa kissed me ! )

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Don't Despair ~ Be Thankful !

" And it is good to take time to be thankful , for it is all too easy to let the world's trouble sweep over one in a dark flood and to fall into despair. "  Gladys Taber

" Be anxious for nothing , but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."   Philippians 4:6

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Where I Store My Teacups ~ Part II ( Cat-Napping Room ? )

Blizzard woke up from his cat-nap while I was taking photos of my crafting room. Since he realized it was only me he settled himself back down and got comfortable on my work surface.

This was once our daughter's bedroom. She has long since moved out and now lives with her own family, so my husband & I began setting things up to accommodate the crafting supplies and work area that I used to store under beds, in closets...anywhere I could find space. Now it is all in one room. The boxes and bins are labeled and I try to keep like items together. The shelves are from Home Depot and are in the closet storage system department. I had at first wanted beautifully made hard wood shelves  and know my husband could have made them, but we're busy and expediency and budget were taken into consideration. I am very happy with these shelves.
Even though this looks cluttered, everything is labeled and has a place.
The wall on the far right has shelves holding the clean & carded wool from my flock of Jacob sheep. I try to use almost all of my wool before the next wool harvest , but there are always a few wool batts left on the shelves before the new shearing is finished. Sometimes this wall holds many bags of clean and carded wool fiber piled up in front of the shelves of wool. So much wool you cannot see the shelves ! The little shelf to the right of the wool shelves holds weaving supplies and a sewing machine.
This is the wall opposite my work table. Fabric and sewing supplies dominate here while the lower cabinet holds crafting books, pattern books, and magazines I use for inspiration in my crafting. The sewing machine & sewing table I use is beneath the thread holders on the wall. I keep it covered when not in use because working with my wool fiber can sometimes be dusty work. Again, any closed boxes, baskets, or containers are labeled and stored near similarly used supplies.
I see Blizzard is sleeping again and I am going to have to reclaim my work surface. Thank-you for taking a moment to see my messy, but useful & much loved crafting room. Now I am going to work on a few more needle-felted balls. Blizzard will probably happily bat them around and hide them . He's just testing them out to make sure they work properly and having fun watching me find them later on. I suppose this makes it Blizzard's room too, his cat-napping room !

Monday, November 17, 2014

Where Do I Store My Teacups ?

 I store my teacups and teapots in pretty boxes ...
 ... in my crafting room. It looks cluttered I know, but I took these pictures after a few hours of needle-felting wool balls. I set my needle-felting materials near the small table which has a stack of rubber foam to absorb the sharp needles I use for needle-felting the balls. Blizzard the cat is my constant companion when I am indoors and I frequently have to stop my crafting and remove him from my work surfaces . I placed the little table & chair in front of the small t.v. so I can watch the Hallmark channel Christmas specials I have recorded for my days in the craft room. ( Easy- viewing Christmas specials with happy endings make me happy , and inspire me when I craft.)

 I sew, quilt, make rugs , scrapbook, fill photo albums , and write letters in this room. And I store my teacups here.
 
The view from my window in the crafting room. It is a fine foggy fall day, the ducks and geese are splashing in the pond, Blizzard is napping on the table .As soon as I brew myself  a cup of tea I'll remove Blizzard from the table and begin a new batch of felted wool balls.I'll show the rest of my crafting room in the next post.
 
I am joining these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :
 

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Simply Autumn

 Simply autumn . Pictures from the front of our home where the Japanese maples are dropping their leaves on the evergreen shrubs underneath.



 The shady and secret spots of our property hold little pockets of moss and mushrooms.
One of our ducks napping in the fallen maple leaves of autumn, simply autumn... my favorite season.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Whimsy in Autumn

We love the fall ! Whimsy and I appreciate a good walk through the autumn leaves. This is my favorite time of the year. Apparently the dictionary defines autumn not only as the season between summer and winter, but also as my season in life . Autumn:"time of maturity or decline  ...autumnal : past middle life"*. Hopefully the "decline" part isn't too bad yet because I still don't even feel like I am past middle age. ( after all , it's perfectly reasonable to expect to live to be 120 years old, isn't it ? )

*Webster's Collegiate Dictionary  1941