I hope you can all bear with me! My 3 day a week job has turned into much more! I have received pictures from Donna, wait til you see what she shared! BEAUTIFUL...if anyone else is going to share, please send your pictures to thedilletanteproprietor@yahoo.com along with a description of what it is you love so much about it or why it is not your favorite spot or room and I will get a post up about it! I am so excited about Donna's, I can't wait to see everyone else's!
Can you believe Christmas is day after tomorrow? I have worked so many days in a row, it has completely gotten away from me!
Last year, when I moved into this house, we had a little" Charlie Brown" fake tree...well, this year? I still have it! HEE HEE! When we set it up last year, we had no decorations beyond a few bows and a couple strands of ribbon....we had no money...we did have 3 rolls of curly ribbon...so we spent a couple of hours making bunches of curly ribbon strands, the kind you usually put on presents and were absolutely delighted! We had so much fun making those and putting them on our tree...that this year? We decided to do it again! The ribbons were mostly free since we bought them several years ago and saved them for when we got a home...the memories of how happy it made us? They are priceless! In addition to the ribbons this year, we spent the evening making Gingerbread men...I tried using red hot candies for buttons and that worked out o.k...but don't use them as eyes! They tend to turn into "Gingerbread Aliens" instead...the one's with red hot eyes creeped my Honey out so much, I had to stick them in the back down on the bottom of the tree...
My living room smells of gingerbread...YUM! I overcooked them a wee bit and they are ginger bread rock men...so my little guys...Rudy and Louis...
do not even try to eat them! Louis, however...he seems to have a love/hate relationship with the tree...he loves the ribbons...but the tree itself? he has declared war on it...he takes a flying leap... runs up the center... snarling and hissing...my poor little tree was bent all to heck for the first week...now? he only snatches a few curlies and takes off...
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| You can see the bottom is still lopsided from Louis....had to close the curtains, it was so bright I couldn't get a picture! |
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| Tons of cookies....I love cookies! |
It is such a winter wonderland in my back yard...
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| Rudy...the snow man... |
My Honey has snow blowed a path to each pen...
May your holidays be inspiring...full of love and the wealth of family and friends...MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Everything looks so cozy there. What a winter wonderland! Can't wait to see your garden unfold! Blessings to you this Christmas, my newfound friend!
ReplyDeleteLove the whole room and the tree is beautiful! Alien gingerbread men! we have some standard ornaments that must always be on the tree. The "Christmas Turd" is a tree made out of dough from my daughters grade school years. We also made angels, santas, etc., out of jesso and paper mache. My daughter's looks like Cartman off of South Park. Of course, we love them. I wish all of you a merry Christmas and a fabulous new year!
ReplyDeleteAWWW Daisy, Thank you! Bless you too! Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning for me in this house...I used to dread having to be on a time schedule for shopping...it was so busy and noisy and tiring! Now? it is just about Christmas....family, friends and finding and making things that are treasures instead of shopping for them! Merry Christmas to you too, my friend!
ReplyDeleteDonna? My Honey and I laughed so hard about your "Christmas Turd" He went about the house singing "Ooooh, Christmas Turd...Ooooh, Christmas Turd...
ReplyDeleteHEE HEE! The grade school presents were the best! I still have play dough baskets and such from my kids too! Merry Christmas to you, also!
Merry Christmas to All !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLisa, I love your tree, the gingerbread men and the entire room. Our first tree was a disaster !!! We were living in an apartment in Amarillo Texas. We needed a little bit of "home" at Christmas time so when we saw the sign at the tree lot that said "Michigan Trees" we pulled in. We found the "perfect" tree, paid for it and asked the guy where in Michigan he got them. His reply was " by the middle lake". Huh ?...Now I'm directional challenged but even I knew that didn't make sense. Any way, we were happy to have a little bit of home for Christmas and scurried back to apartment to put up our Michigan tree. After we dragged it up the three flights of stairs, we noticed that our hands and coats were covered in green, as in paint. Once it was in the stand, it had a list to it. Upon closer inspection, we found the trunk to be shaped like an "S". After a few curse words, trimming of the trunk and picking the tree off of my husband, we finally got it to stand up semi-straight. We've been married 32 years and every Christmas we still laugh about our first tree that was painted green and came from the " middle lake".
Best wishes to you and yours,
Vanessa
Merry Christmas everyone!!
ReplyDeleteThe 600 dollar house has made top rated again on RMS! Caongrads
Sandi
Thank you Sandi! What a Christmas Present, huh? I never thought in a million years anyone would want to see this little hut! but I am so glad my need for direction and input led me to RMS! and to all of you! Who could ask for anything more? Certainly not me! My heart is full...
ReplyDeleteWho would sell you a painted tree? and the middle lake...LOL! That is a terrific story and it is still making me smile...32 years...I think that is the ultimate victory in life...to be married and stay married no matter what... Vanessa I tip my hat to you in wonder...Merry Christmas Lady Vanessa, you sure inspire me!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful winter wonderland!! Your house looks sooo festive and I can imagine the smell of gingerbread making it just perfect. I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteHooked
Lisa, I have confession!
ReplyDeleteI've spent the last couple of nights - and well into the morning - reading your entire blog from July through December and happily relayed most of it to my husband tonight over dinner.
Your passion, strong will, and boundless energy has me cheering you on & finding myself 'thinking differently' about the things in my life.
Looking forward to more inspirational posts.
~Ellen in Portsmouth, VA - an old port town
Ellen, I am so thankful you are here...and I am so happy you like our blog! To share this with any who come is a great blessing to me...the people on here have brought me such joy and a reconciliation in my life....that this is the right way to go! I am perpetually filled with gratitude for your comments and inspiration. WELCOME to the Dilletante Proprietor!
ReplyDeleteOh Hooked! Did you get any snow in Oklahoma for your Christmas? 3 Christmas' ago, I got in my first and only accident... in Oklahoma... in an ice storm...I ran over a police cruiser in my semi...it was rather comical! and luckily? the police are as kind as the rest of the Oklahomans! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI've just finished re-reading your entire blog! You are so resourceful, it's inspiring! I just did a "practice" garden this past year with a few tomatoes and peppers. I have a lot of work to do outside and your gardens are so impressive! I love your flower combinations. I think you should do a blog on planning your garden, and how to start your own seedlings. That would be great for newbies like me! Also, the post you did about freezing all of the ham and turkey for lunch meat and soups, etc....any tips to share?! Freezing never works out well for me :/ Your house is coming along great and I am excited to see more!
ReplyDeleteWe had flurries - nothing like last year's record blizzard!! I hope that you were serious about the police being friendly - most Oklahomans we have encountered since living here (16 years) are very nice - unless you want their lane on the highway (LOL). And roads are treacherous here during winter weather as we are not accustomed to it and usually ill prepared. Sorry your drive through OK was not so good. Sort of wish you were still driving, though, so that you could stop by for a cuppa!!! That would be awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteHooked
I was totally serious about the police being so nice! I could have killed him and he was so gracious...I still think about him all the time! If I was still driving you bet I would drop in! Wouldn't that be something! My truck had 3 inches of solid ice on it.. I HAD to stop, I couldn't see anything and it was pretty scary but those trucking companies push you so hard...my company asked me if I called the police and I said "I ran over the police!"...they laughed and said at least they were near by when you needed them! LOL! Oklahoma and Texas were my most favorite places to drive thru...everyone is so friendly and you could always find parking to stop for the night!
ReplyDeleteI will certainly do a post on how to start seedlings Sarah!(aka Fancy) I didn't plan the garden though, I just stuck whatever would fit in every inch of available dirt..and let it grow, I had no idea what half the plants were!lol! I dug a tremendous amount of little green "things" out of Christine's flower beds and didn't have a clue!
ReplyDeleteThat is my best advice...stick it where you want, they are so forgiving..you can always dig them up and place them somewhere else!