Monday, December 27, 2021

Last Looks 2021

Darling daughter snapped a few photos 
on her way out.

The house is once again quiet,
both soothing and sad.
















What will 2022 bring to this world?





 

Monday, December 20, 2021

Waiting


Waiting for the kids and 
his pooch cousins.

Let the merriment ( chaos) begin!

 

Friday, December 17, 2021

Christmas 2021- still working on it

Anyone/ Everyone else
discombobulated?

I am struggling to maintain-

everything

Decided to tweak the master bedroom.
I already have that brown shade in the new blanket
and throw in other parts of the room.
Brown ( that brown) checked curtains 
and new rods on the way.

That shade of brown is apparent in nearly every room.
It all stems back to my beloved pie cupboard I refinished with
my dad when I was 12.

All the pillows are pretty much for Walter's benefit,
as he loves to root and hide in them.


There is the cupboard far left back in dining area
That shade is now everywhere.
Tabletop, rug, lamps, baskets, even the gourds!




Wonderful hand made snowman gift from a wonderful blog friend

I picture him as the town crier 
or lamp lighter in my wee village



Still making last minute cards


Shipped these heavy corbels cross country to another blogger friend.
Aren't they wonderful?



My hope for 2022
I managed 3 trips to CA in 2021
and each one was a mess of small totes and carry ons.
My hope is 2022 will be easier travel.
I sold my large "plane appropriate" bags many years ago.
So with a great sale going on, and knowing 
they only had to survive car trips, I grabbed some new.


Countdown to kids arrival begins.
Small Christmas this year so very little wrapping.
Baking my mom's chocolate cake next week for her post-birthday 
by request from DD.

Baked my annual pepparkakor for Thanksgiving,
in shape of fall leaves,
but not baking anything else.

Kids are no longer big sweet eaters 
and I am not allowed so..
DD is now vegetarian full time
so no standing rib roast and yorkshire pudding either-
it'll be a different holiday in that way also.

Change is fine
All I want is those dear faces in my home,
with the fire burning, the glasses and stomachs full,
and the stories and love shared.

Z







 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Christmas 2021

Enjoying every minute
Sometimes you fall back in love with your home.
For so many years - decades - I've always felt I would be
moving soon mostly because of "I need to".
Then came years of "I want to" to be closer to Darling Daughter
and Dearest Son and now Darling DIL, but that couldn't happen, 
dear lord, the cost in CA!

I've pared way down, but to you it looks like still so much,
but the closets and almost all drawers are empty. I store only 
holiday decor and tools, supplies etc.









The holiday decor is plunked down into existing decor 
and snow is thrown over, and greens added in abundance.
Many of these greens I've had over 20 years.





After 29 years in this house,
 I have made few major changes, other than paint
here and there, but I am getting inspired to maybe 
add some architectural changes in 2022.

Carpet is to go - for new, or perhaps
manufactured woods- depends on cost.

Anyway, my point is, when I came back from CA
and walked into my home I felt such joy and peace.
I like this place. I've kept only things I love
and enjoy- so many are memories of my folks
and of PA that I still miss, though I haven't been
back in 18 years, and even then it wasn't to my home town.
I was back to spend the last weeks of life for my parents. 

I am so blessed to have found a way to stay in my home.
I need to continue to care for her and to make 
her a haven for my family, and friends, but most of all
for me.

Holed up here for 15 months alone with Walter
was weird but not really awful
because as I just said-
It is a refuge, a place of peace and nurturing solace.

I pray you all have the same. 

Z




 

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

More- Always More

I'm still unboxing as quickly as I can,
so bad photos, but thought you would enjoy seeing some
of the treasures I uncover daily. 

A huge thank you to those shopping and buying.
What a huge help and relief for my friend. 
Right now we are not shipping- that is too much for 
both of us right now.
If that changes I'll be sure to let you know.

Look at this beauty - 1 inch yo yo's with a triangle edge!!!





 

Monday, December 6, 2021

Goodness Me

Just a few quick, badly lit, shots of 
what I've been doing.

A good friend needed help downsizing her vast collections,
so I volunteered to help and thought you might 
like to see some fun things.

There is so much more to come, but for now I'm just sending
 out emails to my old email list, and local folks can buy. 

I'm paring down myself and trying to resist any of the goodies,
but I did grab an old 8 foot peg rack that will go in my 
long hallway by the spare rooms. 
First I need to repaint hallway as it's been thru a lot in 28 years.









Fun huh?

 

Friday, November 12, 2021

It's a bottlebrush and deer holiday

Bottlebrush, deer and greens 
make decorating 
so easy.

Just doing wee bits at a time and 
my holiday storage I designed years ago
makes no mess at all.

The tree is the smallest I've ever done 
but I'm happy with it.

It has cotton balls on stems and frosted 
eucalyptus and lambs ears tucked in all over,
and then a few green and white paper ornaments
join some vintage mercury glass and
the requisite birds nest.

The red is only in the den. Last year it was
the porch, but change is good.

The lighted village is on my coffee table,
 so nighttime is very cozy.

The bedrooms I will do after Thanksgiving,
while I blast holiday music and most likely 
the new Adele. I still get chills when 
I remember her concert that was treated by Hannah.
SO much has changed for all of us since then. 



















I'll get some clear shots 
with my camera in daylight soon,
if I can find the thing after 2 years of non use. 
I was never good at it anyway, and it's old.

Z