The Stockings Were Hung

Christmas at Willow Ridge

Tis' the season for another x-mas house tour. A lot of it is the same as last year's tour, but there are some little changes here there. Some new sconces from our craZy & eventful trip to Lancaster. Another year and I might even be able to laugh about it.  :o)
The biggest change outside is the reindeer in the flower boxes. Purchased for 80% off last year, they were bright gold and glittery and made to hang. I drilled some holes in the bottom, added dowels, and spray painted them with 2 shades of brown and a very light mist of black.

Livingroom
The livingroom saw the greatest changes this year. The waist high walls torn out between the livingroom and the front entry hall, the awful navy carpet replaced with beautiful hand scraped hickory floors, new high profile maple baseboards, and a new to me chandelier. Next summer I'm hoping for new windows and crown moulding. I also found the windsor chair on Craig's List for just $100 and picked up an adorable early tavern table at an antique show. If you are looking to install wood floors in your home (also engineered and laminate floors) be sure to look up www.TrueHardwoods.com . My flooring would have been $8.99 a sq ft if bought locally. Thru True Hardwoods it was just $4.19 sq ft. No, I do not have ties to this company. Just passing on some very valuable info.

The Teddy Bear Tree

The Family Room

The Homespun Tree

Diningroom

My hubby made me a new bowl rack this year and I got to order a new hand crafted, tri-corner lantern from "Rob Miller Lanterns" for mother's day. You can find a link to his web-site in my fav web-site list.

Master Bedroom

 The Guest Room

  The Bath

Thanks for dropping by and taking the tour of my little house. We've just been here for 2 1/2 years so it's a work in progress but it's coming along. And, of coarse, I'm having the time of my life planning for new windows and deciding which wall to knock down next.

 Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!!

MY FALL DECOR

I've never been one to decorate for fall. Just a couple of the usual pumpkins on the porch and that was about it. I always hated the thought of having to store it all somewhere. Plus, because I have soooo much Christmas decor I usually get started putting up my first tree on Halloween. But this year I came across a couple things I just couldn't live without and so it begins, LOL.

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THE FRONT PORCH AND WINDOW BOXES

It's about time to get those mums in the ground. I have some new landscape this year with some nice big empty spots just waiting for them.

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THE FRONT ENTRY WAY

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THE LIVING ROOM

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THE DINING ROOM TABLE / BOWL FILLERS

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THE FAMILY ROOM

The cage witch doll is what started the Halloween decorating for me. I made the crackle finish pumpkins in the early 90's for a craft sale - left overs. I never displayed them and several times they nearly went to a charity store. The plan was to have an antique postcard enlarged to frame and stand in the middle but it never quite materialized. Next year for sure!

I started out with a basket full of apples until, one day, when I saw a fruit fly buzz by. Now the basket serves as an ideal spot to dry my gourds. They are in plain view so I remember to turn them every day. These are the only 2 gourds the darn rabbits didn't decimate. Next year They'll be growing on a trellis. Uh huh!

Now the thing that always strikes fear in my heart. Hitting the Publish Post button. I always struggle with this. Spending all afternoon taking pictures, cropping and editing, and then arranging everything just so. And then.................... and then I click publish and everything scrambles and re-arranges and nothing is where it belongs. Yesterday was especially bad and, after pulling out all my hair, I deleted my post & turned off the computer for the day. Does anyone else struggle with this? Well, I guess I better click that button and get on with my day. I am taking my 76 yr old mother to the hospital for knee replacement surgery today. Time to replace the replacements.

My Favorite Trick-or-Treater's 2010

A couple of extra special spooky little goblin's dropped by to visit their gramp's and Nonee. Sienna is now 3 yrs old and her little sister is 13 month's.

Procrastination

Procrastination

I have a sister is has always been the queen of procrastination, a personality trait that has always annoyed the heck out of me. But lately, I see myself procrastinating more and more. Half finished projects piling up, housekeeping can always wait, and the grocery store will still be there tomorrow. I figure I need to do something about it and start getting busy around here. But where to start? Maybe I better think about it a while, then maybe I’ll make some lists and schedules to keep me on track. I finally decided the place to start was to clean out the sewing/ craft room. This room looked like what you see on the tv show "Hoarders". It had become the dumping grounds for things I need to attend to. So, I took pics of the mess and posted them on my face book. I figured surely, if I outed myself and my mess, I would have to do something about it. That was about a month ago. I got started but then slacked off and piled more things in there. Good grief! Enough is enough. Yesterday I finally got in there and got busy and this morning I woke up early and went right to work. Piles of DMC, patterns, fabric, and buttons to sort. Lots of things to be filed, tossed, donated, and cleaned. Well I am almost there. Just a handful of things left to find homes for. But I found the floor and the recliner and the desk chair. Nearly forgot what they looked like. I can use the scanner and the sewing machine again! Hooray!

So one of things I couldn’t do while the room was in such disarray was a blog challenge by Delphi’s Primitive Rustic forum. They asked us to go to our blog’s and post a picture of an item we made that we are most proud of. Well, not only could I not access the scanner but I couldn’t find the picture I wanted to post. So, better late than never, I found the picture, got it scanned, and am answering the challenge.
This is a cross-stitch I did 26 yrs ago for my sister. It took me over a year to complete this cross-stitch. I wish I knew the dimensions but it is large and done on hardanger (22 stitches per inch). When I purchased the fabric, the sales woman said that was a mighty ambitious project I was tackling and maybe I should re-think things, LOL. I had found a book of seashell patterns. Each pattern intended to be done as individual projects. But I couldn’t decide which shell I liked best so I used nearly all of them on a single wall hanging. Sis, who is big on nautical and ocean life, must have liked her gift because it has gone through a couple of long distance moves and been hanging on her walls every since. Except now it is hanging behind a beautiful comb back windsor with a artist made mohair bear in a sailor suit seated on it.

It's Been a While

In fact, it's been so long that I checked in and found my background had been removed and for the life of me I can't make my font larger or find how to change some settings in the layout. I feel like I have to learn all over again.

Well, I haven't been resting on my laurels at any rate. With this gorgeous steamy weather we have been having this summer I have been spending as much time in the pool as possible. Usually 3-4 hours although some days as many as 6 hours. I'll be crushed when it is time to cover over the pool for winter. I have also gone vegetarian in my search for a healthier life style, although I do still eat some fish. Between the new diet and the swimming I am down 20 lbs in under 3 months. I am joining the gym this month while they have a special and taking the bike down from the garage rafters so it will be ready once the pool is closed. I haven't been a bike since I got my drivers license at 16 so we'll see how this goes. It's a very nice bike I got free off Craig's List last winter. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Craigs List. Today I found an add for free pears. We fill a tote with pears and will be canning in a few days after they ripen.

I can't say I have felt terribly inspired to craft. With all the crazy changes for sellers on ebay, the slow down in sales, and so many of the wonderful ebay primitive artists having left and moved on to other selling venues it's just not same. Ah well, it has given me more time to work on myself and get more fit and more time to spend on some of my own projects around the house that have been sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting............................... I bought a fabric stripper last spring so I could cut my own wool strips for rug hooking but then didn't find any wool at the garage sales to cut. Finally, the woolies are beginning to appear in the re-sale stores. I also discovered a new re-sale shop where all clothing is .99 cents ea. You can bet I had a field day and came home with a car load of skirts, jackets, and slacks. I bought a few other frightful items too. All "project" items that dearly need some make-overs. Just what I needed - more projects!

Well, just a word to let you know I am still alive and kicking. I have just been doing my kicking in the pool. Stayed tuned! I will be posting some before annd after photo's of all the "junk" I brought home today very soon - I hope. :o)