Something new

I didn't used to like poinsettia but I really don't know why.I guess I thought they were always kind of spindly and sparse.A few years ago I decided they are really beautiful. The color is so vibrant, especially in red!

I bought these at the grocery store where I work.

I couldn't believe it when I first saw them and this is why!

Aren't they just the cutest? The ways to use them are endless! They would be perfect as a gift for someone in a small apartment, hospital or nursing home. I wouldn't mind getting one as a favor for a holiday party and they would be perfect as a centerpiece. They even came in white and pink and were only $2.99 each. What a beautiful bit of cheer for a couple bucks! I have never seen them before, have you?

Confused?

Some of my plants are really confused. I found all these blooming today, November 29, in Western NY!

This primrose has been blooming for a couple weeks.

This is a pussy willow tree in the middle of one of my gardens. If you enlarge and look close you can see some white on some of them. I hope they'll still come out in the spring.

This myrtle is growing around a tree out front.

I also found this dianthus. There are even a couple buds on this plant. I'm sorry I cut so many things down now. Who knows what might be still in bloom!

I'm hoping I can check out some of your blogs. I just haven't had the time and I've really missed checking up on everyone.

Pick-up

They finally got here to pick up our leaves. This is how they are collected in this tree city. The two guys are pushing huge blowers. If I had one of those I probably could blow the leaves up hill!

They really make a mess of the terrace when they do this but it basically belongs to the city so you can't complain.

They use the street clearer to help blow the leaves. After they are all done the street cleaner comes by again to clean up whatever is left.

I'm not sure how many men are involved but there are at least 6 in this pic.

These two have really be in sync. See the leaves in the middle of the machine. I sure couldn't do that job. I'm not very good at backing up!

I sure does look messy with all those leaves around. Thank goodness they are gone!

Year of Color / Violet red

Today Jerzie got up close and personal with one of Grandma's snowmen.

It was so warm and sunny we even went for a walk around the block. I'm finally almost done with the decorating. A couple more hours should (better) do it. I'm hoping to get my shopping done tomorrow and then I just have a couple projects, wrapping and baking. I'll get my tree in a week or two.

Random stuff

My daughter gave me these on Thanksgiving. I really love orange. Back in the day I had a lot of orange in my house. I remember having to change my orange curtains when I had the house painted dark blue and mauve. I went out front to see how all the colors looked and all I could see were those orange curtains! Sorry I guess I got on a tangent there!

I had Jerzie over night Thursday. Her Daddy wanted to hunt and her Mommy went shopping at 3:3o AM. She offered to bring her over then but I said no thanks! I was slow in the shop so she was at work with me for a couple hours. The customers were happy to see her in person. Believe me when I say they have seen a lot of pictures!

I got started on some decorating in the afternoon. The Christmas dishes are now in the china closet. I did the out door stuff today after work. Can't remember ever doing it when it was this nice. It was 60 and sunny here today. I usually wait until the worst day of the season! Tomorrow I'll really get busy and by the time I go to work at night I should have a real mess going on! No pictures until the 1st of Dec tho. You'll just have to wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!

When I was a young turkey, new to the coop,

My big brother Mike took me out on the stoop,

Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,

And he told me there was something that I had to know.

His look and his tone I will always remember,

When he told me of the horrors of Black November:

"Come about August, now listen to me,

Each day you'll get six meals instead of just three,

"And soon you'll be thick, where once you were thin,

And you'll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin.

"And then one morning, when you're warm in your bed,

In'll burst the farmer's wife, and hack off your head.

"Then she'll pluck out all your feathers so you're bald 'n pink,

And scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin' in the sink;

"And then comes the worst part," he said, not bluffing,

"She'll spread your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing.

"Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,

I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat,

And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,

I'd have to lay low and remain overlooked.

I began a new diet of nuts and granola,

High-roughage salads, juice, and diet cola;

And as they ate pastries, chocolates, and crepes,

I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes.

I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,

And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed;

But 'twas I who was laughing, under my breath,

As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death.

And sure enough, when Black November rolled around,

I was the last turkey left in the entire compound.

So now I'm a pet in the farmer's wife's lap;

I haven't a worry, so I eat and I nap.

She held me today, while sewing and humming,

And smiled at me and said, "Christmas is coming...

"Happy Thanksgiving "

I was so busy getting dinner on the table I didn't take any pictures except of the No Bake Pumpkin Pie. I like it because it isn't as strong pumpkin flavor as a regular pie plus it is quick and easy. The best part is I don't have to make it before the turkey goes in the oven!

Put 1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatine, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. ginger,and 1/2 tsp. salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Add 1 can Eaglebrand sweetened condensed milk and 2 well beaten eggs.

Mix well, let stand for 1 minute.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until gelatin disolves and mixture thickens slightly(about 10 minutes).

Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups pumpkin (16 oz. can).Mix well.

Pour into baked crust or graham cracker crust. Chill 3 hours or until set.

Like I said, quick and easy. A dollop of whipped cream and you're good to go!

Christmas Meme

I don't usually do memes but this one is fun. I got it from Pea.

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? My Grandpa always made us egg nog when we were sick but since I can’t have his I guess hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Everything is wrapped, even every stocking stuffer. And people wonder why I’m stressed! 5 stockings, 12 to 15 packages each!!!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? All white lights except for the bubble lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope

5. When do you put up your decorations? I start the day after Thanksgiving. We use the good dishes so when they are washed I take the rest out of the china closet and put in the Christmas dishes.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I really enjoy my brother and his wife’s homemade korv but I also like scalloped potatoes and sill, which I only eat at Christmas time.

7.Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Just going to my Grandparents house with all the family.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I have no idea, that was just way too many years ago!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Only from my brothers family.

10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree? Bubble lights and vintage birds that I remember being on my Grandparents tree. Bead ornaments my Mom made for us every year and some vintage ornaments I’ve been given or found at household sales.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread? Love it at Christmas but as I get older dread it in Feb and March!

12. Can you ice skate? Nope! Tried a few times as a kid when a family in our small town made a rink in their yard every year. I ended up just wearing my boots so I didn’t break my neck!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have gotten many homemade great gifts, like the window my daughter made for me, and many great boughten gifts but I think my favorites were the things my kids saved their money for when they were little.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Without a doubt, spending time with my family!.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Christmas cookies.

16 What is your favorite holiday tradition? Getting together with my 2 kids and their spouses and little Jerzie this year, to do stockings on Christmas morning. I also love it when we all pile in my car to look at Christmas lights. We listen to the Oak Ridge Boys CD, suck on candy canes and stop at McDonalds for egg nog milkshakes!

17. What tops your tree? A bead angel that my Mom made years ago. I think that same angel is on all our families trees. Sometimes I think I’d like a change but just can’t do it!


18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving, especially the stockings. I buy special things and fun things and everyone acts like a kid again.


19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I love all Christmas songs but I think my favorites are O Holy Night ans Silent Night.


20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy? Yummy. I get all flavors.


I tag you all so I can learn about your Christmas!

Year of color / periwinkle

The other plate is a light blue Fiestaware so you can see the difference.

Taking a bath at Grandma's house.

Beauty Shop Tour

Today I'm showing you the most fun part of my shop. Believe it or not it is the tiny bathroom.This is the wallpaper border I have around the middle. I already had my theme picked out and couldn't believe it when I found this paper. Someone had ordered it and never picked it up so I got a good deal, too.

This is what you see when you open the door. The fox stole and hat on the mannequin were given to me by customers.The crochet like purse was my mothers.

The two top hats are black and the bottom left is black and white feathers. The one on the bottom right is navy with dark pink trim.

This shelf holds two clutch purses and two pair of gloves donated by customers. The perfume bottles, compact and gold hanging purse were my Moms.

The last wall is more hats. The top one in the middle is one of my favorites. It is a turquoise feather hat. I'm sorry the colors don't come out very well.This set is on the left in the last pic. This also came from a customer. She was in her 90's when she gave it too me. She had made them for her wedding. They are also turquoise but made of velvet.

If you haven't been here before there are 2 more tours of my shop in the October archives. I only have one tour left and will be showing that soon. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying the tour.

Warm and fuzzy food?

In my last post I talked about not having a written recipe for my vegetable soup. I make a lot of dishes that I have always made but never had a recipe. There are certain dishes that everyone makes that are old standby, comfort foods. My daughter says these foods make her feel warm and fuzzy! When my son got married my daughter and I made up a cookbook for them with all of their favorite dishes. We titled it "The Warm and Fuzzy Cookbook". My son does a lot of the cooking and he has tried almost every recipe. It took awhile to get them written down but at least my family will know how to make "warm and fuzzy" food for their families. Does your family have your recipies for their favorite foods? A cookbook like this is a great gift from the heart for any occasion.

This is my son and his wife a few days after their first wedding anniversary. It was taken on our annual Columbus Day picnic which of course contained "warm and fuzzy" food!

Soup Day!

I was a poor single parent for most of my kids growing up years so we had to find inexpensive entertainment. We spent most of our time at Poppy and Rene's camp. The camp started out with no electric or running water and I think we liked it better then but it was easier with an inside bathroom and hot water. We were really not related but they meant the world to all of us and we loved the camp.

One of our favorite camp traditions was soup day in September. Poppy would build a big fire, in the brick fireplace he and I built, and let it burn down . We put big kettles on and made vegetable soup. My daughter talked them into chicken noodle after a couple years because she didn't like vegetable. We would cut up all fresh veggies and have a great time doing it. One year a daughter-in-law brought frozen and my kids had a fit! In the afternoon 20 or so people sat down to fresh bread, crackers and soup cooked on an open fire (thus my daughters comment about soup tasting better when cooked on an open fire). The camp is gone now and so are Poppy and Rene but we have enough great memories of them to last us all a life time! My daughter and I also each have a camp soup kettle that we plant flowers in every year.

I don't really have a written recipe for my soup but this is what I do.

8am: Put soup bone in large kettle, cover with water and 1 lg. can diced tomatoes. Add one onion and salt & pepper. Cook on Med. heat until lunch time.

Add: 2 medium size potatoes(cubed)

2 carrots(sliced)

1 can corn

2 handfuls of barley

Cook at a slow boil until veggies and barley are tender.

Remove bone during afternoon break and cut off whatever meat is on the bone to add to soup.

Keep on low heat until supper time. We like to sprinkle grated cheese on ours.

Enjoy!

Full freezer.

Busy day today. Worked late and Jerzie came to visit for a couple hours. I made this pot of vegetable soup in between customers. Now I'm ready for cold weather. I have vegetable soup, cauliflower cheese and chili in the freezer.

Great finds!

Aren't these coasters beautiful? I found them at a household sale. They were only $1.50. They were in the box but one was missing. I had to have them!

They go quite nicely with these. These are placemats I found in a "junk & antique" store. They were in their box too and only $7.00. They all came from England.

I had them on the wall for awhile but don't really know what to do with them. They were too big for every place I wanted them and my table is a gateleg so it is really too small for them. I love them anyway and some day I will find the perfect spot.The flowers and colors are gorgeous !

Leather?

I got out this pin to wear today and thought maybe some of my fellow bloggers hadn't seen these before. This is made totally of leather. I discovered these a few years ago and just fell in love! This was my first purchase.This was my second. My pictures aren't the best but you can see the whole line and read all about them here:http://www.leatherjewelry.com/ These pieces are just amazing and not really expensive for something so special.
Don't you just love the little ladybug?

Year of Color/Red

It's Monday so I have to post at least one pic of Jerzie Shea. This week she is really getting good at sucking her thumb. She was sucking it in the last sonogram before she was born and has tried ever since. She would get it in once in awhile and usually pulled it right out. Today she even got it in her mouth while she was on her back.

This is my great grandfathers night shirt.Pretty fancy isn't it?

This quilt is an heirloom that I got because I am the oldest granddaughter. It was made by my grandfather's grandmother. He said she had to hold the fabric very close to her eyes so she could see. Glaucoma runs in the family so we think she had it.

If you enlarge this pic you can see the tiny stitches especially in the red fabric. I understand some people can date a quilt by the fabric used. I would love to do that sometime. I'm sorry to say that some of the fabric is deteriorating.
This is the backside. All those tiny stitches fascinate me!

Corner of my Home

This is a very favorite corner for me because of all the memories . This secretary came from my fathers family and was in our home as long as I can remember. It is the one piece I HAD to have when my Mom passed away. It is in my dining room and I will be showing you around the room in future posts

These shoes were made by an old friend of my Mom's who was an artist. One is mine and one my brothers. I'm not sure where I got the Gospel Primer but will show you some pics in another post. The Bible Story book was mine as a child.
I found this funeral fan at an antique mart. The picture triggered my memory of a puzzle we had as a child. I searched e-bay for several months until I found one. I had given myself a $50. limit but got it for $5.!! The puzzle is made of blocks, so it makes 6 different pictures. One is the same as the fan. I had forgotten all about it until I saw that picture. One of these luncheon sets belonged to my Fathers family and one to my Mom's. The small flower cup was also made by my Mom's friend. I've had the tiny tea set since I was a child.
These are Bibles from my family members. They include a small one my Grandfather had in the service and a Sweedish one my Father got as a young man.This nun doll is like one I had as a child. It came from the Red & White grocery store in the small town that I grew up in. I think it cost 99 cents. I know I had some others but this is the one I remember most. I searched antique stores for a couple years to find this. I found one that I thought was it but knew immediatly that it had the wrong cross. It is funny how our minds remember details we had no idea were in there!
This Dec. angel was my Mom's. Her birthday is Dec 3rd.
I have always loved the inside of this secretary. As you can see I use it. I love the detail and all the cubbies and drawers.


As you can see there are a lot of memories in this corner. Read my "Memories" post on Sept. 27 in the archives to get a better picture of why some of these things are so special.