Open Doors!

Yesterday was Open Doors to Jamestown. We could visit the Audubon, The Fenton Museum, the Roger Torey Peterson Center , the Jackson Center the Lucy Desi Museum or skate at the Ice Arena for free. We decided Jerzie would like to show Mommy and Daddy the Audubon since she has only been with me.It was a perfect day! First we visited Liberty, the eagle that is unable to fly long distances so stays at the center.

We did a bird puzzle,
looked at tree frogs and peepers,

went fishing,

watched turtles swim

and walk.

We even got to see birds and squirrels up close while they ate.

We had a great time and Jerzie loved showing off our 'special place'!

We also went to the Lucy Museum but were not allowed to take pictures. It wasn't great for kids unless they watched Lucy reruns. If you are interested in Lucy check out the posts in my side bar for some interesting pictures and info.
Last day to sign up for my give away!

Winter

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant:

if we did not sometimes taste of adversity,

prosperity would not be so welcome."

Anne Bradstreet

British poet 1612-1672

Copycat

I have seen a lot of these hand made tiered plates in blogland so I decided to make some.I found 2 sets of brand new matching clear plates at a sale for around 5 dollars.
I had gotten an uneven pair of green glass candle holders at another sale awhile ago.

Just glue them together and there you have it!

I have them in my painted corner cupboard in my living room. Most I have seen are done with pretty decorative plates but since I had the green holders, the clear plates worked better for me.

Don't forget to sign up for my give away by Sunday night!

1010!

This is my 1010th post so I decided today would be the day to start my 1000th post giveaway! It helps that I can use my right fingers to type!

Here's the way this will work. Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday 17 at 6PM. I will draw the winners after that. The first drawn name gets to pick which of the prizes they want. Number 2 gets their pick next, and so on. Here are the prizes to pick from. The Quiet Land is a book full of pictures, both black and white and colored, plus narrative of the Amish in Lancaster, PA. This book is not an actual gardening book but a 'Bible study' of your garden or walk with God.

I love this wooden home accent and thought several of you would too so I got 2. It stands on it's own and is more of a table piece than I wall piece.

Lastly (unless I find something more to add) is a vintage wall plaque I found at a household sale.

I want to thank you all for being my blogging buddies. I have met some very good people and hope to meet more if some of my lurkers want a prize so bad they show their 'face'. Blogging has been a great outlet for me and I appreciate that you have been there for me thru my trials, especially this past year.

Now I have 10 posts toward my next 1000!

Baby Steps!

I got to take off these bandages today. The incision was larger than I expected. Inch and a half to 2 on my palm. Lots of bruising.I also got to take a shower, which felt wonderful! I even managed to get my bra on. So much more comfortable.

Dr's orders, no washing dishes or making meatballs!

Update

All went well with my surgery.I even convinced Laurie not to take blogging pics! Not taking pain meds, just tylenol. I need to get used to being a lefty! Thanks for all the well wishes and support!

Preoccupied!

I hope every one's new year is starting out well! I thought I'd give you an update on why I've been so preoccupied lately. In November the grocery store I work for filed for bankruptcy, again. A couple days later we all received a letter stating that all Q's stores would be closing by Feb. 15. As some of you know, I went thru a store closing last Dec and Jan when the one I worked in closed. We are being treated the same this time. The only information we get is what we read in the paper or hear on the radio, plus plenty of rumors, of course. I only work part time but all my insurance coverage, health, dental, prescription and eye, is thru the union at no cost to me. At my age I really need insurance and I had 2 carpal tunnel surgeries planned for Feb and March. The March one was changed to this Wed. so I'll have coverage. My son's shoulder surgery was Dec 16 and I've been helping with the girls a little because he can't watch them alone for a month because he isn't allowed to lift with either arm. The shop has also been busy as I tried to get every one in before I have surgery. I am still running to the dentist as a result of my accident and have been also going to the chiropractor regularly. With all the stress, I never really got organized for the holidays and now I'm trying to pay bills and buy groceries and get my Christmas decorations down to be prepared for Wed. I had to go for a mammogram, chiropractor visit and drive 40 minutes away for pre-op today. Just for fun we had 2 FEET of snow on Sat and Sun and it's still snowing today! We still have no idea if the stores will be purchased or when they will close. I'm hoping for Feb so I'll have insurance for my 2nd surgery without having to pay Cobra ($400.) The good news is I will get some disability as that is state and I do get the widow benefits from Social Security. If I'm not offered a position with benefits I've decided there is no sense in my working for minimum wage. I certainly won't mind not working 2 jobs! I'm having my right hand done Wed afternoon so I will at least be checking in on all of you. Then I'll have the time but I'm not sure how well I can do with only my left hand.

Keep checking in ! I had my 1,000th post over the holidays and have been planning a big give away as soon as I'm able.

Sunday Sweeties!

Christmas morning.Stockings! Matching Christmas jammies from Gramma on Christmas Eve.
Tiny tea set.

Aunt Lauries light up Micky.

Piles to go.

Jerzie liked all Payton's toysThe doll house was a hit!

Shared gift from Gramma.

What the holidays are all about, great time spent with family!

Last one!

This is our last Vintage Christmas Monday and I want to thank Joan. It has been a lot of fun!

I made this swag with vintage balls last year. It's just a regular green swag with the balls hot glued on. It's a great way to use balls that are defective or broken on one side.

Except for special ornaments, my tree is all vintage ornaments and birds.

I remember my Grandma's tree having birds on it. I don't have hers but have found a few reproductions and vintage ones.

Gramma's tree also had bubble lights that fascinated me when I was young. I also have some of them on my tree. They are all reproductions because I wouldn't dare use vintage on a real tree.

I put this great light up Santa I found at a flee market last summer in my window box on the side of the house. He's perfect out here. He's about 17 inches tall and I put a new cord and bulb in him

The box is lighted and I have a spot light on it also.

I can't do Christmas and especially a vintage Christmas post without including Santa!

My step father won him in a raffle when I was a teen. I'm 60 now so he has to be at least 45. He is about 5 feet tall and his insides are cardboard. The suit is fake velvet and his hair and beard are spun fiberglass. Santa had been hauled around from house to house and even made it thru a fire. He's showing his age but I still put him on my back deck every year. The kids can see him out the kitchen window and I have a spotlight on him so he can be seen from the street.

That's it for Vintage Christmas Monday! To see more great vintage Christmas decor go visit Joan.

Sunday Sweeties!

More Christmas!

I can't believe there is less than a week to Christmas! I'm slowly getting everything done. We're making cookies Sunday but I haven't even started the dreaded wrapping yet! How are you doing?

This is the top of my secretary. It's a favorite piece from my Mom's and I have some Christmas bells from her bell collection and a bead angel she made in it. What I wanted to show you are these figurines. I had seen these priced quite reasonable in the Country House catalog but didn't order them. This summer I found them in a gift shop on clearance, a couple dollars each!
They are designed from vintage Christmas cards. I love them and hope to add a couple more pieces.
I also have two more filled boxes to share. This one is on the wall in the side entry, decorated for the season.

I found this vintage stocking at a sale and had to have it! I decided to use it in a box this year. This box is larger so it sets on the floor next to my lighted pine cone basket.

Thanks for stopping by for Show and Tell. To see more posts visit Cindy's Romantic Home.