family sign

I found this while Christmas shopping.  I liked the message and the colors. 

Sebastian

I finished up a painting I had started earlier in the year.

Getting Ready for the New Year

I found this book at Barnes and Noble bookstore yesterday.  I thought it might jumpstart our way to healthy eating for the new year.  I have no big resoulutions, just always trying to lose some pounds and cook healthy for my family.  This book had easy to read font, large, colorful photos, LOTS of good tips.  We will see how it goes. 

Here is my new clean address book.  My old one was looking pretty dingy.

The new purse calendar.

I am all ready for 2012!

Bring it on!

Gifts

Here are a few treasures that I received this year.

I love this big fat bird from my niece Angie.  He is sitting under a table in the foyer right now.  When it turns warm he will probably make his way near some flowers.

We were given this beautiful ornament.  I thought it was too pretty to put away so it went on the cross wall.

This is a bookmark.  I am enjoying it in the little glass vase on my bedside table.

Kevin made this box in shop class.  I think he did a great job and am so glad that I received it.

It is right now holding new Detroit Lions key chain from Sam. (Go Lions!)

Also from my niece some Polish Pottery.  My coffee will be so tasty in that mug.  The little woman will be holding cinnamon sugar.  My sister Linda gave to me the Noah's Ark Santa.  Every inch has something interesting to see.  I especially like the cats in the doorway of the ark.

When we were in Detroit I picked up a couple Christmas Gifts from Tom to me.  I wanted something with color to put on the fireplace mantle.  This nice vase is a Pewabic Pottery.

This large plate is just the right color to go with the window valances and it will also be on the mantle after the decorations come down.  Also Pewabic Pottery.

Tom saw me admiring this bottle.  It has coconut pieces floating throughout and it is so pretty.

I love coconut rum in my diet coke. 

Christmas Week

Taken before we opened our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve.  I always like to get a picture of them in front of the Christmas Tree for their scrapbooks. 

I get this week off between Christmas and New Years every year because USF is closed.  I so look forward to it.  It is so nice to wake up and know I don't have to get ready for work.  I can leisurely drink my coffee and think about what I want to do today.  On my "to do" list was to watch The Help.  Sam loves to watch movies and he will always watch them with me, so he joined me with this movie.  I had read the book and equally enjoyed the movie.  We went to the mall today and went to Barnes and Noble, ate at Cheddars, went to Phils Hobby Shop, Target-they have some of the best Christmas paper and I wanted to get some for half price.  There was not a roll left and it's only two days after Christmas!  Sam and I plan to go see the Twilight movie that's out, and he has it planned that we will go out to eat, watch a movie and play monopoly till the ball drops on New Years Eve. 

The only bad thing about this week is that 3 out of 4 of us are battling a rotten cold. 

Book Review-Dewey the Library Cat

This book was given to my by my friend Leah last year.  I needed to pick up something light since all I had been looking at for 5 months were text books.  Oh my gosh, I fell in love with it.  It was a two day read. 

Dewey Readmore Books started out as just a tiny dirty kitten that was put into the book return slot at the Spencer Iowa Public Library on one of the coldest days of the year.  This book is more than a story about a cat, its about a town and a family.  It was just a feel good, heartwarming story.  Dewey lived a good long life, he touched many people at the library and around the world.  It was amazing how his story snowballed to world wide fame from tiny Spencer Iowa. 

From the reviews on the back of the book there was one from W.P. Kinsella, author of Shoeless Joe-and yes I recognized the name from Field of Dreams-another Iowa setting.  "I loved this heartwarming story, with a five-hankey ending, that is not just about an extraordinary cat, but of the resilience and humanity of the people of Iowa."

Final Photography Project

Classes ended for the fall semester on December 14th for me.We had to show our final project. It was supposed to be a photo story. I chose the topic of porches. I decided that you could tell a lot about the inhabitants of the house by their porch. I walked up and down the streets of our historic west central neighborhood in Fort Wayne because the have some fabulous old houses with neat porches. It was a very sunny cool fall afternoon.  I walked and took pictures from 2:00 to 3:30 in the afternoon, when most people weren't home.  I didn't want to have to explain myself. The sun was my friend that day and offered great shadows. I took 3 rolls of 36 exposure film and had to choose 5 images.

This one I chose for the humor value.  I loved their gnome standing sentry at the front door.  Also the plaque on the door had a funny Halloween face on it.  The house had four mailboxes so it had been made into apartments.  So I wondered who was the person who added the interest on the front porch.

This one I chose especially for the easy chair.  Also if you look closely a couple of walls have a diamond pattern painted design.  I have been told this is kind of a party house.

I liked this one because it was so different from the others.  It was pretty no nonsense with old kitchen chairs, discarded cardboard boxes and empty beer bottles.  To me it seemed liked a definite mans house with not a touch of a woman at all. 

This was a fabulous, patriotic porch, with pretty wicker furniture but they needed to keep something in with their extra gate.  It could be a child or a pet. 

I chose this for the shadows, the flag and the built in bench.  The broken pumpkins were to feed the squirrels.  I saw many eating from pumpkins like these along the streets.  For being a small porch it had a lot of personality right down to its seasonal wreath on the door. 

Christmas Goodies

I love, love, love this cutout recipe.  It was given to us for a wedding gift and I have used it every year (31).  It needs no refrigeration, is just the right texture and consistency every time.  The flavor is out of this world.  I make, cutout and bake and the rest of the family decorates.

Someone got a little crazy with the red hots. 

I use lots of dipping chocolate on my peanut butter balls.  They are not beautiful but they are sooo goood.

Here is some monkey bread.  I used Pillsbury Grands Biscuits and cut them into fourths.  Melted margarine and rolled them to coat, poured the rest of the ingredients into a bag.  Added the buscuits and SHOOK IT UP.  Put them into a bunt pan and Whala...this is what cha get.  It was oh so good too. 

I also made some Cinnamon Sticks...thank you Suzy Smith.  Chocolate Chip cookie recipe but instead used mini Reese Peanut Butter Cups.  Haystacks, Waffle Pretzels with kisses and pecans on top.  We are just rolling around this house right now.

This Morning

Little bit of ice on the pond, little bit of snow and a little bit of pink in the sky.

How serene!

decorating around the house

Every year the Nativity goes in a different place.

I didn't have a nearby nail to hang the angel so I put an angel that my niece Wendy had made. 

She is looking over everyone.

I made this set 31 years ago.  Some pieces are chipped, some heads have been glued back on, but it's still a favorite of mine.  It brings back memories of quiet nights I was home by myself, when Tom was working.

Baby Jesus

Since I have my tall bookcase this year, the Santas fit well on it.

This church I made the next year after the Nativity.  I haven't put it out for a while.  In fact the boys asked where it came from.  I guess they didn't remember it.

The corner cabinet with the snowmen.

A gaggle of snowmen?

This whimsy Santa Tom gave me one year.

A Heartwood Creek Santa by Jim Shore

An old friend made this for me one year. 

Wonderful Crosstitching!

My Mom poured these out of plaster of paris.

Painted and stained these Santas.

She made one for all her kids.

She was a very crafty lady.

Tom has a little tree with shiny ornaments in his box window.

It adds to the decor of the front of the house.

Crosses

When we were in Detroit over Thanksgiving we stopped at the Solanus Casey Center.  I try to find interesting crosses and thought this one was very nice. 

This one I found at a florist.  It has replicas of the roman nails that were used to crucify Christ.

Tree Pretties

Here is a better picture of Mr. Wise Owl.  I like him so well he is going to stay out all year round.  We can always use more  wisdom in the house.

This is handpainted.

Another handpainted ornament.

I have red ones just like this too.  Picked them up at the dollar store.

Here is new Mr. Cardinal.  Isn't he handsome.

Here is Gloria on top of our tree.  I picked her up in 1981 on a shopping trip to Chicago at Carson-Pierie-Scott.  Hopefully she will be handed down as a family heirloom.

Like this little fella.  He was bought in 1951 by my Mom and Dad.  His name is Wee Willie Wand.

Pretties

I was on the lookout for a nice red wreath for my black door.

It is quite stunning.

Mr. Snowman greets at the front door.

Little kids loved to see him sticking up out of the cart on the way to checkout.

I just love houses.

I found this little block at Pewabic Pottery.

Geninne offered some original watercolors for sale.  I bought the Cardinales and got them framed to hang in my bedroom.  I love them!