Turkey Day

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We had a cold day but a warm house as we celebraated together. This is (from the left) my fil Jim, my dad Bucky, and dh Dan. They were deep frying the two turkeys on Thanksgiving morning. We had 21 family member this year and that is actually down a few from usual. Our home was filled with laughter and it was nice to be together for the beginning of the Holiday season.
They did a great job with the turkeys, I couldn't get a good shot with both of them in the picture...so here is the first one!


After the first group went through the turkey is looking a little worse for wear...but that's okay we have another one!!! Hope you had a great day too.

Primitve Santa wallhanging

When you step into the kitchen from the back porch to the right you will see this primitive wall hanging that I made. This year I hung it very low so the three year old in our family could get a good look at it.. I thought she might enjoy something fun too. Tomorrow I will take you on the tour of my kitchen. I am a little disappointed with the pics because I can't get ones that I think really show the kitchen as it is...but I will snap a few more and just choose the best ones.
Since we are so close to Thanksgiving I wanted to post some of the things I am Thankful for!!
My Dad and Mom have worked so hard this summer at my home and I am so thankful they did because without them we could never have gotten the buildings put up and the old one ripped down...they will never know how much Dan and I appreciate their help.
I am thankful every day for my husband and the hours he works so I can stay home with the girls.
And I am thankful that I am blessed with three of the most adorable teenage girls..they keep me laughing and that is so important!!! Blessings to each of you.

More back porch Christmas

I did take a few more pics of my back porch even though I have a few more things to add. This santa I found at a garage sale a few years ago. He is made from a tomato cage. Many years I don't get him out but this year since I am changing things
this year I found a site for him on the porch.




The large santa is made from a straw wreath and my mom and I made him many years ago. He has hung is so many spots in my home. He is so cheerful and you just have to smile when you see him. So for this year he is haning on the closet door on the back porch right next to the wooden cabinet that I had in one of my last posts.
Hoped you enjoyed this small back porch tour! Blessings.

Vintage Christmas

This is one of the trees in the living room. I just love it for a change. 2 of the 3 kids love it too..now that's not bad!
My vintage Christmas theme is coming along. I have most of the decorations up and out of the boxes but I had too many quilt wall hangings...some of them were my very favorite ones but I just don't have the wall space to put them all up. Now where did I hang them last year?
Things here are eternally busy. I have a few boxes to carry to the basement and I need to sweep the back porch so I can put up a few new decorations but it is so cold back there....in the twenties and I just keep shivering and well....I will sweep later..LOL
I am going to make up a Thanksgiving menu today so everyone knows what to bring and then...I am meeting my sister for a hair cut. She is nervous but the beautician is good so she needs to calm down....it will look great.
Then I really do need to sweep....I like to sweep..did I say it is just too cold. I have to meet dh at his place of work so one of our cars can get worked on so I am feeling like a taxi and not getting much done.
Well, I am back from all that running around and meeting the dh and the hair appointment...now I am waiting for dd to get home so we can go visit my mom since it is her bday today and I want to stop over and wish her a happy day. I already gave her a present so I think I will pick up a little cake on my way.
Well, I think I will get ready for bed since tomorrow will be a long day. So until next time, be blessed.

Christmas on the back porch

I thought I would give you a glimpse at a few of my decorations on the back porch. Right inside the door you will see a simple stand with a light and greenery. I love the way it looks and smells. On top of the cabinet I have some of the treasures that some of my blog friends have sent to me over the years...and a snowman that my daughter made.
I havew a few more decorations on the porch but I didn't get a chance to take a snap of them yet...so I will see what I can do...until then be blessed.

A Silver Treasure

For a long time I have wanted a silver Christmas tree. My grandma had one that I just thought was the neatest thing ever. She had the color wheel that made it look so spectacular.
While cleaning out on of our rentals I found the most amazing treasure...when I saw the box I knew what it was but I was afraid that maybe all the pieces weren't there so carefully we took all the branches out of the sleeves and placed them in the little holes and low and behold...what a beauty she is...I was so thrilled. Now my children are not as thrilled as I am but have agreed to use this as our main tree this year. They do each have a tree in their own rooms so really it isn't that big of a problem. I think she is such a treasure and I am enjoying her each day....and smiling!






Kim at Simple Needs is so sweet!! I won her giveaway a little while back and when I found this package on my door step I knew who it was from.
My daughter was so excited that she went for the scissors and opened it giggling all the way.
The box was filled with treasures and good smells so we carefully placed them on the table, took a picture and promptly started finding homes for each and every item. Kim, how sweet you are...Thanks so much and I do hope that you are feeling better, it seems you have been sick way too long! If you have not stopped by to see her take the time to do so...and wish her a get well soon.
I have been so busy the last few days so this week I will start to show you some pics of some of the decorating that I have been working on. I wanted to hang the wreaths in the windows today but I didn't have everything I needed so I will have to wait until I make it to the store.

Treasures from Farmchick!

Yesterday when we brought in the mail this is the package that the mail lady had on my mailbox. I was so excited but then I remembered I needed to get my camera so once I found it I took the pictures of all the wonderful treasures that Tania of Farmchick sent to me. The candles are really wonderful...oh they smell so great and so cute too. Wish I could send you the smell!!!
Thanks you so much Tania...I already put all the candles out for display and boy does my room smell great. Thanks a million.
If you haven't visited Farmchick then stop by soon. Be Blessed.

A glimpse of the mantle

Just a little glimpse of what I am up to. I spent part of the day with my Mother. She stopped by and went to the grocery with me. She and Dad wanted to help with the Thanksgiving groceries. I am so Thankful for that. When times are tight it is such a blessing to have parents who are willing to help out. This is the kind of story that you pass on to each generation about what Thanksgiving is really about.
I took my Mother to our favorite salon today to get a trim and boy did it turn out nice. I think she will go back to Jessica when she gets back from Florida. It will be lonely when they leave, they have spent all summer at our house working on our new buildings....what a summer we have had.
This is a little glimpse of my mantle. I just started it today so it is a work in progress. I did finish a few other things but i don't know how to turn the flash off the camera so I can get a good picture...where are my kids? They can do it with their eyes closed. LOL
Hope you are having a wonderful Veterans day. My dad is a veteran of the Korean war...Thanks dad for serving but more than that...thanks for making it home. Be Blessed.

New railing for my garden shed...

Last week my parents were getting ready to leave for Florida when I got a call from my dad saying lets put the railing on your garden shed. I thought we were done with projects for this year but since he was willing....
We worked for a couple of hours and this is what the finished porject looks like. I put another caot of paint on them and they look like new. They are actually the old railings from the porch on my house. They look great on my shed. Thanks, Dad.

First Christmas decorations going up...

Well, these are just a few of my Christmas decorations that I worked on today. Not much to speak of. The welcome plaque has a different oval for each season..and holiday. It is so cute. My sis found it at a garage sale and gave it to me...she didn't think it went with her house but it goes great on my back porch.
The little tree is another garage sale find. For $5 I have a prelit tree on a base and I just sat it in the crock and plugged it in...now it can't get much easier than that. I really have so much to do but for today I am resting...MEggie...did you hear me say I am resting??? LOL Anyways, just a peaceful day and I even found a magazine to look through today. I guess I am done for today but will visit you tomorrow. Until then be blessed.

Fall cleaning anyone?

Sometimes when things seem so out of control I work on something that I can control and it seems to make me feel better...so... I have started my fall cleaning. It took me two days to take everything down from all the rooms and pack it away. Today I decided to wash walls and move furniture to sweep. I had done a quick dusting a few days ago so all I needed to do was to wipe things off with a damp cloth. Yesterday I worked on my spare bedroom. I will try to post a picture tomorrow.
In the midst of that my dad stopped over and we hung the banisters on my new garden shed so I stopped and painted them when we were done. I will post a picture of that too.
Today I moved the furniture in my foyer, family room and computer room and swept. I used the step stool and washed the walls( I had the curtains done a little while back). You can not believe how easy it is to clean when you have everything put away...lol
I have a little polishing to do in the family room and then I can move on to the kitchen floor tomorrow. Remember I painted it last week so most everything is already done in that room. That will leave the back porch and the downstairs bathroom.
I did hang up a few things in my bedroom and I cleaned my walk in closet last week so when I move upstairs to clean I won't have too much to do and the girls do their own rooms now so I am getting a good start on things.
It will be nice to have it done before Thanksgiving and all the holiday decorations go up.
Sorry about not pictures today but I am too tired to go get the camera and take them right now,

Mr. Ritz

I was trying out a pattern from Need'l Love and t his is what I came up with. I do enjoy their patterns because they are rustic and easy to follow. If you haven't tryed one of their patterns check them out. This one is Mr. Ritz.