Christmas Decorations are up!

The front hall rectangular bowl has pine cones and mercury glass ornaments with the brass jingle bell.

The Christmas rose bowl with a red candle is sitting there greeting guests as they arrive.  I have replaced the real candle with a red battery operated one.  This was a gift from my sister who sent it from Germany.

The white ceramic tree works all year long and fits right in at this time of year.

I set up the large metal nativity scene for the first Sunday of Advent - Nov 30th. 

The candle holder in the front is my alternative Advent wreath since I just did not have the space for the large glass one. It will get spruced up next year but for this year I am just glad I have it up.

I set up my fluted tea cups as tealight holders which works well.  I put a crackled glass holder at the top for Christmas Day.  

I put real candles in the Advent Wreath and make sure I blow them out when I leave the room.

Here's the Christmas Tree all light up and decorated.

It looks so good.  

It was nice to open the boxes of decorations I have not seen since 2023. 

They are mostly glass with a few wood ones as well.

Some are ornaments we receive at our large family get together which we celebrate every other year.

There are a couple of very old ornaments which we had as kids.

It sits in the middle of the conversation corner between the 2 yellow chairs.

I have several nativity sets.  My large one is still packed so I pull out this medium one which sits nicely in front of the folk art painted fold out stable.

I added string of battery operated fairy lights and the green ceramic Christmas tree I found on sale at Superstore a couple of years ago.

The Reason for the Season.

I have several fireplace DVDs.  I chose this one for this year because it makes the TV look great and there is the option to only the fire crackle and no music.

I had it on went folks came to visit.

The Silent Night wax warmer from Scentsy which I received as a gift from my niece is putting a cinnamon scent in my place.

I love how it makes light marks on the wall at the back.

The wax plate is generous and wax lasts a long time.

Scentsy Cinnamon Vanilla is my favorite. After checking current scents I see it is still available.

I will check in my new town if there is a rep nearby.

I now have Mom's Christmas Candelabra.  I just love it.

I have it set up in the window in the craft room.

I will investigate getting LED bulbs for it. I can color them with alcohol ink to make them yellow.

Recent Photos

It has been a whole month that I have kept my dining room table clear of clutter!

I can actually sit at the tables for meals but rarely do.  I should work on that habit.

I worked on the process when I got a lot of company before the holidays. 

I quilted recently and that requires the wooden table so it was messy for a few days but I put all the quilting stuff away and it's back to looking good.

Aren't DVDs great!  When you are ready to get back into the routine they still provide their programming as they did the last time you started down this road.

I love the Leslie Sansone program because I can customize the work out to my available time, works the important muscle groups and provides 5 aerobic programs.  Going on 3 weeks now of 5 days a week.  It contributed to my better response to the 10 days of -30 weather we had recently.  Last year, I hid under the blanket on the couch for most of the cold snap.

I bought this wreath on sale after Christmas.  I was looking for a smaller one with more elegant lines than this one which I have used since 2015.

I will refurbish it for next Christmas. First, the greenery it makes it hang crooked because the weight is only on one side and it is not the most elegant fake greens.

I just love this geometric one that I bought a couple of years ago and just don't what to take the chance of losing it by hanging it on the outside of the door.  I enjoy it all year round in my place.

I finished this book last week - Father Melancholy's Daughter by Gail Godwin.  It was a tough read for me.  The idea of a mother abandoning her child did not sit well with me.  Then the father suffers depression episodes which leaves this girl fending for herself often.

The book is about an Episcopalian priest so church life is very prominent in the story.  Living in a rectory, saying mass, and the meeting of the vestry.  His social life which bring in parishioners of every temperament.  

The book has a surprise ending but for me it did not redeem the book that much. 

I had a new deadbolt installed this week as well.  The old one has been sticking for a while then the cold made it worse.  I put WD40 in which made it much worse.  Just eventually nearly refused to turn and I did not want to break my key.

I had to wait 2 days to get service but I had a great locksmith come to help me in the cold last week who worked beyond his schedule to get mine done.  He was able to provide a brushed nickel finish which was great.  Now I need to replace the door knob so it will match.  I have brushed nickel knobs on all the doors on the inside of my place.

I will be purchasing a tube of graphite lubricant which is what locks need.






I have been enjoying aroma therapy every day.  Using a wax warmer makes it really easy.  I don't burn candles anymore.  This model is from Febreze and I chose it for it's simple elegant lines, neutral color palette and no light bulbs to replace.

My favorite scent is Cinnamon Vanilla from Scentsy.  I will have to find a rep so I can purchase more.  I tried over Christmas but was not successful in getting a response from the rep I contacted.

I have the warmer on a timer so I don't have to remember to turn it off.

Share Your Cup - This Week

I received this Scentsy Silent Night wax warmer for Christmas.  It features the nativity, the wise men and the shepherds.  A light bulb provides the heat to melt the wax.   It`s navy and white which totally fits into my colors.

Several years ago I changed from candles to wax for adding scent to my place.  Safer and I can set a timer for only a certain amount of time so I don`t forget to turn it off.

I placed my favorite scent -Scentsy Cinnamon Vanilla into it and enjoyed it all day!!  It added great atmosphere to my place.



I`ve decided to add some meditative coloring to my life in the new year.  I`m starting out with a small coloring book and my pencil crayons.  I loved, loved coloring when I was a kid and look forward to applying some creative juices to these pages.  I will post my efforts as time goes by.



I made some of these Thread Catcher Bags as Christmas gifts this season.  Several of the ladies in my family sew and quilt.  My Mom has sewn most of her life.  I had to sort out a pattern for these and you can find instructions on this post.

I made these soft fleece pot protectors for my sister.  These are designed to be placed between fry pans when you stack them so they don`t get scratched being moved around.  I chose the deep charcoal color based on the colors in her kitchen.
This is a very simple design based on a circle measured with a dinner plate.  It is 2 layers thick and I sewed the seams with zigzag around the edge then trimmed any leftovers off.  I ran 3 seams across the center and you can see I did not get perfectly in the center but the frypans will not notice.   This is very washable which is important for anything in the kitchen.


I am enjoying the decorations on the trees in the homes I visit over the holidays.  My sister`s tree on Christmas day was spectacular.  Done in clear lights, mostly clear, white and silver ornaments with a few red ones.  It rotated all day but I`m not sure how that was accomplished.  This is a silver snowflake that was on her tree.


Sharing with Share Your Cup #229 hosted by Jann at Daily with Mrs. Olson.