More Christmas

Snow days are so nice for catching-up! I have the rest of my Christmas shots, but found nothing of the solarium tree. I guess we did not take pictures of it?

This is our great room tree.

 

New to our collection this year, is my favorite nativity set (gift from my parents). The figures are large (10 inches tall)  and have so much detail. I love the real clothing and the fur on the animals. After enjoying them from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year's Day, I really miss looking up at the set!

 

 

 The mantel mirror caught the refection of the ceiling fan, which sort of ruins the effect in this shot!



 

 

This is our four-foot tinsel tree on the landing. It's decorated with beautiful ornaments from when Randy grew up. I love the way the sun comes in and makes the tree sparkle.

 

These are the carolers who lead the path to the tree!

If I happen to find pictures of the solarium and the 11th tree, I will add a post. I am thinking we did not take any of it, though!

(Belated) Christmas Pictures

Before the holidays, I posted a few pictures. I think I showed the dining room and its tree, the living room tree and the nativity display. I had hoped to post more shots, but the time got away. Between Christmas and all of its activities and school, I never had the opportunity to get back to this. I am taking advantage of this snow day to show a few more pictures which I had saved. Sadly, the decorations are down now. It always makes me sad, but we did enjoy all of it for a month. By comparison, the house always looks drab in January!


This is the kitchen tree, which had a Santa theme this year.

The table was set with Santa dishes.

 

 

 

 

Randy's office tree is a St. Louis Cardinal theme, with a patriotic twist.

This is our white penguin tree which revolves. It goes in our bedroom.  Decorated entirely with treasured penguin ornaments (all gifts and mostly from students over the years) it is accented with peppermint striped bows.

 

This is the grandparents' tree in one of the guestrooms. These precious ornaments were given to me from my grandma when she moved from her home and into an apartment.

 

This is the den tree and is decorated with some childhood ornaments of mine, as well as non-penguin gifts from students. Regrettably, the pictures are so blurred that you can't make out any of the ornaments. I'm not a great photographer!

One of the guestrooms is decorated in a Christmas theme all year. The little alpine stands in the corner and holds small framed family photos. I should have gotten a close-up.

 

This is the wall art in that room. The picture looks grainy, but it's not. I designed it through Uppercase Living about three years ago.

 

 

 

I need to sort through online photos to find my pictures of the tinsel tree, the solarium tree and the main tree in the great room. We already know that it's too cold and snowy for classes tomorrow, so I will try hard to get another post done since I will be home.

 

This was taken this year under the main tree in the great room. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

I am way overdue in posting Christmas decorations. We began decorating the day after Thanksgiving and finished that same weekend. As everyone experiences, however, the season is very busy! As a result, I have not shown any new photos since Thanksgiving. I will show a few pictures today and then will plan to post again throughout the week with more. We teach through Friday, so there is little spare time! :)

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

This weekend's snowfall made everything look more festive!

 

 

We are displaying nativities in the curio this year. Some are family pieces which make them even more precious. Many are "on loan" for the season from my parent's collection. :)

 

This pencil tree is in the living room by the piano. Since it is so compact, it perfectly fits into the corner to display my aunt's all-red collection. When she moved to the sunny south, she gifted me with these treasures.

 

 

Our dining room has a snowman theme this year.

 

 

How do you like the new Christmas china? I found it on Craigslist this summer and purchased it with birthday money. It's makes my second set of Christmas china and is one of five sets of Christmas dinnerware. Yes, I use them all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We replaced our dining room light in October. It's hard to see the details too well in this picture, but it is a pineapple light.

 

 

 

That's all for now. We have nine more trees to go, so I will try to get to more this week!

 



Happy Thanksgiving!

Although I have had the dining room table set with the Thanksgiving dishes for weeks, I am just now posting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day after Thanksgiving, we will put up the trees and decorate for the best time of the year. I will post pictures when it's presentable!

 



 

Autumn Colors

We suddenly have our peak of color and everything is so pretty! We were able to take advantage of the day. I was contracted for only a half-day as we had professional development (no classes for students). Randy took a bit of time out of the office so we were able to go on a hike through the woods late this afternoon. I was reminded of the following poem, even if it's a day late now that it's November!

                                                                                   October's Party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The chestnuts, oaks, and maples,
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand.
Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind, the band.

Chestnuts came in yellow,
Oaks in crimson dressed; The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best.
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow, At hide-and-seek they played.
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

                                                               Author: George Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Touch of Autumn

Welcome Fall!

 

 

It's beginning to look like autumn. The sky is that beautiful blue and we have a few hints of reds and yellows. I began decorating for the season two weekends ago, but between home responsibilities and playing school, it took some time to wrap-up. Today is my first day of fall break (HOORAY!) so I am taking pictures to post.

 

The pumpkin dishes are the only new items on the table. A student and his family gave me a Wal-Mart gift card for an end-of-the-year gift in June, so I used that card to purchase the four pumpkin salad plates. It's part of their Better Homes and Gardens seasonal collection and I just love them! By the way, the tablecloth was a wedding shower gift to my parents over 50 years ago! I am borrowing it since it is not only a perfect match, but in perfect condition!

 

 

 

Our great room mantel is accented with fresh IN bittersweet, compliments of my aunt and uncle!

 

For some reason, the candlesticks appear to be leaning. They aren't; it's an optical illusion! 

 

 

The solarium mantel has lighted branches so it has soft white lights at nighttime.