Wishing You The Best !

A Happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I've played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

~Edgar Guest

I truly wish each and every one of you, a New Year filled with much love, peace and happiness.

Your friendships have encouraged, enlightened, and made me laugh my frock off throughout this past year.

Here's to a 2011 filled with the same !

To friends and family alike

Many Blessings,

Jo

x

2010 A Look Back

Looking back at 2010.

The New Year started with snowfall

In May the floods came, most of the Nashville and surrounding counties were declared disaster areas, including our small town.



The flowers bloomed

We celebrated a union at the wedding of friends

We mourned the loss of our dear neighbor and friend

Our grandson got his drivers license and first truck.

Our granddaughter graduated High School with honors, and became a college freshman.

Oliver decided to stay and make his home with us

The flowers continued to bloom

The seasons changed

The color orange dominated the earth

The grandchildren attended their first University of Tennessee football game in Knoxville Tennessee, UT triumphed over the University of Alabama 32-29

The First Sergeant and I celebrated our fortieth wedding anniversary

The snow came

Christmas is celebrated

We've come full-circle.

Gifts That Made Me Smile

My sweet daughter, has a genuine love of antiques.
I put it down to all those years her dad and myself spent endless Sunday afternoons rambling the aisles of our local antique malls, despite her protesting, a seed was planted.

I in turn now reap the rewards of her passion, she has an adeptness of choosing the most beautiful pieces of dinnerware, and utilitarian pieces.

On Christmas Day she gave me this set of Liberty Blue, English Staffordshire dishes. All displaying Historic Colonial scenes, such as the one shown Independence Hall.
The 'blue' is just stunningly beautiful.

Next she added more dishes to my Johnson Brothers Friendly Village collection.
Eight of the Winter scene square side plates.

Last but not least, a gorgeous silver and glass pedestal cake plate,
the middle piece is made of etched quartz glass and shines like the North Star.

Thank you sweet baby girl.

Winter Friendships

Since I have a few days off from work, I had hoped to catch up on my overdue visits to dear friends.
Share a cup of tea, a piece of homemade Christmas cake, and swap Christmas gifts.

Instead, I've been infected with some sort of malaise, and have found myself spending much of the day in bed, my head wrapped in a lavender and chamomile sinus poultice.

Hopefully tomorrow it will have ran it's course.

"Winter, a lingering season,

is a time to gather golden moments,

embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. "

~John Boswell

Ratty, and Mole visiting Badger ~ Wind in the Willows

Visions Of Sugar Mice Dance In His Head

No longer able to withstand the festivites, and many sniffs of cat-nip later
Oliver ops for a cat nap.

And The Snow Came

It is close to midnight, we have feasted, celebrated, swapped baubles, and made merry.
The snow came.
No significant amount, just a dusting of the white stuff, enough to give the feeling of being a part in a picture postcard.
Snow on Christmas day, is there anything more magical !

"Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps itself about us,

that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.

It may weave a spell of nostalgia.

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,

but always it will be a day of remembrance--

a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved."

~ Augusta E. Rundell

Dreaming Of A White Christmas

As if by magic, the snow is falling.

The first time in seventeen years since we have had a 'White Christmas' and as the midnight hour approaches, there is stillness and silence all around.

"In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

~ Christina Rossetti, 1872 ~ A Christmas Carol.

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Merry Christmas to you all !

Peace On Earth Good Will Towards Men

Christmas is upon us.......

I've so enjoyed our visits back and forth throughout the year, all the sweet comments written, and well-wishes when a word of encouragement was needed.
I truly wish each and every one of you, all the blessings of a wonderful Christmas.

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love."

~ Ada V. Hendricks

Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men
From our home to yours.......

Christmas Memories

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,
We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,
And etched on vacant places
Are half-forgotten faces
Of friends we used to cherish,
And loves we used to know.

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Catnip Dreams

Christmas is coming
and all through the house
no creature is stirring,
not even a mouse

With a soft sweet purr
from under his hat
in catnip dreams lost

sleeps Oliver cat .....

The Longest Night

With the full moon high in the winter sky and the promise of a rare combination Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice, I've spent the better part of the evening outside.
Bundled up, with wool coat, gloves and hat, I began the task of stringing the faerie lights around the porch.

Inside, the warmth of the hearth, twinkling trees, and heady aroma of clove-studded pomanders gave me an excuse to abandon the project, opting instead for an evening with Dylan Thomas the popular and much-loved Welsh poet.

A Child's Christmas in Wales, a timeless tale, delivers with gentleness a glimpse of a child's Welsh Christmas and takes you on a journey back to the magic and marvel of boyhood " where no two moments were ever alike, and life was embraced with belief instead of doubt ."

Purely magical !

Christmas Shopping

It's a bone-chilling 20 degrees in our fair city this early morning, no cloud coverage, and hoar frost white as snow.

I ventured amongst the masses yesterday, taking myself off to the thronging Christmas shopping mart, I must confess, it's not my cup of tea.

I much prefer the kind of shops that are a 'hole in the wall' kind of place, chocked with antiques and time-worn utilitarian pieces, their finishes worn with years of use and enjoyment.

Today's a day of work for me, so the shopping will go on hold. It's not looking promising to finish checking my list !

Gathering The Family

We are getting ready for our annual family Christmas get-together, this evening.
My husband's family, eleven brothers and sisters and all of their extended families, husbands, wives, children and grandchildren, it's quite a clan.

The first year we gathered at Christmas after moma Moline had passed away, it was more like a going through the actions state of affair. We carried on traditions, bringing our favorite time- tested recipes, exchanged gifts, talked endlessly about our younger more carefree days, and laughed about the now aches and pains of baby-boomers years.
It's a joyous time, a time to catch up on our busy lives, oftentimes the only opportunity we are gathered as a whole family.

There is still an empty presence, moma not sitting at the kitchen table, sharing in all the laughter and conversation, with that look of contentment on her face.
The one that only a mother surrounded by her children in the family bosom, can exude.

I'll be carrying along one of moma's favorite Blue Willow bowls, filled with fruit salad, and although not physically present, her spirit will be amongst us at that kitchen table.

Christmas Is Coming

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!

Tradition English nursery rhyme

Bringing Home The Tree

"Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps itself about us,
that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.
It may weave a spell of nostalgia.
Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,
but always it will be a day of remembrance
--a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved."

~ Augusta E. Rundell

Christmas Cracker Traditions

Each year as I'm busying myself with the Christmas decorating, my thoughts turn to home.

The traditions at Christmas that have stood the test of time throughout many English households.

The partaking of mince pies, raspberry trifle, sausage rolls, steamed plum pudding, and Christmas cake laden with dried fruit , marzipan and Royal Icing...hard as a rock.

Afterwards a tipple of traditional sherry, or port, toasting the season and good health to all !

The pulling of the Christmas crackers before eating turkey dinner, wearing the paper party hats, laughing at the silly paper jokes inside, and delighting in the small prizes, most often magic tricks, or plastic trinkets.

Happy times, that are gratefully forever etched in our memories ..........

It's Beginning To Look Like A Charlie Brown Christmas

The snow continued to fall throughout the night, blustery wind carrying it to every nook and cranny.
Today, snow is still falling, I believe it is the beginning of the season...