~Christmas Joy, Friday GiveAway

Does it feel like Christmas yet? It's 80* here today, so that makes it a bit warm for getting in the mood. But that's what air conditioning is for, isn't it?!

For years, I always decorated for Christmas 10 days before Christmas Day, and tried to keep everything out for another few days after the big day. Somewhere along the line, the starting day got sooner and sooner. Part of the reason was my daughter. She pointed out that it sure was a lot of work just to have the decorations for such a short time. Now the beginning of December usually gets me going, and try to leave it up past the day after Christmas! I hope we find a tree this weekend and then doing a little sparkling around here.

Friday Christmas Joy GiveAway!

A bit of Beau & Santa to hang on your tree or to fancy up a gift or door knob.
The picture shows 2 different ornaments, the one on the right with Beau Bunny is this week's GiveAway.

Post a note by Sunday midnight or so, and I'll draw a name and post it on Monday. Hope your Weekend is Wonderful!

Because it IS a Wonderful Life just to Be.

~Tables of Christmas Cheer

The Festival of Trees was an enchanting experience as it always is. The rooms at the Museum are filled with so many things to enjoy for the Holidays.
One area is set aside each year with tables all set beautifully with a drawing at each one for gifts from the sponsor. We still buy our tickets for the Tiffany jewelery prize and I can't tell you what the table looked like this year. I got sidetracked looking at the prize. (We haven't won yet either, after almost 20 years. It's a very popular drawing!)Although there might be one one or two tables which are just over the top and stuffed with things on it, these all are set so nicely. If you took away their framed advertising, the table would be ready for guests, welcoming without anything in the way of eating!

I'm not sure if there were more red tables this year or if I just noticed the red one the most!

Hope you enjoyed the tour with me.

~Monday, Congratulations, The Winner Is...

**Lisa!**

Send me an email with your addressand I'll send your Gift right out to you!

Thank you to each of you. I see I'm not the only one who
(almost) never goes out shopping on Black Friday!
We did find that a lot of things are still available on
Saturday and the crowds seem to be much smaller.
And Sunday was even better,
although we didn't go near a mall.

There will be lots of updates in my Etsy Shop
as the week goes on. I'll be offering free shipping
on all orders $75 and over.

I hope you stop by and see what's new.

~Friday Christmas Joy GiveAway

Today starts the Christmas Season for lots of people. It used to seem way too early to think of decorating for me, but I've been wooed into it sooner over the last few years. I'm always eager to see what my friends have created in their own homes. Quite unlike me, I was in the check out line at Circuit City and Staples this morning at 9 am. Crowds of people make me run the other way, but I made it through. Hope all of you who went to the Big Sale Ritual had a good time!

My Friday Christmas GiveAway is a 5 x7 Art Print
of Beau Bunny and Santa.

Just leave a note by Sunday Midnight (11/25) or before I wake up the next morning. :) I'll draw a name and post it on Monday. Good Luck!

~ThanksGiving Week...

Let the Fun & Givng Thanks Begin!

~Congratulations the Winner is....

Manuela from the Feathered Nest!

I'm so happy that Beau and Santa will be coming to your loving home!

Your ornament decoration is double sided with old vintage lace trim.

I know you will enjoy it.

It will be mailed out right away!

Thank You to each of you who took the time to come
by and enter the GiveAway!

~Christmas JOY, Friday GiveAway!

As a Thank You to all the wonderful people who come by here and stop to say Hi, there will be a Little Joyful GiveAway each Friday until near Christmas to just help spread a little Christmas Joy!

This Friday's Gift is a small Christmas Ornament, an embellished ACEO style Card/Ornament. It features Beau Bunny and Santa. The picture shows the image I've created for it. I can't show you the whole thing because I haven't taken a picture of it yet because....

Sweet Husband just called and said he isn't going to work today after all, so that means we are on our way out the door to Renninger's Extravaganza!

Let's see if I find any new treasures to bring to home.

Leave a note HERE by Sunday, Midnight EST, and you will in the drawing for the GiveAway. Good Luck!

~Such a Lovely Love Story, and Wedding

Weddings have gotten so carried away these days, sometimes it's hard to enjoy them anymore. It seems like it's all about how much money was spent to impress. But this wedding was beautiful. Oh it wasn't done on a tiny shoestring, but nothing was done just to impress and she was careful with her budget. It was however very special for other reasons, and this night and this wedding have really stayed with me over the last few days.

It's easy to say what you would do after being married to someone for many years and some kind of illness strikes, you do what needs to be done out of love. Period. This young woman has shown more courage and love than seems possible for someone so young, not yet 30.

A year and half ago, their lives were full of fun with a dash of caution I'm sure since he was a police officer. He was hurt in the line of duty and needed surgery on his knee. Not major surgery. While they were doing the operation, he had a major stroke. He came out no longer able to talk or walk and had to learn all of this again at the age of about 30. Not something that would ever cross your mind at that age. She has been his "angel" as he said with great difficulty of speaking during the ceremony. What amazed me was how she looked at him exactly the same as if he were giving his vows with the most clear and perfect voice possible. She looked at him the same as he struggled with speaking as she did before the stroke, he was totally the same to her. Not a waver of her loving gaze as if he speech was still perfect. Weddings often make me cry. This time it didn't. I was too in awe of the courage and love I was privileged to see.

The setting overlooking the lake was spectacular, with huge cypress trees on acres of land. Such a perfect spot with this gazebo in just the right place.

Isn't this ball made of tiny lime green mums beautiful?Thanks for your notes on the previous post. I wasn't looking all that kindness, but appreciate it anyway. I just haven't been around to your blogs, which I love to do and wanted you to know part of the reason. I'm busy trying to do somethings for Christmas for the shop. But I seem to be really slow at getting things done.

Have a wonderful evening!

~Friday, Beau Bunny & Santa.... Believe!

Does it feel like the Holidays Rush already at your house? It's been a zoo for us lately. But at the moment, I'm so thankful we are doing as well as we are, even with rushing around.

A couple of weeks ago, a doctor told me the very red, ugly spot on my eyelid might be Lupus, the same day a doctor sent my 28 year old daughter to the ER because of chest pains. We spent 5 hours there while they ran tests and finally decided it was not a heart attack or stroke. Anyone who ever spent one minute with a child in the ER has all my respect. It's tough.

(I got to dermatologist quickly and it was most likely allergic reactions and not Lupus, for me. Even that seemed minor in comparison to worrying about my daughter.)

Last week Sweet Husband called from work and said he was on his way to the doctor because he hurt his back and someone was driving him there. He is out of work still, and healing and getting better each day. It's been a strange few weeks.

Today is a celebration day. We are off to a wedding tonight. Outside!! Even way down here it does get a bit chilly. It will be about 49* later on, and that is very, very chilly to me. So I'm looking for some thermal underwear right now. Just kidding, kind of. :P

Cookie talk:

Why use spelt flour? Wheat flour and water makes glue. Ever tried it? Yes it does. I usually take any recipe and start out with using 1/2 organic unbleached and 1/2 organic spelt for however much flour it calls for.

I also add 1 cup of old fashioned oats in place of 1 cup of flour. I don't like oatmeal cookies, but I don't even notice the 1 cup in the cookies.

Also an important ingredient is Ghirardelli Chips!! 1/2 the 60% Cocoa and the other 1/2 the Semi-Sweet. I could do all 60%, but Sweet Daughter likes the mix.

I just wanted to post a little about what was going on around here because I get behind catching up with all of you sometimes. But I understand how busy most of you are, and it makes me appreciate it so much when you come by and take the time to post a note. Thanks bunches!

Hope you all have a Wonderful Weekend!
with not too much rushing around

Just keep on Believing, because It's a Wonderful Life!

~Beau Bunny's Christmas Tree

~~Beau Bunny's Christmas Tree~~

Packing away all that Halloween stuff, I found a portrait from the late 1800's of our darling relative, Beau Bunny with his finely decorated Christmas Tree!

Isn't he something in his fine ruffled attire?!

New on Etsy today. There will most likely be 3 different Christmas Prints of Beau. I heard there is a picture somewhere of him with Santa! Stay tuned, I'm looking through old family albums looking for that one!

~It Must Be Cookie Time!

Is there any other cookie in the whole world except chocolate chip cookies? I've heard rumors others do exist, but they don't hold much interest for me, unless they are chocolate of course.

Yesterday while I was checking emails, I saw one from my sweet daughter at work. It said ...if I were home today and it was this cool out, I'm sure I'd make real cookies. How funny. It was all the hint I needed. It was cookie time. I've been experimenting with the recipe for so many years, just tweaking away as better and healthier ingredients became more easily available. Now I can buy organic spelt flour, organic sugar & eggs & butter at my nearby grocery store.
It used to be so much harder to find those things.

It must be the official start of fall in this home....... the air conditioning is off for a few days and I didn't have to turn it on even to bake all those cookies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beau Bunny has been getting ready for Christmas. He'll be making his next appearance on Etsy soon. His tree is all decorated! :)

~Autumn's Amber Glow, Leaves

"Autumn's Amber Glow"

It's that time of year when you see so many magnificent pictures of leaves everywhere. I love them! Of course it must touch a place in the heart of many, many people since they travel just to see the beauty in person. It is so good to know that there are lots of people who enjoy and value the simple but amazing beauty of leaves.

The paintings often took months for sweet husband to finish. I didn't have that kind of patience. Each one was woven out of his imagination and love of painting. This one pays homage to Autumn's Beauty.

~Decorating with the Colors of Autumn

This time of year I am reminded how much I love the colors of pumpkins and fall leaves. Thank you to all of you who have posted fall pictures!

Although orange is not on my favorites list at all, there are muted colors in pumpkins & leaves that are so beautiful to me and I just crave them more this time of year. Rust, muted reds, terracotta, deepest golds, burnt orange and a million variations.........yum!

I need to take the Boo Sign off the front door and turn the Jack-O-Lanterns around so they are just pumpkins again.

The entry table hopefully will get a new arrangement sometime today to greet Autumn instead of celebrating Halloween.

This picture is from a couple of years ago with my favorite pumpkin. Now what shall we put there this year? Time to go find all those Autumn colors. Don't you just love this time of year?

Wishing you all a most wonderful Friday & Weekend!

~Water, the Enchanted Element on All Soul's Day

It was fun to go see what was happening in Blog Land for Halloween. There was a lot going on! I don't think I saw but a little bit of it.

I love seeing the kids come to the door, all dressed up. So cute. Even though it's not like "used to be" there is just enough left to still make you smile.

The Enchanting Water Fairy

Available now as Fine Art Prints on Etsy.

You know how much I love water.

So you won't be surprised how much I really love this painting.

Today is All Soul's Day. A strange and old holy-day. But it's nice to remember all those who have been with us in our lives and gave us Love, but who are no longer here on Earth. Blessings to all who have Loved us.