Bringing Home the Tree

I recall nostalgic images from the past . . .
gorgeous sleighs filled with people, smiling faces, and warm blankets, being pulled by horses through the snow. And perched on the back, poking out in all its glory, was the Christmas Tree.
What a lovely way to collect the family Christmas tree and to travel in such a brilliant fashion!
Such were the times of our grandparents and great-grandparents.
Today, we have different methods of bringing home the tree.

So it happened yesterday, we went out for a ride to Church Lench to attend the tiny village's Christmas Fayre. It meant a ride through the barren countryside on a gloriously sunny day.
With so many leaves off of the hedges and trees, it is a good time to garner a glimpse of country houses and estates that you normally cannot see when all is in full bloom and blossom.

Seeing the rolling hills and the peaceful sheep in the fields, was like stepping back in time when Christmastime meant a different holiday, celebrated in much simpler ways than we celebrate today.
We had a lovely day out and about and on our way home, the clouds began brewing and a sprinkle of rain danced on the windshield now and again.
We happened upon a Christmas tree farm, very near our home, behind the hill where we live.
Even though it had not been our intention to buy a tree on Saturday, we decided to go in and have a look.

Upon driving into the car park, we knew there were some stares and some smirks - in fact - the young lad who approached us was outwardly laughing - he just couldn't help himself.
He asked us what we were interested in looking at, and Jim responded with something like, "A tree, naturally." To which the lad replied with a laugh, "What size?"
By then of course everyone there was having a chuckle, but we didn't care because we knew better.

Our darling little car had taken home many unusual things in the past so we knew it was wrong to try to second-guess whether or not something was going to fit in it.
Why, my boxwood bushes and pots and soil had all come home in little Smartie so why wouldn't a tree?


We selected our tree, and popped the roof open, and dropped it inside the car just as the rain really began pounding down. We closed the roof enough to keep our heads dry and motored off.
We knew the folks in the car park were still having a chuckle, but we also knew it cost us much less for petrol to collect our tree than it dod for our jolly counterparts in their big Land Rovers!
I only wish we had had some sleigh bells, hot chocolate, a blanket and some carols playing inside, too!
The modern age is upon us - we say, "Let's make the most of it!"
xxx
Maggie

Martha Stewart & Etsy Contest Finalist!!!

Oh I received the most wonderful news this week! I am so excited!
Well, saying I am excited about being a finalist in the Martha Stewart & Etsy collaboration contest would certainly be an understatement! I am beyond that - overwhelmed might be a better term to use to correctly describe my feelings right now.

I was contacted by a member of Martha Stewart Weddings on Tuesday about being one of the finalists in the contest. One of my wee Lucky Sixpence Books had been selected as one of 19 finalists and one winner out of thousands of entries. After some questioning I discovered that the announcement was going to be made on Thursday, today.
I feverishly began completing books I had very slowly been working on, in order to try to get them listed in my shop ASAP.

Of course, you know when you are busy, that is when all things come to a head: the phone rings a gazillion times, there are doctor appointments to attend to, tradesmen appear at your door, email builds up, the bank decides to ring you with am accident insurance policy to sell, birthdays, and even a very early Christmas coffee morning celebration, too!
So it was with great difficulty, with everything else going on, that I tried to keep working so that I would have some new additions for my shop by today.

You might imagine my surprise when I then discovered the announcement was made on Wednesday instead!
Oh well you know what is said about the best laid plans!

I have gotten a lot of work on the books finished and some are in the shop now and some more will go in this weekend - new styles and designs and custom covers as well as a new concept for design-your-own book.
Stop by Etsy and have a look - and thank you for letting me do the puffing peacock thing tonight!
xxx
Maggie

It's All About Katie

Yes, that's right, it is all about Katie today. Why you might ask and who the heck is Katie???
Katie is my beautiful daughter and today she is 24 years old. And I continue to be bewildered as to where the time has gone.

Okay so it's a bit cliche but it seems like only yesterday I was pushing her along in her buggy, or watching her tumble from room to room, or, play with her dolls, or dress the cat in doll clothes and hold him while he and she played Monopoly on the living room floor.
I remember fondly how she put herself to bed at night. Pleading to remain up just a bit longer was not her style; when she got tired, she took herself off to bed without a fuss. She was such a unique child and still remains so today as a fabulous young adult with her bright future all set out before her.

Katie's friend Mary and Katie

If you knew Katie, you would know that she has many fine qualities and so many things that interest her. And how she loves to talk! She is in the right field at university studying Media and Communication - she will go far as long as she keeps on talking!

Things Katie Loves
Click on the image to see it larger and see the many things Katie loves!

I can remember when she wanted to be a pediatrician. My I was so proud. She had decided that herself. I wasn't a parent who suggests career goals as my children's dreams to them or to other parents - oh no! I used to hate those parents who told you that their two-year-old child was going to be a doctor (or substitute any other well paid profession here please) when she grew up!
How on earth would they know that?
But my little Katie, at about the age of seven or so, decided she wanted to help make children well as her life's goal. Wow!

Now I was a struggling, worked-to-death teacher with no life of my own and I knew how hard it was to teach and how many personal hours were spent doing the planning and paper correcting, et all. So imagine my surprise when one fine day Katie announced she had changed her mind and was now going to be a teacher! Uh oh - what happened to the pediatrician???

But eventually she came round to her new career choice and announced to me - "I want to be famous." and as simple as that she was on her way to becoming just that. And again, if she only keeps chattering she will be famous one day. But for now, she is 'famous' to me. And I adore her.
As do all in our family and her many friends and all who get to know her.

She is a perfect daughter; a wonderful humanitarian and all-around good person. She gives of herself to others and makes people feel good about themselves. She has a fabulous sense of humour and a giving heart, though she hates to admit it - that would be too fluffy and over-the-top. We are proud of her accomplishments and her desire to do well at school and to be the best she can be.
Here's to you, baby Katie: Wishing you a fabulous birthday with many, many more to come.
Wishing you all the cake you can eat!
We love you, little Goo.

xxxooo

Mom and Jim

Katie and Jim on her birthday last year

Happy Halloween!

The air is crisp and there is a smell of pumpkins and candle wax in the air tonight.
I love Halloween!
In America, it is a night to go haunting your neighbourhood and visit neighbours you do not get to see every day.
As you walk with your little ones, who run haphazardly up sidewalks in order to be first to the door, you recall the times when you were young and the excitement you had doing the very same things your children are now experiencing. Ah, the memories!
As an older adult, we now see our grandchildren reliving those days as our grown-up children walk with them. And so it goes.

I can recall one Halloween night I was out alone with my younger brother. We were very young - maybe 9 and 11 years old, or younger. But in those days, parents allowed kids to go out alone - it was not unsafe. Some older kids grabbed my brother's treat bag and ran off with it. He stood there in shock not being able to say a word and then when he did, he simply let out a yowl and cried.
I insisted he remain right there and ran after the kids who took it. You know what they say about adrenalin in times of need? I cannot believe how fast I ran. It was like I had the wind behind my back. I caught up with the kids, and tore the sack from their hands and ran back to my brother who was still in the exact spot I had left him.
I marvel at how I had the courage to do that. The kids were older than us and much bigger. I think I surprised them, too, and they were caught off-guard and so hadn't the reaction time to do anything about it.
Tim and I headed back home after that. We had had enough excitement for one evening.

My first year in Birmingham, we had dozens of children come calling at our door and I was thrilled to see them. I had been led to expect not-too-much in the way of ghosts and goblins, being told this tradition was not as big in the UK as it is in America.
But last year and this year, we had only a handful of children calling out, "Trick or Treat" and I am wondering if the kids who were here the 1st year are now to old to come round, or if they have moved, or if parents are too afraid to allow them out with so much bad out there these days.
I do hope the tradition continues to live on. It is so much fun for the kids and so much fun for the adults, too.


Katie carved our pumpkin for us today and we made up treat pouches just like my mom made when we were little. I didn't have the same candies in them, but the meaning is the same; traditions carried on from mother to daughter, generation to generation.
Make your traditions memorable and all the best to you, too.

Boo!
Maggie

It's Alll About Me!

Welcome to Natasha's Party! She reminds us that it is important to take time out for ourselves, and I will write more about this theme another time as I would like to elaborate upon it, but for now, a huge "THANK YOU" to Natasha for inspiring us to do a little something for ourselves.

Well, maybe it is only partly about me! I can't get used to the idea of bragging on myself, so-to-speak.
Oh the plans were in the works after reading Natasha Burns idea to host a party featuring the things we said we would do by today.
Well, for me, that meant wait until the last minute because naturally other things came first.

Because I had said I would join the party, I was in a panic yesterday.
No, the stairs were not refinished as I had thought they would be. The day I had set aside to work on the stairs was taken by an emergency and then never got replaced. But the chair - oh that darned chair - it was staring at me throughout all of the six weeks we had been given to complete our projects and still went untouched.
So yesterday I began my work in earnest.

This is the chair that needs attention . . .

In this picture it is all clean and ready to go.

I scrubbed the chair and set it to dry in front of the fire.
I plodded through mounds of fabric to determine which I would select for the cushion.
I chose a vintage cotton chintz that would look nice with the paint colour.


Then looked at the paint I had on hand.
Then today, bright and early, I set about some light sanding and some final cleaning before I began the process of painting the chair.

Farrow and Ball Traditional Paint

The chair has been painted, and the sewing has commenced, but alas, I have failed the challenge as my chair is not yet complete.
I will continue working on it later tonight and add photographs of the progress.
Then I will visit your little websites and have a look at what all of you have managed to complete. I can't wait! It is so exciting!
More to come . . .
xxx
Maggie

Addendum: Well, the best plans are well . . . stopped! LOL!
Oh the mistakes I have made on the chair's cushion!
You can see from the image above that I had cut out shaped, fitted cushion covers. My intention was to make a proper fitted cushion cover complete with piping.
But since this is a rather low sitting chair, I wanted to try to raise it up a bit. So I figured that padding the springs first would be a good idea, and then, topping that with my lovely cushion.

Umm, well, that didn't work out visually, although it did make the chair oh so comfortable to sit upon! With the added height, the cushion looked awkward and too high on the seat, so I have decided to scrap that idea and just wrap the cover instead.
I haven't done it yet, well not to any sort of professional-looking product, anyway, but I have taken a photo to show you how it will look, (even if a bit frumpy right now) when it is completed.
At least this way you can see the paint, too!
I am off now to have a look at your lovely creations and to be inspired!