FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CARD OF 2010

FANCY Christmas cards are nice.

NEWSY letters of the past year's adventures are interesting.

But THIS. . .
this original Christmas card
designed by 7 year old Dalton

is the BEST we've received so far!!!!

Merry Christmas to us all!

I'M IN LOVE WITH THE LIGHT

Dresser Detail

I love the light in this room. At certain times of day it is just breathtaking. Of course it changes throughout the year . . . but there is always a time of day when it's just magical!

If you look closely you'll notice that the only photographs in here are of hubby & me. There are no photos of children, ancestors or even pets. It gives me the creeps to have others' eyes in my bedroom. Or bathroom. There is an Audubon reproduction hanging over the bed. . . but no photos of anyone other than hubby and me!

Bedroom Corner, originally uploaded by Vera*Smith

PS - I think this lovely bust looks SO much better wearing my straw hat, instead of the black cowboy hat. Don't you?

BEDROOM IN THE SETTING SUN

I thought I'd post a photo of our bedroom. I know I haven't posted many of them & don't know why not, other than the fact that life has been wonderfully busy. Anyway - here is a pic of my side of the bed. I recently walked in there & since the lighting was so wonderful, had to grab the camera & take a quick shot.

Notice there are books, magazines & articles in the basket. What you don't see are even more books stacked on the floor near my side of the bed! That's how I fall asleep: reading non-fiction. I'm currently reading Chemistry Of Essential Oils Made Simple: God's Love Manifest in Molecules which has a total of 876 pages! I'm not certain it's simple enough for me to understand. . . am guessing I'll have to read it more than once . . . but I am really, really enjoying it.
That's it for now. It's time to go make some homemade lasagna for my daughter & her hubby & some *adopted* friends. You know what I mean . . . people that you love so much you're thrilled to claim them as your own! You can read a bit more about that here.

NOT LOOKING TOO PROMISING

Well, what can I say? The new floor may not happen anytime too soon. I went to two stores & picked out 4 different ceramic tiles that were on sale & that might work in my dining room. I brought home the samples & from the 4 quickly had a "hands down" favorite! No questions asked & no doubt in my mind that I had found the perfect one! It has a relative low sheen & lots of texture. . . . actually looks like stone! Oh my - how perfect is this?

Then my husband came home.

And I showed him my favorite.

And he said, "there's only 4 boxes of that tile".

And we need 17 boxes. And he knew that when I picked out the tiles. And brought the samples home from his store! Why didn't he tell me when I was there that there aren't enough boxes? Why? I have no idea. None. We've been married over 40 years & there are days when I don't have a clue about that man!

So - there may not be any new dining room flooring in my near future. Wah. . . .

OK - no sense crying over spilt milk, so to speak. Here is a photo of one wall in the Nature Room. This wall is a changing, seasonal display area. Oh, the old treadle machine & mirror stay here. . . . but the other elements change.

This is my dad's Choral Shirt & Vest. Don't you think the colors are perfect for Autumn? The little ceramic lady came from a thrift store years ago. . . .and the binoculars. . . . well, who doesn't have binoculars hanging all around the house?

Until later - please enjoy this marvelous weather we've been having!

I'M KNOCKING ON WOOD & WALKING ON AIR

Woo hoo! I might, just might, be getting new ceramic flooring in the dining room before Thanksgiving! It's a really BIG *maybe*. . . . . but it's hubby's idea, so it might actually happen!

My youngest son, when just a young boy, had this door knocker on his bedroom door. Now it's to the side of the guest room door.

Lots of praying, knocking on wood & crossing fingers that it may actually happen!

WE FOUND THE ONE - ONE YEAR LATER

I'm beginning to think I'm not cut out to be a blogger! I find it difficult to remember to take plenty of *before* pix & even more difficult to put into words what I'm doing & thinking about this little cabin.

But not today. Today I know what to write about. You see, tomorrow is the one year anniversary of finding this little place we now call home.

I readily admit it's not heaven: there is an extraordinary amount of traffic for being out in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors! Our closest neighbors are cattle. . . . on two sides of us there is nothing but cattle. But yet cars & logging trucks come speeding by. . . .

The owner of the nearby bovine doesn't live on the property; he leases it from a very, very nice couple. I have to admit that the renter is not a very good cattleman. Time after time his cattle have gotten out of the pastures and into the street. And into my yard. And one time his longhorn moseyed up to my van! I was not happy. Not happy at all. Sometimes my sweet hubby just puts them back into the pasture himself. Other times the not-so-very-good cattleman comes and takes care of them.

Yesterday evening I called to tell him it looked as if he had a dead steer in the pasture. He said it must be the one that had recently gotten into the pond & I told him I didn't know about that - but it most definitely was down. Then he asked if there were any other dead ones! What's up with that? How would I know? I didn't go looking for dead cattle in the pasture! I merely called him because we have our windows open & I didn't want the eventual bad odor coming into the house! Fortunately for him, he quickly came and hauled off the poor thing.

I said all that to let you know that I know we don't live in heaven. It's not even the Garden of Eden. But it is still perfect for us!

Last year, Oct 24, 4:18 PM is the day & time I sent the following text message to our kids, "We found the one!" (Yes, I really have saved that text in my cell!)

And a year later we're still saying, "We found the one!". . . . the perfect place for us!

This is the porch in front of the guest/laundry room. Originally, way back when, it was the detached kitchen so as not to burn down the entire house if a kitchen fire got out of control. The place has gone through several transformations . . . not all of them for good! But we love it anyway.

One year later & we're still loving it!

THE REASON FOR MY ABSENCE

Here's another reason I haven't blogged much the last couple of weeks. I was asked to take photos of this wonderful family over at Diamond B Ranch Since I am not a professional photographer, it's taken me a while to edit the photos. It's been a very, very fun learning experience! The best kind! And if you're in the area, be sure to try their yummy, healthy grass-fed beef!!!!

In the meantime, hubby has taken down the ugly wall board from the world's ugliest and smallest bathroom and will start putting up beadboard tonight! Yay!