Joy List Monday

Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly ritual ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces

 that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day 

♥ celebrating Christmas with family and friends

♥ enjoying twinkle lights, laughter, stories of Christmas pasts 

♥ just sitting and looking at the lights at night, still and quiet

♥ it is always fun to travel and be with family, but oh do I love my bed

♥ my bed and fresh cozy flannel sheets

 

And Then in a Twinkling

And Then in a Twinkling

Written by Patrick Regan

Illustrated by Becky Kelly

It seems only days since the kids yelled with delight, on a door - to door journey through the autumn twilight.

 

And then, in a twinkling...December is here-there is frost on the pumpkin old songs fill the air. So haul out the holly ... and deck the halls... and start the list making ... and visit the malls. But while midst all the hubbub of holiday haste, do not neglect to reflect on what Christmas is based.

And then, in a twinkling...the magic comes back. The true meaning of Christmas can't be purchased or packed. For Christmas brings goodness, redemption and light and helps reconnect us to all that is right.

So don't miss the wonder while lost in to - dos, because in a twinkling ... this day will be through. So open your heart and be of good cheer. For now, in a twinkling... It is Christmas my dear!

Merry Christmas my friends!

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas week!

 ♥

Carla

 

Joy List Monday

Fresh New Snow

 

Joy List Monday

a weekly ritual

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

 

♥  Fresh Snow

♥ Receiving Christmas Cards ... reading Christmas letters from friends

 ♥ Early Christmas Gifts

♥ Cuddles from our cat Catsby

♥ Coming in from the cold

 ♥ Birthday wishes ♥

 

 

Tis the Season ~ It is the Hodgepodge

Tis' the Season

It is the Hodgepodge!

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

1. Let's talk holiday decorating. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall? (1=Scrooge and 10= Clark Griswold). What's your favorite corner-room-table-space to decorate? Is it done?

Yes, we decorate! I will say I am a 7 .... I decorate our dining room and living room. I add a little to the kitchen and our entry. I also like to decorate our deck and the entry to our home.

I love to set up my nutcracker collection. 

Yes, we are all done decorating! 

Outside ... I did add some mittens to the skates after the photo was taken.

Outside ... keeping it simple with fresh pine and cardinals.

Embroidery work done by my late grandma .... see my recent post on this special  Gift from Grandma

I used a large galvanized bucket for our tree stand.

Our fun camper ornament, it just makes me smile.

The TARDIS from Doctor Who ... our boys favorite.

The countdown on the refrigerator in the kitchen.

 2. Is there a nativity scene in your decorating somewhere? Post a picture or, if it's special to you in some way, tell us why. Or do both-it's Christmas!

~source~

Yes, we have a nativity scene in our decorating. This year it is in our living room.

My sister gifted us this nativity several years ago.

 3.  Do you live in a social neighborhood? If so are you glad? If not do you wish you did?

No, we do not live in a social neighborhood. When I hear about the fun some of the neighborhoods have, I wish I did.

  4.  As the saying goes, 'there's no time like the present'. How does that ring true in your life right now?

Yes, I have several Christmas "To Do" to do!

 5. Do you dread Mondays? Why or why not?

I do not have a problem with Monday. It is a great day to start the week.

 6.  Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis-which on the list is your favorite holiday plant? Are any of these on display in your home right now?

I love them all!! You guys already know how much I love flowers. Ha!

At this time our Christmas Cactus is starting to form buds.

 7. Share a favorite quote from a Christmas movie.

 Linus shares the true meaning of Christmas with Luke 2: 8-14.

 8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

My second favorite Christmas quote from a movie.

~source~

A Gift from Grandma

My grandma passed away in January 2014. She fell ill on Christmas night and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. From that night, she slowly faded away. 

We spent time with her at the hospital and during her hospice care.

While we all met to clean her apartment, I found this ...

I gave this embroidery kit to my grandma the Christmas of 2012. To find it finished setting on top of her embroidery basket while cleaning her apartment made my breath catch. What a special last gift from my grandma.

 My husband helped me frame it in a barn board shadow box.

I placed twinkle lights around it.

 "Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every

taste bud, making you wish it would last forever."

Richelle E. Goodrich

Pass the Celery Please ... it is the Hodgepodge!

The Wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey!

We save the wishbone and in a week or two the boys will snap the wishbone. Who ever has the longest end of the wishbone, makes a wish!

Welcome to the Hodgepodge!

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

  Click here to join in the fun!

 1. Give us three rhyming words that say something about your Thanksgiving holiday (or your most recent holiday gathering if you didn't celebrate Thanksgiving). 

 Driving in the fog

Cutting down our log

Eating like a hog

Translation 

 We had to drive in dense fog for the first half hour of our trip.

We always cut down our Christmas tree at my parents farm.

My mom made a wonderful feast!

2. When did you last say, 'the more the merrier'? Did you mean it?
 

For a party we are planning December 18th.

Yep, I mean it. 

 3. What's one piece of advice you'd give someone who is your same age?

Slow down .... we just seem so busy. Our kids are busy, we are busy, slow down and enjoy.

 4. You're ordering a veggie plate, what four veggies are on it?

Celery, carrots, radish and green onions. 

 5. Shop til you drop! Did you? Have you ever? Will you between now and Christmas?

My sister and I would shop till we dropped when we were in high school and college. 

We had so much fun. 

I ordered most of my Christmas gifts online this year.

I will need to head to the market for my Christmas treats and party food! 

 6. What's your favorite chair in your house, and why is it a favorite?

My grandpa and I were best of buddies. When I would visit him, I would sit in a big wicker rocker, sip root beer and we would solve all the words problems.

When my husband and I got married, my grandparents passed on that wicker rocker to us.

It is still my favorite chair! During the winter months, I have it in front of our South patio door. I can sit and soak up the sun!

  7. Share an early memory of faith, religion, or spirituality.

My dad sharing his stories about the nuns at his Catholic school.

I am not sure if he used the stories for bedtime, but my sister and I were fascinated with the nuns.

We would talk about them after, imagine life of nuns and create our own stories.

 8. Insert your own random thought here. 

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength."

Corrie Ten Boom

  

Joy List Monday

 Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly ritual  ♥

 a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

 

 ♥ the beauty of frost

 ♥ warm soup ... Butternut Squash Soup 

  ♥ warm tea

 ♥ the first Christmas carols

 ♥ curling up in front of the fire place

 

 

Hello Friends,

Wishing you all a great week. We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving and weekend.

Looking forward to the busy of December, yet at the same time, I am going to be intentional about slowing down and enjoying the magic that comes with December.

 

The Thanksgiving Table and Happy Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving 

Broom corn and acorns are the theme for my Thanksgiving place settings.

I grew the broom corn. I was very happy with the results for outdoor and indoor Autumn decorating. 

The acorns I picked up along hikes in the woods. I found the larger acorns on a hike with some friends over Labor Day weekend. 

 

 A used all styles of acorns to create my place settings.

This is a double acorn. 

I used a glue pen to write the initial of each and used a fine gold glitter.

 I tied bunches of broom corn together with a burgundy thread. 

I think the glitter will add a fun sparkle to the Thanksgiving place settings.

 Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, I will be taking the rest of the week off from the blog.

Enjoy family and friends.

I am thankful for you all!

 ♥

Carla

 

On The Road Friday ~ Black Hills, South Dakota and The Winner Is ....

 Welcome to On The Road Friday

 In September our family took a road trip to South Dakota.

We love to hike. This was a hiking adventure. 

The Black Hills were a favorite for both my boys and my husband.

 I tried to capture the twinkle of the trail. This entire path was scattered with mica.

With the sun shining down on the trail, it looked like you were walking on gold.

 My son Atticus found this face in the ground while we hiked.

Can you see a rock man?

I found this note tied to a tree ... Show me the Way ... the note was stitched on a heavy material type paper. Any ideas?

Our son Sam  found a treasure chest full of gold painted rocks when he went up to explore a cave.

Sam opened the chest and the note attached to the chest said, " Go ahead take a few gold rocks, but do not take the chest."

The Winner of Sage Leary's new album, Already There, is ...

 Beth at PlantPostings

Congratulation Beth! 

 Happy Weekend my Friends

 ♥

 Carla

Growing Carnations

 This garden season I grew carnations. I purchased my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

 I was very pleased at how well the carnations did and will plant them again next year.

 They smelled wonderful. The candy cane striped carnation smelled like cinnamon.

 I picked the following bouquet just before our last kill frost. The carnations opened in a few days. I was so happy to enjoy one last bouquet.

  

Still blooming in November! They are a very hardy plant and flower.  I did not cover them during a few of our early November frosts. They continued to bloom.

 A get well bouquet from The Little Garden That Could featuring carnations.

 Petite and Sweet

The fragrance of the carnation is lovely. I can not put in into words.

An easy flower to grow from seed. It is a slow growing flower. If you are set up to start seeds indoors, I would suggest to start indoors. I did have to wait until August for my first bloom.

Well worth the wait! A very hardy plant and flower, as it survived several frosts.

 

 

It is Back to the Happy Hodgepodge

It is Wednesday and we are back to the Hodgepodge!

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

They are no longer this small...both taller than me, but just as silly!

These two make me smile.  

 

1. Let's all think happy thoughts...share one of yours here. 

My family! Those two in the above photo!! 

2. There's a Chinese proverb that says, "If you want happiness for an hour take a nap, if you want happiness for a day-go fishing...." What say you? If you want happiness for a day _____________.

 If you want happiness for a day let us go outside!

 3. Where do you go to decompress from the world around you? 

I head for a walk. The best way for me to get away from it all is to go for a walk or take a hike in the woods. I love nature and getting outside.

 4. What song never fails to make you happy? 

Norah Jones ~ Sunrise 

5. Wednesday is National Fast Food Day. Should that be a thing? Apparently it is, so tell us what's the last 'fast food' you consumed? If you were putting together your own version of a 'happy meal' what would you include? 

 

Culver's is our family's favorite fast food.

Check out Culver's here! 

My parents are dairy farmers. We are proud to support Culver's, because Culver's supports farmers. The below statement is from Culver's website.

From Gratitude to Full-Fledged Support

Culver’s wouldn't be what it is today without the family farms that grow and produce the wholesome, delicious food we so proudly serve. From the cattle ranches of the Great Plains to the dairy farms of Wisconsin and south to Georgia’s chicken country, it’s important to us to make sure farm families across the nation clearly see how thankful we are for their hard work and dedication.
So now, through our support for the National FFA Organization, we are giving back to today’s farm families, while helping ensure the future of the next generation.

6. In a few sentences tell us why you blog. 

 

 Blogging is a way for me to share what I find fun in life with others. It is a way for me to practice writing. And it has become a special place to find encouragement and meet so many wonderful people. The friendships built within the blogging community are amazing.

 

7. List seven things you're feeling especially grateful for today. 

 

1. Family

2. Friends

3. Heat ... Wisconsin is starting to get chilly ... snow flurries are forecast for the weekend

4. Garden goodness that we harvested this summer 

5. My husband's employer ... a great company who cares about the employees 

6. Our small town of Cameron, who is still mourning the loss of a police officer ... how this community wrapped its arms around the family

7. My dog Molly, who is my walking buddy 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

 

Click here for instructions on how to make your own turkey

 

Happy Thanksgiving 

Wishing all my Hodgepodge friends a great Thanksgiving.

I will be taking next week Wednesday off from the blog.

Enjoy your holiday!

  ♥

Carla

  

Dreams and a Giveaway

This summer at the Bruce Farmer Market, I met Sage Leary and his family.

Sage is a talented young man working on a dream.

He performed during the farmer market for tips and to share his music.

To share with you about Sage, read below or click on the link.

More about Sage Leary 

 Guitarist/singer-songwriter Sage Leary has emerged as a powerful creative force on the music scene.  A shining, young talent with a fresh new sound, he recorded his instrumental debut album Feel the Sound at the age of 14.  Two years later, Sage recorded his second album, Already There, featuring his talent at vocals, guitar and songwriting. The result is a work of art that fuses together elements of rock, blues, country, Latin and reggae in a style that is uniquely Sage, and leaves the listener cheering for more.  When not writing new material, Sage stays busy playing local gigs, private parties, and of course, attending high school. Friend/follow Sage Leary on Facebook and YouTube.

I enjoyed visiting with Sage and his parents.

I just loved the family bond that Sage, his parents and brother had. Each Friday, his parents helped him set up and his brother was along too.

 Encouraging him to reach for his dreams.

Source

 Sage came out with a new album in October.

You all know I love all sorts of music. Sage has become a favorite of mine.

To listen to his music, head on over to his website in the link above.

  

Going Home is my VERY favorite of Sage's songs on the album Already There.

Hangin' By The Lake makes me think of my boys.

Thank You Readers ... many of you know I sold fresh cut flowers for the first time at the Bruce Farmers Market this market season. I blogged about the journey, the ups and downs and YOU all sent me encouraging comments.

 

As a Thank You, I am giving away Already There to one of my readers. 

All you need to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment.

My son Atticus will draw a name from a hat on Thursday evening.

The winner will be announced on Friday.