Christmas Eve

"It is not the joy that makes us grateful; it is the gratitude that makes us joyful."

David Steindl-Rast

Benedictine Monk

Wishing you all joy, health and peace! Merry Christmas, my friends!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

More bits of Christmas

Here are a few more bits of Christmas. Just some random shots of Christmas at our house. 

Toleware and Santa on the sideboard in the dining room.

An early painted document box and antique mittens.

I have always loved the look of old black...whether it be toleware or early paint. I love a punch of black.

These early homespun hearts are from Pennsylvania....very worn and wonderful.

Three wedding band hogscrapers.

One of my angels nestled in a painted doll cradle with an early sampler in the background.

The tiger maple shelf in the kitchen. This is where we keep our nature treasures...acorns, dried flowers, berries...that we gather on our walks. There's that pesky elf again!

Queen Anne's Lace.

This painted red bird is an antique tin quilt pattern with punched wing.

Schneeman candy cane.

A new addition to my red doll dress collection.

I was able to find a circa 1840 painted black frame that fit one of my early samplers. It hangs above an early wall box, also painted black.

Baskets above my kitchen sink with a Schneeman ornament here and there.

  

Some old favorites and a few new acquisitions helping to bring Christmas to our home.

I wanted to share this early Christmas present I bought for our family.

It's a comforter from Pottery Barn. Isn't it wonderful? We use it on our cozy couch...two chaise lounges....one with a left armrest and one with a right armrest...that are pushed together.

It's where we watch T.V. and now where we snuggle under this great cozy comforter. It's part of their Christmas collection but I think it will be staying out long after the holidays!

Wishing you all the best in this season of peace.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Bits of Christmas

Hello, friends! Hope you are enjoying this wonderful time of the year! My decorating has been slow...I have been doing a lot of gleaning of excess decorations. Things that have not been put out for years have been passed on to the Salvation Army for others to enjoy. 

I have had this early German feather tree for a while. I have been collecting Santa ornaments to decorate it and finally have enough to do this old gem justice. Two requirements for the ornaments...they have to be early and they have to be German. 

I decided to make it a Santa tree...kinda.

A few strawberries and pinecones made the cut as well.

Love the clip ons. They are hard to find and usually have a pretty price, but I've found a few that were reasonable.

This sweet little indent made the cut. We're enjoying this new addition to our Christmas decor.

I have collected Santa books for decades, but have not put them out for a few years. The graphics are so sweet and colorful on these oldies.

Although not a Christmas ornament, I thought this lady fit right in. This is a pipe bowl from the 1840's. It is porcelain and there is a small loop on the back of the silver rim. The lady is hand painted...isn't she lovely? After spending the holidays nestled in this bowl of naturals, she will go on a chain and I will wear her as a pendant. 

This early velvet tobacco bag is hand embroidered and rests on a wonderful large slice of very early linsey woolsey on the back of a wing chair. Hmmmm pipe...tobacco bag...an unintended coincidence.

Annie and some friends getting wild at a recent party...Annie's Gal Pals. Like herding cats to get a pic of this crew.

And then there is this little guy...always into mischief. Annie looks for him every morning.

Hope you all are enjoying the sights and sounds of the season. Hope to be back with more bits of Christmas next week. Have a great weekend!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Southern Christmas

Hello friends! Are you in Christmas mode? Today I'm sharing a few pics about Christmas in the South.

We are just back from a fast thirty six hours in Tallahassee. Mr. MW was attending a meeting at the Supreme Court while Annie and I spent some time in one of our favorite places....the Tallahassee Nursery. I was so excited to be there in December as I knew it would be decked out for Christmas. 

And it did not disappoint! 

The temperature was in the fifties...perfect for strolling the colorful grounds.

And was there a lot of color! It was so gorgeous! I packed light so I'd have plenty of room to bring a few plants back home. I actually only bought ivy and a few deep red geraniums for my urns at the front door. 

In addition to all the annuals, the nursery was loaded with christmas trees. The scent of pine was extraordinary! We went back in the evening to see all the lights and so that Mr. MW could have a whiff as well.

A trip to Tallahassee is not complete without a visit to this wonderful place. To see...and smell it at Christmas time was a real treat. Can you tell this is one of my favorite places?

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I've mentioned before that when in Tallahassee in the past we stayed at a hotel we all called "the cell block". Well, they've renovated the Doubletree so we tried it out.

We use to stay here years ago, but it was in need of some sprucing up. We missed this great view. 

 It's better now...anything is better than the "cellblock" where we use to stay.

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Annie and I always head up Plantation Parkway when we are in Tallahassee for a visit to another of our favorite places. This time Mr. MW was able to join us. He even did the driving.

After years of hearing us talk about our trips to Thomasville, Georgia...Mr. MW got to see this little southern town for himself. All decked out for it's big Christmas celebration...next weekend...it was even more fun than usual. We hit it just right because next weekend more than thirty thousand people will descend upon Thomasville for all the festivities. 

My favorite shop...Firefly. I  recently was reading about an artist that does paper cutting. The article mentioned that one of her cuttings was being used in the window of Firefly in Thomasville, Georgia for their 20th anniversary celebration. After she cut the design in paper it was enlarged and transferred to metal for the window. Isn't it beautiful? This lovely creation is the work of the talented artist Annie Howe from Baltimore. 

Now that's a Southern snowman...made of cotton!

Annie "bubbles" at Christmas time. She gets so excited and oohs and ahhs at everything. 

Broad Street

Reindeer...all cozy in tartan.

The sweetest little knitting shop...Fuzzy Goat.

We really enjoyed our trip to Tallahassee and Thomasville...quick as it was. It's always fun to see a good old-fashioned small town decked out for the holidays. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse of a Southern Christmas.

Need to work on my header...right after I unpack, do laundry, go grocery shopping, decorate the Christmas tree...

This week we had several hundred salvaged bricks delivered. Mr. MW will be starting work on my Christmas present this very day! I'll keep you posted. This one won't be under the tree.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Giving Thanks...

Tomorrow our little family will spend the day among friends. With grateful hearts, we will eat well within the safety of a beautiful home. Gathered around the table will be friends of all stripe...different faiths and different races, different occupations and different backgrounds. All of us Americans, celebrating an American holiday together. America...what a great country we are! Thanksgiving...what a great holiday!

Make some memories!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Hello...again

Hello...remember me? I have been off line for a good while, trying to do a little of this and a lot of that. It is a busy time for all of us...especially those of use that are "makers". Our creative efforts kick into gear mid-summer and reach fever pitch right about now. My hand dids for Halloween and Christmas are finished and have been delivered. Aaah...a sigh of relief. 

I've done a bit of decorating for the season. A new addition to our fall decor is this sweet witch from Angela Hillstrom of Olde Raggs. Angela does such a fabulous job bringing her creations to life. The detail on all of her work is unequaled. And once again, this generous artist sent a special package to Annie...an adorable mouse ornament. As soon as Annie opened it, with a very big smile on her face, she said he was going on her owl tree. It will be down from the attic and decorated in a few short weeks.

Can you see an original hooked rug by Rebecca Lundquist in the background? What a great hooker and artist!

I did manage to hook a few pumpkins...long and lean.

And I pulled out this pillow I hooked many years ago. I think it is a Maria Barton pattern. I'll try to get myself together and add a few more decorating pics later.

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Recently, we spent a week in Tennessee. On our way to a board meeting in Nashville, we stopped in Franklin for four nights and spent our days exploring this beautiful and historic area. The house above is located in downtown Franklin. Isn't it a perfect house...especially for this time of year?

Downtown Franklin is a great little area with beautiful homes, churches, shops and restaurants. Just a little off the main street there is a cluster of antique shops...I did a little damage.

A visit to this cemetery was such a sobering and sad experience. Rows and rows of unidentified souls resting in a field on this plantation. Large obelisks with the name of the state and the number of the fallen from that state mark their graves.

The family who owned the plantation is also buried in a separate section of the cemetery...with many graves being those of the very young.

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We went walking in the woods.

And spent a day at Cheekwood Gardens. This is a beautiful mansion, full of art and surrounded by gardens. There is an herb garden, a boxwood garden, a Japanese garden and several more. We ate our lunch in an open area right beside a creek complete with waterfall. Heavenly!

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Midweek we moved on to Nashville to meet up with our gang.

We stayed at this magnificent hotel...The Hermitage. It is an historical beauty and our room (which I neglected to get a photo of) was wonderful, with a glorious view of the state house.

We had a long sit in the lovely lobby. (No lunch available, but we had a yummy lunch with our group on the veranda).

While we were sitting in the lobby, several city tours came into the hotel and gave the group a run down on all the history that has taken place here. The Suffragettes had their first big meeting here.

Right across the street from the hotel is the Tennessee State Museum. It is full of wonderful artifacts like the portrait above, and lots of great information about famous Tennesseans. We love a good museum and this one was an unexpected delight!

Our Last afternoon...a very tired Annie at the Ryman.

Of course, a trip to Nashville includes a visit to the Ryman. Annie is not a fan of loud music so we passed on the live concert with Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers and a few others that our group had tickets to see. 

I have to admit the highlight of the trip for me was Franklin. Although it is a bedroom community to Nashville, it still has that small town feel. The Battle of Franklin was a turning point in the Civil War...the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. This lovely town has risen from the ashes of all that death and destruction and, in my opinion, does it's heritage proud.

Annie continues to talk about Cheekwood Gardens and what a fun day we spent there...just walking around...looking at nature...being together. Indeed, we enjoyed that day!

Hope to get around to visit you all and do some catching up.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn