O Holy Night...

the stars are brightly shining.

                                               

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

Wishing everyone a blessed and joy filled Christmas! 

From: The House of Mugwump

Bits of Christmas

Agnes is all decked out for Christmas. This year our home is a little less decorated, but a little more formal...and a lot more Southern.

Nothing says Southern like magnolia leaves and boxwood. Doesn't Agnes look pretty with her boxwood garland and plaid bows?

Souvenirs from some of our travels grace the sideboard.

Vaillancourt  Santas...

are so colorful!

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Today's tea tray...Susan Branch Santa mug and Rae Dunn napkins. 

Our wonderful neighbor makes a new ornament every year for our family and some others on our street. He cuts them from wood and paints them. I think this little guy is our all time favorite.

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On Friday night, my husband was coming home from his Christmas office party. He was stopped at a red light and right in front of him two cars, going in opposite directions, crashed into each other. One driver took off and then the other driver went after him. It all happened outside a local watering hole...a.k.a. bar. More than likely both drivers were under the influence and wanted nothing to do with any police that might show up to investigate. Our county police force had road checks all over and MrMW saw all sorts of cars pulled over. Please be careful if you are out and about the next couple of days and nights!

Hope you are staying warm and enjoying some special time with family.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Bits of Christmas & a trip to Bethlehem

This jolly fellow spends every December in our kitchen. Unbelievably, he has been a part of every one of my Christmases. My parents bought this Frosty almost seventy five years ago. My sister, who is in her early seventies, left her teeth marks on his backside many, many years ago. He is one of Annie's favorite Christmas decorations and we are happy he's still going strong all these years later.

The Girls are enjoying all the holiday goings on from their baskets above the sink.

They are draped in berries and twinkly lights...

and small glowing candles.

They look so pretty when the lights are out. I'll have to try to remember to snap a pic later tonight.

My four o'clock tea time is sacred to me. A pretty Susan Branch Christmas cup and a floral napkin make it all the more enjoyable. Napkins are something Annie and I are crazy about. Caspari paper goods never disappoint. Homegoods is a good source. A bayberry candle is always burning at our house during the season.

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The church at the top of our street constructs an elaborate town of Bethlehem every year. We, and our neighbors, affectionately call it Drive Thru Jesus.

This is a huge undertaking and requires hours of preparation. It runs for three nights. We hopped in the car last night...Annie and I in our jammies...and went back in time over two thousand years.

Parishioners and their families bring the story to life. (Love all the venerable live oaks overhead).

Characters come up to your car and ask you questions..."There is a family looking for shelter, have you seen them"?

Incense burns and the din of the market make the scene so real.

Joseph and Mary are looking for a place to stay.

Angels...

and Wise Men follow the star.

They find the family in a stable. 

We were so impressed by this lovely production of the Christmas Story. It will become a yearly part of the season for us. Annie thought it was just wonderful! We made a great memory...in our jammies!

Hope you are keeping warm and enjoying the magic of Christmas1

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Santa feather tree...

The afternoon sunlight was lighting up our antique Santa tree yesterday. I did not get my antique feather tree out this year and instead used a new repo tree. It is smaller than the antique tree, and holds only a small amount of our antique German Santas. I love these old loved ornaments that show their age. 

It's a great size! Much easier to put up and take down...and store. 

Under the tree is a "new" antique German Noah's Ark. It, too, is on the smaller size. I like the simple look of these oldies together.

Hope you are enjoying these magic days of Yuletide. It's a welcome cold day here in sunny Florida. 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Christmas with Mickey...

We are home from a few days with Mickey and friends....and our BOG (Board of Governors) family.

It was fun being there at Christmas. We stayed at the Contemporary Resort...the oldest hotel at the park. It's the one where the monorail runs right through the building on the way to the many parks.

We're not really Disney people. We took Annie when she was little and she was petrified of all the critters that kept coming up to her. She loved the Country Bears Jamboree and that was about it. 

We stayed at the hotel and visited with our friends. Annie had a grand time exchanging gifts with her gal pals and eating lunch with the Board. 

We enjoyed all the shops decked out for Christmas...and added a few pins to our collection. Annie picked a keychain to add to her owl bag.

Mickey says Merry Christmas!

I have bags to unpack and mounds of laundry to conquer...and Christmas decorations that sit in boxes in various rooms. Something tells me those boxes will remain unopened.  But we had a fun trip and made some memories. 

We are so happy to come home after our trips!

We had a nice Thanksgiving and Annie has enjoyed telling friends we bought a new black car on Black Friday. We knew we needed new wheels before long, but the sudden death of the A.C. and the four thousand dollar cost of repairing it was the catalyst that sent us to the dealership. It's a beauty, a 2020...doesn't that sound weird? Way too many bells and whistles for me, but I guess that's a sign of the times.

Hope to be back soon with some "Bits of Christmas."

Hope you are all enjoying the magic out there!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

p.s. I'll share more about our "Founding Fathers and Mothers Tree" shown in my header next time. 

Wishing all my fellow bloggers and their families a Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a blessed day and make some memories!

Enjoy the day,

The House of Mugwump

...a hodge podge of goings on

Good morning, friends. As my eight year anniversary of blogging approaches, I am here today after a few months respite from social medium.

 Annie and I have been binge watching Hallmark Christmas movies. She loves the music and kids and animals...and especially all the snow. As for me, my teeth hurt as a result of all the saccharine plots. I have dialogs in my head with characters that have been making the very same bad choices for years. I watch because my daughter's eyes sparkle when it comes to anything Christmas related...and I like the snow, too. We cuddle up together on our cozy couch (a new and much improved version) and all the ugly out there in the world goes away. God bless Hallmark Christmas movies.

The gent in the pic above has been supervising me as I rework the three wreaths that hang on the outside of our windows and door for the holidays...our only outside Christmas decoration. I bought new wreaths this year as the old ones were a bit shabby. I also added the pineapples. The old fruit that has helped us welcome Christmas for over twenty five years has been given a new look with the addition of magnolia leaves. The wreath below is a work in progress. 

Halloween has come and gone. The "girls" above the kitchen sink were fascinated by the sparkly spiders that invaded their basket homes for October. These spiders are Annie's absolute favorite holiday decoration! She loves them!

A few autumn touches are still hanging around. We've had some cooler weather and the large pumpkins I place atop ivy in the black iron urns by the front door have fared well. The small pie pumpkins we place on the window ledges outside have been replaced a few times. Unfortunately, three of our neighbors have had trees removed lately. Large gorgeous pines and a few oaks have been taken down so that green lawns might fare better. I had to drink copious amounts of camomile tea and plug my ears during the three days this slaughter took place. Consequently, we now get lots of afternoon sun and our poor little pumpkins suffered for it.

For the third year in a row, Early American Life Magazine has offered a limited edition Shooner holiday platter. I think this one is my favorite so far.

For the first time in a few years, I removed the white slipcovers that had been on the camelback sofa and two wing backs in the living room. It's a whole new look! 

This is the chair where I sit when I stitch. Early morning sun rays cast shadows on the best seat in the house. Out the front window I watch the rowdy squirrels gather acorns from one of our noble live oaks. If I glance in the other direction, I spy our cardinal couple and a few friends helping themselves to breakfast at the feeder in the back yard. A dray of squirrels has long inhabited our yard. They are in the front and back yard all day long and make us laugh with their antics. None of our trees are going anywhere!

Wee bits of Christmas are popping up here and there. I try to do a little every day. Hope to finish up the wreaths for outside today. Then I can begin the inside in ernest.

In my continuing effort to "get rid of all this stuff", I reduced my Halloween decorations to two small bins from four. I was merciless!  Ravens, witches and pumpkins were boxed up and donated. It felt good. 

Also gone...years and years worth of magazines...primitive, country, early american, etc....loaded into the recycling bin. I went through a lot of these magazines and after a few it was like looking at the same one over and over again. I am so ready for a new look! 

I also donated some primitives. I remember years ago, when I would find a good deal at a second hand store and be thrilled. I hope to pass that feeling on.

So. that's it for now. I notice fewer and fewer blog posts from many bloggers. Life is busy. I wanted to say hello today...on my blogging anniversary...and thank you who have visited...and those who have left comments. I'm still here. 

Hope you all are enjoying the "wonder" that is this time of year!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Destin, Florida

We are just back from a weekend in beautiful Destin. Shot this pic from the balcony of our room at The Henderson Resort. The original hotel is the building you see out there on the beach. Our group (BOG) stayed in the newer and larger portion of the hotel. 

This resort is absolutely gorgeous...and the staff is A+...not always the case, even in five star digs.

I spent mornings on this balcony. It was a little slice of heaven. The weather was cool enough to require one of my Garnet Hill cashmere wraps...my equivalent to a winter coat. They are a travel must for me...in the car, in cold a.c. chilled rooms...and lovely early mornings by the sea. 

A cup of tea and my favorite magazine...perfection. My Peter Rabbit cup travels with me.

Last night, dinner was served on the green area you see...complete with sea breezes and twinkling lights.

Annie loves it when she can see the water from her bed!

And, when we can spend some time in the beautiful lobby or out on the deck.

It was a great weekend in a place we had never been before. We don't often visit the panhandle...this is only the second time. The beaches out there are gorgeous white sand as fine as sugar. The sands on these beaches sparkle because of the bits of quartz; part of the process that washed them down from the Appalachians via the Apalachicola River 20,000 years ago. We have this same white sand on our local beaches, but it's always nice to visit a new place and witness this natural beauty with fresh eyes. 

Nature preserves border the grounds...an added plus.

 This is one of the loveliest, most relaxing and naturally beautiful spots we have had the good fortune to visit during our tenure on the BOG.

Feeling well rested and ready for autumn. Picked up some pumpkins today. Guess what Annie and I will be doing tomorrow to welcome a new season. 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn