Christmas in the Kitchen

I seem to spend a lot of time in my kitchen.  Dan has never eaten cold cereal so a hot breakfast it is each day.  From the start of the day until evening, I am probably in the kitchen more than another other room in the house, unless I'm on a sewing mission.  Decorating my kitchen happens with each season, but never so much as for Christmas.  These are new photos, but may be very similar to ones I've posted in past years.

The cookbook cupboard Dan made me some years ago is my favorite spot of all.  The Jim Shore trees and Santa just make the top and were gifts from Ann at past Christmases.  

The broom is many years old, probably dated, but I still love it.  I made it probably forty years ago. The calendar is a Susan Winget one, the same artist who did the illustrations for the book in my Bear Corner pictured a few days ago.  The snowman platter was a gift from Bruder Bear and Karen, and under it, if you click on the photo to enlarge it, is a garland of little angels, a gift from Susan Boehne, a teacher friend of mine.  The wooden mitten on the door knob was made by Cyndie McCabe, another long-time friend and former neighbor.  I get the best gifts! 

These little snowmen, perched by my sink, were also a gift, made by a former assistant principal at the school where I taught.  So cute!

And on the wall in the breakfast nook is a quilt I made from a Country Threads pattern, called Uncle Santa, also many years old.  

Even my stove gets a little decorating.  I put my lovely dark green Staub dutch oven on the back burner, put an appliqued towel on the oven handle, and park an adorable snowman timer next to it.  Those red spatulas in the utensil crock fit right in, too!

And last, here is the breakfast nook table.  

You can see Uncle Santa on the wall, and on the table is a runner I made for Mom and Dad and brought home after we cleared out their house. The sleigh centerpiece was made by a friend the first year we moved back to town, so it's been on that table since Christmas of 1985.  Tradition!!  ♥

Weather Update: It's Fall!

For the last few years, it seems that fall has arrived before the end of August. This year is no exception. The high today? Sixty-two degrees. It's cold in the morning and last night was a very good snuggle-under-the-covers night. I love it! Fall is my favorite time of the year. The cool weather, the colors, soup and muffin dinners, steaming cups of tea, the approaching holidays--what's not to love?

Last Friday was a busy day as we packed up grandson Ryan and drove to Spokane to meet Matt and Amy at the airport and have a bite to eat with them before they all headed back to Colorado. Ann, Cameron and Keaton drove up, too, so they could see Matt who had flown directly into Seattle for the cruise. Ann had saved my birthday present because, it turned out, it was from both her and Matt. So there in the parking lot near the airport I opened my gifts. A pilgrim set designed by Jim Shore, whose work I love.

This beautiful pilgrim lady is from Ann:


And this one is from Matt:


Actually, I think the name of the set is something like "Bounty of Harvest", and so I have set them out on the dining room table to celebrate the arrival of fall. I love how they look and more than that, I love those two wonderful blessings who gave them to me!


Welcome, fall!

Dentists and Presents

I went in for my six-month dental checkup this morning. All was well, and I think I've finally overcome my fear of the dentist's chair. After spending many hours of my youth with braces work which included the pulling of four permanent molars to make space, tightening which left me with an aching mouth for a day or two, and impressions which made me gag and resulted in my pulling more than one from my mouth before the proper time, I was indeed a wary patient by the ripe old age of sixteen. Then came eighteen when I wrecked on a motorcycle and broke my left front tooth. We won't go into detail, but it was an ugly scene more than once to get a cap on what was left. And that cap has been replaced several times since. And we definitely won't go into the infection I got after having my wisdom teeth pulled twelve years ago! The good news is that I have very good teeth and haven't had a filling since 1967! I have had to have several crowns on my back teeth that had been the anchors for my braces, as they were my only teeth with fillings and they cracked several years ago. I barely felt a thing, and I am truly thankful! Boy has dentistry come a looooong way.

But on to more fun things. Presents! While I was teaching, Christmas was often late in arriving at our house. So much going on at school, so many things to do at home. There were years when I was wrapping presents late into the night on Christmas Eve, just in time to have them opened Christmas day. No pretty tree laden with packages. And if we're really into confession here, some years when the family arrived, one of the first things they did was help us put up the tree!! They were good sports and swore they enjoyed helping. So, here we are, nine days from Christmas, and not only is the tree up, but I actually wrapped some presents today and they are under the tree! (Did I just heard a faint "Hallelujah" to the tune of the Hallelujah Chorus??)

Here is the promised picture of our Christmas tree: A beautiful "woods" tree, smelling of fresh air. It's a grand fir.



And one more picture. The reason for our celebrating. This beautiful nativity is a Jim Shore creation and the details and colors are truly incredible.



Merry Christmas!