THAT TIME OF YEAR!

I can hardly believe its 

Christmas time

already.

This year has flown by.

Last year I got myself into a Christmas Day funk,

and I'm determined that is not happening again.

No expectations are the best expectations.

I'm keeping in mind, it's a season, not just a day.

Our decorations are minimal

but festive enough.

Last year my favorite gift was one I purchased

with a Amazon gift card from Rick and Terry,

an essential oil diffuser.

Just love it...I kept the house smelling wonderful

and hopefully all of us healthier.

Christmas time is no different.

The family has decided to forgo gifts this year

but I am sending just a few cards 

and displaying the ones we receive close by,

 Mom looks at them several times a day

and each time it's new.

Started playing Christmas music on Pandora today,

love that.

There is no shortage of sweets in the house.

Sue was here this weekend and brought us

holiday check mix.

I have made "no bake" chocolate oatmeal cookies...

twice.

I'm not making myself crazy about a 

Christmas dinner,

Lord knows a heavy, rich meal

is the last thing the three of us need.

Last year is proof of that.

I will put something in the crock pot and

that will be that.

When Christmas Day rolls around,

my only plan is to see what's streaming

on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

 Merry Christmas

and 

Happy Holidays

EVERYONE

PS: All pictures were pulled from Pinterest

A SUNNY DECEMBER DAY

 The sky is so blue today and the weather

is perfect for just a light jacket.

 Cooper and I took a short walk around the property

just to see what we could see.

 The leaves have mostly fallen and are crunching

under our feet.

The colors, muted, but are still enhanced

by the big blue sky and sunshine.

 Cooper has not yet mastered the leash,

but she does quite well staying near

when we are out and about.

I want her to know her space and to be able

to enjoy as I do.

We just need to stay clear of that 

Big

Bad

Road.

CHRISTMAS AT THE FOLKS

 Don't judge me, but I started my Christmas decorating

even before Thanksgiving.

I couldn't help myself, I love to decorate.

I have to tell you decorating here at Mom & Dad's 

is a whole different ballgame.

Back in Johnson City where I was surrounded by the things

that I love and a décor that was personal,

Christmas decorating was a piece of cake.

Here, it must be pondered.

I've used some things that I brought with me

like my white lights and crochet snowflakes.

Wonderful personal gifts like this folded book

from my sister in law, Terry.

 A few things I've made using what I had on hand

or bits and pieces I've picked up at Goodwill or

the thrift shop. This little package garland was made

from some left over scrap booking paper and cardboard.

 I also made a little gingerbread man garland out of some old

brown paper.

I love decorating with nature

it's my favorite.

I put on my walking shoes, get my garden

clippers and see what treasures 

I can find.

Oh, and did I say how easy 

it is when its time to put everything away

after the holidays.

Just dump it in the compost

or back out in the field.

Yea, keep it simple that is my motto here,

spend as little money as possible.

There is so much Christmas stuff out there

in thrift shops why buy new...

just renew.

Tomorrow is December 1st.

lets get our Christmas game on.

Oh and I get to start using my 

Christmas advent calendar tomorrow too,

thank you Susan Okrasinski!

BIRTHDAY PUPPY

Another birthday has come and gone

and it was a very good one.

I knew I wanted a shelter dog and had been hoping I would

find one by my birthday.

My plan was to get an adult dog, one that was small and 

easy to manage.

Well, this is what I got.

The picture says it all...

defiant

rambunctious

crazy 

puppy

She looked so adorable at the 

Lincoln County Animal Shelter

 I had been to the shelter a couple of times and

there seemed to be a real shortage of

small adult dogs.

I can handle a puppy, right?

She was too young to bring home so I needed 

to wait two weeks.

No problem, this gave me time to prepare

for the little darling.

Her shelter name was Kate

but I named her Cooper.

The only thing I know about her is that she

is part Boston Terrier.

Only time will tell if I got a relatively small dog

or a monster giant.

Whatever she turns out to be

it really doesn't matter now.

We have bonded and she's my

defiant

rambunctious

crazy

puppy.

AUTUMN???

 FALL has come to Fayetteville

but you wouldn't know it.

Oh, people have their pumpkins, hay bails

and scarecrows from Walmart, but the temperature outside

is in the eighties...

a little hard to drink your spiced tea with any conviction. 

I've put out my ceramic jack o lantern

but my Summer flowers are doing so well

why should I buy Mums?

Summer, Fall makes no difference to my Mom,

it's all a "pretty day" to her.

So I'm embracing it as well.

 The coneflowers I started from seed in early Summer

have finally decided to bloom.

 This Hyacinth Bean is still going strong

and the purple color works so well

this time of year.

 I've done a bit of clean up in the garden,

still plenty of color.

I have become a big fan of cheap Mums

from Walmart.  I bought four last year and

they are all going strong today.

Take another peek at the first picture,

that was a little eight inch pot that hung out in my garage

over the Winter and I stuck it in the ground

this Spring.  This purple one above lived in it's pot all year 

and now look at her.

You can't beat that!

HAPPY FALL

2017 DAVIDSON FAMILY BAKE OFF

I've just finished my entry into the 2017 Davidson Family Bake off.

This time we did "Tunnel of Fudge Cake".

I can't remember the last cake that I made from scratch,

if I ever did make one.  I'm thinking with four years of

home economics in high school I surly did,

but nothing comes to mine.

This was quite a pricey little endeavor,

with almost four sticks of butter, six eggs,

two kinds of sugar,

flour, chopped nuts and cocoa.

Did I mention I bake everything in a

toaster oven...don't get me started.

Into the oven

Out of the oven.

Cooled, flipped and glazed.

Because it wasn't rich enough on its own,

I served it with a scoop of ice cream.

If you try to reach us and can't,

there's a good chance we've all past away

due to a sugar coma...

but we died happy!

JUST A DAY

Here I am on a Wednesday afternoon in July.

So much of my life is sameness...

everyday I have the same routine with Mom.

I get her up, do the morning necessities, get her breakfast,

which includes coffee, cereal with banana, and

see that she has her morning meds. Soon after, she's

ready for her first nap of the day.

Lunch

Nap

Dinner

Nap

Bed.

When Mom is having a good day

we spend a little time outside getting some

sunshine and stimuli.

Nap time affords me a bit of time to myself,

of course some of it is taken up by household chores,

but on the whole I have lots of free time,

just not freedom.

When the weather permits, I spend as much time

as possible outside.

I've never been crazy about my parents house,

but their property is to die for.

In the morning from six to eight, I grab a large mug

of coffee and start the day out right by communing with nature.

I love to simply sit on the swing and watch the birds and

gaze at the great outdoors.

Usually there are two or three hummingbirds

that keep me company.

And there are a pair of goldfinch that always

make an appearance.  Not to mention the countless

sparrows and house finches.

The birds are my company and the best of companions.

Best of all...

my little garden.

What pleasure a small plot of land can give.

I love looking at it, tending it, harvesting from it.

It truly makes me happy.