A SIMPLE COTTAGE CHRISTMAS...

Welcome...

We are so happy 

to have you stop by 

for a bit of 

simple Christmas cheer.

There is nothing complicated 

about the decorations this year. 

 We took down

 about 20 or so boxes and, 

maybe, 

used 2 or 3 items 

from each.

Maybe this will be the year

 when the hoard collection 

will be refined

 and 

wouldn't that be grand?!

Let me show you 

how we are enjoying Christmas 

this year

 with a few pictures and

 fewer words. 

(After reading this post over, 

you might want to be prepared 

for more than 

a few pictures!)

The Captain and Kai

 left to buy dog food and

 came back with this 

gorgeous, huge

 pointsettia.

The old gray mare,

 dashing through the snow, 

with the three Gingerbread boys and

 their bounty of pinecones. 

 My dad 

made the sleigh for me

 many years ago and 

I made the 

wooden horse.

Here are two more 

of the pillow covers

 I purchased from Amazon:

 Left, Merry Christmas, $2 

 Right, Have a Merry, $3.

I think 

they are well worth 

the price...

...and, yes, 

I did put pompoms 

on this other pillow..

much to the 

Captain's dismay!

This is a pillow cover from

 Miss Mustard Seed's Society6 collection.

  I just love it 

on the guest room bed and

it has inspired this

 little vignette...

I made the

 paper mache Santa 

many years ago, and 

the ceramic rocking horse 

as well.

I showed the parlor mantle

 in my last post 

saying it was what 

inspired the 

tree this year...

Here is the tree 

without the lights on.

 My only regret is

 that I sprayed it lightly with snow 

and only managed to turn it

 a sickly gray. 

 The Captain and I, both,

 wish I had left it just natural. 

 It is a Noble fir, 

about eight feet tall.

 The smell from the tree 

permeates the whole house

 and is just wonderful. 

 But, 

everything considered, 

it does have 

the most beautiful glow about it 

when the lights are 

turned on...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed 

the Cottage Christmas tour 

and now I'd like to thank

 all of you for your kind birthday wishes

 for Jake, 

and let you know what 

he is up to now...

He returned 

from Spain and Italy 

and brought us this beautiful water color 

of the Vatican. 

 I can't wait to frame it 

and I have the perfect spot

 picked out for it.

Now,

 he is in Spain again. 

 The photo above 

is one he sent 

during his lay-over in Sweden.

 Jacenda 

will be finishing up her classes this week

 and then they are off to 

ride camels in Morocco, 

and who knows where else!

 They will be back home 

just in time for Christmas.

 Oh, to be young again!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you probably have figured out by now, 

we are doing some extended work 

in the kitchen.

 I said 

I wasn't going to share until 

it was all done, 

but...just like I can't wait

 until the Captain has 

pounded the last nail,

 I'm pushing him 

out of the way 

so I can start to decorate!

The photo above

is one that I took

 a couple of years ago

of the large kitchen window 

where I had the old slate blackboard 

and my swanky swig collection.

 Here is that same window now...

I am anxious

 to have it done. 

It is going to be 

quite a

 transformation.

...Judy...

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