THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS - GRAND FINALE - A CHRISTMAS COTTAGE TOUR - 2019

This blog has become a job for me. 
 Not a job that I get paid for 
unless you count the numerous friends
 I have made over the years. 
 Not a job that I have to have,
 but one I want to have.

 It is important to me that
 I have crossed all the T's and 
dotted all the I's and 
even that I have 
spelled most words correctly.

 The photos that tell my story, and 
the stories themselves,
 have to come from my heart 
in order to be 
share worthy.

I know this time of year
 things can get sentimental and 
since I fall into the category of
 being a romantic,
 I am guilty of that. 
 I am so proud
 that the blogging community 
has taken me into 
the family and has shared 
their stories as well.

 Kind comments and sweet friendships 
mean more than I can say. 
 I know that there are many 
that I will never hear from. 
 I don't know 
who you are or where you are,
 but I do know that
 you are there and 
that you are reading, and 
I appreciate and thank everyone 
all the same.

My chosen Christmas song 
for the finale is 
one that has special meaning to me,
 especially this year.  
 For the thirty years
 we have lived in our 
beautiful little Cottage,
 we have almost always 
gone down to 
our kid's home for Christmas. 
 It has just simply been
 easier for us to get away. 
 This year, however,
 will be different. 
 They are coming to be with us and 
celebrate Christmas at the Cottage and 
we will be home for Christmas.

"I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS"

By Kim Gannon and Walter Kent, 1943

Recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943

It was written from a soldier's perspective serving over seas during World War Two.

In all parts of the Christmas tour,
 I have mostly shown vignettes
 in each room 
so in the finale, 
I will show how each of the 
rooms look all together.  
There is no
 rhyme or reason to it all and 
most things will not be commented on, 
only the words to the song 
will accompany the photos.  
You have seen them all before and 
you know what you are looking at.

"I'm dreaming tonight
 of a place I love

Even more than
 I usually do

And although I know 
it's a long road back

I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas

You can count on me

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents on the tree

Christmas Eve will find me

Where the love light gleams

I'll be home for Christmas

If only in my dreams."

~~~~~


This is what started the idea
 for this particular song...

I saw the picture 
in the Country Door catalog and
 knew it was meant to be.  
This is what home 
looks and feels like 
to me.

Christmas has
 different meanings to different people.
  Whether you believe 
it started in a stable 
with the light of a great star
 shining over it, 
or that being surrounded by
 loving family and friends 
is what makes it possible, 
or by living your life 
through kindness and good deeds
 for your fellow man, 
it all has a place rooted in
 the magic of Christmas and 
we are very lucky 
if all those feelings stay with us 
all the year through.


For all 
who will be home for Christmas...
we wish you peace, joy and love...

...for all 
who can't be home for Christmas 
you are...
forever in our hearts,
 tied up with shining ribbons of memories. 
 You will always be 
the greatest 
of gifts.

Gold Country Cottage
 wishes Merry Christmas to all and 
to all a 
very good night.


See you next year!!



...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS - PART 6 - A CHRISTMAS COTTAGE TOUR - 2019

I promised someone

 I would showcase 

the master bedroom and bath 

way last spring 

when the Secret Garden was presentable,

 but the garden was kind of

 neglected this year, 

so it never came to pass.

  What better time than Christmas 

to keep a promise?

I know 

you might find it hard to believe 

that I could enjoy a 

calm and serene Christmas space,

 but let me show you one

 that offers only a simple and...

"SILENT NIGHT"

Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber

The world premier was performed on Christmas Eve, 1818 in Austria

"Silent Night

Holy Night

This room is very small

 and we are not able to have 

more than a double bed 

so - comfy, cozy are we,

 but that's another song.

This is a new bedspread 

which I thought was so beautiful

 when I saw it 

on the website of Antique Farmhouse, and 

I still do think it very pretty, 

but every time I walk into the room 

I see those ruffles and

 they look like something that needs to be

 fluffed and straightened. 

 I am a person who 

always has to be smoothing out

 the couch 

after it has been sat on. 

 Don't know 

how long it will last!

Plus the bed,

 there is barely enough room 

for two dressers...

...a stove,

 which is our second source of heat

 for the Cottage, and

 works very well in keeping that 

comfy, cozy feeling...

...a small painted table 

as my nightstand and 

a tiny hall tree 

that serves as 

the Captain's nightstand.

Because the room is so small 

but has a high ceiling,

 I decided to emphasize that fact 

by using a dark and busy wallpaper

 with a darker paint color on the ceiling.

  It also lends more 

of a masculine touch

 to the room.

A patterned carpet 

that is very different from the wallpaper 

but in the same color scheme.  

I really think it is fun 

to mix patterns together.

In order to offset the darker colors,

 we painted all the trim 

a bright white and,

 like most of the windows in the Cottage, 

there are lace curtains.

All is Calm

All is Bright

The master bath 

is almost bigger than the bedroom, 

which is the reason 

we chose this part

 of the Cottage 

as the master suite.

When we bought the Cottage

 there was a make-shift closet

 in the bedroom 

where the stove now stands. 

 We enclosed part of the back porch 

to make a larger closet 

off of the bathroom.

We added this vanity,

 which we purchased from Costco,

 when we remodeled the bathroom.

We are fortunate to have

 the original footed tub.  

It was in pretty good shape 

but we did have it resurfaced.

We found some old wainscotting for sale 

and installed it around the room 

and the companion wallpaper

 to that in the bedroom.

This room was done

 about twenty years ago and 

ate up the last of our budget at the time. 

 I had wanted 

a black and white tile floor 

that was comparable to 

the age of the Cottage 

but the funds didn't allow for that 

so we had vinyl flooring installed. 

 It was supposed to be temporary

 but it has held up so well and 

is so easy to clean,

 we still have it.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Sleep in Heavenly Peace."

It won't be long now 

until the big day is here.

  

I will see you 

in a day or so 

for the Grand Finale of 

The Sounds of Christmas. 

 Hope 

you will join us 

then.

...Judy...

P.S. Just a short note to let you know that I am leaving my thank you's at the bottom of each post under your comments to me. Something is really messed up and it is the easiest way to do it. I'm sorry, but hope you will come back to see it as I will thank everyone always.

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles