BEHIND THE SCENES...

  Happy New Year

I hope 
each and everyone of you 
had a wonderful Christmas holiday and 
a Happy New Year celebration.

All of our Christmas decorations 
are still in place.  
Everything looks as pretty 
as it did on the first day. 
 I mostly used faux greens this year 
so I don't have a lot of needles falling. 
 Real garlands of cedar were used 
on the mantles and the beauty of that is,
 unless forceably touched, 
it is not as easy for them 
to drop their needles.

 I need to start putting things away,
 I know,
 but it doesn't feel right
 quite yet.

We had such a great time 
with the kids this year.  
It was very special 
that they made the trip 
so we could all celebrate time
 at the Cottage. 
 Tami had to work until
 5:00 on Christmas Eve 
and then they had an almost 
four hour trip to get here. 
 They arrived about 9:00,
 with Jake and Jacenda arriving 
just a little before,
 with all their arms 
loaded down with pretty packages. 
 Of course,
 for someone who almost always has 
a camera in hand, 
I totally forgot to take any pictures. 
 By the time we got through catching up 
it was almost midnight 
before we started opening presents. 
 On Christmas day,
 they had to leave
 as they spend the day with 
Tim's side of the family. 
 We usually take them out to breakfast 
on the day that they are heading back home,
 to a restaurant here 
that they enjoy,
 but it was closed, so the Captain and I 
fixed breakfast for everyone.

 The pictures that you are seeing
 throughout this post are of 
behind the scenes happenings 
that have gone on
 since I last posted.

Our New Year's celebration
 consisted of looking up an old photo 
that I took after my 
first year of blogging, 2011, (above) 
and catching up on
 some of the Hallmark Christmas movies
 that we had missed during 
all the preparations. 
 We were in bed by 10:00 
(the dogs won't have it any other way)
 and slept through New Year's,
 which is our normal way of celebrating!

 What was just seeming to 
look a lot like Christmas 

 is beginning to look somewhat
 like winter around here.  
Very cold and some frosty mornings
 but mostly sunny during the days so far.
  No snow is in the forecast and 
it is shaping up to be 
 a typical winter
 here abouts.

I told you way back in summer 
that it was all a Cottage stew and 
here is the proof. 
 I made a big pot for Christmas Eve and 
it has lasted us 
for most of 
the following week.

I will be back 
on my weekly schedule from now on, 
with a look back at my 
most popular ten posts of the past year,
 next Tuesday. 

 I do want to thank everyone again 
for their kind comments about the
 Sounds of Christmas Cottage Tour and 
to remind all
 that I will be leaving my
 individual thank you's 
under each of your comments, 
on my post, 
from now on. 

 Until then,
 continue on enjoying 
the happiest of new years.



...Judy...

Sharing today at:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles