CHRISTMAS PASTS...

 

We are celebrating Thanksgiving

 a little differently this year. 

 If everything goes as planned,

 the kids are coming up to the Cottage. 

 Now that everyone, except the old folks, are working and having different days off,

 we will be celebrating on November 21. 

 They will come in the morning 

and will have to go back home after dinner, 

but that is okay, no matter when or where, 

we are thankful for

 the opportunity to get together, 

 excited to meet little Bean 

for the first time 

and to celebrate Jake's birthday also. 

 Our baby grandson 

who magically just turned 28 years old.

I didn't want to start

 decorating for Christmas 

and have all the fall things put away 

so I decided to have a little of both.  

There will be a bit of Christmas

 mixed in with remaining

 pumpkins and autumn leaves, 

a transitional moment.

When I showed you 
our fall colors last week
 I thought they were just about through.
 But, lo and behold, 
this beauty outside our sitting room window
 decided to show up.

I couldn't wait to decorate

 the top of the old cupboard, 

so here is a sneak peek.  

This is, also, as far as I can think of anything to write about

 so thought it might be fun

 to show a few of my favorites 

since I have been blogging.  

Hope you will enjoy the look back...

...but before we dive into 

the time machine,

 here is an update on Kai. 

 We have been giving him his

 4 dose of insulin for a few weeks now. 

 Last Thursday,

 he had a follow up appointment 

and he is up to where he should be.  

We will continue with the 4 

and he won't have to be 

checked again for six months.  

Vet says we are doing something right

 as a lot of dogs don't respond so quickly.  

Don't know what that is except

 that he gets his shots

 every 12 hours, without fail, 

and is on new food 

made especially for diabetic dogs. 

 That is all, but it seems to be working.

  He feels good

 and acts more like a young dog

 than a 13 year old. 

 We are grateful that

 so far it is going so well. 

 It must help that he is cooperative also. 

 He knows what the word "juice" is

 and comes running to his "appointments"!

Of course he grouses and complains

 once he is up on his perch

 but, on the whole, he is really good about it

 (he also knows that

 a tiny bit of treat is waiting afterwards,

 and he deserves it).

So, now on to Christmas Pasts...

Fair warning. 

 I didn't realize

 that I had so many favorites 

so I will continue next week.  

Now that you know what to expect,

 you can skip it or not.

Just wanted to show you 

one more fall piece. 

 I ordered this tin pumpkin string

 awhile back 

but when it came I put it away

 and then couldn't find it. 

 In looking for something else

 I couldn't find, I found it! 

 I ordered it from Antique Farmhouse

 and it is pretty cute.

Hope you have a wonderful week.

...Judy...

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Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

GRATEFUL GATHERINGS...

 

The year is winding down. 

 Frost and rain have come and will, undoubtedly, come again

 and the winter garden has settled in.

Our color came late this year 

and almost before we could blink

 the much needed rains came 

and it was gone in a flash.

This beautiful tree

 seemed to keep its foliage

 better than most.

I foraged in the garden

 and managed to gather some of

 the remaining summer

 and turn it into a

 harvest vignette in the entry.

These green stems

 have been showing up all over the garden

 in recent years 

and, in summer, 

they make a very 

pretty and graceful arrangement...

...this fall, however, 

they produced berries for the first time.  

I have no idea where they came from,

 or what they are called,

 but they are quite striking

 in an autumn scheme.

I have had this little family for a long time.

  Every year, at harvest time, 

they join in the festivities.

A combination of faux and real 

come together to make up

 a pretty harvest gathering.

Big Bird got his shots.  You can too!

Last Wednesday we were scheduled to get our Covid booster shots. 

 We started out with Moderna,

 and even though we knew

 that we could mix and match, 

we wanted to stick with Moderna.  

Our local CVS pharmacy 

only was giving Pfizer 

so we went to Auburn to get the shots. 

 When we arrived at our scheduled time,

 we were told that we couldn't get the shots as they didn't have enough

 personnel to handle them.

  We came back home and made

 another appointment for today.

 Again we will drive to Auburn 

but this time going to another CVS location. 

 Here is the kicker! 

 This CVS is inside Target.  

OMG, I love Target

 and haven't been to one in about two years.

  So it turned out to be

 a blessing in disguise 

(for me - not so much for the Captain!)

I did make it to Home Goods

 for my birthday! 

 Oh Happy Day! 

 I was concerned that the shelves 

could be bare, but they weren't. 

The only problem was that 

they were full of merchandise

 that didn't fit into my style.   

I also think that the prices

 are not as good as they once were.

 But, what isn't??

 The dish  section is always

 one of my most favorite,

 but I could only find a couple of plates

 that seemed to fit into what I like.

 Most were too modern, too cartoonish.

  I was worn out when I left the store. 

A lot of dodging around

 people without masks.

 I guess that is the way of life now.

 Who cares? Right? 

 Enough of that,

 it was a beautiful day, 

and I am glad I was able to go. 

You may notice behind the little blue tree 

a lot of what looks

 like a hoarder's heaven,

 but it is all about

 a little change coming to the Cottage. 

 Watch this space.

Remember this crazy cow picture?

Here is the opposite side.  

Math isn't one of my strong suits,

 so it took a bit of doing to get this done.

  I envisioned four stars 

set in their own little spaces 

but their proportions are a little wonky

 so the final result

 sort of looks like a cross between 

stars gone wrong and a game board. 

 Hopefully my plan

 for where it will end up 

comes out a little better.

Have a wonderful week 

and enjoy the beautiful autumn.

...Judy...

 

P.S.  The fall colors today

 come courtesy of Nevada City, our neighboring town. What a beautiful and charming little village.

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Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

THERE IS ALWAYS A SOLUTION...

 

Welcome to November.

There are so many DIY bloggers and I read each one with great interest and envy, I might add. 

 I have always thought of myself as a crafty person. 

 But, of late, I have either lost confidence or have never been as good as I thought I was!!

I retired the Cottage Witch because I just can't think of anything witty to write.

  I used to enlarge pictures to a size that I needed by drawing a graph

 and now, the act of holding a pen and ruler in my hands just doesn't seem exciting.  

Truthfully, I am tired of putting my brain in motion. 

 I would rather sit back and let it all come to me instead,

 fine and finished, 

but that doesn't always work out either.

Case in point. 

 The picture, above, is one that I ordered on line.

  It was on sale and in the prim style that I like 

and I thought it might be a cute addition to the kitchen.  

When it arrived the Captain absolutely hated it and I have to say that I agree with him.  

So, I thought I could turn it over, 

like I have done with the "cheap" pillows and do a quilt block on the other side.

 Those seem to be something that don't take a lot of thinking or effort, or so I thought! 

 The problem is that it is not a square shape. 

 It is an odd size piece so it wasn't an easy task to figure how to lay it out.

  I did come up with a solution though, 

which you will see later.  

Because it is a thoroughfare between the front door and the back, 

the carpeting in the Sitting Room needs a good cleaning. 

 The reason we first noticed that Kai's health wasn't quite right

 was because he couldn't always make it to the door to go out to do his business.

  We would spot clean the carpet but that just showed us

 that big feet and little paws had done a job on the rest of it 

so we came up with a solution

 which you will see later.

If nothing else, 

this time of the pandemic has made me a very lazy person.

  I have gotten used to staying in my PJ's all day, some days,

 and I have not worn lipstick or earrings for a very long time

 as those two things are not compatible with mask wearing. 

 The very saddest part of all 

is that I am becoming to enjoy it. 

 When I do have to go someplace, I find myself making excuses for why I can't.

  There might, or might not, be a solution 

which you, will or will not, see later.

I read on a blog that someone was playing the Little Women soundtrack.

  As we have a tradition of watching all the Little Women movies during the Christmas holidays,

 I thought it would be something that we would enjoy having.

  The CD came and I was excited. 

 I put it into the player and nothing! Crickets!

  I tried a few of our other CDs and they all worked so it wasn't the player. 

 I cleaned it but it still wouldn't play so there is no solution for that!  

It isn't always good to order online. 

 Even though, during these times, it is a wonderful tool to have, 

I am finding that the quality of some things are not as advertised., 

and the shipping charges are almost as much as the item itself.

 When they arrive, I am finding that, if I had seen them in a store I wouldn't have purchased them. 

 Most, I think, will look alright in the overall scheme of things but it is disheartening. 

 I have been hearing that the shelves are pretty bare in some stores. 

 I am hopeful that they will pick up before Christmas

 and if they do,

 a bit of presentable clothing and makeup

 might just help to put a brain in motion

 and that could be the perfect solution.

This is probably not a solution to anything 

except, 

we have been walking out the back door and over this piece of wood for many years, 

and never noticed that ET

 has been patiently waiting to come in 

for all that time.

...Judy...

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Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda