Tuesday, December 23, 2008

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I've gotten a brand new computer! It's been a little work to get everything back up and running the way I'm used to ... and a few things still need some tweaking....but now I have a much faster machine! While I was without a computer, I baked Christmas cookies, wrapped presents, cleaned the house and finished decorating, shoveled LOTS of snow, and managed to sneak in a few precious hours of rug hooking.

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I've visited some of my friends' blogs and they have posted wonderful pictures of their holiday trees and home decorating. I thought I'd show you a couple of our wreaths! This one is made from Princess Pine and it is hanging on my front door. I love this wreath because it looks so feathery and delicate. We've added a sprig of fresh holly...and Mother Nature added the dusting of fresh snow (more about the snow later....)
Here is the wreath hanging on the door to my studio. It is one of my favorite holiday decorations! Ken and I made this wreath last year and we used lots of vintage glass Christmas ornaments. I purchased some of them at rummage sales and some were old family Shiny Brights. It didn't matter if a few were broken - we just glued the broken side to another ornament! It took quite a few ornaments of all different sizes and it was fun to throw in a few odd shapes like the bell.

Last Friday, we got dumped with 9" of snow, giving us a total of about 12" on the ground. When we get that much snow, not only do we have to shovel the driveway, but we also have to shovel a path down to the barn and the animal pens. And since the goats and sheep have a hard time moving around with that much snow...it's up to their bellies in most spots...I shoveled paths and areas in their pens so they can get out of their shelters and move around. Despite the paths that I provided, Lumi plowed through the snow like a bulldozer and Emma leapt through the drifts like a long-legged deer! They both like the snow...and they love to eat it! We actually have more than 12" of snow right now but the temperatures will be warming up overnight and we will get freezing rain/sleet tomorrow so I'm sure we will lose some of the accumulation.

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We always have Christmas Eve dinner here with my in-laws. It is quite a ceremony to get out the Christmas dishes for our guests. When my boys were small, part of their Christmas tradition was to help Mom get out the special Christmas dishes and set the table. Stephen has volunteered to help me this year...I'll share some pictures of our Holiday table tomorrow!

5 comments:

Alice ~ Folk Art Primitives said...

So glad you got a new computer! I went thru that about a month ago and it's a challenge for sure!! Mine does not seem much faster, unfortunately ~ but I wonder if it isn't the 'phishing protection' program that slows it down but it seems not a good idea to take it off either!!
I Love the shiny ball wreath ~ it's a good thing!!
Merry Christmas to you, friend ~ and I'll look forward to seeing your holiday pictures!
Alice

I'm up baking friendship bread ~ at 12:15 at night ~ yikes!

Unknown said...

I love the glass ball wreath and the different shapes are perfect. I must start collecting ball, I want one of those wreaths so much.
I understand about slow computers. I went from dial up to satellite and felt like I came out of the dark ages.
Merry christmas
katie paxton
primitivewoolen.typepad.com

sandi said...

Mornin' Kris - love the ornament wreath! great collection of old ornaments. was wondering what base you used for it. thanks, sandi

Kris Miller said...

Hi Sandi,

I used a green foam florist wreath, it was denser than plain old styrofoam and I think we bought the 12" diameter one. If you get one too big, it takes up ZILLIONS of ornaments. If you get one too small, the balls crowd up the opening and then it doesn't look like a wreath. We also used a glue gun to attach the ornaments...make sure you have lots of glue sticks on hand! Good Luck! Kris

Kim said...

Love that ornament wreath! Thanks for the info on the base, etc. I see a trip to Goodwill for some ornaments in my future! :o)