What a Couple of Weeks it has Been

 

Although Christmas is merely days away, it seems like this month has been 36 weeks long already. Or is it just me?

And with that many weeks in a month, one would think I'd have managed to post before now.

One would think...but one would think wrong, as you already know.

Let me explain (as briefly as I can as that is not what this post is intended to be about):

Just so far this month (which, I would point out, is not yet over) several things have gone awry. These are just a few of the most-recent "highlights:"

~My knee completely gave out resulting in a few days of crutches and requiring a steroid injection;

~An attempt to save a kitten on the way to an out-of-town specialist appointment (more on that later) left me drenched in coffee, scratched and swelling, and smelling of ugly smells by the time I arrived (despite best efforts, sadly, kitten didn't make it);

~A (very) bad reaction to my initial infusion of Reclast (for osteoporosis) left me unexpectedly incapacitated,

~My order for the bed and nightstand for the lake finally completely blew up. It started deteriorating months ago but I still had some, albeit frustrated, hope. All for naught... I could write a book about all that went wrong. (PS..NEVER, EVER, purchase furniture online from Perigold (or its affiliated companies - i.e., Joss and Main, Wayfair, etc.),

~The outdoor Christmas lights I had put up once again went out after less than 2 weeks (after years of this, it doesn't come as a surprise, but it still comes as a disappointment),

~Every gift I ordered online within the last month except one has been delayed and now won't arrive until sometime in January, and

~Months after they were to be installed, the overhead garage doors (note, doors as in plural) were installed at the lakehouse earlier this week. They are not the right ones (and no resolution/remediation in sight).

And these are just the things that stand out.

Anyway...moving right along.

Christmas!!

I took a different approach to decorating this year. Instead of rushing to pull everything out and get it up in a few days, I decided I was going to take out a few things at a time and truly appreciate and enjoy them for themselves and the memories they bear before moving on.

I found I like doing it this way. I might not get everything out by Christmas, but I don't care. It's only me who will see them anyway.  

I feel like I get to appreciate each piece - or collection - fully before moving on to the next. Kinda of like spending time with old friends I haven't seen since last Christmas.

But my new methodology means I won't be able to show you things as I hoped I would - certainly not the curated home tour version like Janice @ Prims by the Water, or

the perfectly gathered collections like Lauren @ Rugs and Pugs.

What you get instead is a very un-curated and very random bunch of photos.

No rhyme, no reason although I tried to avoid views and things I've showed previously.

Most are dark because...well, it's been very dark in Nod of late.

I'll shut up now.

On to the photos.

{Entry sidetable - Putz, old bibles, flower frog tree and crooked lampshade 😉)

An old clockface serves as a star atop the flower frog tree:

{Handmade spun cotton snowman candy container (hat removes) on top of vintage cash register rolls on top of vintage tape tin}

{Old desk in the bedroom}

Close-up of desk:

{Some of my Santa chocolate molds. The photo is terrible, but they look wonderful at night with the little white lights reflecting off their metal and the mercury bead garland.}

{Vintage Santa mugs...the more stained and crazed the better...and, yeah...there's more...I'll spare you.}

The fellas in red:

{Papier mache and pulp/pressed paper Santas, etc.)

Not to play favorites or anything, but the fella second from the right with his original pipe is pretty special:

...as is the little putz deer sitting between the two Santas in the center:

The boys in blue:

{Vintage saltglaze Santas....difficult to photograph no matter the time of day due to the windows...but this is where they hang out.}

{Very old candy box from Montgomery Ward & Co. I have a special connection to it as I worked on the initial phases of the class action lawsuit against the company when it shut down all its franchises.}

{Vintage bottle brush trees, papier mache Santa boots and cast/pot metal deer atop the spice cabinet in the kitchen}

{Vintage bottle brush trees in pounce pots/sanders}

Christmas of a different than most of yours I'm sure but Christmas nonetheless...and someone is on high alert for Santa. 

May you all find some quiet moments of anticipation and be touched, in some measure, by the spirit of the season in these precious days before Christmas. 

 

And Just Like That It's June....

 

Like the roads to Nod, however, the road to summer here has had its ups and downs.

Summer, it seems, is a timid bride this year.

We have a handful of summer-like days...where we go from 50 to 90.

And then we are back to mid-60's, and very low 40's for lows.

And wind...lots of wind.

And you know how I feel about wind.

But, slowly, things are greening, and plants are blooming.

The first bridesmaid is always the always-flamboyant rhododendron.

The others follow toute de suite in a pink and purple explosion.

{Weeping Tina Crabapple}

{Volunteer Vinca growing in the patio stones}

{With a slow, cold, spring, the blooms of the lilacs were more abundant and sweeter.}

And avian coteries welcome the newcomers with bursts of song.

 

{Look closely...a cardinal's camouflage.}

I think this year is the year I finally will be making good on my vow to forgo annuals. Bitterly bittersweet.

It's a good thing I am easily amused by nature as my "crafting" (is that what we are still calling it these days??) mojo has gone on another walkabout apparently.

 I started stitching another larger piece, but there is no progress worth posting at this point.

I did venture to the Island of the Unfinished and was not inspired to attempt any rescues other than finishing this one little piece I had finished the stitching on a year ago:

{"1776" from the talented Marly of Samplers and Santas.}

I couldn't seem to capture the true colors (and, yes, there is some distressing to it), but they are somewhere between the above photo and the photo below.

I am not impressed with my finishing and will not point out all the shortcomings....you likely can figure that out for yourself.... 

So, I abandoned the Island.

*******

I think I have missed sharing a few reads with you (I've been MIA a while, no?), but I don't believe I shared this one with you yet.

This is the third book by this author I've read.  I fell in love with her debut book, "The House Between Tides," about which I previously posted.  This book, however, I am a bit equivocal about.  I enjoyed it, but it was a transparent "clone" of her first book. While I somewhat felt like I was being able to continue the reading adventure I had enjoyed in the first book, this was not a sequel of any sorts...yet the main plot and subplots were just too similar.  I actually started confusing a few things between the two books while reading.  (No comments re the ease with which that confusion thing is accomplished these days...please.)

She even used some of the same character names....but they weren't the same characters.  😧 

Anyway, do with it what you will.  If you liked The House Between Tides and would like another "fix," have at it.  I am not the one who enjoys Hallmark movies with the same repetitive themes, so I give it a "meh."

*******

Well, I'm off to finish assembling a wheel barrow.  

Who has more fun than me?

Have a good new week ahead everyone.