Wonderful surprise, in common and reflection

- It was so exciting to open my mailbox when I returned home on Saturday to find this package, all the way from Singapore!  Our lovely Betty from the So Shiok! blog (which seems to be down at the moment) sent me this as a Christmas surprise.  She had blogged about Cadbury's TimeOut bars and I said I didn't think we have those here.  I had completely forgotten about that - so what a nice surprise.  Plus there were some chopsticks!  As you can see - I had one of those bars and it was just as good as she said.

- So wonderful that multiple bloggers have the same taste in reading that I do.  Both Elephant's Child and Lee love Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, too, and both commented on my Wacissa River post from Friday about the book (and film) Cross Creek and her novel The Yearling.  Rawlings lived in nearby Alachua County, Florida.  When I worked at the county library in Milledgeville, Georgia during my high school years, the librarian, Mrs. Smith used to recommend The Yearling to anyone who was looking for something good to read.  It was her favorite book + she had a correspondence relationship with Ms. Rawlings.  Remarkable really.  I love both books and when I weeded out paperbacks when I got the new bookcase (preferring to just put mostly hardbacks on the shelves), I kept these four old, treasured books.

- I love the sparkle of the Christmas lights reflected in the print in the living room.  I'm sad to see the decorations come down, but come down, they must.  That print was given to me by my grandfather when I was a teenager.  He knew I loved artwork - not sure where it came from, but it is of (of all things) Washington's Second Inauguration.  I kept it in a trunk and finally had it framed about 25 years after he gave it to me.

No year end post for me this year - I actually just realized this is my last post for 2013!  :)  I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Settling in, identification and from far away

Photo from Wikipedia

- That is the Wacissa River in Jefferson County, Florida, where my sister and her family live.  It was wonderful to arrive on Christmas Eve and just settle in with the family in this beautiful place.

- Young Monroe knows who everyone is, when asked to point to each relative.  And it thrills my soul when he is asked where Aunt Lynn is and he points to me, since I don't get to be with him that often.

- Wee Mina, in Turkey, got to have "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" read to her by her Grandpa, via Skype.  A family tradition - he always reads it on Christmas Eve.  I think Mina's mom wanted to hear it, too.

I'm heading home tomorrow - it will be good to catch up on blogs.  I've only had sporadic computer time - probably a good thing to not be glued to the computer.  I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, so far!

Merry Christmas to all!

- We all celebrate Christmas in our family and I love the different ways it can be wished.  Merry Christmas from all the nationalities represented from my family (I already said it in English):

Swedish (my older sister's husband's heritage):  God Jul
Turkish (niece, her husband and great niece in Turkey):  Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Scots Gaelic (my father's family heritage):  Nollaig Chridheil dhuibhv
Welsh (my mother's family heritage):  Nadolig Llawen

I can pronounce God Jul, but that's about it.  :)  I hope you are having a wonderful holiday!

Oblivious, traveling angels and warm spell

- A Saturday morning visit to the lovely antiques shop near the park where I walk with friends.  Walk, coffee, and then walking around this large shop.  Whiskers was oblivious to everyone who shopped around him and slept on.  One woman wasn't sure at first if he was real or not.

- Friend Laura has a booth in that shop at which she sells things mostly from her home.  Doing my part to support small business, I bought this Christmas ornament - a couple of hugging angels.  I texted Laura this photo and she said she was happy I have that - she bought it on St. Simons Island, Georgia, several years ago. 

- It rained all day on Sunday.  That's the sliding door open - it was just that warm - about 70 degrees.  The fern got to go out for a few days, but will come back in on Christmas Eve, when the temperature drops below freezing again.

Through the window, potential playmate and car repairs

- From the family gathering in late November, my great nephew spots something inside a toy store.  I love this photo that shows him wearing a shirt his mother bought for him when she was pregnant.  It was the first time he had worn it - she had just realized it fit.

- Ah...it was a wee lass.  And we thought it was toys.  :)  His grandmother went inside and bought something for Christmas morning anyway.

- And I had car trouble yesterday - not that that is a good thing, but just how everything fell into place.  I was going to do some final Christmas shopping at Atlantic Station (near my office) after work, but felt weary at the thought of all one has to do to get inside there (paid parking, etc.)  So I headed home and heard something in my car that didn't seem quite right.  As I am wont to do, I hoped it would go away.  Thoughts to myself:  "I don't hear that anymore, it must have gone away.  Good.  Well - shoot, there it is again."  (Just as I was about to turn into my street.)

I've had the same mechanic for 23 years and have sent a multitude of friends there for the like-a-small-town-experience I have with Chris (who works alone.)  He was likely not going to be in his shop at 5:30pm, but he was!  He was just closing up, but agreed to have a look at my car.  Indeed - it needed attention that requires parts, so he ordered them online for installation this morning.  And he took me home.  He waved off my thanks with "This has gotten me out of Christmas shopping."  What a nice man.

I hope many good things happen to you this weekend.  Have a great one!

Serendipity, a new home and just right

Last February, my sister Jo came to visit and met my friend Laura.  A discussion ensued about antiques.  Laura has an antiques booth and Jo had some family heirlooms from her husband's family that she and her husband agreed really didn't fit in with their home anymore.  One thing lead to another, and thanks to Laura and her husband Bob, a settee, two chairs and a clock have come to reside in Barrington Hall, a beautiful old home in Roswell, Georgia, that is open to the public.  Bob is the manager of the house.  Here is Barrington Hall (photo from City of Roswell website.)  All other photos by me. Click to enlarge.

- I was invited to a wonderful staff party at Barrington Hall a couple of weeks ago - mainly so I could see the settee and clock in place.  The chairs are waiting in the wings for their debut. 

- The settee looks so pretty there in the main hallway.  Now waiting guests have a place to sit.  Interesting note about the floor:  it is painted on some sort of material that can be rolled up.  The old wood floors are still underneath.

- The clock's new home is on the mantel in the master bedroom.  Bob pointed out that the column detailing on the side of the clock matches the detailing on the bureau (there on the right.)  Portraits of the original owners are on the mantel also - this was their bedroom.

- It was so wonderful to see these pieces in place - so familiar to me already.  And they looked as if they had always been there.  The party was a big bonus - and because it was a warmish December night, Laura and I sat out on that beautiful porch and had some nibbles.

A treasure, there's no place like home and tradition

- It was a cold and rainy day on Saturday, so most of the day was spent decorating the Christmas tree.  I had to move it over this year so the fern could have its spot in front of the back door (the fern is in for a few days because of freezing temps at night).  The cardboard Santa under the tree was a gift from my kindergarten teacher when I was 5 years old.  A treasure!

- A new treasure - a Dorothy's Red Shoe ornament, purchased in September at the gift shop in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, DC.  An American treasure, the red shoes Judy Garland wore in the film, The Wizard of Oz, are showcased in an exhibit there. 

- The tiny tree in the pass-through from the kitchen to the dining room.  For years it was the only tree I put up, until I realized how much I loved all my packed away ornaments.  Hence the bigger tree in the living room.  I'm a two-tree gal now.  :)  The Santa on the left belonged to my Great Aunt Grace and was always under her tree.

Other highlights from the weekend:  ringing the bell for the Salvation Army at the mall on Saturday night with the annual tradition of Mexican food after.  And discovering friend Leisa at Home Goods doing a bit of Christmas shopping on Sunday.  It was fun having an impromptu shopping partner for an hour or so.