“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Winter Snow Just in Time

 "Kindness is like snow -  it beautifies everything it covers."  ~ Khalil Gibran

 


The snow has arrived just in time for Christmas! Along with that the cold has joined us once again after a brief bit of crazy warm weather that brought tornadoes to Minnesota in December for the first time EVER!

Nothing terrible in our area, but in the southern part of the state there was damage to homes and buildings. I feel bad for those poor folks out of their homes for Christmas though.

I took the photo above very early in the morning just as the sun was coming up. The beautiful pink sky lasted just a few minutes and then it was gone. Today we have blustery cold winds and I took Guy out for a quick walk around the yard. He was very happy to lead me to the door to go in after just a couple of minutes outside! 

Happy Christmas everyone! See you in the New Year! ~ Diane & Guy



Thursday, December 2, 2021

December Thoughts

My first thought is, where's the snow? We have no snow and it's still very dry here. Crazy warm temperatures and the ducks and geese just won't leave until the lake freezes over. Seems weird to have them still here at this time of year. I hope we get rain or snow soon as our plants and lakes are suffering.

 


Meanwhile, it's time to get out the Christmas decorations and we might even have a very small gathering at our house this year. Everyone we are close to has had their vaccines and booster shots, so we feel relatively safe.


My Etsy shop is closed until January this year. I didn't want the stress of having to worry about late deliveries and standing in lines at the post office. I'll use this time to work on other projects. Most of the items in the picture below have already sold. People shopped early this year!

Vintage Christmas Coloring Book and Cookie Cutters

I hope all of you are well and will have time to enjoy the holiday season. If we get snow I'll be back to post some pictures. 

Take care all! ~ Diane & Guy


Saturday, December 12, 2020

Christmas Cheer

We all need a bit of Christmas Cheer and I find myself turning to the internet and YouTube for entertainment more than ever. I've lately been binge watching the Jamie Oliver Christmas Specials on the Pluto channel on my Roku. I've also learned all about Cher and the Loneliest Elephant, (not so lonely anymore), scrap-booking, junk journals, Keto cooking and all sorts of other stuff I won't go into.

Anyway, I've always enjoyed locating old public domain images and doing digital creations. Some of these images have been in my files for years but I found the old French Carol and it got me started on the one below.



It is for you to download and enjoy as a desktop image or for other personal use, I just ask that you don't sell it.  Right click on image, click view image to enlarge then save image to your computer. I spend a lot of time fussing around with the editing and manipulations of the photos, hopefully as I get better at it I might start putting in my shop for digital sale. Hope you all in blog land are finding some interesting ways to spend your time. We are pretty much staying at home for the next month as Covid is raging in this area. 

Please stay safe. We will get through this!

🎄✨ Diane 💖🎄

 



Sunday, November 29, 2020

Christmas Thoughts

Hello friends! It's been awhile since I posted here. It feels as though everyday activities have taken much more time to accomplish than years before. This year has been especially difficult for everyone. But finally it seems there is light at the end of the long and dark tunnel. 

Our snowy backyard last year.


There are many things to look forward to this winter. The first December snowfall, the Christmas lights on every one's homes, the Christmas cards that arrive in the mail. Enjoying a quiet night by the fire.  Watching the fun antics of the squirrels and birds at the feeder. Stepping out into the snowfall with a hot mug of cocoa. Seeing a pink sunrise and sunset against the white snow.  All simple pleasures. 


A squirrel nest covered in a snowy blanket.


Sunny days after a snowfall are beautiful!

The photos were taken last year. I'll be waiting for some lovely Christmas snow to arrive soon. Take care all of you out there. I'm feeling much more optimistic about things now, I think the world has turned enough times that we are finally heading in a new direction. 

Stay safe and well!  ~ Diane



Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Winter Solstice ~ Merry Christmas




Several years ago, I was lucky enough to find a Tomte! These cute Scandinavian wooden figures are a harbinger of winter with the promise of spring.  In folklore they are mischievous little elfin creatures who may do good deeds or play tricks on you! Sounds much like the way life really is!

We have entered into Winter but the good news is that brighter days are ahead. The sun will set later and rise a few minutes earlier every day until we reach the summer solstice where it reverses again.  So here's to brighter days ahead.  May all my dear readers have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Winter Solstice and a Happy New Year!  🎄✨❄🎉 Diane





Saturday, December 7, 2019

Winter White Marshmallow Snow





The first bit of snow and Guy left his hot little foot prints in the snow!

And then Winter came quickly this year.  One day there was green grass and leaves and the next day we had 8 inches of snow!




Guy enjoys the first snowfall of the year.  He has that look of surprise!



 It really does look like a marshmallow world when the snow piles up like this!  It stuck around on the trees and fence for a few days before the warmth of the sun melted it off.





The ducks were also surprised by the early snow and the lake hadn't even frozen over yet.  They left about a week later when the temperatures started to cool again.  Now the lake is frozen over completely. 


Fluffy snow sets the tone for upcoming Christmas festivities and the house is being decorated and wreaths hung.  Gifts are ready for wrapping and the winter chill outside makes our home inside seem oh so cozy and warm. Welcome winter, I love you because just like a good guest, you won't stay forever!  Enjoy the season! ~ Diane



Thursday, December 20, 2018

Christmas Wish


Odds are not good for a white Christmas this year. While we were off to a fast start for winter with cold temperatures and early snow, we have now stalled out and with a warm up, most of our snow is gone! It's much safer traveling for everyone but I still miss that pretty snow, it always seems to make everything a bit more festive.

We'll be spending Christmas here this year and getting together with friends and family to enjoy a low key celebration. I've been asked to make a holiday trifle for one get-together. My homemade fruit cake is made and I'll make a few of our favorite Christmas cookies too! My shop is closed until after Christmas so I can focus on the holiday. It's nice to have a little time away from it all!







These pretty vintage images of old Christmas cards were so pretty I just had to share them with you! I really love the pink Santa below!



The animals in the card below are so sweet. Such a beautiful and peaceful picture of innocence.

So here I am, still wishing for a white Christmas and wishing for all of you to have a lovely holiday with your friends and family.

Merry Christmas and I'll see you next year!
  Diane

Monday, December 3, 2018

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

 


Hi Friends! So winter's here! We've had a few inches of snow and our weather has been really cold! It's helped me get in the mood for Christmas! I've been adding some things to my shop and digging through bins of things I've had packed away. It almost feels like an early Christmas present when I find something I've stashed away and haven't seen in a few years!




When you have a house that has several storage areas and things are packed in, they tend to stay packed in! I found some cute vintage craft items that I've been wanting to use but never seem to have the time! At least I got to look at them and remind myself that I need to start working on these soon! Maybe by next year I'll have something to sell!


I'm in love with the tiny reindeer and Santa in his sleigh. I'm thinking of a diorama under a cloche glass dome... my crafting imagination is brimming over but the actual crafting has not happened for awhile. That's going to be one of my New Year's Resolutions! Get crafting!




Chip and Dale dancing for Joy!



Meanwhile in my shop I've added some fun Christmas stuff.  Click on the link if you'd like to take a look! Unfortunately I'm no longer shipping international as the costs have gone up so high.


 


 



 


Crafters collect these vintage ornament holder boxes, especially if they have cute graphics. Some folks decorate them and use them as ornaments! I noticed that the metal hooks are much sturdier than the flimsy ones you get today.





 



 


Here's the cover and inside page of this very old song book. It has sweet illustrations on every page!





Dennison Christmas Seals, Pink Christmas 

Dennison labels are also collectible and loved by crafters too.


Elf Pixie on Leaf Dish 

Lately I've become fascinated with the vintage Elves, they are getting really hard to find these days at the flea markets and estate sales!




These ornaments above are made of a tightly woven straw and are from Sweden. They are from the 1950's.  I'll have more in my shop soon!





Hope you enjoyed looking at my vintage finds! I'll be here again soon, 
because it is the most wonderful time of the year!

~Merry Merry Christmas~
Diane





Saturday, December 23, 2017

Merry And Bright

Merry Christmas to you my friends! 
Wishing you all the best this season brings!






Thought I would share this digitally altered vintage photo (above) and a little peek into my office...







Christmas Fancies

    By 
    
When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,
    We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago.
            And etched on vacant places,
            Are half forgotten faces
    Of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know -
    When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow.

    Uprising from the ocean of the present surging near,
    We see, with strange emotion that is not free from fear,
            That continent Elysian
            Long vanished from our vision,
    Youth's lovely lost Atlantis, so mourned for and so dear,
    Uprising from the ocean of the present surging near.

    When gloomy gray Decembers are roused to Christmas mirth,
    The dullest life remembers there once was joy on earth,
            And draws from youth's recesses
            Some memory it possesses,
    And, gazing through the lens of time, exaggerates its worth,
    When gloomy gray December is roused to Christmas mirth.

    When hanging up the holly or mistletoe, I wish
    Each heart recalls some folly that lit the world with bliss.
            Not all the seers and sages
            With wisdom of the ages
    Can give the mind such pleasure as memories of that kiss
    When hanging up the holly or mistletoe, I wish.

    For life was made for loving, and love alone repays,
    As passing years are proving for all of Time's sad ways.
            There lies a sting in pleasure,
            And fame gives shallow measure,
    And wealth is but a phantom that mocks the restless days,
    For life was made for loving, and only loving pays.

    When Christmas bells are pelting the air with silver chimes,
    And silences are melting to soft, melodious rhymes,
            Let Love, the world's beginning,
            End fear and hate and sinning;
    Let Love, the God Eternal, be worshiped in all climes
    When Christmas bells are pelting the air with silver chimes.
 

See you in the New Year!
~ Diane ~

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

The Christmas Waltz

It's that time of year when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say Merry Christmas, may your New Years dreams come true.
                                    from The Christmas Waltz






Christmas is almost here again! Today we had a nice frosting of snow and the temperatures dropped about 30 degrees over night! It feels like winter and now it looks that way too! Add a bit of Christmas music and I'm getting in the mood! If you're viewing on a desktop pc, you may be listening to my Soundcloud Christmas playlist. The first song on the list is The Christmas Waltz, not too many current performers have recorded it but it is one of my all time favorites! Love the vintage image above of the animals waltzing around the tree!



Hope you all have your Christmas lists filled out and presents purchased. Better not be on that naughty list!






This old vintage Rudolph book will be added to my scrap pile of vintage "things to do". Some projects didn't get completed this year. Maybe I'll have them done by next Christmas! 





My post wouldn't be complete without a cat in it, so here you go. A lovely vintage postcard of an adorable little girl and her kitty!  

Merry Christmas to all my friends and customers. 
May the joy of the 
season be yours forever! 
~~Diane~~




Saturday, December 24, 2016

Surreal Christmas

 

We visited Duluth again this year and took in the Bentleyville lights in Canal Park. It was a nice break for me, just to get away for a couple of days.
 
We arrived mid afternoon and stopped for a warm beverage and snack at the Pickwick restaurant. This old place has a nice warm ambience and more wood than I've seen in awhile!


 


What can I say, these last couple of months have been nothing if not surreal.  Apparently that has been one of the most googled words in Minnesota lately.

sur·re·al
səˈrēəl/
adjective
adjective: surreal
having the qualities of surrealism; bizarre.
"a surreal mix of fact and fantasy"
synonyms: unreal, bizarre, unusual, weird, strange, freakish, unearthly, uncanny, dreamlike, phantasmagorical

So nothing like getting back to earth by visiting an awe inspiring place like Lake Superior. Thank goodness there was no sailing this time! I would much rather stay on shore and look at the lake than be on it!



As the sun sank quickly we made our way over to the light show and were greeted by these amazing light tunnels....





I loved this one, done up as a wreath! So pretty!










There was just about 3 inches of snow on the ground, not even as much as we had at home, but still enough to bounce the light around. Look how the snow glows under those Christmas lights!







Here's our own state icon, Paul Bunyan with Babe the Blue Ox!




There was a bit of a cold breeze coming off of lake Superior, but here I was able to get a nice picture of the Ariel Lift Bridge.





 
A new attraction this year were characters dressed up as reindeer, this happens to be Prancer and some very cute but unknown child.



 





 

Getting towards the end and a bit cold, I moved when I took this pic, but I kind of like the blurred effect. Talk about surreal!!



 

It was a fun night and it took us about an hour to walk the entire display. It was in the mid 20's degree wise, but a bit of a chilly wind next to the lake helped us quicken our pace and by the end we were ready to go warm up with some hot chocolate back at our room.


The next morning looking out our room window, I captured this shot of the sun trying to break through the morning fog.






I hope all of your holiday and seasonal celebrations are merry and bright and that you are able to spend them with people you care for.  Sometimes the simple things are the best. Thank you for sticking with me through the years.
      
May your holly be jolly 
and your tinsel be bright
May the stars shine above you
and guide you at night
May your wishes come true
and you find your delight
Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.
Oh and don't forget to turn off the light.

Merry Christmas
~~Diane~~