Yesterday - a little adventure!

We took a road trip yesterday.  This post is about admiring the beauty of the mountains.  We went out to a valley by Elk Knob State Park on the Ashe/Watauga County line.  I have no idea where we were, but it was BEAUTIFUL!  We went home through Boone, across Snake Mountain from the valley.  It was BEAUTIFUL too.  I just wanted to share some of the gorgeous country side with you.  Right here.

We had a bit of ice and snow the other day.  Rime ice forms from the top down ... always amazed at how mother nature works.  For all of you who don't live around here, begin drooling now!

 This is in Trade, TN, right across the border from NC.  There is a working grist mill here.  Paul insisted on stopping to check it out.  I didn't know at the time it was because there was a geocache.  Little stinker!  Anyway, it was a beautiful facility.  Wish it would have been open!

 And this was in the back yard of the mill area! Gorgeous ... and cold ...

 This was the view from the HUGE antique store we stopped in.  I think the store was relatively new.  It was a great stop.  IF you're in trade and haven't checked it out, do it!  The porch has the best stuff.

 Same beauty, but has a cloud's shadow on it.  We were close to Vilas NC, and a little farther away is Boone.  We live in a beautiful place!  And we can be in even a more beautiful place inside of 30 minutes.  Life is good!

 So, our friend Sarah Greene has an organic farm and that was the reason we went on our journey, to see her new farm! And it is simply AWESOME.  What do you see in the distance?

 She has gobs of free range chickens.  They are beautiful and happy.  They didn't seem to notice it was cold.  I shivered. (the whole time)

 This extra picture of these chickens is for my sweet friend Patti!  xoxo

 Here is Sarah looking into the trees to see who is out there ... and one of her little goats hanging out of the barn door to her left ...  there were some beautiful goats.  Can't wait for goat cheese season! Wow!

 So, this is who was off in the trees.  3 little girl cows ... and some chickens ...

 And this beautiful baby girl!!! SOOOOOOO sweet!

 She has no idea of what a boundary is and just goes right through the fence wires ... and you if you don't move!  She is definitely in charge right now.  Soon there will be a bridle ... but for now, she is a true 100% free spirit girl!

 Oh. my. gosh!  Cutest little girl in town.

 Some more of her goats and a peek at the barn ...

 Look at this pretty girl!  I just love her markings.  Sarah told us what kind of cow this one is, but sadly I cannot recall that info.  I can't recall what kind the other ones are either. Useless!

 She was sweet and curious.  And I think she was hungry. :-)

Now,  THIS is a view!  It was simple beauty and breath taking. 

 More of the same ... you can't really see all the ice, but we could. ;-)There are so many layers and dimensions in to the mountains.  It was really striking and sort of reminded us why we moved here.

If you have a need for anything from an organic farm, let me know.  I can put you in touch with Sarah.  She is 100% committed to organic farming and she is also a potter!  She is a lovely woman and we are very fortunate to have visited her precious farm.

Tomorrow I will post some of the weaving I've done.  But for now I will let you drool.  Not only was it all lovely, but it was a wonderful date with my sweet man.  Good stuff!

Blessings to you!

Happy Boxing Day!

 

A little glimpse of Christmas at our house.

We have a Nutcracker theme for dining.  (see Nutcracker collection form previous post) And we have Christmas crackers (an English tradition).  We try to combine all of our traditions.  It makes for a fun and eccentric holiday!

 We tie our tree to the ceiling because it's a 9 foot tree and we have 3 kitties! (Insurance policy).  We like our tree to be upright ;-)

 Family tradition dictates opening one present on Christmas Eve.  The present is always pj's.  It's been that way for at least 50 years ... fun!  I love tradition.

 I LOVE the smile on this daddy's (Victor) face in adoration of his sweet son (Christian) on Christmas morning.  It warms my heart.  And the delight and appreciation on Paul's face too.  Candid photos - the best!

 Santa Claus was REALLY GOOD to this woman!  In case you are wondering, this is my daughter, Jenn.

 I love this shot of Christian - he is so interested, engaged, clear and concise.  All good and blessed things! 

 I made this purse! I took a bunch of cotton threads, wove them into fabric and sewed it into a purse! I cannot even express how excited I am about this!  The inside is lined, not fancy with pockets yet, but it'll come soon enough.  YAY!!!  I am a weaver! Oh yeah, I have a L.O.N.G. way to go.  But I'm on my way!  This piece of my heart went to my sweet friend, Janine.  With love!

 Couldn't help but capture this smile!  I love the joy of Christmas morning in the children!

 Super Scooter and his new LAZER helmet.  So cute!  And so excited.  Joy of Christmas morning in adults too!

This is the piece I made for "guess who" .... and he has already hung it up in his room and decorated it with his own stuff (not shown here).  That makes me SOOOOO happy!  I love it when my work is loved by its recipient.  :-)

 

Today is Boxing Day and since I have an English husband, we celebrate such things.  We re-feasted this evening.  Today was a day filled with English football, chocolate, naps, hot tea, you know ... the best things in life! It was just the two of us.  So quiet.  

I hope you and yours celebrated to the best of your ability.

We are truly blessed.  I pray you are too!

Happy Holidays!

"In things pertaining to enthusiasm, no man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions."

~ Henry Ward Beecher

There is so much happening that it would be impossible to live it and write about it too.  I am trying to focus more on the enjoyment of the season, and less on the documentation.  But I also have a guilt thing going on for the lack of posting after doing such an intensive for those 30 days.  So, I will try to update just a bit ... and then I'll sign off for the "best of the best" and share it with you later.

First of all, I'm certified (not certifiable as my husband says ... teehee)!!

* Our photography class ended last week and I'm now trying to live up to what I've learned.  Nothing like Christmas and all its activity to give me a great subject to work with!

* All of my art projects are for gifts.  So I cannot post pictures of those until next week. But they are all wonderful and I've had such a glorious time creating things for people I care a WHOLE LOT about.  Until then, here is Paul's incredible smalti creation he made for our hallway transom (fanlight, whatev...) So cool!

And here is a shot of some of the beautiful colors I've been weaving with (!)  I LOVE this weaving stuff.  I think I know what I'll be doing for the winter this year!

* I have received the most wonderful Christmas cards and holiday greetings and feel so very honored and blessed to have friends and family who are so thoughtful and loving. (not to mention, organized).  Here is our Nutcracker collection for your review.  They are all wonderful and have stories attached, of course!  I love setting them up and reminiscing about all the "old days".

* I had the opportunity to celebrate the Solstice in my own unique and wonderful way.  I feel so peaceful and calm.  What a gift!

* My sweet friend Janine fell and broke her left hip.  Please send her some good thoughts as she sits still (impossible dream) to heal.
Heal quickly, Janine.  We love you.

 (Janine on the left, her sister Freddie on the right)

* My daughter and her family will arrive this evening for Christmas celebrating.  They will stay until Christmas when they will head off to the other grandparents' house.  I CANNOT wait to get smack dab in the middle of Christian's 8 year old excited self.

I sincerely wish each and every one of you a beautiful holiday season, a wonderful and blessed Christmas time with your family, friends, memories, and all that comes with holiday bliss.  This is my absolute favorite time of the year.  The skies are so beautiful, twinkling and filled with glory.  People are more apt to be generous and caring about other people.  Life is just a little more pleasant (not counting the hustle and bustle parts) and I am so glad to be here on earth.  Life is good.
Blessings to all,

Santa's Workshop

Sunday Inspiration this week is from our personal collection of what is happening in our very own sphere right now!  We are busy, busy, busy with the Santa workshop routine.  And we are having SUCH fun!!  

Here are a few things going on ...

First of all, did you know I am a weaver?  I don't sit here at the loom as much as I would love to.  But yesterday I sat here on and off all day long.  And it was glorious! (And you can see tangible evidence of your labor immediately.  I really love that)!  Although I cannot reveal what all I am doing here, you can see the cloth that is just magically being created.  This is what I love about it.  Those threads just incredibly fall into a solid cloth as you push a shuttle to and fro, and beat the threads into place! Voila! It's amazing to me.  Of course getting all those threads on the loom is a nightmare for me.  But that's another story and not as pleasant as what is happening on the loom now.

Paul decided to mosaic a glass piece for a transom we need in our entry way to keep the heat in/out.  He is so talented and can just pick up anything he wants to try and make it look exactly right the very first try!  Must be nice.  This little project is for us - a novelty around here!

As you can see, he has his helper right there by the tools, at the ready . . . sort of!

This is still in the works but coming together quite nicely.  It has now been painted with the chalk board paint, and is ready for grouting.  Then I can put the other fun things on the top, and put the bulletin board stuff on it.  But the whole grouting thing is not an option today with the high only reaching in the 30's.  If it gets toward 50 this week, I'll grout then.  If not, I'll have to pump up the heat and grout in spite of Mother Nature's cold mood.

We have begun decorating the tree and the house as Christian and his parents are going to come here for Christmas.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited.  I am ecstatic that we will have some magic for Christmas.  Paul has a tree he made out of steel that is totally dedicated to the Rat King and the Nutcracker, as he was the Rat King for years in productions of the Nutcracker.  It surely adds color to the kitchen and makes things all festive. 

We have 10+ foot ceilings it's a very large tree - I love the sunlight streaming through here in this photo

but this shot shows my "helper" if you look very closely on the right hand side.  On the arm of the sofa behind the security of the board (little black blob) is my scaredy cat, Artemis.  He's going to help decorate the tree shorty.  For now, he is enjoying the beautiful lights and some comfort in hiding!  That board is to become the next project, being started this afternoon. 

Whew, tired yet?

  And here is our third helper.  He plain wore himself out mousing yesterday afternoon, so he took the chance to recharge.  He's back at it now though .... outside herding goats.  He promised to come in and help tie bows later this afternoon.  He's very busy.
I obviously have some things to do, so I'll leave you with hopes for blessings for you and yours.  Happy Sunday, Happy Holiday preparation and many good wishes to all.