HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I wish everyone a wonderful time with family/friends on this special day.

Forgotten Treasures

It is really difficult to get much done around the house when it looks like this outside.

It was incredibly clear day - so clear that it looked like we could reach out and touch Santa Cruz Island which lies 20 miles off the coast.

We didn't even get our walk in because we just visited with neighbors while watching KC and Lulu play on the beach.

But, I was a good girl and put in my daily 2 hours of work in the attic - stopping to smile at memories evoked by little things.

 All bears are corralled together in baskets.

The two bottom bears are from my "bear making days" decades ago and the Boyd's Bear on the right is evoking tears as I am writing this.  

My mother bought the bear at a Hallmark store the last time she ever came to stay with us.

When mother passed away, I insisted that I have it to remember the fun week we had together.

I was looking for this sweet picture of my father at about the age of 3

to use on the label for the root beer we made last week.

I brought down my grandfather's rocker that has been used for 4 generations of my family.

Unfortunately it has a broken leg, but it will be repaired and painted before December 1 to use in my Christmas decor.

I found a long forgotten copy of A Christmas Carol that I always assumed was a gift to me from my mother because I was supposed to be born in December.

From the inscription on the inside, I see it belonged to my Aunt Kay who just had her 89th birthday two days after mine.

And, the address on Primrose Avenue was the house where we lived when I was born.

I had forgotten about this old (really OLD) book belonging to my father's Aunt Irene and brought it down looking for some ideas for place cards on our Thanksgiving table.

I don't know the history behind the collection of these advertisements.

They appear to be all sorts of different advertisements.

I have no idea the age, but I know they are OLD because Aunt Irene died when I was a child and

she probably put the book together when she was a child growing up in Kansas.

Some nickel silver forks will be added to others already in a kitchen drawer to use on our holiday table.

The search for my grandmother's china to use for Thanksgiving is what made me start the attic organization in the first place.

We placed the china in the attic in October of 1997 when we moved to our cottage and I was really nervous when I opened the box and only found plates, bowls and saucers.

A trip back to the attic and a crawl into the lowest portion of the ceiling produced 2 more hidden boxes filled with the rest of the dishes.

Through the upcoming holidays, I will look around me and be grateful to my family of hoarders and all the forgotten treasures hiding in my attic.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Little Red House - Mosaic Monday

Under the Table and Dreaming - Sunday Showcase

Nifty Thrifty Things - Nifty Thrifty Sunday

Kathe With an E - You're Gonna Love It

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

Twigg Studios - Show Off Sunday

I Should Be Mopping the Floor - Inspiration Monday

Always An Oddball

 I am so happy that KC is living near us and we can see each other frequently.

We shop nearly every weekend, but, shopping with KC is not conducive to keeping to a budget.

Last Saturday when we drove to Huntington Beach to make beer, we stopped at The Grove in Los Angeles on our way home.

We went into Crate and Barrel just to "look around", but I found this colorful flatware.

The flatware is designed by Paola Navone for Crate and Barrel and I love her fun shapes and colors.

Crate and Barrel

I do not need any flatware.

I already have a variety of colorful pieces to use in table settings.

But, KC convinced me that I should buy them if I like them.

So, these fun forks, knives and spoons are now 

in my cupboard surrounded by polka dots and solids.

I am a total oddball because I must be the only American in blogland not featuring Thanksgiving or Christmas decor.

For tonight's dinner, I went with red, white and blue.

I love to mix and match my table setting and my new flatware is perfect for mixing it up.

 My favorite part is that Paola Navone threw in a single setting of solid red with all the blue and white patterns.

My centerpiece is quite small - very few flowers blooming in the garden right now.

And for those of you who read about my great fortune in receiving the beautiful Pfaltzgraff Pistoulet dishes from Kris at Junk Chic Cottage, here is where the tureen ended up.

There isn't much holiday decor here yet - I am still trying to decide which dishes and flatware to use for Thanksgiving.

But, by next week, I won't be such an oddball.

. . . . . . . . . . . . 

The Dedicated House - Anything Blue Friday

No Minimalist Here - Open House Blog Party

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

Rose Chintz Cottage - Home

A Delightsome Life - Home and Garden Thursday

Ivy and Elephants - What's It Wednesdays

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

From My Front Porch to Yours - Treasure Hunt Thursday

Something Out of the Ordinary

It's not quite Groundhog's Day, but I do have a lot or repetition in my life.

Nearly every single morning of my life we begin the day with a walk on the beach - and that is pretty nice.

But, yesterday I entered my Medicare years and I wanted to do something totally out of the ordinary for my birthday.

I read about Brewbakers in the Auto Club Westways magazine and decided a day of brewing beer was  just what I wanted to do on my birthday.

Please forgive a ton of iPhone pics, but I didn't even think about taking a camera.

Kendra and I drove 2 hours to Huntington Beach to meet up with my sister to make beer.

I have never made beer.

I hate beer.

But, I had a blast with my daughter and my sister, who I rarely see because she works in London 3 weeks out of each month.

We made (and ate) pretzels and delicious bread from the grain residue of the beer.

We talked and laughed and worked hard.

It was so much fun to do something out of the ordinary.

Steve couldn't join us for the beer adventure, but he and Lulu were at home getting dinner ready.

After a delicious lobster dinner,  I opened presents.

A shell Christmas tree from my next door neighbor, Judy.

A bright pink jacket from KC to make me more stylish on our morning beach walks.

A polka dot Cath Kidston bag and pen from my sister.

One of my favorite shops is Lewis & Clark in Santa Barbara so I was excited to see this beautiful bag holding Steve's gift.

Inside were two lovely mercury glass candlesticks.

Today was back to normal with laundry and gardening, but the best part of our adventure is that there is still one more part.

In three weeks, Steve and I will drive to Huntington Beach to bottle 3 cases of beer and 2 cases of root beer.

KC and I need to get busy to name both our beer and our root beer and then design the labels.

What have you done out of the ordinary lately?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Art @ Home - My Happy List