Trip to Gig Harbor

My gd and I went to Gig Harbor for a little outing. We looked at decorations and antiques. There is a Christmas store with 2 levels or ornaments and downstairs village stuff. I wanted to get another tree for my village. I bought myself this ornament.

There is a home decorating store that always has around 12 trees decorated beautifully. We thought these ornaments were interesting.

I liked the red plaid on this tree.

 

We had lots of fun. Had lunch at the Red Rooster, a cute little cafe on the water and later enjoyed the deep leather chairs at the coffee house with out latas. We knew it was time to go when we were falling asleep in those chairs. Lots of walking and fresh air. Also they have a new British shop that has homemade meat pies made by a local lady and lots of Christmas treats.

Linda

Mobac's Pointsettas

Last weekend I went to see my dd on the other side of the water. My gd came too and we went to Mobac's. It's known for it's varieties of Pointsettas and has tons of Christmas ornaments. We had fun but were both exhausted by the time we got home. I decided I wanted to do something fun to celebrate the season and this was it. We went to the mall, of course and I kept getting sticker shock.

I'm still dealing with tummy issues. Just when I think it's over, it isn't. I've been sewing and watching a lot of dvd's from the library. I'm watching an old one I've never seen before with Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Mel Ferrer, War and Peace. It's Tolstoy's epic about Russia and Napoleon's invasion of Moscow. It's beautifully filmed, lots of snow. Audrey looks so young and beautiful.

My part in the Thanksgiving dinner is going to be grilled asparagus (if I can get it), fennel, portabello mushrooms with one of my green sauces, roasted winter squash with a balsamic glaze and green salad with oranges and pomegranate with an orange vinaigrette. I always do green beans and wanted to do something different this year and I like to have a salad to cut all the heavy foods. I've been seeing some great ideas on The Chew. Michael Simon did a turkey soup with dumplings that looked wonderful. I'm not cooking the bird but I might get a breast or leg to roast and make soup from.

Have a great weekend and remember to relax and savor the season.

Linda

Back From the Beach

We just got back from a few lovely days at the beach. It's hard to get back into everyday life. I just want to keep pretending I'm on vacation. I've not been sure if I was going to continue this blog or not. I still have my nose in a book most of the time. I've almost finished The Lord of the Rings series. I'm feeling that maybe come fall I'll be ready to get back to normal.

This is the beginning of a Christmas present. My inspiration was from Heidi. I have seen these Japenses Flower scarfs, but didn't really like them until I saw her version in grey. It is a present for my dd so can't show the finished product until after I give it to her. She picked out the yarn. Mine is a little different, but I love both of them and thank Heidi for sharing.                                                                                  

I hope you are all having a great summer. See you this fall if not before. Linda                                      

Fall Colored Block Scarf

Well I finished my scarf. Now I'm working on the hat. The colors don't look exactly right, but you get the idea. I'm doing the hat with circular needles. I've never done circular knitting before. It was a little hard to get started, but once I got about 2" in it got a lot easier. If it fits and turns out well I think I'll make another one in creamy white yarn.

I've been thinking a lot about Laura, Manly and Rose's life on their Rocky Ridge Farm. We talk a lot about simplicity and frugality. They were an example of both. In this book I just finished they are forced to move to town because their crops failed. Their life changes and becomes more complex, busier and more social. They didn't like town living at first and missed the peace and quiet of the country, but they began to see the advantages and took advantage of them. They had a much larger home that was pretty empty when they moved in. The idea was to take in a couple of boarders so they had to get some furniture eventually. Manly found there were a lot of bargains, to be had, in town when you were there Johnnie on the spot. With his skills he could repair things that others didn't want to bother with and they gradually furnished the rest of the house.

 I'm curious to see what happens when they go back to the farm. I know they end up with a bigger home at some point on the farm. It just showed me that they learned to be frugal and didn't get things until they really needed them. They made most of what they needed on the farm and I know they thought their homemade items were just as good if not better than what they could buy. When they moved to town they were able to get some things through trading and taking what others didn't want in town, but they still stuck to their frugal lives. They did find that they needed more clothes and nicer clothes. Rose was growing up and becoming a young lady and their social life had picked up. They didn't feel they could go to town in their old chore clothes. So sometimes our lifestyle dictates how we spend our money. They could get by on  the farm because no one saw them.

 Manly was more of a spend thrift than Laura. She had to keep him in check. He bought her a new fangle butter churn that made butter in 3 mins. She kept cutting herself on it and asking for her old churn back. She finally threw it out the window and broke it. She got her old churn back.  The main thing I learned about simple frugal living is to only get what you need today and to make do until you can meet the need without debt. Also I learned that a very simple life can be a narrow life. It's all about choices, but also knowing what really makes you happy. Not everyone is cut out for a very simple life. They got much busier in town, but they had to work to pay off debt and provide for their needs, so they did what they had to do by moving to town. They made the best of it by embracing the parts they liked, but I have a feeling they will be happy to go back, but will they be changed. I don't know, we will see.

I'm adding new lists to my side bar, this weeks it's some organizing sites. Some of them also have cleaning and decorating posts on them too. One I liked is Bowl Full of Lemons. She has some challenges, a 21 day challenge and some weekly challenges. I also like I Heart Organizing. A girl after my own heart. I haven't been doing much organizing lately, but need to get back to decluttering. I haven't been doing much except reading.

I took the ferry over to visit my dd and see her new townhouse. I always enjoy the ferry ride, but going to the city always tires me out. We went to church and out to lunch and I helped her hang up some pictures and met her new housemate. So it was a pleasant day. A break from my narrow, simple life. lol

Linda

Wren's Coming Out Party

Wren's Coming Out Party

Check out the link above, she is having a give away.

I finally got my copy, but I read the story as she was writing it. I wanted to do a little review from my perspective. When I found out that Wren was from Boston I was immedietly interested because Boston is one of my favorite cities and Clarice and I took a trip there once, just the two of us. It was amazing. Then I find out the Wren moves to Bay Farm and I was in love again because country life is another love of mine. As I read the story I was being inspired to look at my own home in new ways and I think as I read it again I'll continue to find inspiration. Wren is a wonderful character and there are many other great characters in the book also. It was interesting to see how real this world of Wren and Devlin became to Clarice. I've never written a book and never will, but it made me kind of envious to see the experience first hand. If you read Wren Bay don't rush through it but savor it and enter the world of Wren and Devlin for a while, as Clarice puts it take a mini-vacation.

Linda

Proud Momma

Just in case there is anybody here that doesn't read my dd's blog Storybook Woods I'm posting the link to her post today here. She has written a novel based on her blog, a new concept we think. This is quite an accomplishment for a dyslectic. It's a very charming story so check it out.

Linda