Peace to You at Christmas

Merry Christmas to my blogging friends!

"Fire-side enjoyments, home-born happiness,

And all the comforts that the lowly roof

Of undisturb'd retirement, and the hours

Of long uninterrupted ev'ning, know."

-William Cowper

It's a Marshmallow World

My little guy in his snow fort with a load of snowballs at the ready, waiting for his mom and sister to turn their backs for just a second!

Like much of the country, we were clobbered by a wicked snow storm today. The snow fell fast and furious, the wind whipped all around, and we were snowed in completely. I loved every minute of it! The kids and I baked cookies and had them for lunch with green (food coloring) Christmas milk. Tonight we'll have cocoa and popcorn - the kids will watch The Grinch and my husband and I will watch The Bishop's Wife (heard it's good for Christmas).

The day reminded me of 2 of my wintry quotes from my collection:

Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside, candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly out.

- Thomas De Quincey

The smell of buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice, talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cozy parlor firesides on winter evenings, when one's ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender, of the purring of contented cats, the twitter of sleepy canaries.

- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

I wish you all a cozy evening!

All That I Want

Wow, it's been so long since I last posted I almost forgot my password! We had a variety of illnesses rip through the house and put me behind in about every area of my life, blog included.


I don't know how to post an actual video clip from youtube, but here is a link to hear my latest favorite Christmas song - All That I Want by the Weepies. Any song that mentions a harbor, pine trees, and the moon all together is wonderful in my book!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0EJbr0rFV4

Out in the harbor
The ships come in, it's Christmastime
The kids all holler
carols 'cross the water
Stars that shine

All that I want,
all that I want
Above the rooftops
The full moon dips its golden spoon
I wait on clip-clops,
deer might fly
Why not? I met you

All that I want,
all that I want

And when the night is falling
Down the sky at midnight
Another year is stalling
Far away a good bye, good night

All that I want,
all that I want all

So small a turning
The world grows older every day
An ache, a yearning
Soften when I hear you say

All that I want,
all that I want
And when the cold wind's blowing
Snow drifts through the pine trees
In houses lights are glowing
Likewise in your eyes that find me here
With all that I want,all that i want

Out in the harbor
The ships come in, it's Christmastime

This week's goal

Rest and be thankful.

-William Wordsworth

Thoughts of November by Gladys Taber

I love this passage from the book Stillmeadow Calendar by Gladys Taber:

In November, there are gay evenings with Wilma and Willie, and Tommy shows me how to work his tape recorder; dinners with Millie and Ed after we watch a thrilling football game; long afternoons with Barbara and Slim, during which we sip coffee and talk about everything from recipes to literature. There are sunset drives with my friend Faith Baldwin; fireside games of Scrabble with Helen Beals; hamburgers and home-baked beans with Helen and Vicky; Joan Baez records with Bobby Gibson, with cheese and crackers and a bowl of fruit at hand. These are simple things, but to me they are most precious. And as I recall each one, November's beaver moon shines brighter than ever and I know that love and friendship, hearth fires, and faith are indeed gifts to be thankful for and to treasure always.

Around the farm

As you know, I am knew to posting photos on my blog and am trying to get comfortable doing so. For practice, I took my camera around the yard last week and took a few shots. I don't know if it's my computer or operator error (probably the latter), but it took me an hour just to get these few from camera to blog! Sheesh! And then when I viewed them on screen they don't even look very good - the color seems off - my husband said it was probably the early morning light, but again it was most likely the screw loose behind the lens!





This is one of my favorite summer spots for tea or cocktails. It's time to put away the tablecloth and take down the "Garden Cafe - Open Daily" sign, I suppose. I'll have to make the shift to toddies!

My daily walking path in the woods. It's interesting to me how some long some of the little trees tucked under the larger ones stay green so late.

My vehicle of choice when I'm feeling lazy to walk to the mailbox, or when I need to find my husband when he's out of hollering range.

The creek that winds through our woods, down through town, and eventually empties into Lake Michigan. The source of many-a-soaker.

Sadly, our nights of campfires and ghost stories are coming to a close. We tried having a fire the other night, but it was just too windy to enjoy it.



The north side of the barn. You can see the "trellises" I made out of the ends of my children's crib (I wrote about this in one of my first posts) propped up against it. I put them out there this summer, and they are weathering nicely.


"Little Red", our current project. It is a little L-shaped cottage that we trailered in from a farmer down the road who was going to burn it. We nestled it in the woods by the creek and think it will be a fun place to camp or hang out it with the kids - if we can ever get it finished!

Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald

Today we remember the Edmund Fitzgerald, lost with all hands on Lake Superior Novemeber 10, 1975. My late father, who was a ship chandler by trade at the time, knew some of the 29 crew and had boarded the ship regularly.

For an informative website on this fine ship, go to www.ssefo.com.

From "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot:

The legend lives on from the chippewa on down


Of the big lake they called gitche gumee


The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead


When the skies of november turn gloomy


With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more


Than the edmund fitzgerald weighed empty.


That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed


When the gales of november came early.


The ship was the pride of the american side


Coming back from some mill in wisconsin


As the big freighters go,


it was bigger than most


With a crew and good captain well seasoned


Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms


When they left fully loaded for cleveland


And later that night when the ship's bell rang


Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin?