We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner here at This Old House and I hope wherever you spent the day and with whom, you did too. The food was delish, minus the Chocolate Cheesecake flop. King Arthur Flour recipe.. ….shoulda worked… .. but… something went wrong and it was so heavy you wouldn’t want to have to hang onto it if you fell in the water somewhere unexpectedly. That doesn’t really make sense, but you know what I mean. It sucked. Thankfully there were two pies and cookies to fill the gap.
Empty plates at the end of a meal are always a good sign, although Frasier was scoping for scraps, hoping for something different.
In these pictures you’ll notice the “theme” is not Thankgiving at all. Indeed, Christmas swooped in the day before, for no good reason other than a rainy day and a little impatience. That would be mine. Mom said… “but… Fall is such a pretty time of year..” Indeed it is, and Fall has been living in This Old House since September. It was time. At least the food reflected the proper holiday decorum, right? 🙂
Is this the weekend you begin your Christmas/Holiday Season? We are officially Decked. While at the tree farm up the road, we discovered the secret to starting young trees…. plant them very very close together in a big patch where they almost look like a carpet – and then transplant once they’ve grown some. This gives them protection while they grow a little more hearty. Ah Ha! That’s why our first few attempts failed. Those poor babies were out on our windy hill all on their own, too far apart from each other to gather the necessary support. What were we thinking.
We got two smaller REAL trees this year instead of the big FAKE one. I’m so done with fake news, ya know? We’ve got one at the corner of the family room where we can also see it from the Mancave, and one in the kitchen/dining room area. I love the heavenly scent of fresh pine.
Yesterday morning as I looked out over the fields from our kitchen window, I saw two bucks up on the hill, one a juvenile – father and son? Brothers? Donner and Blitzen scouting for Santa, perhaps. I managed a few blurry shots before they darted off…
… and was reminded again how very grateful I am for the opportunity to live here on this little farm, for as long as life will allow it.
Gizmo (my new grand dog) is also very grateful he has landed here with us. Oh, how I love this little scruff.
Till soon, friends…
Hello and Happy December,
Your tree and decorations are pretty. Love the deer and cute furbabies too.
Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!
Thank you! and Happy December to you…
Thank you, Eileen! I hope all is well in your world
Happy to see Gizmo and Frazier. I love dogs above all other animals… they make me happy. your home looks festive and beautiful. I had no idea about putting the trees close to each other. this is the kind of tree my mother always bought and put in our living room. now I am a little ashamed, that I put out Charlie Brown tree and the tiny little already decorated and stored in a bag tree. but I am not a decorator so they will have to do. as did my mother, Black Friday is the day I put out Christmas. she always took it down on New Years day, I leave mine up all through January.
I found a joke for you….
A man went to Heaven and couldn’t believe the amount of clocks that were there. Each clock had a person’s name above it. He asked Peter what was up with all the clocks and Peter explained, “Each times a person lies, cheats, or commits any kind of sin, the second hand on their clock spins faster.” Just out of curiosity, the man asked Peter, “Where is Donald Trump’s clock?” Peter replied, “Oh, God has that one in his office. The hand spins so fast He uses it for a fan.”
HAHAHAHA…. thank you for sharing that… I might just share it as well 🙂
Your home looks so lovely and inviting dressed for the holidays! We have one tree up and I am going to finish the decorated over the next couple of days.
You did a lovely job, I just “stopped in”.
Cabin is decorated, three fake trees because we aren’t here enough to keep a real one watered.
Home is next weekend.
I love that! THREE trees! the cats do no harm to the ornaments? My son has had to have all plastic ornaments due to his cat, whom he adores regardless.
Oh, how beautiful!
We intended to put up the tree today but failed. Maybe tomorrow.
For a few years, we had a real one in the living room and a small, fake one in our kid’s room. Then our kid discovered the environment, became vegetarian, renounced consumerism (but not Christmas…all the music without the presents) and the fake tree became the main tree because we had already committed the sin of having bought it. It is a little Charlie Brown-ish, but perhaps that adds to the appeal. Anyway, it’s far from the only Christmas decoration.
I have crocheted snowflakes crocheted by dueling grandmas. Doesn’t get better than that.
BTW, I absolutely love the different roof lines on your home. So much character!
Thank you! what you see in the above picture is the back of the house – the left portion is an 1835 Federal that “lived” a few miles from here since 1830’s just like Grace (this old house) … we added that old house onto this one to create a family room and loft area. the snowflakes.. what a treasure!!…. and I thoroughly enjoyed your last two blog posts, you are a very talented writer, and a good soul. Now to help you get over your fear of dogs!
Everything looked delicious! The table is gorgeous. I like the Christmas decorations up around Thanksgiving. Why not yes? A lot of work goes into decorating for Christmas and why not enjoy as long as you want. Goes with the fantastic smell of turkey. I must throw away the rest of the stuffing because I’m so fatty and chubby I’ve been living in yoga pants and believe me – I never have yoga’d. Not flexible. But there I am all this long weekend in my yogas. ha!
Here in Minnesota we had a very snowy weekend and luckily had put up our outdoor lights a few days before the snow fell. Now the lights look so good with snow on them. I do love the snow at the beginning of the year. Don’t ask me about Feb and Mar though. hehehe
I do enjoy all of your photos always. The deer!
Oh! And I’ll check into my blog. I had posted a few down-in-the-dumps type things and I think I turned it off for a minute, but thought I had turned it back on. I’ll check!
I Like the way you think, girlfriend. But then you already know that 🙂 And.. as for the yoga – HAHAHAHA… I live in yoga pants too and I am very UNBENDY.. however, do it anyway – and only bend as far as your bod will let you. It really is good for the too busy mind.
You are a woman after my own heart — you love the trees! I enjoy seeing so many here. They’re sort of my “thing” at the holidays so a kindred spirit. Your home looks lovely and warm and friendly and full of love, the way Thanksgiving should be. I was going to wait till Friday to start but got going on Wednesday a bit and am glad I did. I should finish with most today or tomorrow and when Rick returns from his trade show, we’ll put up the big tree. I love it so much I can’t wait! Happy December, my friend!
Happy December to you as well! The Trees are my very favorite part of the holiday decorating. 🙂
I just found your delightful blog yesterday and am so glad. We moved from CT when my husband was given the “golden handshake” by IBM – all the companies were downsizing. We couldn’t afford to retire in CT. Your blog is so appealing to me because I’ve always loved old homes and your renovation of the property you passed by for so many years is delightful. What a beautiful place! We renovated what was an old CT schoolhouse and then an 1896 VT cape years ago. It was a joy to restore those houses. We now live in ME in a so-so plain old ranch house but have created English Cottage gardens replacing the front lawn so it has character. I think you are so fortunate to still be in CT and now have your daughter and her boyfriend living within walking distance. Love the photo of the deer. Thank you for sharing. P.S. Your piece on Trumpty Dumpty absolutely made my day. I’ve been physically ill since his election. I’m looking forward to more of your blog.
Regina, thank you for your kind words, and for joining in the conversation at this old house! Oh, how I hate what Drump has done to our country, or perhaps I should say what he has ignited. My husband often complains about how expensive it has been for his business and our family to remain living here in CT, we’ve even discussed Vermont and Maine, but extended family is here and our company is so rooted here that I don’t know that we could leave or want to at least right now. I do love the old homes, farms, shoreline, and not being too far from just about anything. I would love to know more about your CT Schoolhouse renovation and VT cape! We love VT. Thanks for stopping by –