Christmas Time ~

Sharing some moments with you, that caught my eye.


My Annual shopping trip to San Francisco.


My sister Jessica and my two nephews, Vincent and Evan were here for a quick visit before heading back to the bay area. How they have grown!


From this angle in our home, you can see both of our trees.


Little Miss Simone is never too far from me. She is my little shadow.


As I walked into the living room on Christmas morning, there was an extra Christmas stocking from Santa, and it had my name on it! I almost cried as I opened each little gift. Santa put so much thought into each one. I still giggle and tears come to my eyes as I think about the detail. Charlie would chime in as I opened the gifts how what it was made out of was only the best; such as the stainless steel metal, and a bamboo handle. Too cute!


There were back-to-back movies featuring Cary Grant on TMC. He kept me company as I put the Christmas ornaments away; the good man he is/was.

Another Christmas come and gone. As the saying goes, "Until next year."

Asked For The Takings ~

I was asked to take some pictures of a wedding held in the evening. I was nervous to say the least. I don't have my red eye down or low lights for that matter and started practicing taking photos up until the event. I am used to taking pictures of butterfly's and flowers or people during the day. It was a good experience.



Charlie will ask me from time to time to take some pictures of his work. Later, he will ask if we could print them to show some clients. Afterwards they will either get thrown away or the clients will keep them. I decided to create a blog for him and post photos of his work so that his clients can see and read first-hand what his recent clients thought of his work. It is a work in progress but, I have had fun working on it.


This is an addition he just finished. It is the part higher than the other two that he added. If you didn't know, I don't think anyone would ever know this house was added onto.


This is the back side of the finished project.


And this is the finished work on the inside of this particular area. He also added a wine cellar and a bathroom, did the wood floor and changed/added some windows.

Christmas Poinsettias

We have our very own Poinsettia Greenhouse Nursery in the town I live. Every year I have gotten a Christmas card from where I work, with a gift certificate in it for a Christmas Poinsettia. They aren't my favorite flower, but I do have fond memories of them from when my grandma was alive. I would walk into her living room and it would be full of these flowers on a table next to her great window. She would also have a collection of flowering forced bulbs. The sun would shine through this window and you could feel the warmth from the sun. A perfect spot for these flowers.

There are red wagons ready outside the door to load the poinsettias. During the month of December, the platforms of churches are loaded with these flowers. It really is beautiful!


The door is painted with Poinsettias welcoming you.


When you walk in, the warmth of the nursery rushes in on your face and then you understand why everyone is running around with just a t-shirt on.


There are rows and rows of tables loaded with a variety of colors and poinsettias.


I always choose a white one with a green hue to it, as it will match with my decor better than the red or pink would.

December Views

My niece and nephew in their Christmas program at church.


Santa riding in on the fire truck.


These guys are great! : )


A little slumber at my house.

My days are spent trying to get ready for the holidays.
How many days do I have left to wrap this up?
Yikes!

Family Tree

About six years ago, we started getting a extra little Christmas tree to put in the family room, in addition to our big Christmas tree that goes into the living room in front of the house. The tree is adorned with silver balls and a silver sterling star tree topper. My favorite part is the ornaments which are picture frames with black and white photos of each member of our family. It starts with our great grand parents, to our parents, to us and our children, our siblings and their children, and last but not least, our grand-children. It even has some of the pets we have had throughout the years. I would like to add our aunts, uncles and their children to the tree someday. I have to tell you, it is a process finding small enough faces to fit into the small picture frames (I have not learned how to shrink a picture to fit... should probably learn).

When we gather for the Christmas holiday, I've noticed everyone gravitates to the family tree. Right now, it is a five year generation tree and with time, our little tree will grow as our family does.

I look forward every year to put this tree up!

Meet Me By The Mistletoe!

"I'll just be hanging round the mistletoe, hoping to be kissed."

Love Actually



My great gram had a walnut tree in her front yard that had green bushes of mistletoe in it and she asked if Charlie would cut it out. She suggested we tie red ribbon around single bunches of the cuttings and sell it. I asked her why she wanted the mistletoe cut out and she explained that it was killing her tree. She went on to tell me that it came from bird feces. I had no idea and was shocked to say the least. I will never forget the smirk on her face when she said to me, "I bet I know what you'll be thinking about the next time you get caught under the mistletoe." She was right. Every time. Well... It may start out that way, but I have gotten lost in some of those kisses and forgotten all about the bird poop.
; )

I did tie a red ribbon around single bunches and bagged them as she suggested. We put them all in a basket and sold every single bag for a dollar each.

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•The growth of mistletoe had little to do with the bird droppings, and a lot to do with the birds themselves. Mistletoe seeds are extremely sticky and often latch onto birds’ beaks or feathers or the fur of other woodland creatures, hitchhiking to a likely host tree before dropping off and starting to germinate.

Information on mistletoe can be found here.