WAYWARD MOOSE INN…wayward we were

My husband’s family wanted to get away for Christmas this year…losing their mother in September left a big hole and the memories are every where in my sister-in-law’s home…so, off we went. 
Driving into the NC mountains to stay on top of one of them…at the Wayward Moose Inn and Guest House…



MAIN INN

Everyone had their own room and bathroom, yippee!

After moving luggage, food and
decorations into the house, we decorated the tree and various spots around the main Inn…we had the entire place to ourselves.  Then…it was time for our first GAME NIGHT…Taboo, explaining people, places or things without using specific words…it was fun!

CollegeGirl & Fitz-Mom

My room overlooked the valley in two directions…one set of windows to the East and one set to the West… awesome!

Fireplace In the Corner was FABULOUS

Our FIRST ‘touristy’ move was visiting Biltmore Estate…(the pictures on their website certainly beat mine) however I wanted to share a few because I have a very photographable collegGirl…isn’t she pretty beside the poinsettias?!

AWESOME Hot House

WAYWARD AS I took these shots ...before I knew there is supposed to be NO PICTURES inside the house...but, I didn't use flash, so I didn't break the biggest rule.

Entrance Hallway next to Atria

 

The reception area is always to prettily decorated at Christmas...what a beautiful atria.


ATRIA

I always love the view from the porch on the back of the house


Glorious View from Porch

WAYWARD AS WE HUDDLED while DRINKING HOT CHOCOLATE AND LATTES:  It was 19* while we were there; and even though my hormones were raging, I got cold!  Can you believe it?! 

So…I bought a felt hat I just LOVE!  I can wear it six different ways…here’s one way…I was standing in the Conservatory hot house with all the orchids…I can do a complete post on just the flowers I shot























WAYWARD WHILE STOPPING TO TAKE A SHOT...THIS IS what you see as you drive by the Estate. They had candlelight tours going on with more than 3,000 people parading through the house; so they wouldn’t allow us to drive down the front driveway…this is as close as we could get.

 Will post more WAYWARDNESS later…
Hope you had a blessed Christmas!

THRIFTY THINGS FRIDAY & THRIFT SHARE MONDAY

              

JOINING DIANN AT 'THE THRIFTY GROOVE'...MY 'FIND' THIS WEEK WAS A 'LONGABERGER' POTTERY SERVER...JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!

"Excited" is not a big enough word to use for my demeanor when I picked it up, turned it over and saw the 'Longaberger' marking.  I wanted to do one of those 'NFL dances in the endzone', 'high five the lady standing beside me', or sing 'WOOP, THERE IT IS'!


I've priced these on 'ebay' from $39 - 49.00

What has been your most-recent 'find' of the Christmas Season?

Blessings,

SNOWFLAKES a sweet bookmark made

Earlier I had mentioned I would be sharing a picture of the 'giveaways' I made. 
Surprise goodies are always fun...working on the small projects builds the anticipation of giving them to my special friends.


This year I found a SNOWFLAKE BOOKMARK ... (free pattern from Suzies Stuff):

MY SNOWFLAKE BOOKMARK 

MATERIALS:White, size 10, crochet cotton
Size 6 or 7 Steel crochet hookSmall #10 flat zinc washer Needle with eye large enough to accept crochet cotton
GAUGE: Unimportant
SIZE: Snowflake about 2 inches across
INSTRUCTIONS:ROUND 1: Attach thread to washer with a sc. Work 17 sc around washer. Join with a slipstitch in first sc. (18 sc)

ROUND 2: Ch 1, sc in same stitch as join. *Ch 4, skip 1 st, sc in next st, ch 2, sc in next st. Repeat from * around, ending with ch 2, slipstitsch in first sc. (6 ch 4 loops and 6 ch 2 loops)

ROUND 3: *(Sc, ch 3, sc, ch 5, sc, ch 3, sc) all in ch 4 loop. Slipstitch in ch 2 loop. Repeat from * around.TAIL: Ch 85, slipstitch in 5th st from hook. Ch 1, turn, 6 sc in ring. Slipstitch around tail. (I chained 70)...Ch 80, slipstitch in ch 2 loop where cord started. Fasten off and weave ends into back of work.  If desired stiffen snowflake.(I spritzed each bookmark with a little water and spray starch then locked/flattened/stretched/pinned them onto a bulletin board until they dried)

Didn't they turn out nicely as decorations on the little stockings I had leftover from a previous after-Christmas sale?

I stuffed each stocking with Earl Grey and Green tea bags and Butterfinger bites.

WHAT goodies are you making for your friends or visitors?

Blessings,

SURPRISES ARE FUN!

I love Christmas surprises.
Tonight I finished my 'giveaways' for one of my classes...I think they'll like what I've made for them.
It's something they can use throughout the remainder of the class and for a long time.
You can't eat them...hopefully, that won't disappoint anyone.
I'll be able to post a picture later in the week; but until then, they'll have to stay neatly stacked until they get wrapped.
I'll take on that task tomorrow.


WHAT surprises can you give me hints about that you're working on for your friends or family?


Blessings,

DECEMBER 1...RED

JOINING susand @ THIS DAY...(JUST CLICK THE ABOVE TO JOIN WITH US)
Her challenge:

Quest for 25 photos even though the calendar is full

let's NOT miss photo opportunities

make sure you're in at least a few photos

may not get every single one; but, give it a try. The list is in the right sidebar:

So...here's my first crack at it.


DECEMBER 1...red t shirt, red nails..and another Harry Potter Christmas remembered.


She grew up reading the books, ALWAYS reading and noting the 'best lessons' Harry learned, ALWAYS coming out of each movie repeating the 'best-lesson' lines.

Some don't think Harry's story is good for kids...

I challenge them to give Harry a try...

enjoy the 'fantasy of it all', 

get INTO the 'enjoyment of reading' J. K. Rowling.

You might be inspired and CHANGE your outlook on literature and writing techniques (like my girl did), 

You can 'escape real world issues' and join us in flying, laughing, and crying with Harry, Hermione and Ron...and Neville.

You might be surprised at how many GOOD things you learn. :)

Blessings,

PROJECT 365...kinda

Week 52, kinda

SUNDAY, 12/20...no pics :(

but on Monday...I got two pics

MONDAY, 12/21 Babygirl and I enjoyed mani and pedi treatments ... even though they're from Vietnam, they decorate for the Christmas and wish everyone Christmas wishes...I loved their tree

Babygirl kinda likes having her fingers and toes 'done', can you tell?

LATER THAT SAME AFTERNOON, she had to get busy finishing a present for a friend...I'll have to show it to you later, she hasn't presented it yet..it will be after her best friend returns from her Christmas trip.

WEDNESDAY, 12/22

I was gathering the gifts I had bought for my accountability/prayer group so I could cook the next day and fill their 'plates'

 I was able to go ahead and get a one of the munchies finished...just LOVE these shortbread cookies with Ghirardeli chocolates squished into each center...oh, so buttery!

12/23, THURSDAY

We enjoyed our lunch together at Red Robin's, I had a guacamole bacon burger...then we exchanged gifts (but we didn't get any pics)...we so love getting together to eat, pray, share...made my week.

12/24, FRIDAY

Last-minute shopping for Dad, helping babygirl choose some last minute things and then home to wrap.  While Dad and babygirl were readying for church, I prepared stuffed shells and pasta sauce for dinner...I was able to get ready while it baked in the oven.  I was finally able to setup the camera to get a family shot...these are hard to come by, believe me.  Somehow I don't believe it will make my Christmas card next year, I may do a collage of Christmas morning shots for next year's card.  Babygirl was so pretty in her new Christmas dress and pearls...I really do have a grown daughter...I have to keep pinching myself through all my hot flashes...you'll notice I had to dress with sleevelessness...I did wear a red and black jacket over this tank to go outside...it was around 53*

SATURDAY, 12/25

We certainly enjoyed our time together under the Christmas tree and then opening stockings...lots of sweet surprises...Mama has a tomtom, finally...although, I'll name him something else once I decide his voice...of course, he'll have to have an appropriate name, hahah...either going to choose an 'aussie' accent or maybe a little Irish!

Since we ate such a late brunch of french toast and sausage, I ended up doing a later Christmas dinner (around 7pm).  I prepared Sourdough rolls in my breadmaker, glazed a  Smithfield mini ham with my drysack sherry/greypoupon/honey/brown sugar glaze, left-over-frozen Thanksgiving turkey breast, BS&K's wonderful cranberry sauce, ultra cherry mixed fruit, lima beans w/ vidalia onions, glazed slow-roasted sweet potatoes, and it was all followed by a fresh-from-a-pumpkin gingersnap pie (thank you, Alton)

We watched a couple of Christmas movies before and after dinner while running back and forth to the window watching the snow grow as the minutes went by...this is the first white Christmas we've had here in Georgia ..since 1993 when a trace amount was reported...the last Christmas with any significant accumulation was in 1882.  This REALLY made this year's Christmas special...wonder if we'll have church tomorrow?

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

THANKS FOR HOSTING ALL YEAR, SARA...YOU'RE A SPORT.

Jer. 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you

and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Blessings,

ANOTHER 'NO-BAKE' in case you need a quick recipe

No-Bake Fudgy Snow Balls

Servings: 21 • Serving Size: 1 cookie • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 2 pts

Calories: 69.5 • Fat: 3.8 g • Carb: 9.2 g • Fiber: 2.2 g • Protein: 2.1 g

15 pitted dates

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup whole roasted unsalted almonds

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp water (or more if needed)

3 tbsp confectioner's sugar

Add almonds to your food processor and pulse until ground. Add dates, cocoa powder, honey, and water. Mix until it forms a sticky mass. If it seems too dry, add a little water, 1 tsp at a time. Wash hands and using damp hands (keep sink running) measure 1 tbsp and roll into a ball with the dough. Set balls on parchment paper.

Put confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Roll balls in your hand and then roll in sugar.

Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

Thanks, Gina...

Jer. 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you

and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Blessings,

CONES 'n CRAFTS

I like making things around Christmas...little things to use or give away.  These are going to be next on my list...thanks, 'natural kids' for the idea!

Jer. 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you

and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Blessings,

MissMolly and Me

Jewelry sometimes brings me peace...the ability of someone to pull together colors and materials with their God-given talent and melding it all into a wearable piece of art.  Yes, Miss Molly captured my eye with her piece of peace...Imagining late summer in Europe overlooking the countryside:  seeing lavender...sunflowers...vines.   mmmmmmm, sounds wonderful, doesn't it?   God's beauty captured in a new way in this beautiful necklace, bracelet and earring set by MissMollyDesigns.

Antiqued copper,, three olivine glass briolettes, hand-enameled cone-shaped bead caps, and lavender, topaz and olive Czech crystal beads...they all sound majestic yet comforting to me.  Luckily I captured it before anyone else and will be waiting for it to arrive so it can be wrapped and placed under the soon-to-be Christmas tree.  

aaaaaahhhhhh, this is helping me get in the Spirit, for sure.  If you'd like to do some early shopping, I highly recommend you go take in Miss Molly's talent.

SHOW & TELL FRIDAY..."LESS FRU FRU"

JOINING CINDY @ MY ROMANTIC HOME ...

Thankfully...we're having a 'Charlie Brown' Christmas at our house this year...

One with much less 'fru fru' ...much less out on the tables, counter tops and walls.

Usually I decorate top to bottom...

but this year, I'm participating in a 'pittance' sort of way.

My foyer...usually hosts our hand-painted nativity scene, which is surrounded completely...Completely by:

angel pictures on the wall,

angel peel-and-stick murals on the windows,

angel votives on the staircase,

and even angel stakes in the plants ...

you know, those little metal or plastic decorations you stick in your potted plants.

This year's foyer, however, will be somewhat lonely...

with ONLY an 18" Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the curio cabinet...

the cartoon stick-on Charlie Brown nativity on the front-door sidelite windows...

and a full-sized, decorated Christmas tree in the living room

(couldn't get be without one...it is DD's senior year and all...)

CLICK THE PIC...for a LARGER view...

ALL THE MYRIAD of angels will remain wrapped and tucked away until next year's Holy Season. Their singing will be muffled by all the tissue paper and bubble wrap surrounding them.

The candles will last another year without having to be lit during the celebration and the green, potted plants will let out an 'ignored sigh' as they realize the angels won't be hovering around them for the next three weeks.

Now don't think I'm all depressed and stuff...I'm not.

We'll still be celebrating the Season while eating, singing, wrapping, unwrapping and going to worship.

There's something very FREEING about taking an abbreviated approach this year...

My feet will certainly appreciate not having to traipse up and down both sets of steps while pulling everything from the basement.

And, I could almost hear my 'knees' preparing a serenade... singing their joys of not getting 'pounded' each time I reached the basement concrete floor.

Even my arms and neck are readying to sing in harmony knowing the 'unusual overexertion' won't be happening in 2009.

All this 'true-to-life' relief will be opening my calendar (for those several hours worth of time that would have been decorating)...

... shopping and cooking without feeling it flying by too quickly.

...planning a new 'knitting project' for the shawl ministry.

Yes, Charlie Brown's simplicity ... seeking to be 'less complicated'

Yes, the child-like simplicity...

Yuletide's best decorations: wreaths of smiles, and being wrapped in hugs.

Blessings,

I SEE WHAT U'R SAYING (CHRISTMAS EDITION)...

Nothing like getting to a party as everyone is walking out the door...OR going to bed, whichever the case may be...


sorry so late...couldn't get my video to process correctly in my computer, so I had to build a movie from some stills...don't worry, there's no charge for the extra labor.



I've so enjoyed looking at everyone's...hope someone sees mine!

If you'd like to get in under the gun, too, go here:http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/2008/12/welcome-to-i-see-what-youre-saying.html

NOW TO THE POST OFFICE...(HAVE YOU NOTICED?)

Finished my Christmas cards today...now to the post office to probably stand in line with the masses who haven't mailed their gifts yet. It's one of those things I'd rather not do...Lines seem to be a common thing for me these days...I was in line longer than 3 hours for the presidential election...it was outside in the COLD, WINDY morning air. At least when I go to the post office I'll be indoors.

There are things about lines that can sometimes be very worrisome......general health hygiene becomes a concern as you stand in and amongst those others who have waited late in getting their post office chores completed

..."sneezes and coughs" being blown across the room with no attempt to suppress their effects...put you shirt over your nose, wrap and elbow around your face--or even hold a tissue over your nose and mouth--there's an idea!

...Considering WHO it is in front or behind you...Overall cleanliness works great in a line if you've had a bath within the last three days or so, but sometimes I wonder if some people know what a bath is...

Yes there are times when your job requires you to get dirty, and I love DIRTY JOBS with Mike Rowe; however, unless it's Mike Rowe in front or behind me, I'm not going to have much fun standing next to a grown-up version of Linus! Kids seem to not smell so badly when they're dirty, but adults are a whole new category.

So, wish me well as I depart for the USPS to encounter the unknown length of line, the myriad of smells, the chorus of personal sounds being emitted by those in the general vicinity, the sights of digits busy in oh so many ways, and the deflating of my wallet as I pay for postage for my stack of Christmas cards....

I'll covet your prayers for safe journey, that no sneezy germs come my way, and that I'll keep a smile on my face to one and all, remembering that I am very blessed to have a home, a family, a church home, good neighbors, food on our table, and most of all good health, generally speaking...maybe I'll see Mike Rowe!

What do you notice when you stand in line with the general populace?

UPDATE:  Well, I returned from the mail center about 10 minutes after I left home! There was NO line...so I didn't encounter any sneezes, coughs, or Mike Rowe (shucks, for this one).  Is God good or what?  I even was able to confirm my packages were guaranteed for delivery before Christmas morning!

Well, Monday I'll be going to the grocery to gather my list for Christmas, so I'll let you know then if I run into Mike! Enjoy your last weekend of shopping before Christmas Eve!

Psalm 64:2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,

from that noisy crowd of evildoers.

OUR SERVANT CANDLE, OUR SHAMMASH

Update: After doing this post, I got several of my "haven'ts" done from my previous post...started my cards, put out the outside decorations, DD and I got the tree up tonight...He's been my LIGHT today!! ...and THANKS for all your comments, they gave me a big boost!

God's fulfillment in Christ as the Savior of the world, HIS LIGHT into the world.
Jesus was raised as a practicing Jew, He celebrated the "light". We more fully celebrate Jesus by celebrating His Jewish Heritage, making our celebration richer in its fulfillment from the Old Testament.

It may sound strange to many, but it brings me into the Christmas spirit, seeing HIS LIGHT through a Messianic Jew's perspective. Sandy Corlett noted in her article on "A GENTILE PERSPECTIVE", at Beth Adonai.com:

"Messianic Jews and Gentiles worship together...grafted in and equal heirs
of His promised inheritance in Yeshua/Jesus (Galatians 3:29, Ephesians 2:14-3:6, Titus 3:3-7, Hebrews 6:17-20, Romans 10:12).

We fulfill His prophecy to be gathered together in His name (Romans
11:11-24).

John 10: 27-28 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never
perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” Yeshua/Jesus was promising His people deliverance from sin and death...not
just for a season, but for eternity!

In John 8:12, Yeshua proclaims “I am the light of the world...he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (“Yeshua”in Hebrew means salvation.)

Hanukkah is referred to as the “Festival of Lights” (Hag Haorim) and it was during this season that Yeshua described Himself as the” light of the world”.

The Lord will usher in His millennial kingdom with the overthrow of the “lawless one” in a miraculous way. The shammash or “servant” is the candle used to light the other candles of the Hanukkah menorah. Yeshua is our shammash...Matthew 20:28 “...the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many...”

Jesus is the REASON FOR THE SEASON and He is our Lord who watches over us and guides us when we're willing to listen.
How will you be sharing His news with the world more during this season of HIS LIGHT?

WHAT Do You Do When You're NOT in the Mood?...

My haven'ts are outnumbering my haves...

blah, blah, blah...

haven't started cooking ahead,

haven't written my christmas list,

haven't sent cards yet,

haven't decorated anything...

i need a B-12 Christmas boost.

Any ideas on getting a "jump" start?