Christmas in the House

The first thing up is those wreaths. That's because I get to them first sitting on top of the pile when I am unearthing the Christmas boxes.  

My husband found the lavish poinsettias at Costco and though I planned to put them on the porch, it was too cold. They really look beautiful in the kitchen.

The view from the kitchen into the living room. I love the evergreen garland. It smells so good and makes up for the plastic tree out of camera shot. 

Here is the living room from the entry way. There is another 30 foot garland hanging over the windows on the right. 

The entry table holds Christmas cards and my little musical Father Christmas that is 40 years old. 

A wider view of the entry way. 

The hearth in its finery. I love the burlap "Merry Christmas" swag. It was made by a friend. 

The Christmas stockings have served my husband and I well. Can you guess which of us is the dog and which is the cat?

My favorite red transferware tea set, just poised for an invitation to serve. 

The dining table with small trees and tall angels.

Getting ready to set the table. 

More window garland. 

And how it looks from a distance. 

The mantel from the straight on view. 

And the side view with the sectional and pillows and blue velvet ottoman

. Can you tell I like looking at it?

Nothing quite like the coziness of Christmas. Hope you enjoy yours!

Thrift Shop Treasure

I was sailing through the aisles of the local Salvation Army Thrift shop, searching for an ugly Christmas sweater for a party, when what to my wondering eyes should appear???.....

...an old Flexible Flyer sled!

Isn't it beautiful? I oiled the wood to make it shine. They are still made today in Maine, but the sleds were first designed and built by a farm equipment manufacturer, Samuel Leeds Allen,  in 1898.


This is one of the original ads for the sled.
Sales didn't take off till they began being sold in department stores in 1915, when 120,000 of them were sold.


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The one pictured above is from 1936 and on display in the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.  

I cannot tell from my research how old mine is--it is in such good condition, it is probably not too old. A brand new one can be purchased from Walmart for $85, though it doesn't have this lettering nor the same markings. This one was $30 at the Salvation Army, and is quite usable. 

In my brief research, there seems to be an active collector's group with lots of details about how to date them. It is quite detailed, and I have neither the time or patience to search it out now. This arrow is painted on the middle oak rail and also seems to be one way of dating it.

The new ones look like this:


("So mine is obviously older", she said to herself triumphantly.)

The runners are made of strong steel, and are still sturdy despite the encroaching rust.

Regardless of its age or pedigree, I think it looks quite handsome and festive on my porch. We are now ready if the midwest blizzard reaches this far across the country. 

The view from the steps.

The cardinal in the wreath seems quite taken by it. 

Colorful Christmas

The front doors got their new fresh wreaths, and they smell so good.

Inside the entry, the doorways are draped in evergreen garlands. 

The foyer table has our very old Father Christmas on it.  I tend to prefer this vintage fellow to the Santa in the red suit. 

The kitchen window with greenery and stars and a Merry Christmas sign buried under it.  My dried roses from summer are tucked here and there. 

The kitchen goose is pulling a sled with a cardinal. We love cardinals. 

Greenery is framing all the doorways. This picture is showing the afternoon sun, but  it gives a nice view of my wooden ceiling in the kitchen. 

My mantel keeps evolving. I just keep throwing things up there as I find them. 

I found this little chair on the hearth at a thrift shop for $6 in the Spring. 

I found the stockings in Maui, when we first became empty nesters.  They suit us to a tee, or so my children say.

In winter, I change the blue sofa pillows to red ones. They look more Christmas-y and these lodge-style pillows add to the general coziness. 

A close-up on my little chair to highlight the chipped and fading paint. I tend to like imperfect chippy things.  

The plaid candles are new, from Target. I love 'em.  Just love plaid.

This heart is new, too. It has a story. It is a piece of roofing from a house destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Some of the proceeds from the purchase of this collection go to a fund for hurricane victims.

This is mine. Notice the fish tassel on her hat. 

This is husband's. Notice the doggy bone tassel on his hat.  

Some of the ornaments from our tree. A hodge-podge collection from 39 Christmases.

Our tree is 9' tall and slender. That was a mistake originally, but now I like it. It's well-behaved and stays in a corner and doesn't require me to move furniture to find it a spot. 

It represents decades of memories and decorating it is always a quick pathway to memory lane.

 The table gets more natural yule time trappings--twigs and cones and leaves and sprigs of holly berries.

The children put together this village each year,  just so they can pretend they are little and live in it in their imaginations. 

Looking down the village street.

Above, the view toward the fireplace; below, the view toward the foyer and kitchen. 

Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa-la-la.

 Welcome to our farmhouse Christmas. Wishing you a comfy cozy, stress-free and joy-filled holiday.