Have a Blessed Christmas!

 

From my house to yours...May the reason for the season be in your hearts this Christmas.

			And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
			And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
			And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
			To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
			And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
			And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
			And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
			And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
			And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
			For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
			And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
			And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
			Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Peace, Joy, & Blessings to you this Christmas,

Cindy 

Lots of Snow

This is the sunrise & snow that greeted us on Saturday morning behind our backyard.

 It is Sunday evening...There is probably 9 inches of snow on the ground since Friday nite and more expected until mid-week at least.  The roads are slippery & snow packed.  I will just be staying in hibernating... well not really; there is so much more to do!   My hubby left this afternoon for another week at his new job.  The weekends go so fast, but more is accomplished towards preparing the house for sale.  More painting was finished & hopefully will be totally done next weekend.  I continue to pack & plan on where I want to hang some carefully chosen pieces for staging.  Don't want to put many holes in the freshly painted walls, but enough to look inviting.  I am also very picky about what I am purchasing to stage with; spending as little as possible.  I got two mahogany dining chairs to put with an old library table for a dining table, since I sold my oak set with 6 chairs.  The chairs were $5 a piece & I will either stain them or paint them white... haven't decided yet.  They are raw now, I think from being outside??  They have new fabric on the seats, but not a choice I would make so I may try to change that out too.  They are temporary until we move & buy something more suitable.  I will take a few pictures to show you when they are finished.

I got a few Christmas things out, but had already packed some things I wish I hadn't!  Oh well, that is life in the world of moving.  The decorating is minimal but it makes me happy when I look at the little vintage tree on the desk/buffet in the dining room.  It is so hard to be doing all this as Christmas draws near.  I want to do the typical things like decorating and baking, but no real time to do it.  I plan to do just a smidge of baking; some bon bon cookies (a family favorite) & a frosted sugar cookies (I bought the ready made dough), which will be easy & quick. 

Well, I am going to close this for now.  I will post a couple of pictures of my minimalistic decorations soon.  May your preparations for Christmas be bringing you joy.

Blessings,
Cindy  

Packing, Painting, Primping...Moving is hard work!

I am so busy packing that the holiday season is taking a back seat in my life.  Christmas shopping is not an option this year and my craft shows are a distant memory.  My life is getting up to boxes, tape, bubble wrap, paper, & lots of STUFF to pack.  Even though I have given several boxes (of STUFF) to St. Vincent's, I know there will be more as I go through each room.  

I divided lots of Christmas STUFF to give to our kids & re-packed up the rest.  I have a tree I got my hubby at my 1st craft show, all decorated in coke memorabilia.  He loved it & I plug it in every evening to enjoy, by myself usually.  Thankfully I have that or it wouldn't have any signs of the impending holiday.  I have to move a small desk into my dining room to use as a buffet of sorts.  I plan to put up a little vintage white tree I got at an estate sale this summer on top, with some vintage ornaments I've been collecting since then.  I just got into the vintage theme this year.  I promise to take a picture after I get it decorated.  After the holidays, I will be decorating the desk for staging.  

My hubby has already started his job & came home this weekend to the fun job of painting.  We have a cathedral ceiling in our living room, dining room, & kitchen combo.  The whole caboodle got a wonderful paint redo, with the exception of the kitchen and hall to come next weekend.  My brother in law & hubby worked all day painting & I am so thrilled to have that much progress in a single day.  

But now my dear hubby is gone until next Friday night and I am here alone mostly, except for Sophie (our dog) and our cat, Mocha.  Unfortunately Mocha had a stroke a couple of weeks ago & although she isn't suffering, it is apparent that she is going down hill.  She sleeps most of the time (not unusual) and this week has substantially dropped her food & water intake (unusual).  She still loves attention and I call her  ~little old lady~ because she is nearly 17 now.

Our kids stop in & give me a hand and I got out for a few hours of shopping with a friend to buy several items to freshen up the house for sale time... a kitchen rug, candles, donuts...hmmm, not the donuts for the house, for my stress!!  I wish I wasn't a stress eater!  

Last but not least, going to church on Sunday morning is a sanctuary in the stress of my life.  I am so thankful for that!

So I will keep on packing until I am done, paint & clean until I am done, and primp & stage until I am done...I will mark each milestone off my list.  Then ultimately our home will be ready for sale & a new family to come.

May you check things off your lists and feel the accomplishment that getting things done can bring...

Blessings,
Cindy 

Just listed some bottle brush trees on Etsy.com...finally

Hi Everyone!!
I just got some items listed on Etsy tonight.  I had several bottle brush trees, jar snowmen, and other items left so I decided to try Etsy.  I hope it isn't too late in the shopping season to sell anything, but that was my choice to wait for my two shows to finish.  It always takes longer to list things than I think it will take.  I'm definitely a newbie to Etsy as far as actually posting items!!  I will be putting more on in the next couple of days, then call it good.  I have too much to do to take too much time playing with my crafts! LOL!

My hubby left this afternoon to get settled before his new job starts tomorrow.  I HATE goodbyes~I know that I will see him most weekends, but it will be crazy until all is ready for the house to be listed.  Waking up to lots of snow didn't make me feel any better either!  

Here's our snow covered Sophie this morning!

 I have packing, painting, purging, and primping to do.  I staged the home we sold previously and it sold within 6 weeks; in a sluggish market, in a small town.  So I am anxious to see what happens this time.  I love the process after the clutter is gone, painting & blemishes fixed, and the house is sparkling and clean...then the fun begins!  Getting every room to look polished with special touches that make someone imagine them living in this home; that is what I am looking forward to.  Then, of course, a family wanting to buy the house.  I have already been praying for God to prepare that family to discover our home and make it their home.  I can't explain how ~at peace~ I feel about this.  It is only by the grace of God that I have the peace that our home will sell quickly and smoothly.  It will take a lot of work, but be so worth it.  Now I just need the energy and a little sleep wouldn't be bad either!!

I will keep you posted on my progress.  May your week be full of expectations fulfilled!!  I would love that too!!  

Blessings,
Cindy

Bottle Snowmen...Snowmen Bowl Fillers...Snow*Snow*Snow

I thought I'd share some Bottle Snowmen that I made for my craft shows.  I will be putting them in the craft show next week and if I have any left, they will go on Etsy. They have hand molded clay heads and glass bottle bodies, with glitter, snow, a tag, trinkets inside, plus the tinsel scarf with beads and wrapped on wire are charms & beads also. Each one is different. They stand about 4 inches tall.  They can hang, but I prefer them standing, perhaps with a mini bottle brush tree... hmmm, I should have thought of that when I was taking pictures!  I am enjoying photographing my items in creative ways, so let me know what you think.  I love all the comments/compliments/advice that I get from you.  You don't know how much it means to me!  Please keep them coming!!

 

 These are my Snowmen Bowl Fillers that I have shared before.  They are all packaged and ready to give, complete with handmade tag, plus they smell like Christmas!

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Change of topic...
I am posting this because I just had to take a break from packing.  My house is a mess and I'm sure it will be until I get it totally ready for sale.  I am a little melancholy right now...It was weird to think that yesterday was our final Thanksgiving in this house; our home for nine years.  It was just my hubby and me for the day so it was really quiet.  There are a lot of changes coming and I will just go day by day facing each as they come.  I am excited about moving, there is just so much to do in the interim and seeing how long it will take for me to actually move to join my hubby...oh & all this in winter with more snow than we have seen in years!!  Of course!!  Well I have procrastinated long enough... there is a cabinet waiting to be emptied so I can put it on Craig's List.  Have a great day everyone and try not to shop til you drop.  Right now that sounds like more fun than what I'm doing!!  What am I thinking?? I wouldn't want to be in the insane crowds!  LOL!

Blessings,
Cindy 

Happy Thanksgiving To You and Yours!

May the blessings of Thanksgiving surround you and your loved ones this day, whether near or far away, and bring joy that will continue throughout this holiday season.

Blessings As Always,
Cindy

Well things have changed, but I'm still thankful!

My last post was about how I was going to put stuff on Etsy... well that has changed.  I decided to do another show in a small town, Madras, about 30 minutes away.  I got asked by a very wonderful crafter that I respect to be in their show.  It is "Angels in the Attic"...isn't that cute!  Anyway the show is December 2nd, 3rd, & 4th.  All I need to do is drop off my tagged items & they do all the other work.  Hmmm that sounds good after all the work I did on the last show!  ;-)  So I finished a few things I didn't get done for Snowflake Boutique and am tagging again with the new shows tags.  But that isn't all...

We are moving!  My husband has gotten a job at the town we lived in previously to living here in Redmond.  We will be moving closer to our eldest son & his wife and away from our daughter, and other son & his wife.  Of course, I would love them to move too... spoken like a true mother, I know!  But God can work on that for me, right??  Why does life have to be so hard sometimes?  We are leaving many friends here sad and going back to some very happy friends in the valley.   There will be a lot to do getting the house ready for sale... I know... the middle of winter.  But it will work out; I have faith.  That doesn't mean it will be easy.  I hate the in-between part of only seeing my husband on the weekends he can come home and this time I will be alone.  When we moved here I had kids still at home.  I am really thankful to have our little dog to protect me... I'm not sure how that would work!!  My hubby leaves December 5th to start work & has a place to stay which was is a big blessing.

So this Thanksgiving it will be my husband and I having a ham dinner  (easier than turkey) for the final time in our home of nine years.  I want to cry at the thought.  But I know that life goes on and I loved living in the valley closer to our beloved coast and many more wonderful craft stores, not to mention our son and his lovely wife.  I cried when we left them when we moved here... what irony.  I know I won't miss all the snow & ice here in Central Oregon.  I get to go back to RAIN!!  LOL!! 

Time to pack, declutter, depersonalize our home, and sell it to another family that will hopefully enjoy it as much as we have.  I do have excitement about another place to decorate!  We are selling a lot of our furniture so the possibilities are endless!!  I will keep you updated on this journey...

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and be thankful for everything... even unexpected surprises.

Blessings,

Cindy