Today

As I was sitting in my living room last night, I took this photo, I love this little corner.

Today

Outside my window, a new day I see,

And only I can determine

What kind of day it will be.

It can be busy and sunny, laughing and gay,

Or boring and cold, unhappy and grey.

My own state of mind is the determining key

For I am the person I let myself be.

I can be thoughtful and do all that I can to help,

Or be selfish and think just of myself.

I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun,

Or gripe and complain,

And make it hard on someone.

I can be patient with those

Who may not understand

Or belittle and hurt them as much as I can.

But I have faith in myself and believe what I say

And I personally intend to make the best of this day.

Anonymous

Today has not gone according to plan, but I will make the best of it and rejoice!  

My God is good to me and He is good to me all of the time!!!

I finished the pj's for my four year old grandson.

See the little tag that I put on the outside of them?

My blogger friend, Rhonda, of If You Do Stuff Stuff Gets Done, sent them to me.  Wasn't that sweet?  Bloggers are the best people in the world, I think!  Thank you, dear Rhonda.

You saw the gown for my grand daughter, that I posted about recently, the fabrics are not matching, but they do correspond to each other.  Such a fun project!  Are you making some of your Christmas gifts?  If so what are you making?

I hope your day is sunny and bright, and if it isn't read the poem above again and set out to make it a happy one!

Warm hugs,

Cindy

~Winter Wonderland~

It snowed overnight, leaving us with a Winter Wonderland today.  I took a walk and here are some photos for you.  This is what I saw on my walk this morning.

Our Mountain Ash

Do you see my poor little deflated pumpkin with the scarecrow sitting on it on the porch?  Time to take him in and replace him with something else, I think.

One of my neighbours made a snow person in their yard for her children.

There is a very large house down that lane, the river is behind their house.

The park and the Red River.

The walkway in the park.

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!

Warm hugs,

Cindy

 

 Our lovely Mountain Ash dressed in snow.

The Little Things

It's really the beautiful little things that make up a beautiful whole, isn't it.

Today I will show you a few more "little things", one day hopefully I will have a beautiful whole to show.

But first of all "Happy Thanksgiving" to all of my American friends.

While shopping yesterday, I found some fresh White Pine boughs that I purchased to fit into my decor.  I really like them. 

Have you seen this Norman Rockwell print?  It is the cutest thing!

The little boy has discovered that Santa's suit is in the bureau drawer in his house!  Oh no!  Does that mean that Santa is just a dressed up dad or uncle, maybe?

I grew up with the story, but we knew that our dad was our Santa.  We left cookies and milk out, with a little note for Santa every year.  The first thing we did upon rising Christmas morning, was to check and see if Santa had drank the milk and eaten the cookies.  Did you grow up believing in Santa, or was it a fun fairy tale that you enjoyed at Christmas time?

While sewing for the grands, I snuck in some time to sew some pretties for me.  I love Cardinals, they look very festive, so I picked up this pretty fabric at Fabric Land.

I really must get to that poor old table soon and make it beautiful once again.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few "little things".

Enjoy your turkey dinner or if in Canada or elsewhere, enjoy your day, my friends.

Warm hugs, 

Cindy

MMmmm...I love my Yankee Cinnamon Sparkle candle that I got at Winners for only $12.99.
It smells so good!

~I Believe~

I Believe that Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

When I celebrate at Christmas time, I celebrate the salvation that Jesus brought to all mankind and I celebrate my loved ones, by the giving of gifts.  

I know that Jesus was not born in December and that December 25 is but a symbolic time in which we celebrate.

He still is the Reason for the Season.

When and if we celebrate isn't important, but only that we acknowledge that Jesus is the Savior of the World.

Today I am offering you a small glimpse into my little cottage.

It really is beginning to look festive.

I love this time of year.

It fills me with a yearning to have my family close around me, to enjoy a time of fun and games.

As a kid we had no family but our own mom and dad and siblings, but my folks went out of their way to make it a very happy time.  A time that we will remember forever and recreate with our own families.

God decorated our city beautifully this weekend!  We woke up to several inches of snow on Saturday!

It has been cold though, it was down to -9 C and with the wind they were saying it was -21 C, and it felt that cold, too! 

It is meant to warm up to +6 C this week, but then our snow will melt.  So, I'm hoping for +2 C, that's warm enough.

Have a wonderful day my friends!

Warm hugs, 

Did I Hear Someone Say...

...that Christmas is coming!  

I have been busy already.  My husband bought me a new sewing machine last weekend and I have one of many projects finished.

I have never had a Kenmore, but I do now and I love it.  It sews like a dream.  Next comes a sewing room!

My first project was a gown for my youngest grand-daughter.

The fabric is so sweet, the polka-dot flannel coordinates with the snowmen fabric on the ruffles.

The snowmen are sitting in little cups that say "hot cocoa" on them, it's so cute.  She is only seven, young enough to enjoy "cute".  One down and five more to go.  A good machine makes sewing projects go so much faster.


I will make pj bottoms for my grandsons out of a coordinating blue fabric and the top for the youngest one will have larger snowmen in cups of cocoa on it.  


And I have begun my Christmas decor...

...my Christmas village is coming to life.
My grand-children enjoy my little village.
It has been snowing off and on all day, and "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" 


Have a lovely day my friends!


Warm hugs,

~A Win And A Winter Tablescape~

Can you believe it is the middle of November already?!  

I am going to start decorating for Christmas really soon.  But I am easing into it slowly.

I won a lovely set of cloth napkins with a matching t-towel which I have used as a table runner.

I won them from Martina over at Northern Nesting .

Thank you, Martina, they are so pretty and can be very Christmas-y, but can be used otherwise, too.

I used a napkin here.  Aren't they pretty?

And to add to that, I have found some darling little covered bowls and so I have decided to make a delicious Potato Soup for supper in order to use them.

Aren't they cute?
I have paired them with a ruby glass plate, a white plate and a dark brown leather charger.  I think the ruby plates really pop against the white plate.   I love snowmen because they are very Winter-y and not necessarily Christmas decor only.

I must have been using the wrong setting on my camera, because my photos are not usually this blurry .  So sorry for that.

One more thing, 

Notice the chandelier candles, they are black in the before...

Before

After

 ...they are white now.  I think they look better.

The snow is gently falling, we are only meant to get a centimeter.  I love to see the snow falling and know that it won't cause any problems on the highways.

Have a lovely day my friends.

Warm hugs,

I Will Remember

WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard....

...to listen to his son whine about being bored.

....to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

...to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.

...to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

...to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

...to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

....to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

....to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

....to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

...to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

....to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

....to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

....to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

The only thing harder than being a Soldier...

Is loving one.

I found the above at Gracie Jewellery.  Thank you Gracie for this wonderful way to honor our Military.

I for one will remember and be forever grateful to the men and women who are serving and have served our countries so willingly and sacrificially.

A special Thank You to my nephews Brian and Will.  

Brian has been a Chaplain in the US Military for several years, having served both in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

Will has been in the US Military for almost a year.

He is presently stationed in Italy.

Thank you also to Judy and Don, their parents, who have stood behind and beside their sons as they made their decision to join the Military. 

Thank you to all of you who have sacrificed, we enjoy our freedom today because of you.

I Will Remember!

Warm hugs, Cindy