Aprons - the secret handshake

I don't know what it is about aprons but when I put mine on every morning, it turns me into someone else. I feel more of a homemaker when I'm wearing an apron and just like an actor getting into a costume and into character, when my apron is on, I'm ready for my show to start. Often I put my digital camera in my pocket and if I see something that would make a good photo during the day, I

So It Continues

So it continues in the family room and kitchen.

I do not remove objects in order to replace with

holiday theme items, I nestle them right in and add lots

of greenery with lots of snow that I often regret come January.

Lights are not in yet, and I may just skip this year.

My kitchen tree, dripping with Nicole Sayre, whose beige and

cream ornaments are perfect for my decor. She has returned

to these colors in her new line but without any ornaments

only the larger figures. I hope to snag a few of those this year.

My new Vietri dishes that I mentioned a few posts back.

A client bartered these for work and I was thrilled.

The French doors lead to the sun porch.

Part of the family room.

This room has pale yellow walls. A mistake, and one

I was going to correct... about 5 years ago! It doesn't bother

me so much anymore, and it does brighten a naturally dark room.

I am very proud of the counter. I helped cut, install and grout that baby.

Hutches everywhere get a little something tucked in.

Onward to the porches and the bedrooms!

How is it coming at your house?

Suzan

Postscript:

Lots of questions coming in about my timing,

amount of work and amount of decorations.

Since I am usually quite busy right after Thanksgiving,

this is the only time I have. The large tree goes up Thanksgiving evening.

I used to do displays for stores during the holidays and often my

pay was store credit, or a large discount (as in wholesale price). That is why

the abundance of Nicole Sayre, otherwise I could never afford.

No one seemed to like these colors then, everyone wanted

traditional red and green. lucky me! When you

combine store credit with 50% post holiday...

Bartering is great.

I organize for a living, so I have developed a system of storage,

that makes it so simple to get what I need and do a tree

lickety split with no mess in the house. I may post about it soon.

The system works for any type of storage.

AS for the rest of the decor, I simply plug in a bunch of

winter greenery, three large bins full... all purchased after the

holidays about 15 years ago, for 75 - 90% off.

So this decor is pennies on the dollar collected over 30 years.

I don't do any other holiday decorating anymore.

This is the big show, so to speak.

Veteran's Day

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask,

"Mother, what was war?" ~ Eve Merriam

We'll burn them out

I send my sincere thanks to everyone who wrote a comment over the past two days. There were some very helpful suggestions there and I'm sure many people would have been helped by them.Lets take a leisurely stroll around our place. This all happened yesterday afternoon when I saw Hanno building a straw bonfire in the chook yard. We've had an infestation of lice in the chook house and he wanted

So It Begins

White tree in family room going up.

I will be busy with a client right before and

after Thanksgiving so this is the week to

get some decorating completed.

The trees are usually in the same location each

year, but I switch the ornaments around easily

because they are all the same color wise, with

white or silver as the base colors.

This year the tree also has pale pink and celery colors,

with featured figures from House of Hatten

Nicole Sayre, and Sarah Lugg.

Please visit all the other White Wednesday posts

over at Faded Charm hosted by Kathleen.

post script:

Comments referring to "my tree " as if it is solitary....

This is the second one I've completed of nine.... : D

Holiday insanity reigns, because this is still

me " cutting back"..lol

Suzan

Paying off debt - continued

I want to thank all those who took the time to add a comment yesterday. I am sure they will help the men and women who read them and find something that will fit their circumstance and make sense to them. It is a wonderful thing to get well intentioned advice from people who have been in the same situation, and it is enriching to offer that advice with an open heart.This is an important topic

The last option

The economic crisis seems to be lingering longer than anyone predicted. We see various indicators starting to predict slow improvement but people are still losing jobs, the housing market, particularly in the US is shaky and in Australia grocery prices are going through the roof. Last year in the UK, one fifth of families, in homes of working age people, had no one working. I continue to