Just a Simple Christmas Wish

Unlike November which pushed and roared and bit its way into Michigan...

leaving us in a muffled snow globe...

December crept in like a lamb.

Quietly sunny and almost snow free...so far.

To be honest with you, I am quite liking it.

I don't have to pull on boots to slog out to the garage.

No shoveling mounds of snow from the driveway.

Fear-free driving to the big city. 

Yes....the entire winter could stay just like this if it were up to me.

These sunny mornings pour into our kitchen like warm syrup,

 creating a cozy place to begin the day.

I've been starting my days lately with a couple mugs of tea.
I love coffee, too (a lot),
but Young Living Essential Oils makes a wonderful
Ocotea Oolong Cocao tea enhanced with 100% pure therapeutic grade Frankincense powder
that is light and delicious -
especially with a teaspoon of honey and pinch of cinnamon.

Sometimes I add in an additional cinnamon flavored tea bag to deepen the flavor.

I need my tea strong.

This special tea was created to help decrease appetite and food cravings...

which so far....is working for me.

After my morning treadmill run,
I sip it while I go about my daily tasks,

warming it up every once in a while,

and completely forgetting about the leftovers in the bulging refrigerator.

It keeps me moving, motivated, and multi-tasking.

So, many things have been accomplished during these past two weeks.
I worked on a dream catcher order for a customer who was giving it as a Christmas gift.

Her request was faded blue fabrics.
A friend of mine has been faithfully sending me feathers she finds around her home in Texas,
and I was happy to be able to add them to this dream catcher.
{thank you, Patty!}

After that was wrapped and ready to deliver,
my attention turned toward a new rug I received from a sweet friend in Florida.
Some rearranging was needed in the living room to accommodate this gorgeous thing
with its faded burgundy and cream design.
{thank you, Heather!}

I pushed the coffee table out of the way and went to whipping rugs around the room for a while,
(great arm workout, btw)
trying to create a pleasing-to-the-eye prairie/shabby chic layering affect.

Next on the agenda was wrapping gifts for a local nursing home.
Our church was providing some Christmas cheer to the residents there this year.
After thinking about what my own mother would have enjoyed receiving when she was in the nursing home,
I remembered there was a box full of Philosophy "Grace" products stored in my basement that my dad had purchased for my mom during the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, she was never able to use them.
Choking back tears as I wrapped and tied the presents,
 I knew they both would have loved knowing
where some of these lotions and perfumes were going to go.

December 1st is usually the day when the decorations get hauled down from our cold attic,
but wanting to keep my "mojo" going,
I started early this year on the day following Thanksgiving.

Opening up boxes of ornaments each year is almost as delightful as opening up a gift on Christmas morning.

After hours of arranging and rearranging and re-rearranging,
I was relatively happy with what I saw...

I adore the German glittered deer created by @shabbybeachygirl. Thank you, Jen!

...but ended up going with this instead
which satisfied the prairie girl in me.

The pink tree was plunked in a wooden bucket on the workbench in my studio
next to the tiny lilac painting my dad created decades ago.
A painting my great-grandmother made sits on the shelf beyond the tree.

A Florentine tray full of Christmas bits and bobs sits on the newly stained and white-washed coffee table.

The mantel definitely spoke to my heart the most, though.
I tend to overdo the decor on the mantel for some reason,
 and always-always-always have to take it all apart and start over again, simplifying as I go.
The second time is usually the charm.

I started with this.

And I simplified it to this.

The kitchen decor was kept extremely simple, too.
A couple of ornaments on some vintage dishes and
a bottle brush tree on the sideboard.

The inspiration board in my studio also received a more simplified look
with a RASCC 2015 calender adding a bit of sparkle to the room.

Speaking of sparkle,
the sparkle and love of my life celebrated her 12th birthday on December 5.
 We gave her a new "baby" named Ruby.
Ruby, the lamb, now goes wherever Maizie goes...
from bed, to dinner, to nap, to potty break.

Maizie would have been a wonderful mother.
She treats all of her "babies" with gentle love and attention.

 

The house is decorated.
The Christmas shopping completed.
The sun is shining.
There's no snow on the ground,
and my little Maizie Grace is happy and healthy.

Just a simple Christmas wish...come true.


~  Eucharisteo  ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Seasons of the Heart

It's been a busy, busy month here at Heaven's Walk...thus my long absence from Bloglandia.

My heart seems full to overflowing
and my mind has been stretched to it's limit.
I have truly missed visiting you all and hope to start finding some time in the near future
to stop by and catch up with you all once again.

Besides the usual seasonal chores like blowing leaves,

 watching the first snowflakes of the season mix with more falling leaves,

cleaning gutters,

winterizing the pond,

putting the veggie garden to bed,

storing the porch furniture,

blowing more leaves,

mowing for the last time,

hanging up all the hoses in the barn,

placing heaters in birdbaths,

blowing even more leaves,

 covering the fountain and rain barrel,

and cutting down that huge, old, dangerous mulberry tree in the middle of the yard...

there's been meetings with lawyers, financial advisors, realtors, and bankers

over Trusts and Estates and Probate.
It seems to be never ending.

I also signed closing papers on my parents' house...

and watched a young couple walk away with my dad's keys in their hands.

It was sad.

Bittersweet.

Emotional.

 Heaving another huge sigh....I took another step forward in my life ~

finding it difficult not to look back.

 As I mentioned in my previous post,

I entered the world of Young Living Essential Oils

and am embracing their incredible healing properties.

Mind, body, and soul.

At this time in my life,

they are so comforting, anchoring, empowering, and grounding ~

and bring me into God's presence continually throughout the day.

Their scents remind me of the gifts and blessings He faithfully promises,
and their healing properties have helped both my husband and me sleep more soundly,
reduced our bodily aches and pains, wiped away tension headaches,
and boosted our immune systems.

This beautiful blend of oils wafts through the rooms in my old farmhouse every day during this late autumn season

filling it with a sweet, clean, earthy fragrance.

 Orange boosts immunity, induces relaxation, and reduces depression.

Clove is antiviral, antioxidant, and creates a sense of protection and courage.

After a clear mammogram result (the first one since my surgery),

I ditched all of the chemical-based perfumes from my medicine cabinet, 

(you'll find only YL oils there now)

and all cleaning supplies from beneath the sink were put in the trash.

I am using Young Living's natural, cleaning products that are full of clove, lemon, rosemary, cinnamon bark, and eucalyptus radiata. 

Not only is it antiviral and antiseptic, but also antibacterial and anti-infectious ~ 

protecting us from any cold or flu bugs that may make their way into our home.

 While the temperatures slowly sink into the 20s and 30s and winter makes its unwelcome appearance,
homemade French onion soup simmers on the stove next to a French baguette topped with Gruyere cheese.

Maizie Grace waits patiently for her own dinner ~ with Flopsy close by.

 After dinner, surgery is performed on her Bear.

Her maternal instinct kicks into high gear as she nervously lays at my feet,

watching my every move...

until...

arm reattached...

her beloved 'baby' is safe and sound.

It was also time for me to step into the 21st century.

I finally upgraded to a smart phone and practiced posting to Instagram by taking some photos around the house.

It's such a joy to continue to connect with friends from all over the world via another media venue.

I'm still learning my way around this phone that uncannily seems to know more than I do,

but am enjoying the challenge.

So, as Michigan bids farewell to a short summer,

an even shorter autumn,

and watches warily as winter creeps in...

 I pray that we are spared from another overwhelming season like we experienced last year

when this was the continual view out my kitchen window

before we had over 100 inches of the cold, white stuff

for six long, dreary months.

I will swipe on my favorite YL oils to keep me healthy,

rub some on the Husband's sore shoulder and neck,

clean my house with clove and rosemary,

share IG photos,

close my eyes,

count the days,

and dream 

of 

this...

~  Eucharisteo  ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Christmastide

With only a few more days until Christmas,
I realized that I had better share some of the Christmas love that is embracing this old farmhouse.

However, the pre-Christmas season started out with two refrigerators appearing in our kitchen.
Like *magic*.

The large, pretty one in the dining area was given to us by a thoughtful, loving niece...
for free.
Yep.
Free.
We couldn't turn it down.

We hauled it in through our French doors and there it sat until I had time to clean out our current frig
(which we moved out into our garage).
The ancient frig in the garage was then given to a neighbor who was in need of one,
and even though we stressed the word ancient, he still wanted it.
We loved paying the kindness forward.

Now, cleaning refrigerators is not my most favorite thing to do.
It's just not fun, as you all well know.
I cleaned three of them in one day.
Ugh.

But once I had them all sparkling clean,
I couldn't wait to feed my slight OCD tendencies by organizing our food in the new one.

Look at all the room in there!
It's 3" deeper than our old one,
and the nice, deep shelves on the doors just roll my socks up and down.
I am beyond thrilled!
It was free...people.
Free!

And it's even got a fancy water and  ice doohicky on the door.
I tell ya....
my socks are still rolling up and down.

We actually now have a less-than-15-year-old refrigerator (which we've never had)
that is giving us more space than we've ever had before.
Did I mention that it was free?
It doesn't get any better than that, especially at Christmastime.
Bless you, Charlette and Tim!

So, after doing the happy dance in front of my new frig with my socks doing their own thing around my ankles,
and watching the eyebrows raise on the Mister,
I turned my attention to Christmas decor.
I hauled my now organized holiday tubs down from the attic.
(A couple weeks ago, I organized all my tubs
and gave 5 huge boxes of red/white Christmas decor to Goodwill.
That felt so good!)

Christmas then bloomed softly here at Heaven's Walk.

Enjoy.

♥

Christmas dream catchers ready to mail out to a customer.

A new little flocked pink tree in the corner dressed in vintage ornaments.
The pink being another nod to breast cancer research
(like my Sacred Hope Hearts are).

I wrapped some boxes in craft paper and tied them with linen and satin ribbon.

This sweet little heart was a thoughtful handcrafted gift from Laura.

Thank you, Laura!

Roses are always a part of the decor here ~ no matter the season.

Vintage silvery blue ornaments fill a wooden tray next to an glittery aqua candle.

The stockings were hung by the fireplace with care...

A sweet little doves sits quietly on a pink velvet bow amidst crystal covered pines.

A new vintage deer and pine tree ornament cradled next to a mercury class candlestick holder.

Decor was kept very, very simple in the kitchen.

An antique bowl was filled with more vintage ornaments.

I added more crystals to the chandelier for some extra holiday sparkle,
and a small flocked fir takes center stage.

The snow swirled and blew past the windows on this cold wintry day...

and while my husband and Maizie trekked out to feed the deer in Apple Meadow behind the barn...

I stayed warm and cozy inside.

Heaven's Walk is ready to celebrate the reason for the season.





...And on earth...peace and goodwill to all....


~  Eucharisteo  ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.