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.

Red Barn Renovation

This harsh Michigan winter brought an over-abundance of snow.
Snowbanks that were five feet tall.
Sub-zero temperatures.
Howling winds.
Ice laden, breaking, crashing branches.
Winter weather advisories.
Storm after storm after storm.
After a couple months, there was no place left to push the drifts.

This old farmhouse was swallowed up in a world of cold, icy, white ~
week after week after week.

The Mister plowed paths for the deer and turkey that we fed every evening.

We reveled in stolen moments of feeble sunshine
that cast blue shadows on mountainous mounds.

Through it all,
our big red barn stood tall and proud
against the winter sky.
The wind roaring through the cracks and holes in her wood planked walls.
Snow sifting into piles on the worn, sturdy floor.

It was time for a make-over ~
to help strengthen her old bones so she could make it through the next 100 years.

We hired an Amish construction company to restore her beauty.
We asked them to wait until spring to start this huge project,
but they wanted to begin immediately.
Winter weather was not going to stop them.

The first thing they had to do was to push all the snow away from the foundation...
in single digit temps.

From the warmth of our kitchen,
we watched in constant awe as the crew, arriving at 7:30am sharp every morning,
worked diligently in frigid conditions.
Heads bent against blowing snow,
breath heaving white,
leaving beards white and cheeks red.
We offered them our heated workroom to take their breaks and lunch.
We fixed them homemade soup to warm them up.
We wanted to tell them to go home, escape this brutal weather,
and come back when it warmed up, or when it stopped snowing.
But they kept to their schedule without a complaint,
working long, cold days until 4:30pm,
when a friend would pick them up and take them back home to their families.





Their work ethics were amazing.
Their work....absolute perfection.

 They were kind.
They were professional.
They were hard working.
They were humble.

We watched as sturdy metal siding covered old, dilapidated wood.

We watched as the old gutter system fell away
and a new white soffit took its place.

We watched as they built three new sets of barn doors
and mounted them on new track systems.

We watched them confer about each stage in the project,
which would then be tackled with grace and efficiency.

They rented a lift to reach the second story,
and we held our breath as the snowy winds picked up ferociously on the day they installed the soffit under the high arch of the hip-roof,
along with new vented windows at the peaks on the north and south sides of the barn.

The Mister, Maizie, and I would take a walk every night after they left

to see the transformation that was taking place,
and stare incredulously at the perfection of their work.

We felt like they were blessing our barn with their beautiful talent.

After five days of laboring in frigid cold, blowing winds, snow squalls, and a smidgeon of sunshine,
we watched them add the finishing final touch.

The sign that used to be in my booth
now hangs front and center.

With smiles, handshakes, many thank-yous,
and grateful hearts,
they packed up and moved on to their next job.

We miss having those humble men working around our house.
There was something....comforting....about having them here each day.
We do plan on hiring them again to tackle some additional home improvements planned for this spring, with the widow's walk and railing being the first on our agenda.

Until then,
we look out our windows and love our beautifully renovated barn
which will now stand the test of time for years to come.

Our hearts are warm.

Thank you so much,
Raymond Kauffman Construction Company.
God bless you for your diligence
and for the beautiful restoration of our beloved barn.

This summer, we will be replacing the two windows in the foundation on the north and south side.

Back of barn.

South side.

We both look forward to seeing our new barn standing in a gentle prairie of green grass and rambling flowers soon...

...but to get us all through until then, you can see the gardens of Heaven's Walk in full bloom
in the premier edition of 
Country Style Gardening!
(published by Harris Publications, Inc. and on display until May 26) 
 
My six page feature was styled by Fifi O'Neill and photographed by Mark Lohman
last June when they were both here for a photo shoot. 
(The scoop on that incredible day later...I promise.)

Needless to say,
I am beyond thrilled ~
and feeling so blessed.

~  Eucharisteo ~

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

Thank you, Harris Publications!

Frozen in Time

Snow.

White crystals fall from heavy gray skies.

Bitter howling winds whirling cold fingers

that curl around this old house.

Whistling through cracks and crevices.

Winter in Michigan.

Snow crystals turn.

Hard driving icy pellets smother limbs and branches.

Growing heavy,

bending

bowing

popping

cracking

and then crashing to the cold unyielding earth.

Stripped.
Cracked.
Broken.

I awake to the crashing.

Wincing.

Prayers instantly lift.

Whispering safety for us,

for protection of our beloved trees

and for the wildlife we feed.

Icicles cling.

Grow.

Freezing rain driving down.

I look out frosty windows.

My heart craves southern warmth and sand between my toes,

not the frigid north and icy eyelashes.

A favorite ancient Wolf River stands stoic.

Clinging to deep red apples too high to pick.

"Wren Tree" succumbs.

Breaking...like our hearts.

Splitting in two.

Our favorite shady maple that was so full and beautiful.

Birds found refuge there.

Our little wren made her home there every year.

She will have to find another.

We will miss her sweet song,
and hope that she returns to find refuge in the cherry trees instead.

Clean up is continuous

with wary eyes cast upwards at drooping, snapping branches.

Neighbors offer help. 

Our hearts full of gratitude.

The earth seems to sleep in the cold.

The generator hums.

Going to bed in warmth

but waking to cold for three days.
I feel grumpy instead of grateful.

And then...

sunshine from clear, azure skies.

Not warm, but bright.

Our eyes close against it,

seeing it behind our lids.

Amazed by the piercing color.

Wishing it would melt the ice,

but it does not.

The trees sparkle.

Twigs click their iciness.

Dark shadows dance across white under glittering treetops.

A walk to the barn brings numb fingers and a red nose.

The garden sleeps...frozen in time...

as I dream of Spring.

~  Eucharisteo  ~

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