December, the month of family sickness. 

Christmas did come and go with me reminding everyone that all was  going to be ok and we have to keep the real reason for the season upfront in our minds: that we have had years when things were more challenging; someone was sick, we had to move things around, etc. Then old Jeff piped into the family group text reminding us that  Paw Paw Palmer (Jeff's dad) was in Bastogne on Christmas 1944. That will quickly put it all in perspective. 

We did all meet at our house on December 22nd but there was sickness. Stupidly I don't think any of us thought about the flu until we were all together. I think there was no doubt Palmer had it that night. I was sick, but I don't think I had it. When Paul Allen came down sick the next day Jeff thought to go get him a flu test. He was positive and missed Katie's side of the family Christmas staying home with Valerie who didn't feel well either. It didn't matter that he stayed home because it is running through them now. Tyler's parents came down from Atlanta and I did see them between church services on Christmas Eve. They were sickie too, so it was all around. All of the kids eventually were sick. 

Fortunately Mama has not gotten sick, but it is all in her senior living facility. She is going to visit her sister in the morning for the week so maybe she will miss it. 

I actually got up yesterday morning and called the Teledoc. I don't have the flu, but my whole side of my head is full of junk. I now have an antibiotic. The only other person other than Mama who hasn't been sick is Jeff. Thankful for that.

Here are a few scenes from the last few days.

I mostly took candid shots on December 22nd which are wonderful in my mind too.

On Christmas Eve, Tucker and Palmer set out their cookies for Santa. All of the kiddos are in full belief age. It is quite sweet to watch. I think Tucker has another year before he questions it all.

Lindsay took this picture of Palmer at church on Christmas Eve. He was on the upswing by Christmas Eve, while Miles and Valerie were on their way to the depths of the flu. The service was so sweet.

This was Miles coming back in from viewing the swing that he was genuinely excited Santa had brought, but no energy to swing.

He would get some fever reducing medicine in and feel good for an hour. He gave it a try later, but even today he was still feeling a little poorly.

One interesting note, Katie did end up taking Valerie to the doctor since her fever was so high. Turns out Miles and Valerie each had a different strain of flu. One A and one B. Go figure.

Christmas morning, Jeff and I made it out for what has become our annual stroll on the beach. Someone took our picture after watching me try to get a selfie.

I am one to pack Christmas up right away. I know I am making some of you cringe. I can't wait to put it out right after Thanksgiving, but I am also eager to put it all away and get the house back in order on the 26th. I do the tree last. 

I love Christmas but for some reason I like the order that comes after Christmas. 

I am in  full on reflection mode now and hope to be back in the new year with some ideas for 2026.

2025 was crazy for us in many ways. I really try to focus on the positive though. Life can be even nuttier if you only focus on the bad. There is plenty of good.

I have listed all of my books in Goodreads the last couple years. I really like the digital footprint of my reading. I know many read way more than me but considering how many people I care for and things I do I felt very good about the 21 books I have read. I have two I am reading currently, but I am pretty sure both will be finished after December 31st.

I read 11 fiction and 10 nonfiction. The nod to fiction is a win for me. I am the girl who read the World Book Encyclopedia for fun as a child, so making sure I read as much fiction was a goal I had. I need more of that.

My 2 favorite fiction books were Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Roebuck. I want to add more of Erika Roebuck this year. 

I honestly can't choose a favorite nonfiction book It would be a tie between at least 5 of them. I read some good ones this year. 

Honestly, I rarely read anything anymore that I don't like. If it is not hitting me right I move on. Don't want to waste the time.

I stitched 7 things; Valerie's name, small hornbook with Christmas/winter sampler, Valerie's ornament,

my little multicolored dolphin, the sandpipers, the Bible verse with flowers (round), and the 12 Days of Christmas.

I still need to share the 12 Days of Christmas finish. I will...I ended up not gifting it. The sickness, the rush, all that just led to me saying no to the gift. Maybe later. I will share it in January. It is cute.

I am a few days away from finishing the Bible Recap again this year. I really do love this. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I am not doing it again this next year as I want to slow things down. I am putting my reading plan together for '26 over the next couple of days. I want to slow the pace, but I truly love having a reading plan all set and sitting down to Scripture within the first 30 minutes of waking. It is a good habit to have a starts my day off well. 

I can truthfully say one thing has worked well this year. Keeping up with the house and having organized or decluttered so much over the last few years. I don't need to hit January 1st and go crazy decluttering. I will do many things, but not like I have in the past. I still need to let go of much in my sewing room, but I have many wins in the remainder of the house. Woohoo for me.

About a year ago, Jeff and I went through one of our closets together that contains small appliances mostly. I felt there was much we didn't need anymore. We did purge that day but we agreed to put some stuff that we were unsure about on the top shelf of that closet. I am here to tell you not one item was touched since the day we put it up there. I would say that is full evidence that the shelf can now be cleared out. It is on my winter list.

Speaking of winter... fall and now winter have been very mild here in northwest Florida. Much to my liking. Winter is swinging in for a day right as 2025 is leaving, but it seems to only be for a day. I will take that.

We are heading to Auburn to ring in the new year. I will ring it in before midnight as always. I am going to rest the remainder of this week and put together my goals for 2026. 

See you next year,

Sandy

December 13, 2025 A.D.

December 13, 2025 A.D.

I have lots to talk about. I will save all the surgery stuff for later.

First up is an early Christmas present. I wrote about all the things I consider treasures from Germany here.   One of those treasures was the cuckoo clock that didn't work and had been sitting in a box for a long time. It is pictured in that post way back in the day. 

One day I walked in the sewing room where the box was supposed to be and it was missing. I immediately asked Jeff about it. I had spoiled the surprise. He had finally found someone local to repair it and thought he had been secretive in taking it out of the house.

We discussed where to hang it much too long and finally decided on the family room replacing a clock that hung in this spot. It has to be very high because of the chains. It is quite loud so there are times that I have to stop the pendulum from swinging such as when we are hosting our weekly Bible study.

Needless to say it was a great present.

Stitching

I have finally finished stitching The 12 Days of Christmas. Here it is just folded under.

I wanted to have it fully finished by now, but I have just worked so hard, and it is what it is. I hope to sew it up tomorrow. Currently my plan is to back it with a green fabric that does have a subtle variegated print. I want to edge it with piping and put some hanging strips at the top to hang on a dowel. Those doggone beads have tried to come loose which I am glad is happening before I gift it. I think I am just going to put a dot of Alene's glue under them to secure them. I hopefully will get it done this week.

Decorating

The house is all decorated for Christmas. I have thoroughly enjoyed it ---I guess that is when you know you have the right amount of decorations out.

Not much has changed in the last couple of years. Maybe a tweak here and there, but nothing new.

There is a lady on Instagram who does a weekly post about how you don't need to buy anything new...you don't need to go to Walmart, Home Goods, etc or order from Amazon. She says you are just bored:) 

I would say she is mostly right!

But....I did buy one thing new. I needed some new placemats for my kitchen table that were green. My others were toast and I had thrown them out last spring. I went to Kohl's and found some that have a wee bit of sparkle in them.

What I couldn't decide was which color napkin to use. I ended up liking both so I am swapping them out often. Green is up right now.

Is there going to be a house tour this year? Truth? Probably not.

I added more green ornaments than red to the bowl...one tweak.

You may even notice Valerie in the background by the Auburn Christmas tree.

One corner in the kitchen.

I have been so busy this December, but coming home to all the pretties has been good. 

Home!

This corner will probably stay a little longer than Christmas.

A Winter Project

I mentioned that I planned to defeat the darkness this year with projects to keep my brain engaged rather than falling asleep so early. My first project was to check off a long procrastinated ancestry book.

I had made an ancestry book for my side of the family, but never followed through with Jeff's side of the family. I buckled down this fall and tried to work on it a few nights each week. I can finally say it is completed with pictures and all. WOOHOO!

I  used this document I made to add information and went back as far as I could safely feel like it was legit. I did use Ancestry's website, but I found the website Find a Grave and in both cases the old family Bibles to be helpful as well. Jeff's mom gave me her side of the family written out in her handwriting years ago. She had asked me if I wanted it and I said, "Absolutely," but raising a family made me lay it aside for far too long. Many of Jeff's family were in one cemetery which did make things easier.

I can't tell you how good it feels to have this task done. I made us a binder and each child one. Now, they have both sides of family information down.

One interesting note on this... I noticed when I was doing my side of the family I only had one grandparent  (of course add great great to that) that was a Civil War veteran. I noticed dates of birth and realized my relatives were just not the age that would have put them in battle. However, just like my dad was in the Korean War and Jeff's dad was in WWII that made all the difference for his ancestors to have multiple Civil War veterans. Jeff's parents are older than mine. They had Jeff a little later in life. I was able to find some interesting information on the Civil War veterans in the family that with the information Jeff's mom had written down for me all those years ago. 

One interesting photo I came across in Jeff's parents' albums was ....

The 2 men standing are brothers of Jeff's great grandparent. His great grandfather was the youngest and these 2 were the oldest. The picture was made at a Confederate Reunion in Little Rock in May of 1911. I had seen the picture in the album but decided to look at the back where the information was plainly written down. He also had one relative who died during the war. Based on the information I wondered if he might have been at the hospital in Point Clear (The Grand Hotel) as that was a hospital during the war. He is buried at Bayou La Batre which would be near there.

I was very proud of myself or getting that done. The kids haven't seen the binders yet. I am waiting to hand those over at Christmas.

Shopping

I also have most of my shopping done and gifts wrapped. I can't take credit for all of that. Jeff has been a busy shopper. 

I hate shopping.

One particular evening we were out and I really felt quite old. I just hate the stores these days as most seem so junky and poor quality stuff. I was lamenting the days of organized department stores or small stores that you could swoop in and find just what you were looking for without shuffling through so much other stuff. Part of this is online shopping of which I am very guilty of utilziing. I was complaining like someone old too. Had to catch myself!

Thankfully Jeff has more patience for shopping than me.

College Football

I just have to go back there one more time this year. I know many of you don't keep up so scroll on down past this heading.  I am usually not one for drama of any kind, but I couldn't help myself with all the Ole Miss / LSU / Coach Kiffin drama. I was lured in and followed like I was hypnotized. Totally unlike me!!! Now, I will say in my defense that our family texts were lighting up with the latest news. Jeff's dad and brother were big Ole Miss fans. Jeff and his brother Danny used to go to the Auburn/ Ole Miss game for years whether it was in Auburn or in Mississippi. Paul Allen and Jeff keep up with Ole Miss so it just continued with all that drama coming out.

I eventually came to a conclusion  ---- and this made me giggle!!!

....Remember the old show "Dallas? and the episode of "Who Shot JR?" Oh my goodness, I was at Auburn  when that aired back in the early 80's. I watched with friends with eagerness to find out who had actually shot JR. Somewhere out there is photo of my friends and I that night having our watch party. 

One day I was keeping up with who said what and that came to mind! The drama with Coach Kiffin had become as big as "Who Shot JR?" The best thing so far is Archie Manning calling Kiffin narcissistic.

I am now on to basketball!

Life Update

Jeff's surgery went very well. Better than we could have hoped for. The tumor was not cancerous, in fact he said it was more like inflammation from the previous surgery. I am still happy for the 4 month scopes. This surgery was not invasive at all, so he was not down at all. He has finally been able to ride his bike again after the knee replacement. I had almost given up on that idea, so that is a huge win.

Lindsay's surgery was on Monday. She was worse than expected and had to lose an ovary and a Fallopian tube. She thought it would be a 3 day recovery. That ended up not being the case. She is finally feeling a little better. She will try and work some this next week, but Christmas vacation starts with this coming Friday so that will be good for her to use the remainder of December recovering. Jeff and I have been helping with transporting kids to and from school. I am very grateful we can help.

We did have some family pictures taken on the Friday after Thanksgiving. They were so so... sickness and the weather made them so so for me. Here are some of the cutest though...

Well, that is a wrap on a long post. 

I do hope to settle down after Christmas and do more posting.

Grateful,

Sandy

Battery Life: 10 Percent: Time to Recharge

One of my Christmas presents that I turned into a new prayer journal. Isn't it cute?

December found me feeling incredibly blessed and a little melancholy at the same time. It has been a beautiful month. Our Decembers along the coast are usually overcast and so foggy in the evenings. This December has blessed me with mild temperatures and sunny days. All that makes it hard to understand my feeling somewhat off my game. I wasn't really blue, but just at times it seemed like I wanted to slow down and just go backwards a few months if that makes sense. I wasn't quite ready for Christmas I suppose.

The foggy night came in last night with terrible weather all across the south. We were fine but I did wake up at 3:00 to loud winds and rain. 

Let’s move on…

I enjoyed Christmas. We celebrated on the 23rd with all the usual fanfare. Same good food and same traditions. Three boys leading the charge; all old enough to demand that they be the first to open a present in our round robin tradition. Paul Allen came up with the compromise to let all 3 boys open a present at the same time in the rotation. They were pleased with the idea and went at it with great gusto as one can imagine that has been around little boys. Oh and Carol, I think I am going to go with your method  of using bags next year except for my girls who appreciate a pretty wrapped package. 

It is virtually impossible to get all 3 boys to look at the camera at the same time.

I took lots of candid photos which I think I am going to pass on showing because I have so many thoughts to write. However, one that I will share is Gus in Aunt Donna’s lap. He is a lapdog and the only lap he could find to sit on who wasn’t opening presents in a comfy chair was Donna.

Christmas Eve was church and  dinner out with Lindsay, Tyler and the boys. Something I have never done on Christmas Eve is eat out. Christmas Day was brunch with the kids. Really good times and so blessed. The 26th ---take it all down and put my house back in order. That is me!!!

Here it is the end of another year and I feel like the years are from Star Trek flight logs. I mean 2025! 

I am in reflection mode as usual this time of year. 

What went well? 

My cleaning schedule. Other than my one day when talk of moving hit me like a ton of bricks I have found in deep thought that my home is organized and I have a handle on keeping it tidy and clean. I am not going to lie —- that took some time after retirement to feel like this. I have declutterred all I am going to other than the usual keep a basket handy to discard things as I come across them in daily life. What I have in closets is organized, well labeled and should we move I will make big decisions then - but for now I am just going to live.  I have a good cleaning schedule that works for me. Those are very personal I think, but I have leaned into my strengths and weaknesses. I clean 2 rooms a day. A major room and a minor room. A major room is the family room, one we really use and live in. A minor room is one not as visited like a secondary bedroom. I try to hit the surfaces with a duster, vacuum thoroughly, and rotate some deeper cleaning things when it is the day for that room. What I have found is that by being diligent and sticking to the plan I don’t have nearly as much of that heavy cleaning to do -aka spring cleaning. I still have projects, but home ownership means you always have those things.

The Bible Recap. I would have to say this was amazing for me. I linked it for reference. It was just perfect for me this year, so much so that I am doing it again for ‘25. It is a chronological reading of the Bible in a year; then you listen to a recap. Easiest way to read the Bible in a year ever! It is not a theological podcast, but just simply a recap and sometimes  if there are differing theological viewpoints those will be noted with links to study the viewpoints. What drew me to it last December was the fact that I was sick of reading study books from people. I just wanted God’s Word. You can buy a book and read but I preferred the podcast for the recap. I got up each morning his year and after wetting my eyes and  taking my thyroid meds headed outside to the porch or sat at the kitchen table and read my assigned Scripture. Then while getting dressed for the day, I listened to the recap. Jeff usually heard it while I was doing all this so when the narrator, Tara Leigh Cobble spoke of people joining in with the New Testament he did just that. He gets up much earlier than me so by the time I hit play I never had to worry about him not being ready. He is jumping in for the whole Bible with me on the 1st. I would say it was a huge hit for me in ‘24.

The hard stuff of ‘24 does not make me unusual. We all have hard stuff at times in life. It is how I react which some days I do pretty good and some days not so much. I think that makes me human and normal.

Watching Jeff with Parkinson’s is not easy and will not be easy going forward. One thing I have learned is I am not able to research outcomes. That goes against every bit of my usual self. I love researching and being abreast of all things. In this situation, I have found it sends me down a dark hole. I am going to have to just go forward without the facts laid out for me. I will have to take it as it comes. There are good days and months and there are days not so fun to watch… worse for him I am sure. We have a good doctor, a strong faith, good friends and we will put one foot forward at a time.

Watching Mama age is hard too. She is slowly deteriorating. She has good days and bad days. Sometimes I think she will live to be a 100 and other days when she is short of breath I am not so sure. Again, there are blessings, she has her mind or at least a good one for almost 90. 

Things I am planning to improve upon in '25. A plan for strength training, I have left that off too much this year and it is too important. I am setting a time each day and a more planned time hoping that I can manage it without a gym visit. However if the gym is needed I will squeeze it in. When I went to the gym pre grandchildren I was knocking it out. Going and using the machines makes it easy, but I so hate going. However, I am making it a top priority, so that all options are on the table.

I have many things to share from just the couple of days since Christmas that I did in the house so I will be back in '25.

I am going to take a little break for a few days, and then reconnect with all of you -my blogging friends who have held me up in prayer this year. I felt those prayers. 

I believe every day is a gift so I am resting these last few days of ‘25 in Auburn and heading back with a recharged battery for ‘25. 

Happy New Year Everyone,

Sandy

Goodbye 2023

 Jeff and I are in Auburn resting and relaxing for a few days. It feels good to be quiet. It is cold! I am not a cold weather fan and even pulled out the jacket that I really only wear every couple of years up here. We will ring out the year out quietly. I will write more about that in a bit, but let’s share a picture or two from the last week. 

We celebrated Christmas with our little family on Friday, the 22nd. We had to share Lindsay this year but honestly doing it early since we are all agreeable makes it easy on both kids and their families. We don’t mind. Paul Allen and Lindsay usually work out a date together and Jeff’s sister and brother-in-law are fine with it too. 

The grandsons are at a wonderful age. They remind me of Lindsay and Paul Allen at that age in the same living room oh so many years ago. 

Here they are jumping on bubble wrap from a gift. It was quite loud, but little Miles was not timid at all. He couldn’t find space on it but he just jumped next to Tucker and Palmer. He stayed right in the mix of things with the big boys. What a difference a year made!

Mother spent the night with us on the 22nd since we would be opening presents until past the closing hour at her assisted living place. We got up the next morning and ate a big breakfast and leftovers for lunch before we took her home for the evening on Saturday. 

I drove her back and it was such a beautiful day that I slipped away to stroll on the beach while Jeff went over to a friend’s house to take a gift.

It was about 4:00 in the evening and let me just say I could have stayed forever. A lot of emotion was left out there on that stroll and God met me there for the walk.

Christmas Eve morning was church and such a beautiful service. Again, God met me there with comfort. After church we got Mama out and brought her back to our house and we made a pot of spaghetti. We all 3 sat down to watch a Christmas movie. We watched A Christmas… Present with Candace Cameron Bure. I highly recommend it. A nice family movie.

Donna and Al have modeled what to do with Christmas when you have adult kids. They have their own little traditions for Christmas Day. They take a drive down 30A and back. On Christmas morning Jeff and I took us a walk in the beach. A storm had blown in from the Gulf overnight and the water was still kicking and made for fun watching. I am pretty sure the waves were 7-8 feet at the second sandbar. We again picked up Mom and brought her to our house. She slept for most of the day on the couch. I think all of it had worn her out but one shouldn’t be alone at Christmas.

Still not too tired of the beach, Jeff and I once again made beach trip on the morning of the 26th. We drove west to Opal Beach and it was a bit chilly that day. The shells were heavy and made for fun scouring while we walked. 

I began taking Christmas down on that afternoon and finished the next day while Jeff and Paul Allen fished. I love the decorations but I am always ready for a clean slate.

I think it was Christmas Day evening I read or skimmed all of this past year’s blog posts. What a year! It has been a hard year… sinus surgery, 2 cataract surgeries to start with. I can breathe and see better:) Mom’s fall, spending a month in rehab and then with me, then moving and selling her home and having to get rid of a lifetime of things… then Jeff’s Parkinson’s diagnosis and retirement. That is A Lot to take in and really the year before had been hard too with Jeff’s brother passing. 

If you want to know the real honest truth I am not thinking 2024 is going to be a piece of cake either, not just with my family but with our country. You can’t have an invasion at the southern border and things not get wild very soon. Listen my own little town is seeing big problems already. 

I think I am going to need a lot of courage for the next year. I do know however that my Lord will walk with me through every hardship and provide me with the courage I need. 

I am going to rest these few days before going home. We took Mama to her sister’s to visit. I don’t think she will be able to make that trek again. I could be wrong but she really wanted to go so we took her. My Aunt Faye will try to get her to eat and cousins will drop into visit so she should be fine. 

I finished my last book for this year today. Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich. It was my 23rd book this year. A prime number and a nod to something in the book. A good one to round out 2023.

I am going to give January a couple of weeks to get used to a new routine with Jeff home before I blog again. 

Thanks for following along….

Sandy

Christmas Tour 2023 Part 2

We move in past those glass doors in the distance to the rooms that most of our time is spent in other than sleeping. There is  a new chair in the mix in this room, so shall we get started?

The burgundy recliner gave up the ghost and that sent us on a search and thoughts of a new chair to replace it.

The day I took the pictures it was so cloudy, so I am sorry about the quality of my photos. I am not a photographer. Maybe after Christmas I can talk Jeff into taking my blog photos!

The chair on the right is the new one. It is smaller and spins. The one on the left used to be on the right and was considered my chair. It is very large and I couldn't touch the floor when sitting in it not even with a pillow behind it. I brought the idea  to Jeff that he might like it and we could get a smaller one for me. He once had a chair like this and an ottoman. We had a leather set forever here and he liked it. 

Now, I would honestly love a good old fashioned wing back chair but I decided to stay with the look we have achieved in here. The chair doesn't look that much smaller but it is not nearly as deep and I can sit and keep my feet on the floor. Ha Ha. I brought home the fabric we chose and laid it against every item in that room since the goal was to tie things together. I love the pattern and the chair. Not sure about Gus since we don't fit as well together as we did in the big chair.

Now, the funny thing is when we got it in the room, we tried them out and decided that the new patterned chair looked better in the opposite position that pictured here. SO...we thought one evening we would try sitting in new positions and see if we liked it and then we could swap our belongings. Well Folks, that lasted maybe 15 minutes and we looked at each other and decided looks weren't everything. We are both quite attached to our spots in the room.

I have a pillow cover ordered for a lumbar pillow that I already had to go in my new chair. I just like a lumbar pillow.

Now, back to Christmas tour. The tree is lovely. 

One of the best things about this room is the placement of the tree. 

Full of old and new ornaments... 

The gold one and the icicle are from Mom's ornaments.

Along with the blue one below...

And I just stitched myself one of those little reindeer with the cardinals on his back...

Pulling out all the old favorite decorations is always fun. My little drummer boy that I repaired 2 years ago.

Whether it is all the reindeer that my mother-in-law picked up at all the craft shows of the 80's and 90's, or the little tins, or the candle holders, or the wooden tree that Paul Allen decorated with glitter in preschool so many years ago --all hold such special memories.

I shortened the garland above the palm tree print this year. It looks so much better. Don't know why I didn't see that the last 2 years.

Oh and tucked away in the reindeer cart is my little Christmas carol stitches. 

The stack of Christmas books on the table is another fun thing to pull out. Miles is taken with the baby Jesus. He points to it all the time. I don't think it is because it is Jesus but just a baby. He will learn though.

Turning towards the kitchen which is in heavy use all the time especially keeping grands. Almost couldn't find time to capture a photo. AND lo and behold it has had a change.

A good change. Mother asked if she could take the tree to her place. I had thought about taking it to her but didn't think she would say yes. When the decorations started going up over there and by the way it is so pretty over there she thought of it. I took it up and set it on a table right as you walk in to her room. It can be seen immediately if someone opens her door. She has kept it on so that is awesome. 

I kept the scene here the same and just replaced the tree with a little oval Christmas plate that I had and all is well.

I am just loving all my stitches lined up. The cardinals are bringing me joy, so they will probably stay up through January.

That is the end of the tour, but the reading glasses made me think to update you on my eyes. I finished my drops on Tuesday. A month long regimen of drops is over and done. Reading glasses are not on the top of my head nor hanging from my shirt. 

Hallelujah!

I don't have to have them to read my phone, my computer, or even a book. I do occasionally need them so I am laying a pair in strategic places and keeping a pair in my purse for the occasional need. I still have to have to stitch or sew but I didn't think that I would ever not have them on my body somewhere. I have my eyes officially tested next week. I am thinking I am all good. 

My completed drops chart. 31 days of drops!

I think it took doing both eyes to see the best results. Now they are still 63 year old eyes and I miss the eyes of my youth, but I miss a lot of things (smooth and toned skin for one). Aging gracefully is important too. There are many beautiful older women. 

Last note on Christmas decorations. I see so many pictures out there of garland that I love, but I know that if I added one more thing to my house I would be overwhelmed. The art of loving your decorations is to know when to stop and to put out what you love.  I love nothing more than looking at a Christmas magazine, but I also love to be realistic and enjoy what I do. Even when I lived in a smaller home, I lived by that rule. I can feel overwhelmed by too much quickly and be ready to take it all down rather than just do a smaller amount and love it. 

January will be here before we know it and possibly the only thing about I like about winter is a clean slate with decluttering and deep cleaning.

I hope to have a Christmas stitch ready to share next week.

Christmas Tour 2023 Part 1

 I didn't do a tour last year and I missed it for myself. I love looking back as I am a reflective evaluator by nature, so this year I am doing a picture heavy post. I will do a life update at the end, so scroll on through if you feel as though you have seen it already. I did make some changes in the dining room.

The Christmas cactus has started blooming. This was a week ago when it first started poking those little blooms out. It fell over 2 years ago and this year it is filling in all those holes.  The plant is about 9 years old and was a tiny thing from Walmart I believe.

Then looking into the house. I took these one morning so it is kind of dark in the rooms that I am sharing today.

Nothing has changed here and it is still one of my favorite spots in the house. Oh and the camellias (the flower on the table is a camellia) are late blooming around here this year. They are all loaded with blooms and I simply can't wait for the explosion of color on my street. I did see one little red one Tuesday on my walks.

Moving into the hallway not much changed. I am still loving the little banister sashes I made and am choosing them over the traditional garland drapes. I think that was one downsize that is here to stay. 

You may have noticed the herons got a new color ribbon this year. It is the most delightful Christmas green and I am loving it. You will see more in a minute.

Next up is the Auburn tree and the start of presents being wrapped and stored on the pool table. Gus is past the point of shredding them, but I love sorting them all out on the table and seeing what I still need to buy.

The other set of banister sashes and a wee bit of ....

of decor to draw your eye to the stairwell. It is hard to see, but just a little red truck.

Now, turning to the dining room, there is a new table runner. Mother fretted over all her decorations and I have to say the girls got most of it but the table runner was left and I decided to use it this year. 

This led to the ribbon color change which I actually am loving so much.

The sconces got the green ribbon this year as well as a few other things like the corner of the rocker which I have not pictured.

Lights off.

Lights on.

I added a bit more green and some real pinecones in the bowl of ornaments on the table to pull in all the green.

The last stop on the tour for today is the guest bathroom where I added that green to the top of the tree and a little tartan which I so love on the lantern with a favorite little pot of ornaments.

This end of the week post is sort of working for me, so maybe next week I can share the remainder of the tour. There is a change in the living room. It doesn't take me long at all to put up Christmas since all of it is things I have had for years. My issue is finding time to communicate with others. I have never been worse than this year on reading all my favorite blogs and commenting. It is a season of life and not the easiest one if I am being truthful. 

Mother received her procedure to deaden the nerves in her lumbar region on Monday. It has a long name, but we will just skip that. The doctor said in could take up to 7 days to start working and the amount of help it provides is a wide spectrum for each individual. It seems to have helped and I am grateful for that. It will last from 4-6 months. I am just hopeful it can give her some good days. She has 3 appointments next week, so more running. 2 are orthopedic and one ENT. Run, run, run!

Jeff has had a variety of issues which are quite troubling. This Parkinson's diagnosis has been a gut punch to our family and honestly more so for him. I went to my doctor in Pensacola yesterday and spent most of my time talking about Jeff. He reminded me this is a marathon. Marathons are hard. I was a runner at one time. 

I am stitching and reading when I have time. I did go back and make me one of those ornaments with the reindeer and cardinals. It is hanging on our tree making me happy. I hope to share some stitching with folks before Christmas. 

I take each day as it comes thankful that I live near my kids and that I get to see grandsons often. Lindsay is good about always getting us to take our picture. Last Sunday, we were all there for the same service time. Typically one kid goes early and one late which matches them to a Tee, but they were both at the same one with us. Hence, family picture.

Fall is everywhere in the Panhandle of Florida. This is truly such a pretty time here. The next picture was taken Tuesday late afternoon.  Yesterday it was bright and sunny and lots of color across the bayou. It is cool this week, but it looks like fall anyway.

That is it for this post. 

Remember to hug your people.