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.