Hey It's Fall

In the Hall

Y'all

Well its almost Friday.

Bob and I are headed shortly to the island for 

antique business and then dinner.

As I sit here waiting for him to get home from the store,

thought I would do a quick post of more

Autumn decor.

Hope you enjoy.

Are you busy decorating your own homes for Autumn.

At least the temps feel like Fall now around here.

It's Fall Blessings To All!

Janice

A Log Cabin Christmas

Yeah I know Janice...

"Why are you rushing the season?"

In my defense I have to be ahead of the game,

because our customers will start bugging Bob

right after Halloween when will my Christmas goodies

be in the store.

At least I have a story to go with this post.

My inspiration came from two things.

My mom and my log cabins in our home.

Grandpa B worked in the assembly line for a factory,

while gramma B was a seamstress.

Back in the mid 1940's

gramma and grandpa moved their family

from the city to the country.
They saved enough up to purchase an 80 acre farm.
When they first arrived to their farm,
there was a well worn run down cabin
that greeted them.
My mom being the eldest in the family
and her sister one year younger hated the cabin.

My mom told me that they lived in that run down cabin
for almost two years whilst the farmhouse was being built.

Gramma and grandpa decided to start a dairy farm.
So the first Spring was spent getting the cabin ready
to be lived in and to put up the barn and chicken coop.
Mom said that they lived with mice and snakes for a bit.
Y I K E S

Mom and aunt slept in the loft,
while gramma and grandpa and uncle who was a small child
slept on the first floor as the cabin only had one room.

Now you can imagine cabin living.
Dark at night with only kerosene lamps lit.
Cold in the Winter.
Grammas feather ticks were welcome that Winter.
{my sister and I even snuggled up in the farmhouse with one}

That first Christmas on the farm was far different 
than what they ever had in the city.
You see grandpa still commuted to his factory job.
He lived with my gramma's sister in the city,
and came to the farm on weekends.
He did this for a very long time.
Gramma was in charge of both the animals and the household...
until my mom and sister took over some
of the work when they got a bit older.

That first farm Christmas was a hard one.

Presents were hand made clothes

 made by gramma, and fruit was in their stockings.

Although with 80 acres of land, 

they were able to chop down their own Christmas tree.

No lights though.

Just paper garlands that they made and candycanes.

The ornaments however were hand me downs

from Poland that were passed down from grammas family.

Now for those who are not familiar 

with Polish Christmas ornaments, 

they are quite prized now.

Both Germany and Poland ornaments

 are the most collectible.

My mom still has some.

Sometimes I took for granted what my parents

 provided me, my sister and brother,

but now that I am older, I understand they gave us

everything we needed....most of what was 

L O V E

     That first Christmas in the cabin

was all about love too.

I am sure gramma lovingly made those clothes

 for her children.

While grandpa sacrificed to provide food at their table.

So as we start to begin thinking about Christmas ourselves,

take the time to remember your own Christmas past,

and how your family provided for you.

For those interested in my Log Cabin Christmas pillow,

it is for sale.

Just email me if you would like one.

This is currently in my hoop now.

I was thinking about snow this past weekend with the

extreme temps we were having here in Michigan.

My way of cooling down. LOL

Log Cabin Christmas Blessings To All!

Janice

September CupboardScape

G E E Z

G O S H

GOODNESS GRACIOUS

{as gramma H would say}

Here I've been talking about the end of Summer,

posting Autumn pics,

and it dawned on me that I once again almost

forgot about my CupboardScape.

Although here in Michigan it is nearly 90 degrees,

Let's herald in Fall with this

harvest CupboardScape.

I have always had a love hate relationship with thistles.

I so love the shape of the leaves and that purple flower.

W O W

But then you realize when you try to touch them.

O U C H

I always tried every year to pick these beauties

by hand of course...

and every year it seemed I never learned my lesson.

Each year growing up I managed to prick myself.

It's true with age comes wisdom.

Now I look at the wild ones from a distance

and place the faux ones in my decor.

It sure is safer that way...

plus my hands like me for it too. LOL

Chinese Lanterns are another Autumn favorite of mine.
Mom mom use to say if you made a wish and then
popped the pod your wish would come true.
Now I think it was her way of getting me 
to re-seed her plants. :-)   but it worked.

The colors in our house go very well with the season's colors.

I bring out old faithful each Fall.
A child's quilt perfect for the season.

A simple Autumn display.

My favorite time of the year.

I personally believe that the colors of Autumn speak.

They say ~
"C'mon on in. All Are Welcome!"

With the temperature at an all time high,
I took the grands home early,
now I am holed up inside creating for Christmas.
{Staying cool}
Yesterday we had fun at the beach, 
went for ice cream, 
We had chili dogs and fries for dinner
 {their favorite}
This morning breakfast 
was french toast and breakfast sausage.
Bob and I normally do not eat breakfast,
 so it's a treat when we have breakfast too!

Hope everyone is enjoying their first Autumn weekend!
  An Autumn Welcome Blessings To All!
Janice

Holly Goodies

TGIF

The last weekend of September is upon us.

Although the weather will be more like Summer,

thoughts of making pumpkin bars are on my mind.

Tomorrow the grands will be here....
so we might just spend the day at the beach.

Thank you to all who visited my skeleton post
 and left comments.
I read each and every one to Bob and he was so
appreciative as we spent many months deciding what
and how to decorate our window.
He was grinning ear to ear.

Tonight I wanted to show you the goodies
I brought home from our prim show a few weeks back.

Those who have followed me for a long time
know I love baskets.
I simply could not leave this one
 for someone else to scoop up.

Nice old wood handle and a big gathering basket.
{perfect to leave on the floor}

This red check linsey woolsey blanket will look good
on the guest bed for the holidays. 

Early stockings from Bobbie over at the 
Evening Stitcher blog.
I love these Bobbie!

I purchased this pillow from our host of the show.
Thanks Dawn!

Blue rag ball.

Arnette red/ cream stockings.

Our home is filled with prim furniture...

so when we something we want to keep,

another piece has to be moved out.

Our van was full when we got to the show.

We even purchased an early white cabinet

at a local antique shop

 after setting up for the show on Friday.

When the New York dealer came in on Saturday morning

before the show...

we saw this red cabinet and fell in love.

Problem was we were not sure it would fit into our van.

Bob said let's wait and see if we sell any furniture,

and if its there...then it was meant to be.

Well needless to say, we did NOT sell any furniture.

Not often does Bob want a piece of furniture,

but this one he wanted.

Fortunately, Bob knows how to pack....
and pack he did.
We sold lots of smalls, so that freed up some bins.
Bob packed so good that our van was packed
more after the show than before.
We had stuff between us packed so much,
we could not see each other.
Then Bob placed lots of stuff on me, and buckled me in.
We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies inside. LOL
But this red cabinet came home...
and the blue one above is now for sale in the store.

This one goes better with our reds in the living room.
Love the boot jack legs and the color is so very rich!
I will never doubt again that Bob can pack a van.
He is the 
M A S T E R   P A C K E R

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

Holly Goodie Blessings To All!
Janice

The Skeletons Are Alive

In our Store.

Bob and I worked for the past two nights,

getting our store window ready for...

You guessed it.

H A L L O W E E N

So Enter If You Dare

These two jolly guys will greet you as you enter.

Beware of the spider in the web though.

We found these characters having a swinging time. :-)

Skeletons in the trees.

Scary

Sitting around reading his favorite book.

We did a library theme with skeletons of all kind.

Guard dog.

Vulture

Mice

Spiders....

and skeletons galore.

I love how Bob hung these heads from the chandelier.

This spooky bat as well.

The black curtains even have skeletons.

I found this huge skeleton book at a garage sale.

 {this is half of it}

Fits perfect.

While Bob found these at another sale.

I think we outdid ourselves.

We used more purple lights this year.

Almost forgot about this bat.

Skeletons in a jar and another bigger one in the back.

B E W A R E

Even the lights have spiders on them.

Happy Pre Halloween everyone.

Skeletons Are Alive Blessings To All!

Janice