After Christmas

Well, well, well, friends, I have tried since the day after Christmas to post something and simply cannot put it together! 

I did want to post a picture, first one ever, of a fire in the fireplace. Yep, early Christmas morning before the family got here, we got a fire going...

making the cabin toasty warm for our visitors. We haven't used the fireplace much lately, but I do enjoy a fire.

Christmas Day was wonderful! My only complaint is that, all too soon the day was over and we were sharing hugs and saying our goodbyes. As usual, no great pictures to show you. I'm a poor excuse of a photographer.

except when it comes to Dumperoo. :)

and here's a little explaining ?? and apologizing...

Friends, you know how ignorant I am when it comes to computers; knowing just enough to keep my blog going.

My Daughter Lynn, who helped me start a blog in the first place, said Mom, do you remember to check "comments awaiting moderation" on your blog? Well, no. So I checked and wow! there were several!

I apologize to those who left comments that were never published, months ago...especially to the nice person who read several of my older posts about "growing up in Robbins", and posts from the 1950's, and who had a Saucy Walker doll just like mine. I enjoyed your comments and hope  that you will visit again. I'm very sorry. I don't understand why comments go there in the first place??? 


Oops! Here's one picture from Christmas day...

Lynn and Poppy, and sweet Madison sitting with her back to the camera. If Lynn shares some of her pictures with me, I will post more.

Okay, I'm going with this for now. Hopefully, I will be back with a better post, and to show you my new beautiful baby doll.

Thank you, if you're still here. 

Love,
Henny 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Eli says, "are you sure Santa Claus will stop here" ?

I've made three chocolate pecan pies, a big crock pot full of chocolate peanut clusters, and a batch of brown sugar chew bread, for a start!

a pie and some other goodies were for our sweet friend Nellie. She stopped by yesterday and brought us the crystal tree I've put here on the mantle...

and now I'm waiting for the kitchen floor to dry. Just mopped the tiny little thing with Mop & Glo, hoping to put a little shine back on the old floor before the family gets here tomorrow.

Just wanted to say to you, dear friends that I've met through my blog, I appreciate your friendship so much! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,
Henny

Another little visit

Am I getting slack? Sure hope not! I love blogging and love all you blogging friends, very much!

our very cluttered little living room with way too many patterns and textures and stuff :(

Between raking leaves and trying to Christmas shop, there has hardly been time for anything else. 

I am not a good shopper of gifts, matter of fact is, I'm awful. Why if all those hours spent humming and hawing and looking in the stores had been spent raking leaves, the yard would be leafless!

This was Lynn, last Saturday in a Durham parking lot. She was waiting for me to arrive. We planned to Christmas shop, all day! I came home with one gift, but that's okay. The best part was spending the day with Lynn, and visiting with Jason. 

But, today is another shopping day, and I have simply got to come home with some gifts! 

Before leaving...friends, I have mastered the leaf blower!!  Don't have a picture, but will get one and show you later. I, and all those leaves, must have looked like a whirlwind!! 

Hope to be back real soon.

Love,
Henny

PS. Don't know why but every time I add a caption to a picture, the next paragraph gets caught up in the picture??? :) 

A quick visit

Friends, it has been a week since my last post!! Why, we've had all sorts of weather since then!

Who was it that said, "how can you go backward when you're moving as fast as you can?"  

Well, here's one way...last Tuesday I raked leaves for five hours straight, hauling them off by the sheet load...working so hard that I could hardly drag myself back to the house.

So,  Wednesday, a cold front blew in and I do mean "blew in", with winds up to 25 mph! 

"Mama, you're not going to be happy when you see all these leaves!!"

It was disheartening, I tell you. But that's okay. I'm thankful to be able to still get out and work hard, and plan to rake leaves again today

The little bit of snow we got last week sure was pretty to watch. It didn't amount to much, but was pretty.

Better get busy! I will be around to visit and catch up! 

and, "thank you" to a new follower, Linda Eller. 

Love,
Henny

News

First, a few things I need to say...

"Thank you", new followers. I appreciate you so much.

and thank you all for the comments on my last post. By the way, my perm turned out just fine...thank you very much, Poppy!

Several of you suggested a leaf blower for all these leaves. Well, I'm ashamed to admit it but we have three. Poppy has a big old red gas powered leaf blower and I have two electric leaf blowers...or leaf vacs.

and since you've never seen inside our little junky red shed...

Several years ago, Poppy used the gas blower a lot! The last time he used it, after walking just a few feet he had such a bank of leaves stretched across the yard that we had to stop and haul them into the woods by the sheet load.

Once I took it upon myself to rake the leaves, he hung the big red blower on a nail and has not used it since.

The third and newest leaf blower.

Poppy has promised, that he will crank up that old blower and help with the leaves...he just didn't say what year!


Lets switch to a much sweeter subject...

This adorable Christmas card came to Poppy and me from Deb at justcats-deb.blogspot.com  with the sweetest gift...

three little kittens for our tree, and...

Chocolates! The beautiful card looks like Deb's yard in winter. Even the two little chipmunks look like her little Simon who lives under their old pump, with his little girlfriend. Deb keeps the birds and squirrels fed through the winter, along with the deer and bunnies, and any other hungry little animal that comes visiting. It is worth visiting Deb's blog just to meet her two cats...funny Audrey, and sweet Annie. Deb, thank you so much for the gift and for your friendship.

Hope to be back soon. We could see snow by the weekend!!! Imagine that!!!

Love,
Henny

P.S.  a note for Diane in Northern Wisconsin... I gave you the wrong email address for Shelby, well, wrong because I left out the 7...her email address is mckenziejam7@aol.com  Also, you can find their farm, Shelly Mac Farm on Facebook. Seems like she said there was something special you had to do to find them on Facebook?? Oops, I'll ask.

Shelby has figured out how to ship the jams and jellies in a way that costs less. She buys a flat-rate box from the post office that will hold six jars and ships for $13.00. There was a lady who wanted to order two jars of jam that cost $5.00 each, but the shipping cost was $5.90 for each jar. Anyhow, thought I would just mention this.

Gosh! What a post! Are you still here?? 😌




  

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Then and now...

The back yard in June! That's the button bush on the left.

The back yard today!

in June

Today! Can you find Weetie?

The button bush, loaded with oak leaves. That should take a good part of a day.

I can handle leaves here even though the stepping stones have disappeared.

and here behind the chicken lot.

Thought a little leaf post would be fun, yeah right!  and get it off my chest! What a difference a few months can make. 

Whew! I'm feeling better now. I may be crying later though...I'm going at 3:30 for a perm....and guess what Poppy's comment to me was, at lunch today! "I don't know why you want to go get a perm. You will come home with your hair looking worse than it does now". 

Love,
Henny

Village on the mantle

Poppy left this morning at 5:30 going to work at the deer processing plant. No way could I cut up a deer first thing in the morning...well no way could I cut up a deer, period!

Anyhow, I hardly had the front door closed and locked before the phone started ringing. It was Poppy. Mel, he said...you should get in the car and drive up to the highway to see the moon. The super moon! It is unbelievable! Should have, but didn't. Just something about going out before daylight, in the quiet cold morning, in my pajamas and driving up this dark path, alone.

and besides all that, I can't get a decent picture of the star over the mantle...and sure can't get a good one of the moon. Don't know if it's me or my little el cheapo camera?

The mood finally hit me to bring in boxes from the shop. Here's the little Christmas village on the mantle.

It was about finished when Poppy said, you know what would look good? A star in the center above the mantle. So, it was off to town! 

Stopping at the dollar stores and drug stores along the way, looking for a simple lighted star. Most of the stars were gaudy. Of course, it seems that "gaudy" is in style around here.

The little village is far from perfect, and my pictures are too dark. Things show up in the pictures; wires and light bulbs and figures out of proportion, but I like it! Wouldn't it be fun to live in a little Christmas village.

Our Christmas tree needs more work...and so does the yard! Every year there are more and more leaves. It is overwhelming, and here, the oak leaves fall through February. Yesterday, I raked leaves for three hours and hardly made a dent. Poppy suggested not raking at all. Decisions, decisions. Hope to be back soon with pictures of the knee deep, well, ankle deep, leaves. 

Love,
Henny