Three mangers...and a ring, once lost, is found...

(click on any photos to enlarge)

I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time to get these beautiful white nativity figures - Salvation Army being the right place, and "shortly after these nativity figurines arrived" being the right time. (At least I'm assuming these large-sized figures had just arrived because I can't think of any other reason they hadn't already been scooped up at the ridiculously low price of under $10 for the whole set!!!)

For several Christmases I just set them out on the hearth or hutch, but about four years ago I happened to spot this beautiful oversized manger at Target! It looked as though it was made specifically for my figurines, right down to the little flat roof for the praying angel to kneel on...

As a finishing touch, I found a sparkly star ornament to hang from the roof of the manger. I never get tired of looking at this nativity scene... It is definitely one of my favorites...



This beautiful white nativity set was another 'right time/right place' purchase. I found it at another second hand store on a 50% off day a couple of years after purchasing the first manger figurines. It's a four piece ceramic set and I absolutely love it. It's also one of my favorites (can you have two favorites?)...

But this manger/nativity set is my absolute favorite... This is the set that belonged to my mom... As a matter of fact, I just posted a 1980's photo of it from my mom's house. This is the nativity set she lovingly put in the 'well' above her front door each and every Christmas.

My mother became ill during 1996 and passed away on December 21st of that year. The manger was never put out that year. No Christmas decorations were.

It took my dad 11 years to get to the point where he felt he could do a little decorating around his house. My mom was always the one who did the decorating. I think it was very hard for him to face doing it alone. My sister and I had offered to help him over the years, but he wasn't ready and he always declined.

But last Christmas, eleven years after mom passed away, dad decided he wanted to put up their tree and some ornaments. He wanted to just keep it simple with the tree and ornaments, so my sister and I started going through all the old Christmas decorations stored in cardboard boxes down in the basement. After getting out the tree and ornaments for dad, we divided the rest of the decorations between us.

It was wonderful, but also bittersweet, going through all of mom's beautiful old Christmas decorations, lovingly wrapped in newspapers from the first week of January, 1996, which is when had been put away for the last time... I felt like Mom was there with us as we unwrapped her decorations, each one bringing back so many memories. It was so exciting to see the manger again, which now has a permanent home at our house.

As I was unwrapping the decorations in the very last box, I found an incredible gift... I believe it was a sign from mom that she was, indeed, there with us that day...

There, hardly visible in a corner of the very last cardboard box I was going through, was the mother's ring we'd given Mom a few years before she passed away (although the stones look black, they're actually dark blue sapphires). In early 1996, shortly before mom got sick, she told me how upset she was because she couldn't find her ring. She always wore it, but one day she noticed it was missing from her finger. She had searched high and low, but never found it. The only thing she could think of was that it had fallen off her finger without her realizing it.

Apparently that January of 1996, when my mom was putting her Christmas decorations away for the year, the ring slipped off of her finger and into one of the boxes. And there it remained for 11 years, until last Christmas, when we finally felt ready to go through all of Mom's decorations.

I wear mom's ring every day now. I'm certain she had something to do with me finding it among newspapers and glitter in the bottom of the very last cardboard box I opened...

I love you, Mom... Merry Christmas...

Donna

Christmas Dining: Some things never change...

... and some things change every year.

(click on any photos to enlarge them)

(Christmas 2008)
The centerpieces on the table never change; nor do the bay window decorations. But every year I use a different tablecloth, runner, or quilt to give the dining room a different look. This year I'm using a peachy-pink lap quilt over the girls' old repurposed canopy covers. (The quilt was purchased at TJ Maxx several years ago when I first got the cottage bug.)


(Christmas 2007)
Last year I used a vintage inspired tablecloth with cheerful green stripes and red roses.


(Christmas 2006)
In 2006 I used a lap quilt with red roses and a striped, scalloped border. (It was also bought at TJ Maxx the same day I bought the quilt I'm using this year.)


(Christmas 2005)
In 2005 I used a blue table runner (from the Martha Stewart K-Mart collection) over a white tablecloth.


What doesn't ever change are my table centerpieces. I couldn't find a nice cottage-white Christmas tree in my price range several years ago, so I bought an inexpensive grapevine tree and covered it with a satin remnant, some beaded garland, and then placed it on a silver pedestal (from Target) and topped it with a silver sputnik ornament.



These reindeer also make an appearance on the table every year. I purchased them at Target several years ago during an after Christmas sale (don't you just love that place??). I thought they were so neat (I still do!!) - especially the little prisms hanging from their antlers!



This little doll has made an appearance every Christmas since the early 90's. (Does anyone else remember how popular animated figures were back then?) I had to buy her back then because she reminded me so much of my two girls, who when they were little, also had long wavy blond hair...

(See what I mean? These are my real life dolls, now 19 and 23!)

However several years ago, I was faced with a bit of a problem... I still wanted to put the doll out each Christmas, but her little red coat and tartan plaid cap & dress just didn't blend in with our new cottage colors, so it was time for an extreme makeover!!

I found a pale pink infant sleeper at Wal Mart that was the perfect fit! A little dove in her hand, a snowflake hung from her fingertips...

... and voila! I'll be able to use her for another 15 years (or more!)

And last, but not least, this is the little white tree that sits in the dining room bay window. Over the years I've purchased these bird ornaments (mostly from Target)...I love the way they look against the white branches...

Thanks for letting me share the decorations in our little dining room with you... and guess what?

It's almost Christmas!!

Donna

Cardinals, Snowy Days, and Christmas...

... these are all things that remind me so much of my mom. She would have loved the snow that came down over the past 24 hours as she loved winter and watching snow fall...


(click any photos to enlarge - cardinal outside window today)

Mom also loved cardinals, and one showed up outside our dining room window today, sitting on a branch for the longest time...


Mom loved Christmas. She loved everything about it - decorating the house, singing Christmas carols, enjoying family, all of us riding around to look at Christmas lights, watching Christmas movies on TV, sending and receiving Christmas cards... everything about the season...


(Mom and my sister, Christmas in the 80's)

Every year her mirror was trimmed with holly, and Rudolph always had a place of honor right in the center...

Mom's manger, shown here with mom & dad's cat, Gypsy, in the background (photo from the 80's)

Mom and Dad, Christmas 1957

Mom passed away 12 years ago today and was buried on Christmas Eve day. I didn't know how I would ever get through Christmas that year, let alone ever enjoy one again. Mom was always cheerful and happy, and the last thing she would have wanted was for us to be sad... Time is also a great healer... grief subsides and tears are eventually replaced by happy memories, shared stories, and laughter.

Anyhow, I thought about you a lot today, Mom... You loved snowy days, and watching the birds and squirrels (especially your cardinals!). You would have loved today, so I captured the day in photos for you... and I smiled as I thought about you...

(our backyard Saturday afternoon)

(a junco at the bird feeder Friday afternoon)

(the bird feeder this morning, piled high with snow from overnight)

(a gentle mourning dove at the feeder Saturday afternoon)

(a junco at the feeder Saturday afternoon)

(the male cardinal, from the dining room window)

(isn't he striking in this winter wonderland?)

(I think he rather liked having his picture taken)

(a snowy Sammy eating sunflower seeds)

(The angle of the lace valance in this photo reminded me of a church window)

(Christmas day, 1980's)

Merry Christmas, Mom... We love you! You were, and always will be, the best Mom/Nana ever!

All my love, always...

Donna

Vintage Reindeer Barn

The pink sugarplum reindeer I painted last week asked if I could find them a nice cozy home for the Christmas season...


So I looked around, and what did I spy with my little eye?


A vintage birdcage on a stand - perfect for these sweet little deer...


I tried to make it cozy for them by covering the floor tray with pretty scrapbook paper and 'planting' some sparkly bottlebrush trees...

They even have a sweet little feathered dove to sing Christmas carols to them...

They said they're very happy with their new home and that they're hoping to stay here every Christmas! I'm sure that won't be a problem. They will most certainly have a standing reservation every December at the Vintage Reindeer Barn...

Now be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound to see her Pink Saturday item and to find a list of all the other bloggers participating in today's Pink Saturday!!!

Donna (in snowy New England!)

I've been naughty....

... because I've been spending waaaaaay too much time fooling around with this photo altering site when I have so many other things I should be doing!!! Just look at how it "cartoonizes" photos:

My vintage angels and reindeer...

My vintage Mary garden statue with her wreath of autumn leaves...

Sweet little Chip at the birdbath this past summer...

The fox garden statue and plants on the patio this past summer...

The bunnies by our front door...

This year's Christmas tree...

Our dining room table...

Our deck this past summer... (oh how I miss summer! We're supposed to get 12" of snow tomorrow...)

... and the vase of roses on our dining room table...

Warning!!!! This website can be addictive!!!

http://www.befunky.com/

Donna