Before I get to that, I want to thank everyone who took their time to comment on my last post. It seems the “should we or shouldn’t we” post brought out many varied opinions. It was so nice hearing from so many peeps and especially from folks who haven’t commented before. It’s pretty clear there are as many opinions on when to start decorating for Christmas as there are bloggers. Isn’t it wonderful that we can have these friendly discussions and make our own choices? There truly is no right or wrong. What works in one family might not work in another. Some folks feel Christmas decor does nothing to take away from the thanks they feel and express at Thanksgiving. Others enjoy their harvest decor right through Thanksgiving and then enjoy Christmas through to January. And then there are many variations in between. I have to say, the older I get, the more I cling to tradition. Keeping some things special for a certain Holiday or season is what makes them exactly that – SPECIAL. I don’t want rush everything in life. I want to savor the season.
So because of that, and because of a special gift I received this week, Thanksgiving decor is staying up until the last person leaves that afternoon. I am hosting this year and there will be 12 at our table this year and most have another side of the family to see as well so my dinner is early so they can go eat pie with with the in-laws. That means I am expecting to be cleaned up earlier than usual and I hope to have time to start decorating that evening.
You already caught a glimpse of the gift in the photo above. Meet Rudman the Turkey!! He is all wool – such scrumptious colors too - and he is an original creation made just for me by my friend Audrey of A.Lil’somethin’ – her selling blog and her other blog is Audrey’s Prim World.
Isn’t he handsome??
When A Primitive Place held a sale of prim goodies, I had purchased Audrey’s wool Pilgrim Pie. You can see her in my header photo, and here is a close up of her …
And it just so happens that when I had my fall gathering, I got Audrey’s swap and the wonderful redware Give Thanks plate in my header was part of my bag of goodies. So with the addition of these 3 wonderful pieces, I now have just the right size collection of Thanksgiving decor. By the way, Audrey is not only talented and creative, she is smart! She made another Rudman just in case she got more requests for him – like she did after folks saw the Pilgrim Pie I purchased. Go on over to her blog to find out how to contact her. Thanks so much Audrey! Rudman is perfect!!
Isn’t it wonderful we live in a country where we can decide for ourselves when and how to decorate our homes? We enjoy so many freedoms thanks in no small part to our Armed Forces! I didn’t post on Veteran’s Day so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Veteran’s for their brave service and giving so much of themselves and their families for the rest of us. You are the true heroes in this world! THANK YOU!
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Suzanne from Blueberry Cottage left me a comment on an older blog post and I hopped over to her blog and was delighted to have found it!! I found she lives in NE too and not too far from me. She is a big Tasha Tudor fan and owns Corgi’s and my kids were raised on Tasha’s books and Mr. Red Door had Corgi’s growing up. Those are but a few of the things we found we have in common. When you have a moment stop on over to her delightful blog and say to Suzanne. I have been reading some of her older posts, and I am enjoying the stories of her life in her old house on their “hobby” farm. And she clued me into a prim shop I wasn’t aware of so I am looking forward to a drive in the country one of these days!!
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So what are the decor changes? Well at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I find as I settle into my new role as part time care giver to Lili that I must make even more changes in how I spend my time than I originally thought. So with that in mind, when I have a few free moments, I am working hard to simplify things Behind My Red Door. I am online much less often than even I expected I would be. To anyone that has emailed me or asked a question in your comment, thank you for your patience. Sometimes I have a quick minute to read emails and comments but not always enough time to answer them right away. I know you all agree that family and home must come first. I just don’t want anyone to be disappointed when I can’t get back to you as quickly as you or I would like. Blogging wouldn’t be what it is without the give and take with each other and I want to continue to blog and visit your blogs too – I enjoy it so very much- it just won’t be as often. Okay, enough about that!
So I have been organizing and purging. I am getting rid of things I no longer need or use including some prims! I do this yearly, but this time I am doing it with a new eye because my look is changing too. Yes prim friends, you will see some changes Behind My Red Door. Because for me, when I bring in new things, something else has to go. Less is more. I am going to have a big box of things to donate to friends or thrifts shops when I am done. And I am going to have some new pieces in some of my rooms. In fact, I have some pictures to show you already. Some prim and some, well not so much!
Okay, I’ll admit these first few are still pretty prim. My new diaper carrier…
And this new little black cupboard in my office from Homestead Primitives – it’s full of baby gear. 
And my new changing table. Who said Prims and babies don’t mix?
It is also sometimes a baby seat…
And my newest desk decor now includes spinning tops…
And my office has a fancy new primary colored jumper…
In the kitchen, along with homespun towels, my colonial drying rack now sports bibs and baby face clothes.
And the kitchen counter has become a bottle drying rack. I have even added some shocking pink to my decor as you can see.
And this side of the kitchen has become baby food central…
And my colonial chandeliers are sporting new accessories…
Did you miss that? Sorry - here is a closer look.
And my harvest table is now a feeding station….
And the newest chair in the living room is in pastels and primary colors…
And when I see this smile…
And hear the giggles when she sees her own face in the mirror, 
I wouldn’t have it any other way!!
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I am grateful that Mr. Red Door looks the other way when I buy more baby gear and ‘one more Christmas trinket’ for Lili.
Thank you as always for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day! I so appreciate each one of my bloggy friends and I love reading your comments!
Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda
