My very first post…

..of the new year!! Happy 2010 blogging buddies and peeps and lurkers and regulars and newbies and anyone else who is kind enough to stop by my blog today. I love a new year – so full of promise and hope and possibilities! Now that the busy hectic fall and Christmas seasons are behind us, and it is winter here in New England, I will probably be home bound more often – by choice sometimes - so I am hoping to blog a little more often – no guarantees but I am going to try. With all the snow and windy wintry weather we have so far, I have been thinking how I am really truly so blessed to actually enjoy my home and being home as much as I do. Not that I don’t enjoy being out and about with family and friends, because I love it. But during these cold months and snowy times, I enjoy being in my home. I can always find something to do at home. If I can peel myself away from my computer surfing blog land, or the APP forum, or Webshots, or Picture Trails or emails from my sweet friends, then there are so many other things I can choose from! I love to read and I always have a book nearby. I just finished reading Fannie Flag’s Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven and I LOVED it! (I don’t like violence and mysteries, but I am always on the lookout for another good read so feel free to leave suggestions with your comment.) And there is my stash of great decorating books to inspire me as well as my old Early American Life, Country Sampler and Mercantile Gatherings magazines to read again while sipping my favorite Spiced Chai Tea by Celestial Seasonings. And how about the folders full of old articles from Country Home, Colonial Home and Country Living magazine to look through again. And if I want to create, I have cards to make, pillows to appliqué, cross stitch patterns waiting for me (if my eyes cooperate!) and punch needle patterns and floss. And if that’s not enough, there are new soup recipes to set to simmering in the Nesco, and closets to reorganize and rooms to tweak. And there are walls to repaint and stencil too!! And of course I get to spend lots of quality one on one time with my sweet Lili several days a week too. I have so many delightful options so maybe that is why winter doesn’t bother too much – at least not yet. Yes, come late February or early March I will be ready for the snow to melt so the messy streets can get cleaned but I try to make the best of winter. It has come us to visit us here in New England every year since I was born almost 55 years years ago and something tells me it is not going to stop even long after I am gone, so I try to find things I enjoy in the comfort of my home. So what if I do spend a little too much time tweaking and decorating – a little more than some folks out there. At least I ENJOY my home. Aren’t I lucky?? I think so!

Because I do spend more time inside at this time of the year, I decided to clean house. Actual cleaning and dusting were involved but more so was some de-cluttering and simplifying. Each January is my ‘I need less clutter’ time of year. And I am still trying to use and appreciate the nicer things that I have collected for a long time and those that are newer to me as well. So even though I just got done showing you my winter decor, for the moment at least, almost all of that is stored in my bucket cupboard. I didn’t want it “obscuring the view” as I went through each room and each shelf, cabinet, peg rack, wall box and table top. I went room by room, on this level at least, deciding what I could live without. Where there were once 5 or 7 things, there are now 3 and so on. And right now there is a pile of those items waiting for me in our family room downstairs. That’s a job for another week – deciding what to keep and what to give away and I still have the family room, laundry room and bath, downstairs to de-clutter - but I am enjoying the look in the rest of the rooms. It may not be as noticeable to others, but it sure feels better to me!

And all work that means making some new pictures too. I haven’t gotten each room’s pictures done yet so here are what I have so far…

Dining room…

Hallway…

Living room…

Kitchen…

Master bathroom…

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Speaking of making new pictures, if you haven’t done so yet, it is a great idea to take a lot of pictures of your home and upload them to an online site like Picture Trail , Webshots or Flickr. You can make them private if you want. But then God Forbid should anything happen to you home, you will be able to access them from a computer anywhere. Just recently we got word of a prim friend who lost her home and everything in it to a fire. She is the third prim gal I know of who has faced such a devastating fire. And another blogger’s dad just had a devastating fire in his home with quite a bit of damage. Unfortunately it happens folks. So take those pictures if you haven’t yet! Don’t worry about the lighting or if the cords show, open the closets and get the inside of those two, don’t forget the garage and basement either. Just make a record of your home and contents now.

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I love cute stories about children and a friend sent this to me recently via email – some of you may have seen it already. I just love it. Sometimes we encounter adults who have a sour disposition and are in need of an attitude adjustment but we find it is not our place to say anything ~ as much as we might like too! Well out of the mouth of babes…

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, 'God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!' Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, 'That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!'
Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, 'Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?' As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, 'I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.' Really?' my son asked. “Cross my heart,' the man replied. Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), 'Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.' Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life . (okay this is where I get choked up!!)
He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, 'Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already”.

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And what would a post be without a mention of one of my favorite site A Primitive Place. So much to talk about! First of all, my January Musings is now published and you can click HERE to read it.

And I am excited that today Esther and Franklin Schmidt were at the gorgeous home of my friend Linda Babb photographing it for the Christmas issue of Country Sampler. Esther saw Linda’s home in the Holiday Homes Tour feature on APP last month and like the rest of us, she loved what she saw!! Today was the first of a 2 day shoot they had planned and Linda called me tonight just as I was working on this and it sounds wonderful!! It is not often they take two days and take as many pictures as they are of Linda’s. Linda said Franklin now uses a digital camera like the rest of the photography teams do. It was quite different when they were here back in July of 08 click here to see how he did it back then. You can also click HERE to see Linda’s home all decorated for Christmas on APP and you’ll see why they wanted so many pictures!

And I am just as excited to share with you that our very talented friend Kris, from Simply Prim, will be APP's Prim Project Coordinator! She will be providing a monthly crafting tutorial on APP complete with photos and step by step instructions. Her monthly tutorial will be called "Simply Prim Projects". As many of you already know, she has a lot of experience in this area. She makes her own wood furniture pieces and has the most creative mind. She can transform just about any prim item into something totally new. Kris has some family things keeping her quite busy this month, so be watching for her first "Simply Prim Project" in February.

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I hope to have that post I promised about my favorite things the next time I come back. Sometimes, time just gets away from me!!

Thank you as always for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day!

Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda