Sunday, December 26, 2010

Our Quiet Christmas



Dear Folks ~ I hope you all had a lovely Christmas day whatever you did, wherever you are. Yesterday was a perfectly gorgeous so. FL winter day, temps in the mid 70's, sun shining, earlier this morning it was rainy, now it is really windy and chilly as yet another cold front moves down over us.

We really had a nice quiet Christmas day. We keep our gift giving small, as we've basically got what we need, as we buy things during the year, when we need or want them. We had a few unwrapped presents under the tree since we already knew what we were getting. Plus a huge box 27"x18"x6" weighing in at 15 lbs., came on Christmas eve and was under the tree too. (More about that in a minute.) For ourselves, we got a Dusbuster as our old one had 'bit the dust'. :-) DH got a wire brush for his grinder, and we got a bottle of delightful Raspberry di Amore liquour. (Which we had a little bit of Christmas Eve in celebration of the pkg. arriving earlier.)

Once January gets here, I'll be ordering, as part of my Christmas, two embroidery books from Amazon. We didn't want any credit hanging over into the new year, so I am looking forward to getting these in the next couple of weeks. They are: Diana Lampe's Embroidery from the Garden and Diana Lampe's Embroidery for All Seasons.

I also got two lovely Chinese bars of soap with essential oils and amber scent, they are wonderful.

DH told me also that he had a little something that was hidden. I had to ask him for hints as I wasn't finding it. It was under the tree skirt, sitting in the tree stand and I was tickled pink. It was my retro kitchen timer that had suddenly started doing a weird clank instead of it's nice 'ping' when it went off. He had taken it back to his workshop a few days before Christmas to see if he could get it working right again. I figured that was it, since he didn't come back with it, so was using this other timer which I don't like the sound of at all, but it works. Here is my sweet timer working just fine now. Hurray and thank you DH.



Now, onto the pkg that was delivered Christmas Eve. I had been contacted by a blogging friend awhile back telling me she had some embroidery threads and some beads she'd like to send me, she had to dig them out of storage. You can read her blog here Denimflyz Homestead. She is an inspiration to me with the things that she does, for herself and others.

Thank you Denimflyz and Mom.

Anyway, the other day, I got an email saying the pkg was on the way, and should be here on the 23rd. She hoped I would have it in time for Christmas. The 23rd came and went, but we kind of figured UPS would be back logged, the pkg had made it to the warehouse at least. The next day I was sitting here in my little space, when I heard what I thought was the UPS truck pull up out front, only, he did not honk his horn as they always do. I raced outside, and he took off before I got out there. I walked barefoot to the next street but didn't see him, and came back and told DH. He decided to see if he could track him down to see what the story was, and took off in the car. He finally caught up with him and the guy told him he was taking someone else's route, and the pkg was on the list, but the pkg was not in the truck. Well, what a bummer. I was a bit upset, but conditioned myself to getting it on Monday. About an hour and a half later we hear another truck and a horn honk, and it was another UPS truck and I was handed this huge box. I thanked them and wished them Merry Christmas and happily put the box under the tree.

The next few pictures show what was inside. I was flabbergasted to say the least, and my fingers are itching to be doing something. :-)



Here are the goodies after I separated them into categories.


Here are the metallic threads after taking them out of the pkging.


Here are the Perle size 5 embroidery threads separated and bagged according to colors.


Here are the beads and a pkg of different sequins.


After all the sorting, I did some rearranging in my little craft space storage drawers to work this all in and did it and am very pleased with the results in this small space. All of the beads went into the third drawer of the white storage unit, and the threads went into the top 4 drawers of the little unit.



She also sent me a beautiful 120 year old goldwork embroidered panel that was in the act of being restored by an elderly nun when it was purchased years ago. My friend thought I would like it, and I would like to tackle finishing the restoration of this piece, once I get a little more comfortable in learning how this is done. She and her Mom will help me along the way, and I am grateful for the gift of this piece and the beads and threads, and for their help. Click on pictures for larger views.









While I was working inside, DH did some puttering outside. He's in the process of consolidating iron collected over the years into one area, and we are calling it the 'junkyard'. (We have privacy fencing around the back and sides of our property.) It is in the back northwest corner of our property, more or less between two buildings. He called me out to look at a piece he had put up over the new entryway he's making into this area. We bought this 4 years ago in GA when we were passing through to NC. We've been calling him 'Shovel Bird', now he's our "Junk Yard Bird'. He cracks me up. We have had huge buzzards in our property a couple of times, I wonder if one will land on this guys perch. :-)




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I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have visited my blog and left your comments this past year. I have enjoyed visiting your blogs as well and look forward to the new year of continued and new friendships, and more inspiration for living life, cooking, crafting and gardening.


Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

20 comments:

gld said...

We had a lovely quiet Christmas too.

What a sweet and generous thing Denimflyz and her Mother did. I am sure you will put all to good and glorious use.

I love that hulking bird. I have a broken shovel and also that cultivator piece......wonder if I could put something together to hover over my garden gate.

Becky said...

All I can say is WOW!!!! What a treasure trove you received with such love behind it. It's truly a joy to visit and read your blog daily. And I adore the junk yard bird!

Southern Lady said...

What a wonderful gift you received! I know that you were so excited to get those items. Aren't fellow bloggers just the nicest people? We had a simple Christmas, too. We never spend much as to not greet the new year in debt! Life is much happier that way. God bless you and your DH in the new year. Carla

Kit said...

What a lovely Christmas surprise! You two sure know how to celebrate a holiday. I love the story about the timer. So sweet! Give your hubby a kiss for me. He's a keeper. Have a very Happy New Year! Love, Kit

Lona said...

Oh just think of all of the beautiful things you will be making with the threads.What a wonderful gift. The panel is gorgeous isn't it? Wow. Now that scoop shovel critter is so cute. LOL!Glad to hear you had a wonderful Christmas. Have a Blessed New Year!

Mrs. Mac said...

Sounds like you had a nice quiet Christmas. I don't know how I'd handle 70 degree weather in December .. we had a beautiful snowfall last night and today .. just enough to make everything look fresh and white without having to shovel. Good for hubby fixing your vintage timer. Have a blessed week.

NanaK said...

Sounds like a lovely Christmas. I absolutely love Shovel Bird aka Junk Yard Bird.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Sounds like you both have the spirit of Christmas! A splendid day with surprises is always good. We have a shovel bird in our side garden that my uncle made.

Balisha said...

Becky took the words out of my mouth...treasure trove it is...and in your talented hands more treasure.
Your husband is so clever...using things that someone else would throw away...recycling at it's best.
Quiet here this morning and we will enjoy a "slow" day. Happy New Year...can't wait to see what you will do with your special present..Balisha

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love your Junkyard Bird!

What a great and generous gift you got.

And what a sweet hubby you have to fix your timer for you like that.

Glad you had a good Christmas. Hugs, Ilene

Karen said...

I am so glad you had a nice, cozy Christmas. The embroidery notions are amazing, what a generous gift! I truly love the way you are able to organize things so neatly and have everything right at your fingertips. Oh, how I could use some organizational skills. I also love your Junk Yard Bird, he has such a personality.

Mama Mess said...

It sounds like you had a lovely Christmas. How wonderful that your blog friend sent you such a lovely gift! Nothing says you care like a gift that fits your personality so well. I love the shovel bird!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing surprise! I can't wait to see what you create with it all. I'm glad you had such a wonderful day.

sweetbay said...

What a wonderful Christmas gift. There's enough to keep you busy for months!

I love your junk yard bird. :)

Ami said...

A nice Christmas indeed! That panel looks very beautiful. Show us when you finish/restore it. Your DH is very sweet, and love that junk yard bird, very creative!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Oh, and that was nice of denimflyz (sp?) to send you those supplies. You'll make good use of them.

I love your timer! How cool that your dh was able to fix it! I have a few old ones that I have around because I like them.

jerilanders said...

My Gosh, What a glorious rainbow box of threads, it must have been akin to opening a treasure chest! How very thoughtful of your friend. I think your hubby is a real hero for fixing your retro timer, I think we had one of those at my mothers house long ago. Enjoy creating wonderful needlework with all the twist!

Carol said...

Dear FL, What a sweet Christmas you have and the perfect gift . . . your palette of choice! I smile to think of the beauty you will create. The antique piece that was sent to you is gorgeous. I am sure an inspiration to you. What thoughtful gifts. Many Many Blessings over this coming year. Thank you as well for all of your dear comments this year. I hope you enjoy the remaining days of this Holiday Season.

Susan said...

Hi Flowerlady...What a wonderful gift you received from a blogging friend. As i was reading your post, it occurred to me that my mother just gave me a bag full of cotton thread/material??? that you use to crochet. Would you have any use for it? I was going to take it to Goodwill, but would be happy to send it to you if you can use it. It's not as exciting as the gift you received, but I would rather have it go to someone who would put it to good use. If you would like it, please go to my blog and send me an email. Thanks and best wishes to you in the coming new year.

Sandra said...

Wow that is a treasure of goodies, I would be thrilled too :)

I hope you're having a wonderful week and still relaxing from the holidays.

Hugs,
Sandra