December Daily-Ready for the holidays

I think we are pretty much ready for the holidays.  The tree is up, decorations are out and we just saw a Christmas themed play at our favorite community theatre- Stage Door Players.

I made great use of our pool table [that we inherited with the house] to spread out all of our ornaments and decide which one's would be used going forward and which ones would be retired until Andrew is ready for a tree.  I put notes in the boxes of ornaments I have sorted and wrapped along with the date the sorting occurred.  I did purchase and ornament in Charleston which I will save for another December Daily post.

We still need a tree topper so I think I will see what I can find that will be "just right".  I'm also hoping to add Roswell and Kennesaw State University ornaments to our collection.  While I really like having a live tree this one is truly the perfect size for our house and Steve was able to put it up in like 5 minutes.

We are in our 3rd season as subscribers to the Stage Door Players, and while we're no longer 10 minutes down the road on a Sunday afternoon we're still less than 30 minutes.  Sunday matinees are providing to work very well with our schedule and new location.  This year's Christmas production did not disappoint. 

Hopefully I can keep up with a daily posting through Christmas.  There are other things around town I hope to do, and of course, we've got our girls cooking baking/exchange and family gathering planned.  Tomorrow I hope to mix up the first batch of cookies.  I'm going to give gingerbread a go- stay tuned!

Sunday morning exploring

Most weekends I take Sophie on a very long walk- we "call" it exploring and we usually walk 4-4.5 miles. Our route is pretty much the walking around Roswell that I did as a kid. Last Sunday Andrew took the dogs to the dog park and I asked Steve if he wanted to join me; I knew we'd go a lot faster without Sophie smelling all the trees, bushes and lamp posts! He was a bit hesitant when I told him how far we'd be doing and we ended up walking 5 miles total. The day started foggy-this is our view from our kitchen area.  Our tree is just to the right and I love that you can see it from the walk way.

Part of our route was through the Old Roswell Cemetery which was established in the early 1800s.  I have grand, great-grand and great-great grandparents buried here.  I'm hoping to get more involved in the preservation of this cemetery next year.  Love how the fog makes it feel eerie.

One of the Victorian homes on Canton Street, it has a lovely stone wall around it separating the property from the sidewalk.  It was all decked out with large sized Victorian figurines.  I tried to capture it, but I think I probably should have been across the street. I think this was built and occupied by one of the mill supervisors, but I forgot to take a photo of the marker for the house.  This street is filled with old homes that have been converted to offices and boutiques, but a few are still private residences.

Steve wanted to explore the area around city hall.  We had seen this pumpkin on a trailer on a side street near our house-so apparently Roswell does a Great Pumpkin thing-not sure how we missed it, but we will definitely be on the look out next year.  Steve wanted me to stand by it for scale- I'm 5'1 so-yea that's a big pumpkin!

We continued over and around towards Big Creek; this runs parallel to where the original Roswell Mill was located.  It is also part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreational Area and we walked along this until we took a detour toward our house.  The trees were so pretty, but I'm sure by now the leaves are nearly gone.

I hope to post more about our exploring and hopefully this winter won't be so cold and wet that it keeps us indoors.  There are several things already on the calendar of events that should provide enough blog fodder.

Three on Thursday-Totally Random and that's just fine.

I can't believe it's been 3 months since I blogged last.  I plan to do December Daily so maybe that will get me back in the habit.

My 3 on Thursday

I'm in a hotel room in N Charleston, SC that's just North of Charleston.  I'll be facilitating training tomorrow for a few hours then heading home on Saturday.  Since I drove here I brought my own bottle of wine and snacks.  I get free breakfast during my stay and have a HUGE room.  What's not to love?!

I brought a ton of knitting 'cause you know I might get stranded while I'm here.  I also have my kindle and I downloaded a couple books so I think I'm set if it unexpectedly snows here.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving week with Andrew and Cocoa at home- there was beer drinking for Black Friday, a last minute cocktail "party" and an early 60th birthday celebration.  Our tree is up, my house is clean and most of my Christmas shopping is done.  I've also DVR'd lost of Christmas movies cause I usually end up missing them.

December will include lots of thing I love family gatherings, a play, a musical, hopefully a puppet show, visiting a historical home, baking cookies  . . . .

Here's to a season full of joy-and extending grace and mercy to our fellow humans.

Tiny Moments Tuesday-a little pampering

I spent my lunch hour today getting ready for our family lake vacation.  I also treated myself to a non-polish manicure too!  I got a kick out of seeing 2 gentlemen next to me also getting pedicures [and 1 manicure!]  Happy Tuesday- one more work day before it's vacation time!

Sometimes Monday

Finds you getting closer to being organized and ready to get back to crafting.  The to do list for the weekend was long, but luckily it was pretty flexible on deadlines.  I didn't have to leave the house or return by a specific time and could take the time needed and not feel any pressure.  Saturday morning was a bit cloudy, but a great place to enjoy my morning coffee and fold towels- cause that's where everyone folds their towels right?!  Sophie heard our neighbors chickens for the first time, and I'm teaching her to get used to the sound so she doesn't disrupt their laying.  We headed out for our exploring walk and I chose a route that would put us at the Roswell Farmers Market at the end which is closer to our house.  I got some wonderful tomatoes, a cucumber and peaches.  I am planning more trips before it shuts down for the fall.

We walked by/through the Smith Plantation-on our way home.  I used to cut through this property on my way home from school. It was still a private residence at the time like Barrington Hall [which was close to where my grandparents lived] so I have never been inside.  I'm really looking forward to touring these properties soon.

 Saturday included far too many hours shopping for rugs and towels.  I am a bit traumatized by trying to shop with other shoppers in isles that are not big enough for this activity!  I manged to survive and I had a nice glass of wine before I tackled my other chores.

Sunday was my day to get started on unpacking my office/craft room.  Sophie and I went on another long walk, and I think she regretted the route she "decided" to take.  Steve had to attach the hutch before it could be moved into place, and he also took care of the one in the guest room, so I was able to unpack some books and get that space looking more guest welcoming.

Here's are the before shots.  Everything was mostly in piles, but I've been without a dedicated desk for at least 2 years, so I'm trying to maximize the layout so I can work at my desk and sewing table.

 While I was unpacking one of the crates with fabric I came across this lovely fabric which I had purchased 3+ years ago, and I'm hoping to find the coordinating fabric so I can make a quilt.  I may do this to go on our bed as we are in desperate need of a new duvet cover and these colors would look great with the wall color.  Whatever I do it'll be something simple so that a) I'll actually finish it and b) it'll be finished sooner rather than later!

 After shots-still some organizing to do, but I need to some organizing items in order to completely empty the crates.  I am sure Ikea and the Container Store will be able to help with this phase of the project.  I significantly paired down my fabric stash after we moved to Dunwoody as I had collected fabrics that were what I liked and would perhaps use sometime down the road.  The top shelf are the Christmas fabrics I've collected that I didn't want to part with and hopefully I can complete a couple small quilts to use during the holidays.  The middle shelf are fabrics that have I intended to make project/tote bags, or is enough to make a small project.  I'll have to get my friend, Brenda, to help me with these.  She's been doing a ton of designing lately.  The bottom shelf for now is holding loose patterns.  I had to put my knitting/quilting books in the bedroom for now, but the goal is to have everything in this space.  In the drawer are kits that I had purchased and just never got to, or just forgot about!   My lofty goal is to empty this hutch so that I can have fabrics for garment and small quilt projects.  I'm hoping Mary will help with the garment making and that we'll have a chance to visit this new store in Midtown this fall.  In the closet are my project/tote bags and my quilting/sewing supplies and WIPs.  I'm going to go through this box before I start any quilting projects and decide what I want to finish and what I'm not ever gonna finish.

 What remains to organize is the yarn stash which I think is not too out of control.  The WIPs are only project recently started, so no long languishing projects.  The crate at the far left is actually empty and has my embroidery stuff inside.  I plan to use the cubby that was in my closet and put my stash in that until I figure out my storage/work space needs.  There are 2 boxes of desk/sewing stuff that I need to go through, but I'm going to need another table or drawers before I can call this totally finished.

 I also emptied the last few boxes of photo albums that are on the book case in the basement guest room.  It felt great getting so many boxes out of the house, I still have a few that are kitchen/china cabinet type items, so I need to put some thought into what will stay and what will go.  I think this we a weekend well spent!

Three on Thursday-Currently . . .

Joining in with Carole for 3 on Thursday and including an update on what's been happening at Maison Sheffield since the last post.

 1- Unpacking we are making progress at the new place and hopefully this weekend I'll have my office/sewing-knitting room set up or at least unpacked and boxes out of the way.  We will probably move things around as we figure out what works best for day to day items. We'll be waiting until next month to empty our storage unit, so we have time to prepare for that move.

2-Such optimistic words form Winnie the Pooh.  I took my Mom to the High Museum to see the Winnie the Pooh exhibit which included several illustrations from E H Shepard on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum.  It was such an excellent exhibit although it was a bit harrowing getting there.

Sunday we celebrated my BIG birthday.  Such a great time and great food thanks to the excellent planning by my wonderful family and Mary posted photos which also included a few of me!  It was truly a fantastic weekend and I'm glad it wasn't just about getting the house arranged and organized. Sophie and I even managed 2 "exploring" walks around the area.  I have to say I think we're settling nicely!

A month to the Day-Sometimes Monday . . .

Finds you amongst a gazillion boxes and unassembled furniture waiting for the movers.  Looking forward to officially beginning House 3.0 this week.  Yes, the time frame was between 8 and 10 am and it's no 9:23.  The dog is fretful and the hubby is fidgeting-I think I'll break out the knitting-guaranteed to have the movers show up to interrupt!