Happy New Year!!

Can you say busy?  That’s been my life throughout December.  Two trips to Georgia, decorating for Christmas, shopping, baking, cooking and wrapping gifts. Whew.

Al had a few weeks off from work and we took every advantage we could with him being “free”.  He rarely takes any time off throughout the year so, I love it when he is free to do whatever!

I deactivated my Facebook page a few weeks back. I know, you probably didn’t even notice.  LOL  Honestly, to me, it just seems like there are times when all I ever read or see on Facebook is negative, judgmental, hateful stuff.  Way more than positive.  Like who has got time for that? Who needs that in their life? It’s painful to me.  But, you know, it was the best thing I could have ever done. Matter of fact, I will probably do this every year around Christmas going forward.  It allowed me to be present in each and every moment with Al here on the farm.  There were times I couldn’t even find my phone!  Such freedom!  We spent time working on some resolutions (goals) for ourselves and for us as a couple, worked on a puzzle (completed it in one day), LOL, we talked about our plans for the garden (we already have all the seeds and we are adding a few new things as well!), future cabin projects, created a 5 year budget plan, soaked in the hot tub, watched movies and just enjoyed time together.  Uninterrupted.  We bought us a small turkey and will have it along with greens, blackeyes peas and cornbread for New Years Day.

We got a few projects completed over the past month as well.  I can’t wait to show you!

One is the basement bathroom.  Once Al finishes the shower I’ll share it with you.  The other is the stone wall we are adding behind our woodstove in the basement. We still need to add the hearth and it will be completed.  Lots of basement work being done!!

Another quick side squirrel was my random decor items in the outbuilding.  They were piled stacks upon stacks and I could never really see what I had.  So, we put up some shelves and viola! I can see everything now.  So much easier and organized!

I also ordered me some diner dishes and I love them!  I am always looking for ways to make my kitchen as functionable as possible. Instead of being in a cabinet, I chose to store them on my shelf next to the stove and sink. Easy to get to and right at your finger tips! And, they don’t chip or crack! 

Oh, one of Al’s Christmas gifts was a street sign for the road he cut behind the cabin.  It is such a good walking trail and now it has its own sign!

Remember those salves I mentioned in my previous post?  I processed them and I think they turned out great.  I made a Golden Rod salve for achy muscles and joints and a Eucalyptus salve for congestion. I am so anxious to see what else is growing on this property that can be made into something good and useful.

My Christmas decor is still up and probably will remain up until the week of 16th! My daughter is coming up around the 14th.  She wanted to be able to enjoy the decor.  I LOVE Christmas and the warmth all the decorations give me.  I felt like I haven’t had as much time to enjoy them this month so, I’m good with leaving them up for a little while longer!

Here are a few pictures of my decorations.    I will move the farmhouse ornaments/theme to the basement.  This was the third year I’ve used them on the main tree and I’m a little over it. 🙂 I’m already working on a new theme.     This is up in the loft.

We also decorated a little bit more outside this year.  I have already got some great ideas for the gate area next year!

I usually put Valentines Day decor up right after Christmas but, I think going forward I will keep my decor to seasonal only.  I can incorporate Easter in with the Spring Decor.   With that said, I’m pretty much going to leave a good bit of my Christmas decor up until Spring.  The trees will come down, most of the garland and anything Christmas related obviously but, I’m thinking the tones and colors I used this year will work great for a winter decor. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 😉

The cats are doing well.  They stalk me daily.  Herc and Teenie have been spending most nights chillin’ by the fire.  Oh, they celebrate 12 years on the 5th! I am so grateful to still have them with us.

Here you can see Bun and Honey singing the song of their people.   They got into it with something the other night.  We think maybe a fox.  We didn’t hear a thing.  We just noticed their wounds the next morning.  They were treated and are on their way to recovery.

We are suppose to get some snow tonight!  It’s about time!  I’ll definitely take some pics to share with you on my next post.

Until then, stay positive and keep moving forward.

XO,

Elisa

“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.”
― Roy T. Bennett