A Winter Storm Rescue

The sun came out briefly and shone on our new fallen snow this morning.

So pretty.  Its supposed to stay cold,

so we're sure to have a white Christmas.

But before there was this....

There was this...

The elves were nestled all snug in their beds,

while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.

When out of the north there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter! 

The wind it did howl and the snow fell in drifts,

I knew in a moment that rescue must be swift.

Out to the porch my size seven feet flew,

with a  shovel, my mittens and a rescue tub too. 

Into the house they came with a bound.

As soon as its safe they'll be turning around.

They'll head back outdoors and take up their stations,

to greet Christmas guests and sing salutations!

Merry Christmas to all...

and to all a good night!

Susan

 

Elves in Wonderland

I was going to call this post "An Elfin Wonderland;" but when I heard it in my head, it sounded too much like something that should be bleeped.  So, with a little grammatical tweak it becomes "Elves in Wonderland" and it is part 2 of my front porch decorating adventure.

This little guy has found a comfortable perch in the nest filled with Sumac berries.

I've been collecting these little knee-hugger elves for the past few years.

I never expected them to take up residence on the front porch though. 

He looks so cheerful in his red striped pajama's, surrounded by snowballs.

I think this one is settled in his nest for a mid-morning nap.

He looks quite comfortable resting on a bit of tinsel.

I made these snowballs out of a variety of cream and white yarns

wrapped around Styrofoam balls.  I love the way they look and plan to carry

them throughout my decorating this year -- inside and out.

I have two vintage fireplace grate boxes and they are my favorite planters.

This one is guarded by a couple of rusty chickens,

created by a local artist from salvaged iron bits.

I think maybe they need stocking caps.  What do you think?

This one has become a perfect little woodland scene

for a couple of vintage pine cone elves.

Who knew elves were so fond of living in abandoned bird nests.

Here's a bit of trivia about me... I collect knot holes. 

I know, its weird, but you never know when one might come in handy. 

Isn't this sweet.  I bought this little flocked doe and fawn several years ago

as a package topper and never used it.  It came to mind while I was setting this scene.

See what you can do with a little moss and fungi.  LOL

I wonder what's down that knot hole? 

Do you think its a tunnel to Santa's Workshop?

And how does a snowman manage with so much green and so little snow?

Supervisor Bob says its really cold and starting to snow again. 

And could we p-l-e-a-s-e go inside now.

He really has four legs, but apparently its too cold to have them all

on the ground at the same time.  Okay, okay...we're going in.

That's all for now dear friends. 

There's a big snow storm starting, so the rest of the porch will have to wait.

Stay warm and snugly,

Susan

A Country Cabin Christmas

Our house looks like a little log cabin, so I try to keep my outdoor decorations simple and natural.   A snip of this and a sprig of that; mother nature provides so much inspiration that - although I'm just getting started,  it doesn't take long before a country Christmas starts to take shape.

This space is outside my studio. 

We converted our two-car garage into a studio/workshop

and put french doors in one of the garage door bays.

My mom painted the Santa face on a piece of slab wood

that we got from a neighbor who has small sawmill.

I just love the combination of rustic and old world.

This old cement urn sits in the same spot year round. 

Every spring I replant it with different grasses and annuals. 

But for the winter, I fill it with greens and twigs. 

With a bow tucked in I think it looks really festive. 

  

Here is Mom's bucket all filled with greenery.  I guess I'll have to give it  back to her now.

(Although, just between you and me - I think it looks better on my porch... 

...Shh, don't tell her I said that.)

That's Bob, one of my studio kitties, in the background. 

He thinks he's "supervising."

I'll show you more pictures as I go along. 

I hope to have the porch done this weekend and then move inside.

Its a long porch, so I have several vignettes planned.

Thanks for stopping by dear friends.

Susan

Baby Its Cold Outside

After a fairly mild autumn, winter has arrived by way of frigid temperatures and brisk winds.  Unlike some of our Midwestern neighbors, my neck of the woods in mid-Michigan only has a dusting of snow.  That could change this weekend with a forecast for snow and wind on Sunday - but we'll have to wait and see.

The other day I piled on extra layers, grabbed my basket and unleashed the hounds to go in search of nature's bounty to begin decorating for Christmas.  I'm a little behind this year, but then I say that ever year so I guess its really the "new normal."  

Everything is still laying in a heap next to my studio, but its a pretty heap.

A little moss, some red twigs, golden twigs from a cotton wood tree that blew down during a storm this summer.  A bucketful of Euonymus, some hollow stumps, and some pine boughs, of course.

My mom painted the Chickadee, I'm supposed to fill the bucket with greens and return it to her front porch.  But I don't know, I kinda like it.  (Just kidding Mom.)

Doesn't everyone decorate with moss and fungi?  Oh, I forgot about the milkweed pods. 

I'll probably spray them gold or silver for a little shine.

   This is one of three nests that I found, its filled with Staghorn Sumac berries.  I don't know why.  Maybe the previous tenet was using it to store her winter stash.  The stumps and nests will go on my porch, the rest will be divided between outdoor and indoor decorations.  I'll be taking more pictures as I go along.

Speaking of pictures...

There's a new girl in town and she's been quite a handful.  I'm still trying to get the hang of taking pictures with her, and her software doesn't like the computer software so there's been a real battle  going on.  I'm calling it a "learning curve" because anything else I said to describe it would have to be censored.  LOL!

Before I go, want to say Thank You to everyone who left me comments and sent emails of encouragement and good wishes.  This past month has been a real struggle and I can't express how much your kind words have meant to me.  Things are finally looking up and so I'm looking forward to Christmas and a little holiday cheer.  In the words of Tiny Tim..."God bless you everyone!"

A Spoonful of Sugar? Really?

Sometimes it takes more than a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.

I'm not sure I truly believe that absence does make the heart grow fonder, but I guess I'll find out in the days to come.  I've truly missed blogging, but the past month has been so full of illness and sad days that I just couldn't bring myself to log on and dump all, or even some, of it into the ether.  Hopefully things will be back to normal soon and I'll have something lovely to share.

Before I go, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who stopped by to leave a comment about Brenna's pumpkin pie recipe.  I finally got it finished and in the mail, and I hear that darling Brenna was excited to have a surprise package in the mailbox.   I'm already thinking about which recipe to do next.