Time

Time! Time! I need more time! It's 11:45am and I still have so much to do today! I need to do a little more shopping, I need some new shoes (no really, the ones I'm wearing have holes in the soles), and I want to make some cookies, and I need to finish a couple of gifts, and we're having company for dinnner at 6:00!

I bet you could use a little more time right now too, huh? I thought so. So here's some more time for you. Just select the clock (and time) that you like. Enjoy it while you can because it's flying by quickly!

This is the one I selected; I wish it was 8:40am again. But it's not, so I'd better run and do my chores here Amongst The Oaks.

Deck the Tube

Several years ago when we finished the Big Remodel, the Lord of the Manor built this box above the fireplace in the Library to hide the television. He framed it and put the doors on it and I always planned to paint a ship picture to finish it off, but I never got around to it. Well I finally did something about it! I found a picture and had it digitally printed and I stuck it on those doors. Then I trimmed it around the edge and slit it down the middle. Voila! a valuable old painting! (Please ignore that cut down the middle.)

While we're in here I'll show you some more Christmas stuff. Along the mantel I have little decorations that we've collected over the years. That little green rabbit is something I made several years ago. It's all cut out of wood. I have no idea why I made it. The next one is an old Santa from my MIL. I guess she'd had it for years before she passed it on. Next is a tiny fabric horse we bought our first Christmas.

Then we have another old Santa from MIL, an old block, and two little dolls. I have no idea where they came from, and they're not old, just cute.

I hope your Christmas plans and decorating are coming along nicely. I think we're about done here Amongst The Oaks. Now on to the baking and gift wrapping!

Deck the Chairs

After reading Mary's blog I realized I like Christmas pillows too. We have a lot of red in our house so Christmas settles in quite nicely. Here's an old fashioned Father Christmas in the living room.

Here's an American style Santa Claus in the library.

Here's a pillow we got in Civita di Bagnoregio. It looks Christmasy too, doesn't it?

I keep these pillows in the living room all the time, so they're not technically Christmas pillows, but don't they look festive on those striped chairs?

And here is a fancy little pillow I got at a yard sale.

When we were younger we felt comfortable just plopping down on the floor, but now that we're of a certain age, it sure feels nice to sink into a comfortable chair and lean against a lovely pillow. So, here Amongst The Oaks, that's where you'll probably find us these cold evenings.

Deck the Halls

We finally finished our decorating last weekend. That included the Christmas tree, the Living Room mantel and garland, the Library, and the buffet and table in the Dining Room. Here's what I did on the Living Room mantel. The vintage birds are from my MIL. They have cottony bodies and paper wings. So cute. I used trimmings from the Christmas tree behind the candles, then added gold ribbon and tassels.

And you saw the scene next to my comfy chair, but Look! The little house has a fire. It's actually an incense cone under there, but it looks like a fire, doesn't it? We've had this for years and I'm still mesmerized every time I light it.

I'll probably be putting out a few more things in the next week, but basically I think we're properly decked out here Amongst The Oaks.

Limoncello

Today we bottled our limoncello. This is the third year we've made it and everyone seems to love it. When our dear friend Emil gave us the recipe, I read it and when I got to the part where it says, "After 40 days..." I promptly put the recipe away and said, "No way." But then we were served some limoncello in Italy and WOW! it was fabulous, so when we got home, I dug the recipe out again and we made our first batch with Emil and his wife. Eighty days later we were enjoying it and we try to always keep some on hand. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

Here's Emil's recipe:

15 thick skinned lemons (not Meyers)

2 (two) 750 ml bottles Vodka

4 1/2 cups sugar

5 cups water

Wash the lemons in hot water. Remove just the yellow part of the peels with a vegetable peeler. Don't get any white part. Put the peels in a large glass jar. Add one bottle of the vodka and cover jar. Note date 40 days from then and put in a cool dark place.

Forty days later put the sugar and water in a sauce pan and cook over medium high heat until it boils. Boil it for 5 minutes while stirring. Let that cool a while then add it to the lemon peel mixture. Add the second bottle of vodka too. Stir to combine, cover and note date 40 days from then. Put back in cool dark place.

After the forty days discard the peels, strain through cheesecloth, and put into clean bottles. Store in cool place, but always keep one bottle in the freezer for serving. In Italy it is served in a tall thin liqueur glass after dinner. It's like a taste of summer; fresh lemony and frosty.

Deck the Lapels

I have this funny little thing I do every December; I decorate my lapels with Christmas pins. I don't spend much money on these little mood brighteners, but I really enjoy them. I think I have about a dozen of them that I've collected over the years and I'm always looking for more. Does anyone else do something like this?

That last one is not actually Christmasy, it's an old button that I found in Grandma's button box. I mounted it on two pieces of felt. Does anyone know what kind of button that is? I just thought it was too cute not to include here.

Cooking Corner

Here's another "Corner of my Home".

This is my cooking corner. Here's where you can find me most often when I'm home. It's between the fridge and the stove and kind of out of the way. I've recently added a full spectrum lamp because my old eyes just seem to need more light. It reminds me of a boat because everything I need is right here or within a couple of steps. I'll also let you in on a little secret about this corner; the counters are a bit lower here because the floor in our kitchen is sooooo unlevel. When the Lord of the Manor installed the lower units he made the toe kick in this corner shorter to compensate for that, so I feel taller here, which is great because I am hobbit short.

I've got a window for view and fresh air, and next to it a spice cupboard. On the counter I've got canisters for tea, an old tin full of recipes, a cookbook stand, cutting boards and a tiny rubbish bin.

Just below I've got a cupboard for Grandma's mixer and a food processor and drawers for gadgets. Above are cupboards for bowls, platters, baking pans, and cookie sheets. More drawers on the right hold knives and pots and pans. And then there's the stove with my favorite burner and its ultra-low feature.

With everything I need why would I ever leave this corner? Well believe it or not, sometimes I get tired of cooking and just want to sit down and relax and that's when I move to Comfy Corner. (See below)

Comfy Corner

Another Corner of my Home

Isn't it funny that people have their favorite chairs and everyone knows not to sit there? Well, this is my favorite chair. Not that I'm that thrilled with the chair itself, but this is my spot. We've had these chairs FOREVER. I think I bought them at Ethan Allen in ... like ... 1978. Wow, that was a little scary when I actually figured out the year. So they are 29 years old! And they LOOK it too. The fabric is faded and holey on the arms. Maybe it's time for a change.

Anyway, here's where I sit in the evenings after dinner. I'm usually reading while the rest of the family is watching the tube. The table holds the newest magazines and catalogs, my reading lamp and glasses, a seasonal display, and my wine glass or tea cup. It's usually cluttered and messy looking, but I tidied it up for you. Sometimes it will hold a half-done crossword puzzle or bills and paperwork. Sometimes it also holds a project I'm working on or an empty ice cream bowl or candy wrapper. Shame, shame. It isn't always pretty, but it sure is comfortable, this little corner Amongst The Oaks.

P.S. Finally a foggy day so I can change my title block to what winter is supposed to look like.

Adventurous Corner

I've had fun seeing other bloggers' "Corners of my Home" so I thought I'd show you one of mine. Here's a corner in the library. I think this stuff has been here for about 4 years, virtually unchanged. Clockwise from the upper left you first see the anchor light from our sailboat. We had electric lights, but when we were anchored out for days on end and couldn't charge our batteries, we needed a dependable anchor light, so we used this kerosene lamp. Above it you see a corner of our yacht club burgee, then a sailboat model, and a silver cup we found hidden behind a drawer when we remodeled the house. When we started tearing things apart there it was, wrapped in paper, hidden away. It's not engraved, so we'll never know its significance. Next is a stack of old books inherited from Grandma (the top one is called Faraway Ports), a leftover block from our old sailboat, and a photo of us back in our sailing days. Standing on the left is the Lord of the Manor's grandfather's packet of flying papers. He became a pilot in 1930 and the Lord of the Manor inherited that same love of flying. The Lord has been a pilot for years and even taught others to fly helicopters for a while. In fact we both love flying and owned a small plane that we used to fly around the US and Mexico. Alas, that was BC (before children).

So there's just one little corner, but it holds so many memories. That's something I love about decorating my home; creating vignettes with old items that are so meaningful to us.

Confused Day

It was windy yesterday. Almost storm-like windy, but no rain. We really need the rain, everything is dry and droopy looking. We started our day at Home Depot getting our Christmas tree and apparently $160.00 worth of other stuff we couldn't possibly live without. But at least our checker was cheerful and efficient!




When we got home we put up more lights and tried to clean up the yards, but it was crazy because of the wind. While others raked and mowed I got down under the shrubs and pulled out handfuls of sprouting acorns. We have thousands of them hidden in the corners and under plants sprouting away. While we worked we enjoyed the sound of these totally perfect chimes that my brother made for me. Aren't they just too cute? They look perfect hanging there on Acorn Cottage.

After we finished the lights we stood back to admire them and realized this rose is still blooming like crazy.

So is it winter? fall? spring? or summer here Amongst The Oaks? I don't know. I think the wind just confused everything yesterday.

Light up the Night

We did manage to get up quite a few Christmas lights yesterday. We got the white icicle lights up all along the front of the house, we got the four wreaths up on the windows and gate, and we scattered all the battery operated candles around the house.



These little things are great. The Lord of the Manor thought they might look dorky when they arrived here, but he has come to enjoy their subtle glow (and their automatic on/off feature). In fact, he asked me to get more!

Here's my kitchen mantle with the red transferware, bay leaves and old Christmas cards. And here's our a Santa elf guarding the kitchen twine.

It was cold yesterday so after we got done working outside we came in and made chili for dinner. So here we are lighting up the night and trying to stay warm Amongst the Oaks.

Countdown to Christmas

Today is the day we start thinking about Christmas. I'll get down the outdoor decorations and start sorting through everything. We'll make a list and do only things that bring us joy. So we won't be buying huge quantities of gifts, we won't be going to the Mall at the last minute, and we won't be getting stressed out. (Well, not too much.) We will be decorating the house with fresh greenery and setting up a real tree and making cookies and entertaining friends and family. We will share some Limoncello that we made. We will be taking a family photo to send with our Christmas cards and writing a personal note with each one. And we will be setting up luminaries on Christmas Eve and having friends over on Boxing Day. And we always go for an "Oooohhh, Aaaahhh" ride and attend the Light Parade. So thats our plan for a simpler Christmas here Amongst The Oaks. Whatever your plan is, I hope it brings you joy too.