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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Martha, Santa, Turkeys and Me

 I am not Martha Stewart.  Not by a long shot.
If I were, there would not have been a Swiffer duster
left behind in the study on Thanksgiving Day,
nor a bottle of window cleaner on the floor of the sunroom.
True story! 


I don't think you'd see these
   in Martha's house on Thanksgiving either . . .  .

 A man in a turkey-printed shirt, about to attack the bird:

 A tableful of 20-and-30-somethings raising their glasses in a toast to GRAVY:

 A paper cutout of a Pilgrim boy and girl taped onto a dining room window.
It's turkey twin was on the opposite window.  
We specialize in elegant decor . . . .
Ah, there's that turkey picture on the window, below.
And leaning in the corner?  Something else you wouldn't see at Chez Martha:
the bolt of new fabric for the dining room drapes.
I didn't even get a chance to phony them up before the holiday!

And at Christmastime, I doubt you'd find this in Martha's house:

A plastic Santa with a bellyful of snowglobe.
It's a treasured family heirloom.
No, really -- it is!

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But that's what holiday decorating is all about, at least to me.
Beginning with Halloween and stretching to Epiphany on January 6th,
it's a chance to make our homes
silly and sentimental,
tacky and traditional,
bizarre and beautiful;
there are no rules.
And too much is often not quite enough.

I am looking forward to breaking out the bling!

Howard and I missed our chance to get our daughters, with their young knees, to do the annual and endless hauling of the Christmas Boxes down from the distant attic.  The girls are both gone now and won't be home till mid-month.  Dang.

The only Christmas decorating done so far?
A little family of light-up white geese on the front lawn,
an homage to our former riverfront home and it's flock of honkers.
 Also, Howard has strung the little white lights along the top of the sunroom; so pretty.

But I have misplaced my camera -- no new pictures today; I'm recycling from '09.

I'm looking forward to finding all sorts of Christmas delights
when those boxes do come down from the attic.

Is any time of year more beautiful?
Christmas balls and sparkle.


Ribbons and fresh greens and crystal clear lights.

Outdoors . . . .

 And in!

 I can't wait to see your holiday decor, from simple to sumptuous.
Already so many bloggers' houses are bursting with Christmas joy.
I am in awe of their organization.  Now they really are Marthas!

As we turn the calendar to December, I am preparing myself for a Christmas of hope and faith.
I had much to be thankful for during the Thanksgiving weekend.
My father was released from the hospital on Saturday and is doing all right.
Howard's parents were with us for the holiday, and we had a lovely weekend of visiting.
Both our daughters were at home for Thanksgiving; that was a priceless gift.
My husband is simply the best of men. 
And Dion, our dog, got gifts from Happy Frank.  If you don't know who Happy Frank is, Dion will fill you in --
but that will have to wait a day or two.  He is so slow on the keyboard!


Happy Chanukah to all who celebrate the Festival of Lights;
the first candles are lit at sundown tonight, and then every night for 8 days.
 We will reserve our Chanukah latke (potato pancake) celebration till our girls are home,
because otherwise they will never speak to us again,
but we will light the menorah tonight as families have done for so many generations. 


Blessings -- Cass


Linky Parties:
Outdoor Wednesday, hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer; click here!
Wednesday is Rednesday, hosted by Sue at It's A Very Cherry World; click here!
White Wednesday, hosted by Kathleen at Faded Charm; click here!

30 comments:

  1. Cass..
    simply beautiful !
    loved it all..
    warmest hugs..
    Loui♥

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  2. You are the real thing and that is what I love about you. I adore your santa snowball belly and all. I have a very soft spot for snowglobes. merry♥O

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  3. I love the photos and your style is way better than Martha's. Just lovely. Happy Outdoor Wednesday.

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  4. Im agrre with Donnie....your style is really better than MArtha's....your style is made with a lot of love!!!Hugs Flavia

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  5. I love this post! So much fun and everything is so charming. Smiling over Santa with the snow globe belly!

    Happy Rednesday,
    Sally

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  6. I love the Santa with the snow globe belly. Your decor should be you not MArtha. Your house is beautiful by the way!

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  7. Cass,
    What a beautiful post! The Christmas ornaments are so lovely, and I always love seeing your house. Looks like it was a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

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  8. Really enjoyed reading this - Real people and good times. I'm sure your celebration is much more enjoyable.

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  9. Hi Dear Cass! Looks like you had a marvelous Thanksgiving and I love it that you're not a Martha - me either! :) It's good to just be ourselves. Afterall, I've heard Martha is very mean!! :)
    I'm looking forward to taking the Christmas decor boxes down too - but I'll think about it tomorrow!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  10. What a fun Tsgiving celebration, Cass ... who is Martha?! chuckle!!

    Lovely holiday decor ...

    Have a beautiful week ~
    TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon

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  11. Sweet post, Cass! There is only one Martha and I am glad I don't know her...I couldn't take the pressure. I'm happy your Thanksgiving went off without a hitch, it looks like everyone was having a ball.

    XO,
    Jane

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  12. Your Thanksgiving looks fantastic Cass! I'd gladly raise a glass to toast gravy:@)

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  13. I love this post! No one wanted to toast my gravy... it was bad... Maybe next year, I'll do better!

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  14. Frankly, I've never set Martha as a goal to reach...I just don't think she is all that special of a Homemaker...Nothing wrong with taking shortcuts so we can enjoy our family...traditional decorations all tell a story and I love them...all of mine don't get put on the tree but I have labeled each to help remember when and from whom they came....In 2004 my son was in Iraq..I made a flag ornament and put a photo of him in uniform on the tree...this year he will be deployed again and I will add a new photo to those...I love the photo ornaments because they show the children and grandchildren at different ages...so many handmade ornaments with special meaning.
    Mama Bear

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  15. Oh, I do love Martha, but I'll never be her either! It's looking very merry at That Old House, and I raise my glass to gravy too!
    Happy REDnesday!
    Carol

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  16. I can't wait to see your Christmas decorations -- your 09 was fab!!!! If we were all like "Martha" what kind of world would that be? Too perfect I'm assuming!

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  17. I love seeing the real, fun and family traditions of your home-nothing beats it!

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  18. And Martha's house would be cold and sterile because there would be no HUMAN touches about the place.

    I like you, and Howard in the turkey shirt, just the way you are!

    Do you know how affirming it is to all of us other mere mortals that you left the swiffer out for God and all to see????

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  19. Cass- Love the little Pilgrims on the window...ya shoulda posted the matching turkey.lol My granddaughters love those cling-on thingies with all their tacky beautifulness so we always have a couple of those around. I love things that have meaning to them...and make you feel connected...although I must say...I have NEVER seen a Santa with a SNOWGLOBE belly before! lol THAT is a keeper for sure! hugs- Diana

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  20. Really enjoyed my visit to your home Martha. '09 / '10 Christmas photos, I would have never known unless you told me.I am looking forward to visiting again.

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  21. Christmas is all about tradition and history and celebration. In my family the oldest, tackiest, funniest-looking, cheapest, and most eye-rollingly odd doodads are the things that we look forward to putting out the most. That's because there is usually a story or a history behind it which makes it treasured! Isn't that what an heirloom is supposed to be?

    By the way, who cares about Martha! She doesn't come to visit every day to share her life with us. YOU do that! And we are all glad!

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  22. It looks like you had a very happy Thanksgiving, Cass!

    I know exactly what you mean about needing young knees to take down the attic boxes full of Christmas decorations! It gets harder each year. I haven't begun to decorate as yet...but I'll get it all done eventually! :) Happy ODW!

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  23. I love visiting the Old House, it reminds me of our home in Nashville. I remember when I used to visit Patio furniture (Indianapolis, IN-based) and Wicker Furniture (Indianapolis-based) with my mom to buy some Christmas decor. It was very heartwarming as a child. Your house has almost the same interiors as ours, and I thank you for reminding me of home.

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  24. Well, who wouldn't toast to gravy! Sounds like my kind of Thanksgiving. And I think I may have to go get some live pine roping today. That looks so pretty. I bought some fake stuff the other day and it just looks so fake.

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  25. Cass - I loved reading this post. Such warms with the true feeling of what the Holidays are all about. Beautiful! Thank you for visiting me. To answer your question I invested this year in a Canon Rebel t2i camera and just started to venture away from using the auto feature and playing with setting all the adjustments on the camera manually. I have read some books but most of it is trial and error. I often take the same shot in various different settings until I get what I want. On days when I am 'shaky' I use a tripod for the close ups to avoid the blur. I hope this helps a little. I'm still learning myself and not an expert by any means. I hope you are enjoying this first week of December my friend.
    Hugs,
    Tam

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  26. Pretty and festive.
    Don't worry----NOONE is Martha except Martha!

    Melinda

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  27. Hey, jersey girl ! It's looking great ! I'm hoping to tackle the outside this weekend... been starting the inside this week, but we had no power at all yesterday !

    Blessings during this season of Miracles !
    gena
    www.thehouseonlavenderhill.blogspot.com

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  28. What a happy, joyous celebration this was Cass! I love the heartwarming photos. Precious memories.

    Your entire home, kitchen and front door garland are magnificent. Beautiful job on all of it sweet friend.

    Happy weekend to you!
    Warmly, ~Melissa :)

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  29. Cass, I think you top Martha any day of the week! I love how you share your home with all of us.

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