What's Red And White And Red And White And Red And White. . . . ?

What's Red And White?
Christmas, inside and out, at That Old House!

On Saturday it started snowing.
Anne, who had just gotten home for Christmas that morning,
ventured out into the cold to take pictures of the front door:

Alida and Anne put up the white pine roping, I tied some big bows for the corners,
and Anne poufed and snaked the ribbon ends down the sides:

It's lovely to have some talented and cooperative Elves to help with the decorating!

No front door wreath this year. Local fresh wreaths were skimpy and spindly looking.
So I took clippings from our conservatory Christmas tree, and the girls and I just
bunched them together, tied them with twine, and added red ribbons.

I like the simple look on the front door, and the free price tag as well.

Now what are you doing still standing out in the snow?

Let's leave the cold white outdoors. It's much nicer to be inside, looking out:

It snowed for a long time.

But we are snug inside, and can enjoy our Christmas reds!

Ribbons on stairs and newel post:

You can see the red dining room from the front hall.

Upstairs, another tree on the stair landing:

There's a little tree, with lots and lots of red ornaments, next to the front door:

In the red dining room, a spiral tree:

Our girls' tree, in the study, laden with ornaments that will someday be in their own homes:

If you read the story of our 1999 Hurricane Floyd flood, you may remember the Noah's Ark that was the only
Christmas ornament to survive. Here it is, on our parlor tree this year:

Look closely, below; you can see a thin dark line, right under the window.
That's where it broke in two -- that line goes smack around the whole ark --
so I could clean and disinfect it and glue it back together.

(Read more, here.)

A Noah's Ark that survived a flood. Where have I heard that before?

One more bit of red to share with you today. My bargain red dishes were put to good use at our Christmas party on Sunday. Ten people backed out because of the snow, but we had 30 hardy souls, ready to laugh and get silly. My kind of party.

I always forget to take pics during a party.
My girls took a couple. Here are the red plates, ready to go!

In this one, below, left to right are my sister Peggy, my friend Betsy,

and my husband Howard all busy working in my kitchen. How clever am I?

Oh! One more bit of red:

Mr. Dion, all decked out in his new hoodie, from Annie's graduate school.
She found it at the bookstore, and couldn't resist turning her pup into a frat boy.
All he needs is a beer and a babe.

Despite the expression on his face, he really doesn't seem to mind wearing it.

Thanks to Susan of A Southern Daydreamer
for hosting
Outdoor Wednesday!







Thanks also to Sue of It's A Very
Cherry World for
Rednesday!




And tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Anne is singing O Holy Night at both nighttime services at church, and Alida and I will be in the choir. Howard will be on "Pop" duty with my Dad. Have a blessed Christmas Eve! -- Cass

Simple Supper in the Kitchen, St. Nick Style

One week!

Ho Ho Ho! It's getting so close to Christmas that my panic attacks
are beginning to be accompanied by cravings for candy canes and egg nog.


I'm late climbing on board for Tablescape Thursday; Howard is working from home today and needs the computer much of the time. What nerve! I'm sneaking in a quick look at a table set for two, in our kitchen.

This old oak table usually lives in the conservatory, next to the kitchen, but there's a big Frasier Fir Christmas tree cluttering up that corner.




Do you move furniture all over the place at the holidays, and keep forgetting that you did so, and keep trying to put your coffee cup down on a table that is no longer where it ought to be?

No, I never do that.

Want to take a chance at pot luck for a simple supper this evening?

Then take a seat, right here:

Holiday flatware, a gift from my sister many Christmases ago. Gold plated, with holly and berries.


Note the close up, below, and the missing holly and berries.


Moral of the story: don't put these in the dishwasher.
Lesson learned.

A new tablecloth from T.J.Maxx, bought yesterday.

A holly napkin made 40 years ago by my Mom.

The red plates are my bargains from October -- 50 red fiesta-type dinner plates by Oneida, for 20 dollars, total. We are having about 40 people for a Christmas buffet on Sunday, so these plates will be put to good use.

And, a stomach's-eye-view of your place setting:

Last night I took some glass cylinder containers and turned them into the decor for the sideboard in the dining room, which will hold the drinks and hot rum punch on Sunday:

I'm thinking it is probably safe to have lit candles in glass containers
filled with flammable potpourri, right?

Eh, we'll pour the rum punch over them if they catch fire.
The rum will have had its alcohol burned off by then. Probably.

Everyone needs a Santa with a snow-globe-belly.
I've had mine since childhood -- he was in my stocking one Christmas morning.

Okay, enough playing with dishes -- time to get to work!

Cookies and breads and Norwegian Christmas dishes need to be baked and cooked and pickled.

Many thanks to Susan, the hostess of Tablescape Thursday, at her beautiful Between Naps On The Porch blog. Go there for SO many more table settings, and enjoy! -- Cass

Holiday Touches, Old and New

Today, I'm sharing a few pictures, and popping in on four (!) blog parties.
You can find them at the end of this post -- remember to click and join in!

************************************************************************

Dashing through the house
With big boxes in my hand,
Thru the rooms we fly,
To make the house look grand.
Lights on trees and wreaths
Making spirits bright!
We're decorating That Old House
To make it look just right.

Oh, strings of lights, stars so bright,
Candles light the way.
Oh, what fun it is to deck
The house in bling today-ay!
Mistletoe! Ho Ho Ho!
Santa knows the way
We're ready here at That Old House
For St. Nick's holiday.

Many, many thanks to my husband Howard, who strung little white lights around the tops of the conservatory windows. I love how they reflect in all the glass. I am tempted to leave them up forever, but hopefully cooler heads will prevail and we'll take them down in January. In the meantime, they are so neat!

*******************************************************************

I scatter Santa Claus-es around the house.

This little guy's in the study; he is an incense burner, and is only about 5-inches tall.
He is nicely detailed. The smoke comes out his coffee mug.

This Santa is a cheap-o fellow from A. C. Moore, a few years ago.

He holds a candle, and the light shines thru holes in his little body. Ouch.

And this Santa? He is very special. Very vintage, from the early 50s. Like me!
And well-worn. Also like me.

When I was a little girl, back when Pterodactyls hauled Santa's sleigh through the Ice Age skies, this Santa spent Christmas in our living room, near my dad's platform rocker. I used to sit in that rocker, which seemed so enormous, and play with this Santa.

He's a good 12-inches tall, and is a bank.
Can you see the Scotch tape covering his coin slot?
My mother clearly didn't trust her 4 kids to put only coins in Santa.

Poor guy was stored in an unheated garage at my parents' beach house

in later years; much of his paint peeled right off. I rescued him a few years ago.

Sometimes I am tempted to re-paint him, but honestly . . .
he wouldn't be the same after that.

He is part of the family, and family is loved -- chips and all.

On the window over my kitchen sink is a tiny, shiny wreath about 4-inches wide.
It's all metal, and wow those pointy holly leaves are sharp!

In the powder room, an ornament wreath.

No, I didn't make it -- it was a gift, several years ago.

But I like how they solved the problem of gaps between the balls:

Bits of silvery tinsel!

Still more decorating to come. But it's time to visit more wonderful Christmas and winter-themed homes at the following blogs -- just click on the highlighted words, or the images:


Diane at Thoughts from Over The Rainbow is hosting
Deck The Halls! Lots and lots and lots of Christmas!







Roomies is the blog spot for
Past Due Tuesday -- vintage charm!






Tam, at The Gypsy's Corner, has been sick!

Wish her a speedy recovery as she hosts
Three Or More Tuesday. It's a lousy time
of year to be sick, Tam! Next time pick a
different season. :-)









Diane at A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
is hosting 2nd Time Around Tuesday.

More wonderful vintage!




Many thanks to all of these blogging ladies, for their good work in hosting so many ways for us to connect with one another. I am greedy today, hooking on to four parties, but it's Christmas --- and that is always over the top! I can't tell you how much visiting the blog parties has lifted my spirits and brought me so much Christmas joy. Love to you all -- Cass

Decking the Halls, and Stairs, and Sunroom. . . .

Can you smell it? It's a fresh-cut Frasier Fir, it's in the corner of our conservatory, and it's filling the house with the piney scent of Christmas.


Since Christmas is a season when we indulge in a bit of excess -- whether it be food or gifts or decorating -- I am indulging in an excess of blog parties today. Find links to all 3 of them at the end of this post -- Met Monday, Mosaic Monday, and Show Off Your Cottage.

***********************************************************************

It was a busy weekend at That Old House. We turned this:

into this:

After seeing so many beautifully bedecked staircases in so many blogs, I decided to try decorating our front stairs. Not so good; this is our first attempt, as we never had an open staircase before. It will be better next year, but for this year we'll just let the white pine roping and the red ribbon just carry the day.

Then, I turned this, the naked feather tree:

into this:

I think Mr. Feather Tree will live in the kitchen for the holidays.
Or, in the front hall. Or . . . . well, somewhere.

On Saturday morning, we headed for a tree sale to benefit a local historical society, and found a lovely Frasier Fir. Last year, the fresh tree in the sunroom looked good, but was in the way. This year, I told Howard I wanted the tree in the corner where this table and chandelier normally live:

My husband is a good sport. He moved the very heavy oak table, took down the chandelier, vacuumed (which you know is when a man is at his most attractive, right?), and put up the tree.

I love the shot on the right, Howard looking at the chandelier and thinking, "Is she kidding?"

On Sunday, he added 1700 lights.
Howard likes to best his brothers-in-law in numbers of lights on the tree.
I'm thinking there's no contest this year.

***********************************************************************

Speaking of my family, on Saturday, my brother and his wife held their annual dressy
Christmas gathering. Howard took the picture, below, because he no longer
owns a tuxedo and was just wearing a suit, so he was not one of the Cool Kids.

That's my two big brothers flanking my 89-year old Dad, with my brother in law Bill on the right.
They clean up pretty nice.
My Dad is a big hit at the retirement home when he puts his glad rags on.

It's fun to get dressed up for Lindy and Carol's party; Dion was not invited, which is good because he only owns one coat, and it is definitely not formal wear.

Howard and I, and our two daughters, are hosting our annual family and friends Christmas gathering next Sunday; it will be fuzzy-slippers and reindeer sweater casual.


And now I am off to straighten the ribbons on the stairway swags; I noticed how wrinkly they looked in the pictures! I hope to have time to read so many more blogs today; I think I need a laptop, don't you? -- Cass

******************************************************************************

Here are today's blog parties, all ready with fabulous posts:

There is Mosaic Monday, at the Little Red House blog, a must-see. Mary, who is both a gracious hostess and a remarkable photographer, has a fabulous Christmas mosaic of her own, and dozens and dozens from talented participants. Go!




Cielo at The House In The Roses hosts
Show Off Your Cottage Monday.
I love this idea!






And for a big, big list of fab posts,
visit Susan at Between Naps On The Porch,
for
Metamorphosis Monday! It's worth the trip.