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Friday Favorite: That View

November 30th, 2018

In the winter, when the leaves are off the trees, we have a beautiful view of the Coastal Mountains. In the summer we can only see a small glimpse of it, but as the trees start to shed their leaves, the view gets bigger and bigger.

As the days get shorter, the sun also rises over the mountains and makes the view even better. It’s not a bad thing to look at while having coffee.

Glass Teardrop Ornaments

November 29th, 2018

Many, many years ago I ordered glass teardrop ornaments from Gardener’s Supply. They quickly became my favorite holiday decoration, simple yet stunning. After falling in love with them, I looked and looked for more, but they were no longer made. Fast forward to this year, I found new ones, though they’re smaller than my original ones, at Terrain.



These little glass raindrops are one of my favorite things to pull out each year. There’s something beautifully simple and natural about a tree with lights and these little sparkling beauties.

Do you have a favorite ornament?

Here Come the Holidays

November 28th, 2018

I don’t decorate for the holidays as much as I used to. We get so much snow that I quit putting the winter container by the front door. We cut a nice little wild tree in the woods, string one strand of large white lights, then add a few glass raindrop ornaments (more of that tomorrow when it’s a bit brighter and I can get photos). Two years ago, when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I was traveling back and forth to Ohio for one week each month, I tackled this embroidered advent pillow.
embroidered advent pillow
embroidered advent pillow
Now it’s one of the things I’m most happy to get out of storage for the season (which happened this weekend). Since I don’t do much else as far as decoration, it has a starring role in our holiday decor, which is just as it should be. My mom was always working on holiday crafts and loved doing handiwork projects. She watched me make this as we sat around her dining room table talking and telling stories. It’s a beautiful piece for more reasons than the needlework, this is a heirloom for me now.

Do you have any sentimental holiday decor?

Olives

November 27th, 2018

When I was in Israel a few weeks ago, I was able to see how olive oil was made. While I didn’t have my big camera for the factory tour (I used Mr Chiot’s phone for those), I did get some photos of the olive trees.





I can see exactly why many gardeners like to use olive trees as decorative trees in the garden. Not only are they beautiful in shape, the color of the foliage is not common. I’ve often considered getting an olive to grow in a container, now that I’ve seen them perhaps I will. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen an olive tree in person before, which is amazing since I’ve toured so many gardens.

Have you seen any new plants recently?

The 2019 Calendar

November 26th, 2018

I usually try to get the calendar finished in October, but with my sister’s visit and a trip abroad, I didn’t get around to it until today. You can find it here on Lulu.com. Thanks for purchasing this calendar, I get a few dollars for each one sold, which helps pay for my hosting and other bills associated with maintaining this blog. I’ll try to add current sales here: 20% Off Calendars, Offer Expires December 20th at 11:59 PM EST, Coupon Code: TWENTY18












The U.S. holidays are on the calendar, they just weren’t in the thumbnail images I downloaded from my proof. I hope you enjoy the calendar this year, I always enjoy looking back through all my images to find the perfect ones.

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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