Advent Calendar Countdown: 13

Making Christmas Cards

It's begun!

Though I picked up a couple of boxes of beautiful letterpress cards from Vertallee Letterpress while checking out the East Austin Studio Tour last month, I couldn't afford to get enough to handle all our cards (every year, we seem to send out more! And more! And more!). So, it's handmade time again this year. I bought a stack of pretty, red stationary & am stamping them with my nifty stamp set from the Yellow Owl Workshop. Add a few tastefully restrained drops of glitter & voila! Done. Instant recession goodness.

Advent Calendar Countdown

Coffee Break

Taking a moment with a cup of coffee and these buttermilk cookies. Nice.

Advent Calendar Countdown

Advent Calendar Countdown

The Weather Changed

But still no rain.

Winter Cleaning

Inspired by the beauty & efficiency of our new windows, all day yesterday, R & I got busy setting more to rights. R took on the shed, I sewed up a new bag for our paper recyclables, cleaning, cleaning, purging and then, just as the rest of the world was settling down to a nice, quiet evening, we rearranged our all furniture yet one. more. time.

We've been through this drill so many times. Each time seemed better than the last, but none were quite right.

This time though, I think we've got it. Our 12'x13' room now has four distinct areas: a tiny entry area with a table to drop our keys & the mail, a sitting area just off to the left of the door, a play area tucked behind the easy chair, and a second play area next to the bookcase. Me likey.

Toy shelves behind the easy chair:

Comfy sitting area with nice light streaming in from the windows:

I love this arrangement. We have a nice line of sight through the arch and into the dining room & kitchen. It's a great spot for cozying up with a cup of coffee & the paper & watching Baby M play in her new, distinct play area:

One of the shelves on the bookcase is just for her. And soon, when she's old enough, this will be a perfect spot for coloring and working on projects. Right now, she's digging playing tea party with the bright & cheery coffee set Omi & Opa brought back from their trip.

Warm & Cozy

Our new windows are in! We now have brand new double-hung, double-pane windows in our living room & front bedroom. Hubba hubba! Though I was a little sad to see our house's original windows get taken out, the sadness lasted only for about a half an hour, only to be replaced by the euphoria of having new non-drafty, energy efficient windows that open (!) and close (!). How novel!

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the house feels so much warmer & snug. And the windows are just plain lovely to look at too. Very much like the old ones, but without looking like they've been put through a chipper.

I love winter. I can say this from the safety of living in Texas & not having to actually live through a real winter for more than two dozen days a year. It's more of a fantasy for me, but one I revel in. I have a fetish for winter coats like some people have for shoes. And for sheepskin rugs and fireplaces. We've got the rugs, but no fireplace, which makes hanging our Christmas stockings with care feel a little phony bologna. Still, I dream of the perfect fireplace. Like this Josef Albers design I saw in the new Domino:

Photo credit: Josef & Anni Albers Foundation

Isn't it gorgeous? Not that it would go with our house, but with the right house (ranch house?) it would be unstoppable. That combination of planes of stone & wood is so appealing to me. Throw in a few sheepskin rugs & now we're talking.

This feeling in my belly is satisfaction, pure satisfaction

What a good dinner we had tonight. Such toe-curling satisfaction! Now feeling drowsy-alert and content, through & through, I slip into a pleasant evening: some catching up on the computer & a little book-reading time.

Baby M & I went to Boggy Creek Farm this morning and loaded up on all sorts of goodness: butternut squash, beets, eggs, cheese, lamb & greens, greens, greens. Baby M digs the chicken coop & sand pile. I dig the farm stand & rows and rows of every conceivable shade of green. Such useful beauty.
Photo Via Boggy Creek Farm

Home again with my bags and all inspired, I rolled up my sleeves & got busy. I baked Deborah Madison's Cranberry Bread & also her Provincial Squash Gratin (both from my belovedly worn copy of Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone), Clotilde's Lamb & Prune Meatballs (with black currants standing in for chopped prunes) & a huge salad with a mustardy dressing. Throw in the last of the red wine & voila! I feel like a million bucks.

Oh, and all this with a fresh load of whites billowing on the lines & Baby M's friend K spending the afternoon with us. I was a busy little bee today.

Speaking of laundry on the line, I love these thoughts on the pleasures of hanging out one's laundry. I am trying to think of a decent way to print this out (or paint?) to have it near our washing machine to see, be reminded & bccome aware again. Not that I need to be reminded, per se. For me, the happy sight of rows of clean clothes & linens undulating on a line is almost eclipsed by the anticipation of a restocked wardrobe and crisp, fresh sheets waiting for bedtime.


Today, the pleasures do not stop rolling in.

Photo Via MontanaRaven