So long 2010!

Good-bye 2010!

I am for whatever reason

always happy

to see another year go by.

Maybe it's because I

always

anticipate a much

better year ahead for my family.

I am a huge optimist !

A big believer in

hope

and

faith

even when things look their bleakest.

2010 was a pretty good year. Sure it came with some upsets. The passing of my beloved

cat ...certain family issues still unresolved. But it also came with great things. High

achievements for my Sam at school ... Finally finding the perfect dog trainer for Pilot girl

...thanks Rhonda we love you...she is the female version of the dog whisperer!! If anyone

can make an 85pd protesting hard header German Shepherd obey she can!!! And also

might I add teach ME how to be an assertive strong leader for my dog. They say dogs come

into your life to teach you things. My girl has been teaching me to respect myself, love myself

stop being a victim and to face confrontation head on!!!

My husband is so far filling his dream of starting his own business even when some days seem

like nothing is going right and the only support you have is your loving wife!

It has also been one year since I moved from Ontario to Vancouver Island. It was a tough transition for me. Leaving close family and friends. Leaving a place that I lived in for 43 years takes alot of courage and faith. The road is getting smoother and I am slowly changing my wardrobe to accomadate this rain forest climate !!

I have made some wonderful friends. Incrediblely kind women who share my interests. I started this

blog last January and have entered the incredible world of blogging and have met so many many

awesome women who warm my heart and soul daily. Some days I feel like throwing in the towel

but then I read a comment and keep on plowing ahead.

My hope for 2011 is that it brings more joy and peace to my family...

Hope that certain family members let go of unjust anger and for once become

loving and unselfish in their actions...just love, be supportive and

most importantly Understanding and not judgemental.

Wishing all of you

much love, peace, many blessings

and

all the very best

for

2011 !!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

WISHING YOU ALL A JOYOUS

CHRISTMAS

WITH

FAMILY AND FRIENDS...

MUCH LOVE AND MANY BLESSINGS

TO ALL

MY

FRIENDS...FAMILY

WONDERFUL FOLLOWERS

BUT MOSTLY

MY

BLOGGING FRIENDS WHO HAVE

TOUCHED THIS

GIRL'S

HEART...MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW...

THANK YOU ALL

FOR YOUR

FRIENDSHIP

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

AND

ENCOURAGEMENT

Love and many blessings

for a wonderful New Year full of happiness, prosperity and good health

Pamela xo

Vintage Christmas

It is hard to believe but one week today is Christmas!

I wanted to share with all of you my
this years Christmas card.... Don't you just love the old vintage Christmas photos?
What i most love about this card is inside it says.... MERRY CHRISTMAS...NOT Happy Holidays
or Seasons Greetings!

Every year i make sure it says Merry Christmas...i like to keep the Christ in Christmas.
I refuse to be politically correct. So in passing you will only here
me exclaim " MERRY CHRISTMAS" not Happy Holidays!
My vintage Christmas music wind up box that plays Silent Night. My favourite
Christmas carol...

Thanks for taking the time to visit me at this very busy time of year!

Pamela xo

More Christmas Ornaments

I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments regarding my Christmas tree.
I had many doubts about the theme for this year's tree but the end result was better
than i could ever have imagined. My husband even says this is the best tree i have
done yet. Sam had the best suggestion..."Coloured lights!" Well i am glad i listened
to him.

Don't you just love snowman? I have quite a few of them on my tree. This guy
is one of my favourites.

It's hard to tell from this photo but this snowman is riding a tin sleigh...

I have alot of these tags with vintage photos on them. They are placed all over the

tree. These also come from the antique barn sale in Ontario.

An old baby bootie that has thimbles for wheels. Classic old Santa in a fur coat.

On our tree you will also find alot of planes. Sam's love for aviation is everywhere.

This ornament is made in Germany. Hand crafted. Love it!

Hard to believe Christmas will be here in two weeks. I'm off to finish my shopping

and then do more baking.

Thanks for visiting

Pamela xo

Homemade Christmas

Every year back home in Ontario I used to attend a folk art Christmas craft show.
This was not your ordinary craft show . For starters it was held in the country
in an old farm house and the owners barn.

It was always so enchanting the day of the
show. Guaranteed there would be snow covering the landscape . The barn was filled with
all the unusual artisans crafts and also lots of antiques. In the corner of the barn
a wood stove would be burning brightly. Inside the old farm house classic carols would be playing
and apple cider could be smelled in the air.

The crafts these artisans made were truly beautiful and original.

These mittens were made with old mink fur and velvet. They also had stockings
made the same way. Wish I bought some of those!

All the materials were recycled ...from old dresses. This angel is part paper mache

and her dress is from a vintage blanket.

This is my favourite made from an old bobbin...

I love how the old fabric has been re purposed.

If only I knew I was moving I would have purchased more of these stunning

crafts!

Our Christmas tree

Our tree has been up for a few weeks now. The blast of snow in late November put
me in the Christmas mood. The theme for this years tree is country with coloured
lights. Yes Sam won hands down. How could i refuse him...childhood is fleeting
and children are what make Christmas magical.


I am so happy with the results. The family has said this is my best tree yet.
Since we are living in the country this years theme really suits it.

An up close shot of a few ornaments. I love my deer...there are sooo many deer on

the property ...this was perfectly fitting.

More up close photos of the tree to come!

Hope you come back for more Christmas spirit!

Pamela xo

Thoughtfulness...

Today started off like every Sunday...
coffee...then a big breakfast for my family. After the huge clean up of the kitchen
(the part i most hate) i wandered upstairs to have a long hot bath...

After my bath i passed by my son's room and noticed his bed neatly made. I thought oh my
husband has beaten me to it . Then i went into my room and was immediately taken back!
Our bed was also neatly made. I thought to myself it couldn't have been my husband
as i know he is outside this morning .

To my surprise...i called down to my son and said " Sam did you make your bed?!!"
yes he said....well he usually does so I was not too surprised. I then said ..."Did you
make my bed too?!!"....Yep I did he replied!

I couldn't believe my eyes...he made my bed! And what a nice job too.
He even put the quilt on the bed which i usually don't do. I had to take a photo
i was so proud ! All the pillows neatly in place...
And of course as soon as he finished Acoya just had to jump on up!
Thanks Sam...it's good to know I've been doing an okay job so far
raising you!!

My Christmas reading room

This holiday season i have turned one area of our home into a Christmas
reading room. This is the perfect place for all my romantic ornaments. Our tree is up and soon i will be posting about it. I have placed a photo of it on my sidebar.
As you all know from my previous post this tree's theme is country with coloured lights.

Yes...my child won hands down. He is too cute to refuse. But i have to
say i am extremely pleased with the results. Even though at the time i really wanted my
Victorian tree with all my hand blown German and Polish ornaments on it.

This room was the perfect answer as to were i would be able to enjoy all my more formal

decorations.

I love these paper Victorian angels that usually go on the tree.

My pink vista china fits right in.

Of course being a huge cat lover there has to be one somewhere! Isn't she beautiful

with her china face?

Thanks for visiting my Christmas reading room!

Pamela xo

She's so ugly she's pretty!

What i think makes Christmas fun is a bit of whimsy !

I have always liked things that are out of the ordinary.

My family knows this well about me. Whether it is with clothing or decor for my home
i like to be different and original.
Life can be stressful and serious at times . We all need to be playful once in awhile.

My son says all the time that I am a silly mom! He wouldn't want me any other
way. It's warms my heart to him call me a fun mom.

My MIL sent me this crazy angel a few years ago for Christmas. She knew
when she saw it that i would totally get it. She also knew i would love it!

Here is my silly ugly but oh so pretty monkey angel!!

Is she not the best?! Come on i know you all love her! I had a friend back home
who clearly could not get it. Her eyes went huge in horrible dismay...and at the
same time said Oh (choke) she is pretty Pam (choke) !

My monkey angel believe it or not comes from a very upscale expensive ladies

boutique here in town.

I think this will definitely be an heirloom ornament for my son...it will always

remind him of his silly silly mom!

Burlap Christmas tablecloth

My mother-in-law is the queen of finding treasures at our local thirft shops.

She really enjoys going and is always on the lookout for the latest thing i seem to

be into.



Lucky me!



The other day when i visiting her...and picking up some lovely french

style lamps she found for me (a post about these will come later) i told her to be on

the lookout for burlap!



Burlap she questioned? Really? I said oh yes it is so in right now. Oh too bad she said...

i just threw out a pile of it!!

Oh well... I put my order in too late!



Yesterday i picked her up to go to a local Christmas art show and she had this

beautiful tablecloth waiting for me!

She went to the Sally Ann and there it was! A lovely burlap tablecloth with cute

elves painted on it!

It fits my table perfectly! Aren't the elves adorable?

Very pretty stars painted in the centre of it.

I believe one of the reasons she likes to do this for me is not only due to her enjoyment

of shopping in these stores but because i really appreciate it and i always use or display

whatever she finds. Good job Nana you are lots of fun!!

Our loyal dog...

Our temporary home is beautiful , enchanting , old and very very cold. This home
is quite large as well. So large that the south side of the home we refer to as the guest wing.
This side we have closed off right now for winter. The only time we enter is to do laundry
and feed the pets. This area houses the formal dining room, large guest bath , two
bedrooms and the laundry room. It is really like another house. This home being
so old maybe around 100years old has no proper heating. What we are used to back
home as central heat... a lovely warm gas furnace! Here we only have a few electric baseboards
that cost a mere fortune to use. We are only using a bare minimum and shudder at the
thought of our next electric bill!

We have of course in this home fire alarms. One of the alarms is located in the dining
room. This area of the home is just if not colder than outside.

As you all know who have been following my blog we have a 4year old German Shepherd.
A beautiful highly intelligent beast who is faithful, loving and yes challenging at the best of
times. I have heard it said the more intelligent the dog the more challenging to train. Or better
yet the more they will test your leadership skills! Pilot does all that and more... but we love her
very much.

Around 3am yesterday Pilot came running up the stairs to our bedroom. Our bedroom is
located on the second floor on the North side of the home. You cannot hear anything from the
South side from up here. She immediately woke up my husband. He grumbled thinking
she needed to go outside.

He followed her down the stair case and immediately heard the alarm going off.
Thank heavens it was a false alarm. He figures the alarm was triggered from such cold
temperatures. But just the same we were so pleased with our Pilot alerting us to what
could have been a serious situation.

So today I want to say thank you Pilot girl ....we love you!
Wishing all of my American relatives (in Lewiston & Niagara Falls, NY) and blogging
friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Pamela xo

Christmas hearts

Hello everyone!

Today I am giving you a peek at some of my treasured ornaments.

I adore hearts and love the colour red. It must be the romantic in me. I have a beautiful

collection of red heart ornaments. These are hand made in Poland.

I just love them! Isn't the gold pretty on the ornament? So much fine detail...

Here's a real fancy dancy one....

Thought i would show you my red ruby velvet shoes from when i was a little girl...

my special Christmas shoes! I bring these out every year and place them under my

tree..

Have a wonderful weekend...thanks for visiting!

Pamela xo

Hi Everyone!

It is hard to believe but yes in no time at all Christmas will be upon us! My local jazz station

on the telly has already switched to Jazz Christmas music and it is still

November! Well I'm enjoying the carols and it has me

thinking about what type of tree to put up this year.

In our last home in Ontario we had two trees. Yes that's right two trees!

My husband calls me the Christmas lady. I love Christmas and I put up the

trees December 1st.

I had two trees because I had two themes going on.

Having a child changes alot of things. That includes the decorations and lights

on the trees. I like either all white lights or just red. My son hates white

lights and wants all coloured. The coloured lights really don't go with my

Victorian style tree. So that is how we ended up doing two trees.

Here is my formal tree with white lights....

Unfortunately these photos were taken before I became

a blogger so no close ups of my beautiful

ornaments...

The tree in the back is our folk art tree with
multi-coloured lights that make Sam very
happy. No close-ups either sadly.


This year is going to be a tough decision of which ornaments to use.
Will it be old fashioned Victorian tree or folk art multi coloured tree?
Sam said just this past weekend..."Mom don't go putting those
ugly white lights on the tree this year...I hate them!"

Okay Sam...sigh...but I think I just might compromise here
multi-coloured lights (shudder) on my pretty Victorian tree.

Until then I will ponder which ornaments to use and sit back
listening to the Christmas Carols!
Pamela xo