:) Custom House Ornament

What goes on your Christmas tree?

We started a tradition when we were first married of buying one special Christmas ornament each year to represent our year.  We have:
First Christmas Together
Baby Girl's First Christmas
Baby Boy's First Christmas
A Disney ornament
A cruise ship ornament
One from Mount Rushmore
One from Yellowstone
Another from Yosemite
... and one for all of our 27 Christmases as a family.

But this year with our son's return from Tibet and my daughter's move to Maryland, we just didn't take a trip or vacation... We just enjoyed home... So, as the end of the year approached, we didn't have an ornament.
... Until now...
This fantastic little Custom House Ornament represents our year perfectly.  The artist, (who just happens to be the mother of my "Blow on It!" girl and my "Hello, Butterfly!" boy) used a photograph of our own house to create this tiny little work of art.  Visit her Etsy shop at Inspired Traditions and enjoy seeing her Jesse Tree ornaments, Easter Resurrection ornaments, or purchase your own little house ornament. 

Candy Corn

 Which holiday has the best candy?

• Christmas has candy canes.
• Easter has marshmallow peeps.
• Valentine's Day has chocolate hearts.
• Halloween has nearly everything.
• And Thanksgiving, really the whole season of Autumn has... candy corn!  Yum!  (Do you think it can count as part of the daily required vegetable group since it is corn?)

I made a confession about my embarrassing habit when I get a heart-shaped box of  Valentine chocolates in the post of a painting called Love and Kisses Reflected. 

Now I have another confession...it's about candy corn, and I love candy corn... up til now only my family has known this... I only eat the orange and yellow parts and toss the white tip away, or even worse... I toss the white tip back in the bag!  

Why?  Well, my kids say it just because I'm weird that way.  Somehow I got the message when I was a little kid that the white tip is just pure sugar... Yeah... I know... so is the yellow and orange part...  Hmmm.... Maybe candy corn therapy is in order for me.

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How Now, Brown Cow?

What Next?

According to the Urban Dictionary, that's what How Now Brown Cow means...  Well, it's one of the meanings listed.  It has taken on several meanings:

• getting turned downed down flat by the opposite sex... "You got how now brown cowed by her!"
• a really pretty girl... "Look at that how now brown cow coming!"
• another way to ask what's up... "Hey, how now brown cow, dude!"
• there's no more beer... During Prohibition, the wooden keg was called a brown cow.  When it was empty they asked what they should do next... "How now brown cow?

Those are the silliest things I've ever heard!  I thought it was just a phrase to teach the open ow vowel sound, and of course, the appropriate greeting when meeting a brown cow.

This little brown cow lives on the land that belonged to my family when I was a kid.  When I went home for my 30-year class reunion, we went to have a look at our old house, field, and pond.  This cow was just as interested in me as I was in her;  She even stopped chewing her lunch to stare for a minute.

Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) called How Now Brown Cow - just click!

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Pair of Pears

How does the last harvest of the year make you feel?

The freezer is full.  There are no more empty jars on the shelves.  School has started, and the busy fall schedule returns.  It's a little sad to put the garden to bed for the winter, but it's kind of a relief too.  

Our last harvest this year came from the little pear tree.  What a great surprise!  Every branch was loaded, and thanks to Dad's lye soap spray, they were all bug free. 

I'm not sure how to save pears - I don't like pear preserves; I don't think you can freeze them, make pies out of them, or can them - But, they're delicious! Sooooo... I've had fresh pears... no... really... lots of fresh pears... every... single... day... 

Remind me in January of the fresh pears that had a perfect combination of sweet/tart and crunchy/soft.  

Remind me next week to appreciate that I have a few left and that I need to enjoy them.

My sweet Momma loves to come sit on the porch to watch when we go out to harvest.  She always gets the first bite of whatever we pick.

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Hey, Hey... Hay! Again?

 Do you like reruns?

There's just something comforting about watching certain movies again, reading special books again, or going to the same favorite spot again.

If we catch When Harry Met Sally, Apollo 13, or It's a Wonderful Life on television, the channel flicking stops.  We just have to stop what we're doing and watch it again.  

One of the best parts of being a teacher is getting to read some fantastic books again and again every year.  Books like Dear Mr. Henshaw, Number the Stars, and Where the Red Fern Grows never get old!

So... What does that have to do with this little painting?  Well, I just love this little heifer!  It makes me smile to see her hanging on my wall, but she keeps selling!  I guess it's my fault for listing her for sale, but she's kind of fun to paint anyway.




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