An Unfamiliar Room

"Entering the new year

is like going into a big and almost

unfamiliar room."

Faith Baldwin

Evening Star

"Having tried to travel light,

I hope I haven't brought the brittle,

broken disappointments with me--

they can cut like glass--

or the faded shopworn things

that should have been thrown out long since."

Faith Baldwin

"But some old things, the good ones,

without which the new-year room

would be very empty,

are the qualities,

emotions,

and attachments we have cherished;

these fit into the room

like a hand in a glove."

Faith Baldwin

"Love and loyalty--

a quality rarer than one thinks--

gratitude,

remembered without embarrassment,

and joy recalled,

without mourning."

Faith Baldwin

"No new room becomes one into which we

can fit with ease

and live with security

if it lacks these."

Faith Baldwin

"It is easier said than done,

this moving only the good memories

into the new room,

compelling oneself to discard the unhappy ones.

But I find as the years go past

and I move from one year's room into another,

that I manage to take less with me

of the things I do not need

and should never have kept."

Faith Baldwin

Shall we travel light

into the unfamiliar room of

2015?

A Family Christmas

Our Christmas sparkled

From beginning

To end

I cooked

Christy cooked

We cooked

We laughed

We ate

Christy and Bryan walked with Maddie & Zoe

We enjoyed the Christmas tree

And we enjoyed visits from next door son, Gurn

All our fur babies got along, mostly

I had lessons in operating new devices

We opened stockings

And we opened presents

And Defee & Wallace spent Christmas at home

where Defee read bedtime stories

And the sisters told each other secrets

Some napped

Some peeked

On Christmas Day they visited Wallace's family

where matching Christmas aprons must mean

that the ladies were baking

CC was smiling at her first Christmas

And Nora tried on her first ballet slippers

R.H. and I had lunch before Christmas

with my sister Teresa and b-in-law Fred,

but only we ladies had our photo taken

And to say Merry Christmas to sisters Deb & Jenn

with part of their family

here's their Thanksgiving Day photo

It was a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Thank you for looking at these family pictures!

Merry Christmas!

A

Merry

Christmas

Greeting to

You and those

At your fireside.

Your happiness at

This glad season will

Make mine complete

Accept my best wishes

For this Joyous Season…

And a prayer that the days

Of the New Year will bring us

All Health,

Happiness

And Peace.

Southern Agriculturist

December 1946

And a Merry Christmas from Dewena's Window to you!

Christmas Table for 6 in Kitchen

For Christmas table #4 from last year, we're eating in the kitchen. 

Of course to truly eat in the kitchen and have the kitchen looking like this, we'd have to have the meal catered. 

This mid-century china pattern is called Dwarf Pine.

I think it's fabulous! There's such a modern Asian look to it.

Those pretty glasses with white Christmas trees came from Goodwill. I have five sets of vintage and not so vintage Christmas glasses that all came from Goodwill and love to use them. Even Arby's Currier & Ives glasses look great with the right table setting.

Thin white French bouillon cups were the only other china as I didn't want to hide the pretty pink plates.

White snow sprayed on dwarf pine from our yard made a nice centerpiece with white Christmas trees.

Setting a fancy Christmas table in the kitchen does work, eating a home cooked meal in there at the same time is not as easy.

I hope you've enjoyed my recap of the 4 Christmas tables I created for one post at Across the Way last year. R.H. and I worked our tails off on that one so maybe you'll forgive me for wanting to post the pictures again.

Now, to end this post I must include a picture of Nora that our son sent me. When you see it, you'll understand why this one had to appear on Mimi's blog.

Is she not adorable?

Table for 4 in Living Room

Here's the second day of revisiting my four Christmas tables from last year. To sit four in the living room we brought in a garden table.

The table was a mixture of special Spode plates with a crimson border, an urn of flowers in the center…

And Spode Christmas Tree…

And these unusual Metropolitan chop plates…

And there we have a romantic dinner table for four in the living room.