happy new year

may your new year be blessed....

dj.... at sweetwater bend

winter mercury glass

the january 2010 issue of martha stewart living has inspired me to create my own sparkling mercury glass. this is the inspiration pic.


here are the few things you need to create this simple craft:

-clean beaker glass or some such sort of glass container. i used an old yankee candle glass jar that was thoroughly cleaned by the human backhoe....thanks h.b. for getting that glass sooooo clean.

-metallic silver spray paint or mirror spray paint(i was unable to find this.......so i used the silver spray paint)

-spray bottle with tap water

-drying rack

-newspaper and tape




wrap the glass beaker with newspaper to protect the outside from overspray.

the glass is lightly sprayed with a mist of water and then follow with a light spray of a mirror/silver metallic spray paint.

invert and dry on wire rack to allow air circulation. repeat with another layer of spray paint...if you want.




here's the finished glass........with two coats of silver mettalic paint.



finally a pic of my new old mercury glass beaker amoungst several other similar pieces i already had(will add some white tulips or roses for new year's eve celebration).....looks like january to me.

human backhoe's xmas present

this was hubby's last minute christmas gift.....a 16x20 framed poster of our first snow of the season, with some editing from the picnik.com website. what a fun site to play around with. made the poster online xmas eve morning and picked it to be framed xmas eve. nothing like a last minute gift from the heart. love you h.b.

white stuff......ain't it pretty

yeah!!!! we finally got a bit of snow. not a lot, but enough for a white christmas that's for sure.


let's start from the front porch and head around the house.








around to the side yard.





think we should head down to the lake?





ahhhhhh.....beautiful. i could stay here all day if it wasn't so dang cold.....




let's head back up to the cabin......


looks like human backhoe is feeding the birds with a little bit of help.




think he is a bit warm-blooded?

come inside and i'll share a few xmas goodies....












merry CHRISTmas from sweetwater bend........

still waiting on some snow....

thought we were gonna get snow a week ago. ehhh....not so much. our buddies are still waiting, along with our family.




pippen.....our version of marley.....totally marley....er...totally pippen.


shandie.....she's definitely got her winter coat on. can we please have some snow?

i am not a knick knacky person.....

....really i am not. but i wanted to post a few knick knacky christmas collections that i have. plus a few miscellaneous pics that i couldn't really categorize.

first of all and most importantly....center on our mantle in our great room.




i am not a collector of willow tree, but i picked up this nativity scene from craigslist this past july. i bought it from a family that was really hurting from being laid off and this is one of the things they sold to help make ends meet. i often think of that family and pray for them. from july on this was displayed in various areas of our log home. i never did pack it away after i bought it.

btw......i have seen so many of these nativity scenes on everyone's blogs this year. i wonder how many of us have this particular willow tree?

i have also received a few willow tree figures, usually for my bday from friends and family.






here is the small collection that i have. i am amazed the poinsettia cuttings are still holding up in water after 10 days of being massecred.



there are two more small collections that i have related to christmas. really i don't like to be knick knacky......:)




here is the human backhoe's xmas tree....ummmmm, that is in the guest bathroom....hehehe. it is a collection of hallmark's pickup trucks over the last fifteen years. someday, i hope to have a red and white 1960 ford f100. someday......




the other collection i have is of log home style disney ornaments. yes, we are a disney family. we proudly call disneyworld our second home. and no i don't fill my home with any other paraphanalia related to mickey....remember i am not a knick knacky person. but, ask me any question related to disney and the town of orlando...and i am your answer girl.

oh yeah, on the last two trees did you notice the barbwire garland? actually it's a plastic representation of it that i bought on clearance after halloween.





a collection of my cranberry orange jam i canned earlier in november....



next is a couple pics from our kitchen. first is our candle chandelier that is over our kitchen island. simply wrapped with red berry garland.




then, a few pieces of mikasa ultra dressed up for the holidays.





finally, a bathroom pic again....hehehe. soap and lotion from the guest bathroom.



thanks for reading.....i have so enjoyed looking at everyone's blogs to see how you decorate........

norwegian inspired guest room

hmmmmm.........i think i mentioned a few posts back how much i don't really like red for christmas in our log home. i do, however, have a norwegian-blooded husband. so i have decorated the guest bedroom in scandinavian inspired red and white in honor of his familial homeland. this color combination is inspired by the red color of berries which show up brilliantly against the snowy white landscape. our youngest daughter and her family will stay in this room when they visit next week. that would include our first granddaughter, courtney......:).


a little bedside table vignette for the red and white room.


the guest room tree.


felt stockings hanging above the bed.


close up of embroidered pillow.


and who cannot pass up these bob's sweet stripes.....a favorite in our home. hope they last until our guests arrive.



in norway, the nisse, the benevolent farm spirit(somewhat similar to our santa clause), is given a bowl of porridge, not milk and cookies, at christmas time to thank him for his protection during the past year and to ensure it's continuation in the year to come.

our missouri christmas farmhouse

christmas eve 2000..........


in our 1895 victorian farmhouse back in central missouri. miss the house so much. we thought we would never move from there, but look at us now. we have now been in central illinois for 4 years as of today's date. and yes we love our log home and the community we have chosen to live in, but.......

we just loved the old house that we renovated from the tip of the chimney to the stone foundation hubby dug out by hand and rebuilt. i think every inch of every room had our touch put on it, including each inch of every ceiling, wood floor, and plaster wall. literally our blood, sweat and tears went into the house. but life presented new opportunites for our family and we trekked eastward into illinois.

i can truly say that we left the home with a bit of our heart and souls still in it. we know that we preserved a historic home and count our many blessings we were able to do it.

paint by numbers

did ya all do this as a child? i used to spend hours on the weekends with my grandma working on these. she would take me town to pick one out, although if i remember right, there were usually two to a box. we would work on it together when i would visit. it was always fun going to town with grandma. town was a town of maybe 500....but they had a five and dime and a western auto. we then would go for a dish of ice cream at the drugstore before heading back to the country. simple memories.

i actually have a few of my paint by number creations still, two of which are hanging in the log home.

i picked this paint by numbers image today...because it reminds me of our sweetwater bend log home. i love the color combo of blues and oranges for some reason. here's another pic of the blue spruce and log home....there's that color combo....




i actually, more importantly, posted this paint by number image of a snowy country place......because......because....................


we are supposed to receive a pretty big dose of snow over the next few days!!!!! oh yes!!!!!

saturday's axe-ing

today the human backhoe son joined the human backhoe daddy in a bit of axe-ing.







don't they look just a little too joyful hanging out with the axe? think i'll head back inside and put 911 on speed dial....











thankfully, it looks like the little one is just helping stack.




ok........when i start to see wood being flung across the driveway....




mean mom ends the fun and invites eric to come inside for some of this....

btw....where's dad?



A Mug of Hot Cocoa......
oh and couple of eggnog truffles too.


My recipe for hot cocoa begins by combining cocoa powder, sugar, and enough milk or cream to make a smooth paste. Hot milk is then poured in and stirred until it is thoroughly blended. I like to make bigger batches of hot cocoa in my guardian service cookware pot, that i found at goodwill for 99 cents. the cookware is just like what my grandmother used to cook with. it reminds me of her. i love that about the pot. We like to add a plop of homemade whipped cream on top. Delicious.

Here's how to make one serving........ Hot Cocoa Recipe:

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

2 tablespoons of cream or milk


Place the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is nice and hot.

Meanwhile in your mug, make a paste with the cocoa powder, sugar, and cream. Pour the hot milk into the cocoa paste and whisk/stir until combined and smooth.







the hot cocoa connoisseur takes a sip.......




looks like eric is giving his approval to this little feast of sugar.....




and finally a little upclose pic of the truffles just for my friend, rural, in missouri....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......drool.



ps....the recipe for these joyful little things are a few posts back.