In Percy's World

In Percy's world everything is a toy. He scans the room just looking for his next plaything.



I wonder who pulled that bulb off the branch.



It's a scratch



and sniff world.



And scratch, Percy no! He thinks that's his name, Percy No.



Then he gives me the who me? Innocent look.



As rambunctious as he is, he can steal my heart when he climbs in my lap and snuggles. He is a world champion snuggler and I can never resist that face!

Messiah at the Mall

You probably already saw this video but watch it again. It was sent to me by a friend and I think it's really cool! Enjoy!

Christmas Gift Ideas

The older I get, the harder it is to think of unique Christmas gifts. Perhaps we could all use a little help in this area.

I think one of my favorite gifts was something I made very inexpensively. First, I bought a bunch of snow globe picture frames. Then my sister and I drove to our friend's houses and photographed their illuminated houses under cover of darkness. First of all, we didn't want them to see us and second, we needed to see the home with the Christmas lights on.

We then cut the photos to size, placed them in the snow globe frame, and voila, instant white Christmas at each person's home. Believe me, this gift will wow the recipient and they will take it out year after year to display at Christmas.

Here's another fun gift. Go to the website Rent Mother Nature and lease a goat for a friend or family member. I leased a goat for an animal loving friend a few years ago. As her gift she received a certificate of the lease, an "action" photo of the goat, and some goat cheese. I forget how many logs of cheese she got but they were different varieties. She said the goat cheese was delicious and she enjoyed owning the goat for a year.

My sister is giving one of her friends a guitar jam session with an admired guitarist.

I am leaning toward consummable gifts. We all have too much stuff, don't you think?

So, what creative gifts will you be giving this year?

Christmas Photo Shoot with the kitties

I decided to take some Christmas shots of the kitties. Percy loves to pose for the camera. Yup! He's on cloud nine.



I think he's pretending it's a bearskin rug and not a faux fur throw.



Oscar as you can see does not like to pose.



The first time I walked by Molly, I thought she was part of the decorations. She is my quiet kitty, not at all like her rambunctious brothers.



Maybe I should have given her a halo.



Too bad I already created my Christmas cards!

The second annual Christmas Soiree

I had my second annual Christmas Soiree on Saturday night. Just like last year, my friend Don and I lit luminarias to line the walkway. You couldn't miss the house with all that candlelight. I was a little concerned as the forecast was for a blustery night but it worked out just fine.

We placed kitty litter in cream colored paper bags then we lit white votives in glass cups and nestled them into the kitty litter. The luminarias lasted from 6:00 to midnight.



I wanted to do something different this year so I decided to have carolers sing for a half hour at the beginning of the party. My sister's group, Katfish 4 agreed to sing. They have a "real" gig next week in Andover.



I told them I wanted carolers in Victorian dress. They were nice enough to accomodate me. They sounded great and they played a variety of instruments too. The mandolin, guitar, and penny whistle to name a few.



The early party goers got a chance to hear the concert.



Two women at the right of the photo are like second monthers to me. Clara on the far right is the woman who has my sister and I over for Thanksgiving dinner. Ellie, second from the right, is the woman who invites us for Christmas dinner. My dad goes to have dinner with my mom at the nursing home for the holidays. The woman on the far left is my very good friend Debbi and in case you didn't notice Debbi is Ellie's daughter.




My friend Mary, Clara's daughter, made all the desserts for the party. Mary also made these marshallows in snowflake shapes. I saw the snowflake recipe in an old Martha Stewart magazine and I asked Mary if she could make them for my party. We had them last year and they were a big hit so I wanted them for this year's party too.




Last year Mary made her famous Midnight Velvet cake for the party. She made it in the shape of Hansel and Gretel's cottage. It was so beautiful, no one wanted me to ruin it by cutting it. So this year I thought a tudor style house might be a little bit less of a wow factor and perhaps my guests would actually eat the cake this year.

It still had a wow factor with the dusting of powdered sugar accenting all the nooks and crannies of the cake but the guests actually ate the cake this year. It smelled as good as it tasted.



The fireplace was turned on for the evening. It gave off a lovely glow and the room had the cozy look I was hoping for. I had hoped to have the TV wall mounted before the party so I could decorate the mantel but time ran short. I ended up just throwing lighted garland and the cats' Christmas stockings on it.




Ok, this tree is definitely not my finest work but I had issues this year. I was worried that Percy, my kitten, would knock the ornaments off the tree. So I used my old prelit tabletop tree and I got the Happy Holidays banner from Pottery Barn. It served my needs.

As for the kitties, Percy climbed right up the middle of the tree within 5 minutes of me putting it on the table. I wished I had my camera with me at the time. He actually got stuck in the tree. He stood on his hind legs and he draped his front paws over one of the branches. I am sure I looked hilarious trying to first coax him then drag him out of the tree. See why I did not add ornaments this year?

Then yesterday, Oscar, my middle kitty, jumped on the table and laid under the tree. He got his claw caught in the lace tree skirt and proceeded to tug on the skirt. I had just entered the room and tried to get to him before he toppled the tree. I still can't believe what happened next. Oscar gave the tree skirt a good tug and both he and the tree skirt landed on the floor and the tree did not fall! I think Oscar must have been a magician in one of his previous nine lives!



Here's a wider view of the living room.



This shot was taken this morning. Molly blends in with the tree and Santa. She is happy it is quiet and she can have the run of the condo again.

I hope to have more photos of the evening soon. I was too busy to take photos last night.

This post is part of the Christmas with Victoria party. Click on the badge on my sidebar to see other partipant's posts.

The china cabinet and fireplace

The china cabinet and the fireplace arrived! The china cabinet was moved from my Dad's house to mine. I hired the same guy who moved my furniture from my apartment to the condo and he also moved the estate sale furniture for me (the sofa and chair).

So there it is in my dining room. Isn't it beautiful? It sat in my Dad's basement since the 1960's when my grandmother moved in with my parents. My parents did not have a dining room so there was no place for it.




It was covered with a cloth but still there was quite a bit of dust and dirt on it. When I got it home I gave it a nice bath of Murphy's oil soap and it cleaned up beautifully.



I absolutely love the lock and key.




Here's another view.



I decided to decorate it for Christmas. A brass sleigh, one of my favorite pieces.




A vintage reindeer and bottle brush tree.




I was pleased to find out that three of the shelves had hooks for hanging teacups. I immediately took out my favorites and hung them up.



On to the fireplace! Yeah, it arrived in two boxes but not at the same time so I was a little panicked at first. The first box weighed 70 pounds so it was a bit heavy to lift. I slid it into the living room.




I hate assembling things especially big heavy things. I have a mental block when it comes to anything mechanical. I was going to pay someone to put it together for me and I told my sister of my plan.

She said, "Lane, I think we can do it". I said, "No, I don't mind sitting and reading the instructions to someone but I am not good with a screwdriver." So we agreed. I got the easy job and she was on her hands and knees with the screw driver.

To make it nicer, I played my Christmas Cds. Honestly, whenever I have assembled something with a man we end up fighting. My sister was so calm it was actually a pleasure. And in the end all she wanted in return was a homemade brownie and a cup of tea. It was quite a bargain.




Here's a closeup of the front piece. I know it's not the real thing but it is still quite nice.





I will eventually wall mount the television and I would like to frame it. For now I think I will have to leave the TV as it is and just put some greenery on the mantel. And I will address the wire cord mess.

Just a few more things I can cross off my to do list before this Saturday's party.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We started Thanksgiving dinner with zucchini squares as appetizers.



Then we had stuffing...



and the bird of course.




Yes, there was cranberry sauce.



I made cream cheese mashed potatoes.



My sister made butternut squash.



There were family members present...



and good friends too.



Well, I had to try it all! And it was all sooo delicious!



For dessert, gingerbread cookies and a sneak peek to my Christmas soiree. Mary made a trial run with the new cookie molds I bought. The results were fantastic! Gingerbread nutcrackers and a lovely winter scene with kitties. These will be perfect for next week's party.



The impression on the cookies was crisp and clean! It took a bit of work on Mary's part.



We also had Mary's famous mile high apple pie, cookies from Clara, and lemon bread from Sheila.

It was a wonderful meal and Clara even let me keep one eye on the Patriots game while we ate dinner. What could be better than that!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day.