A New Year begins.....

How time slips away....more quickly now than ever...one week begins and ends almost in a wink !! This year has been filled with change for me, a temporary address while we renovate our forty something home....watching our oldest son leaving his maternal home, more difficult for him than I could ever have imagined, and my youngest son hosting Christmas Eve for the first time.....good change, but still, always trepidation for those involved....we are all managing very well! I am always grateful and try to remain mindful of those less fortunate....wishing all my readers the very best of the new coming year!! N.xo

This is my 99th post, sent from my iPad, another new beginning!! N.xo

Hallelujah!

Christmas Eve morning, as I was driving back home, with the last of my errands completed, something interesting came across the CBC radio station I listen to....it caught my attention and made me listen more intently than usual...
 

It was about the impact of the song, Hallelujah, almost thirty years after it's release,
sung by Jeff Buckley, and made famous by Leonard Cohen...that incredible word, what it evokes, even if you are of little faith... the words, telling of how joy and sorrow are inexplicably interwoven.... how we can't experience one without the other...

...it gave me pause....

I have always loved the song, my favourite rendition perhaps, by k.d. Lang.
It was sung by Lang at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and I recall the power and strength of the words, the feelings it evokes in me every time I hear it....

This Christmas, more than any other, it resonated strongly with me....how, in desperation, we throw our arms heavenward looking for an answer, consolation,
perhaps redemption, but above all hope and gratitude....and in the end, joy to be alive...

Every Christmas, I am more aware of gratitude and life itself, it seems...
 

On a lighter note..... Hallelujah !!!!  My kitchen cupboards have arrived and are being installed ! At a bit of a stand still now, with the holiday season's arrival....
Above, the new garden room/conservatory, open to the kitchen...one more coat of paint and then finished...it was all painted Cloud White.

The two islands waiting for their marble honed tops...
Early January scheduling....

...looking towards the garden room....
 

I chose simple Shaker style cabinetry with beadboard accents, suitable for our country location...the hardest thing for me to do while renovating, was remaining true to our home's own sense of place....the "bones" I had to work with...
 

Close up view of the posts in the islands....

The powder room vanity, waiting for new Corian top, Avonite, on the new stone/slate floor, called Winter....it will have a simple, under counter, oval basin with tarnished brass faucets....the cabinet is a vintage piece I painted a while ago, in anticipation of the new powder room....the walls are Cake Batter by BM...
 

These paper cones, were the only gifts I managed to make this Christmas...I found an edition of The Illustrated London News from 1871 while rummaging through the carriage house early this month...from December 21, 1871...I photo copied the illustration, Christmas Bells by Lorenz Frulich, on cardstock, and embellished it as Victorian scrap might look....channelling as my muse, Susan's class at Stitch, earlier this month....thank you Susan!!

Another joyful season has come and gone, my dear readers....I wish all of you love, health and much happiness, now and throughout the coming year...and always grateful for your unwavering support and generous comments...I am always overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity and above all, friendship...

photos from my iPhone

The Holy and the Broken, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah, a new book, by Alan Light.

N.xo

 

Just thinking....what's next??

Today, just like everyday, I went back to check on the progress of the renovation to our home in Jordan...
I like to go on the weekend, when all the trades are absent, and I can look at what has been done through the week, alone, without company or observation...
It was a wet, drizzly and foggy day today, not looking like Christmas at all...
The light coming in through the big, new windows was a flat, dull grey...
but I liked the way it played off the walls, and the paint colour I had chosen, Cake Batter.
I thought it would work nicely with the greens and whites I like to decorate with at Christmas,
and the newly upholstered sofas, now renewed with a creamy cotton duck fabric.
Two tufted, vintage bedroom chairs will join them, recovered in a green pastoral toile fabric. To date that is really all I have decided to do until we move back in.
 

It's been a learning curve these last few months, every little detail must be considered to avoid disappointment and worse, mistakes you have to live with!
 

 

I am hoping that all the collections and trappings of life accumulated over the years will find their way back in....
 

I know that I edited for six months, while I was packing for the remodel and I have a gnawing suspicion that more will have to go!  Several walls were knocked down, so space for furniture has diminshed....

I know that I liked the way things fit in last Christmas....
 

This sweet, Victorian scrap ornament, taught by Susan at Stitch this week, has kept me occupied of hand, if not of mind....

I plan on making a few more this week.
 

Connection to things is interesting....memories recalled and experienced.....

I quite liked the way they looked in my old house, how will they look now??

 

One thing for certain is a constant,  our beautiful, woodland surroundings have not changed over the years that we have lived here...every season they bring new beauty, especially in winter....
Today, looking through the new, white windows, the view was the same, familiar and
comforting....
 

Next week will be the tell all......the floors and kitchen will be installed....
Progress, finally!


Thank you for bearing with my fragmented thoughts today!

N.xo

 

Making a list....and deleting it twice!

I am not a big list maker, but since I have had an iPhone, the Notes app has become my best friend...gone are all the lists of groceries and to do's of holidays gone by...instead everything I need to do is hidden away and available at a touch of the screen...thank you Mr. Jobs...

Food takes top priority at my house, after decorating....first priority at my sister's house...before decorating! It is always a source of friendly discussion between the two of us!
Today, I did just that...made lists....gifts to buy, baking supplies to buy, stocking stuffers, etc. and I actually
managed to DELETE a few off the list...and it is only Dec. 3rd!

Last year was the first time I decided to make a trifle, not really Italian, but we do have husbands who are of English and Scottish descent....so I made a Black Forest Trifle last Christmas...you can see it pictured above...it was lovely, but not really a big seller...

What is requested, however, every year by our husbands, is mincemeat pie or tarts....you can see it below.  I bake it in a fluted flan pan, add more rum and brandy, a grated pear or two... since it is so rich, it makes a thin piece just perfect for a serving....again, not a big seller, except for two special men in the family!
 

I found these cute chocolate mice to embellish it with...
 

Another tradition on the " to do " list is egg nog which I make from scratch...I have made this every year since my sons were very young....with and without spirits....
I use Southern Comfort for my recipe...tastes like a milk shake!
 

I like to gift this to friends, and it makes a wonderful hostess gift...
 

My sister Micki makes most of our Christmas goodies, above are her beautifully wrapped Maria Bruno bars, loaded with candied fruit, spices, nuts and chocolate...the recipe is an old family recipe from our Mother.

She own's M.A.M. Gourmet and is in "production" everyday till Christmas!!!
 

Shortbread stars, dipped in white chocolate, are a favourite with our family, as well as her many clients...they just melt in your mouth!
 

Ricotta cookies, frosted with cream cheese frosting are one of my favourites!!!
 

Here is an assortment of treats for Christmas Eve at our house... along with the traditional Italian pizzelle, dusted with icing sugar, are the decadent butter tarts, my boy's favourites!!
As well as our husband's!
 

Here you can see that a few are missing from the front row!!!

This is prior to dessert being served!

 

 

Because there will be no decorations for me to consider this year....have I said that before? :(  I will have to do some baking I suppose...

Last year's family room window sill....
It is quite different now, it is boxed in with a new window and painted white.  We were able to retain the stone insert as it was, and the panelling is painted in Benjamin Moore, Fresh Cream..

Back to baking... :-\

 

I love that we mix up our traditions, both our husband's and our's, that is what creates such a rich tapestry for our children and families to embrace, cherish and remember from year to year.. Scottish shortbread, English trifle and mince pie, egg nog, Italian pizzelle and biscotti...

How fortunate we are....

I hope that your list is getting shorter, and the preparations for the month ahead coming to fruition....

Remember, to take time to reflect on the true meaning of this beautiful season....

N.xo