Happy Holidays

Our Holiday Open House has come and gone. Because it was also our 27th wedding anniversary, Hubby ordered these flowers for the table centerpiece as a surprise. They are STILL beautiful today!

We had about 100 people here (give or take 2o or so) in the course of 5 hours Sunday. I had planned on taking pictures, but then got too busy to get them done! We had a chocolate fountain that was a big hit, and we went through a flat of fresh strawberries, four fresh pineapples, 2 bags of marshmallows and a lot of pretzel logs! Besides the fun stuff, here's what else was offered:

8 lbs brisket (none left)
5 lbs sliced turkey (1 lb left)
8 lbs meatballs in spaghetti sauce (8 balls left)
8 lbs cocktail weiners in BBQ sauce (none left)
Paula Deen's Nutty cheese ball (none left)
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheese ball (1/2 left)
hot artichoke dip (1/2 left)
Apple chips and dip (all gone)
Sweet pepper dip (all gone)
4 large jars Olives with Garlic (none left)
4 cans black olives (1 can left)
7 dozen Christmas cookies (none left)
6 gallons of cranberry juice and 3 gallons of apple cider all gone
9 bottles of wine

My dining room is all nativity scenes and angels. This is the Hallmark nativity I received last year and it's on the sideboard. The top of the china hutch is filled with angels nestled in the green garland that has ribbons and lights.


This is my favorite nativity scene which is about 30 years old. It sits upon my Granny's Martha Washington Sewing Cabinet.


This nativity was purchased in Dresden Germany in 1971. I added the angel this year for balance. It's remarkable that the pieces are still in perfect condition, considering how fragile they are and how many times they've been moved! The glass trees are from Murano, Italy and are about the same age as the Dresden nativity. I ran out of room in the dining room, so this scene is set up in the living room along with all my other angels.
The hearth room is all snowmen. There's about 50 more snowmen sitting in the bookcases on either side of the fireplace, and on top of the TV armoire.Even the Christmas quilt on the wall (about 80" square) has snowmen in the center of Terry Atkinson's Lucky Star pattern. I love this pattern, and I especially love how happy this quilt makes the room!I miss my mother a lot. She was always yakking away, full of ideas and hints. The last picture I have for today is one of her best hints of all times. This silver punch bowl was purchased in Germany in 1970. It's very large, and the edges of it and the tray are very intricate - translated to very hard to clean. After the second time I asked my mom to help me polish it, she suggested this trick. Wrap every inch of the silver in Saran wrap very tightly. Leave nothing exposed. Then put the item in a dark plastic bag - I just used a navy blue laundry bag. It actually does work. Absolutely NO tarnish to clean!!!!! Now, it's all packed and ready to go the next time with no cleaning!!


I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday, safe, with family near, and many pieceful blessings for the New Year!