once again

I do love this moment...this time of the year.
Wonderful fresh memories of family, stories from friends, a heart full.
This is the final gift given.

And that door waiting to open - again.

It is a new door to a new year.

With anticipation, we wait.

Holiday Sale at Hixton

Wishing you a Merry Christmas & Happy 2013!
Take 25% off your purchases in my booth at the Hixton Schoolhouse Antique Mall in Hixton, Wisconsin through January 5, 2013.

For all the details....hop to the right under "Chapters".

little merry

Sending out holiday wishes thru the snow to you...8 inches so far, drifting to come.
Cozied up with work from home - will be a white Christmas indeed!

Hoping you are at the end of your lists, and ready for time with family.

ho, ho, ho!

Merry Christmas!

words to live by...

We turn during times of tragedy to words of comfort, faith, support.....as an Early Childhood Educator, I often turn to words of one of my heros, Mr. Rogers:

"When I was a little boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me "Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping."  To this day, especially in times of 'disaster', I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by knowing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in the world."

So we look to the helpers:

• Teachers who protected, who read to children while bullets rang out, who decided that their care, their words, would be wings over the children.  These are the wings of angels.
• The faith of a nation, rising with prayer for families grieving unbearable loss.  Reaching out to shattered innocence with compassion.
• A resonating "ENOUGH" rising through our country...calling for control of rights.  We all have a First right to safety....and the safety of our youngest, our weakest.  This trumps all other rights, just does. 

As a parent, in my wish for my son's life, being helpful was on the top.  We need helpers......more then anything else in this world, we need helpers.

upon their wings...

And he will give his angels charge of thee to guard you in all your ways...upon their wings they will lift you up...

Prayers for the children, families, teachers & community.
Our hearts are indeed broken. Such sadness...

holiday time

I often change my mind.

I think that Christmas decor should be just natural - pine cones, fresh evergreen, cranberries threaded just so ~ pure & simple. Then I decide it really is about twinkly lights, glittered stars, tarnished silver & gold ~ that sparkle of the first snow. Then whimsy crosses my mind....sweet snowmen marching across a shelf, a flock of deer & bottle brush trees tucked about ~ magic. But then I travel back to traditional green & red, mottled color, a nod to Santa ~ the Christmas of my childhood.

Yes, I change my mind ~ ~ ~ a lot.

So in the end, I go the Kari-way.....a little of this, a little of that, always with vintage as the root.

See, December to me is just about home...and the joy found there. It is a warm quilt, a comforting couch, a warm place to cozy away in over this winter holiday. It is a sentimental nod to the past, a serene glance to the future and always the reassurance that the present is here, right here.

Happy Holidays!

much

Amount of snow we received on Sunday = L O T S

Today we will dig out...with trails for goats & kittens. But for now, it is untouched, quiet and beautiful.

snow arrives

6-8 inches of snow by midnight ~ ~ so today feels like being in a snow globe....shaken, shaken, shaken.

**snuck out in boots & a robe (still flu bound) to snap the snow start**

cup of Christmas cheer

I adore sweet little tea cups & adorable little holders. And, I love to fill them with charm.

enjoy...

a gift

So often our hurry up lives leave us missing moments...the little details that soften the hard edges of long days. To me, the details take away the mundane...remove neutrality, elevate - yes, elevate our lives. But, I get caught up in busy and miss these moments.

So, as I throw in the towel to this illness that has swept into my body this week...I also step off the roller coaster of December. I am forced to ease back, to slow it down, to lay low.

And what do I notice - the details. The chime of our mantle clock, calling out the hour as it has done for 100 years. The soft light coming in through the dotted green curtains, like being touched with magic. The solid warmth of a cat at my feet, the loyalty that awaits when I just sit down. The tiny ribbon, just right on that sweet ornament. The sound of the bells on our kitchen door as it opens to home.

As much as I will relish my return to wellness, I have come to understand, too, that we move too fast, take on too much, and miss moments. It is too bad that it takes our own body calling "stop" to understand.

white Christmas

No snow...but twinkly white inside. Our living room is green & brown with white added for the holiday. Peaceful & calm, like that first snow.