For Auld Lang Syne

Do you ever think about the phrase "auld lange syne" and what It means?  

The words 'Auld Lang Syne' literally translates from old Scottish dialect meaning 'Old Long Ago' and is about love and friendship in times past. 

"We'll take a cup of kindness yet" relate to a drink shared by men and women to symbolize friendship.

The title of the Scottish tune translates to “times gone by” and is about remembering friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten.

I just found out about a man I've known since the 80's through a furniture store that passed away from a short illness and I want to remember him in this post.  He was a good person, a friend to many.

For Auld Lang Syne Bill

Time to bring in 2015

Wishing you all a very

Happy New Year!

 

2014 In Review

I thought I'd pull together a review of 2014 on my blog.   Instead of the top most viewed posts I'm selecting posts that had special meaning to me and reflected happenings throughout the year.

I began 2014 with a post called "The Art of Sleeping Bear Dunes" about our visit to a local museum and the book that included a picture that my husband's sister's artwork was included in.

  "Link"

Following that post I reflected on "The Old Farm, A Shadow of What it Was" which is where my husband grew.  It's a retired former dairy farm.

"Link"

I February I created a Tablescape for one of my sister's called  "Happy Birthday Sis"

"Link"

Last winter was brutal on all of us and we received an exceptional amount of snow here up in northern Michigan!  I worked to find reasons to be happy during the l o n g  winter and in this "Golden Crystalline Morning" post was one of those reflective moments looking for that silver lining!

 "Link"

Spring finally came and soon Easter arrived!  I posted about a family visit "Easter and Family Time"

 "Link"

Early in June we were saddened with the loss of one of our pets Riley that we lost to cancer "Forever In our Hearts" 

He was a beautiful loving cat who's life was cut short at age 7

"Link"

Late in July we went to a family reunion party that I posted about "Family Reunion and a Recipe"

  "Link"

In August we decided to bring a new rambunctious kitten home that I posted about on one of my "This Week's Ramblings"  He's brought a lot of  youthful joy back into the house!

 "Link"

I created a Tablescape called "Summer Reflections"  and you can see some of the summer gardening I enjoyed in the background.

"Link"

To know me is to know I obsess a bit about gardening and when September rolled in I continued on with some new ideas for fall "Between Summer and Fall on the Deck"

"Link"

October came in and before I knew it Halloween had arrived.  I did a post that gathered a few pictures from some of the posts I had done "Halloween Fun Fest 2014"

"Link"

November came in with a lot of snow "grr" and then Thanksgiving arrived and I created another Tablescape "Reflecting and Being Thankful"

"Link"

December

I love Christmas and I did a lot of posts so I put this together which included all of the month's posts called "Holiday Wrapped Up 2014"

"Link"

I've enjoyed getting to know so many of you through blogging and I'm so grateful for those of  you who take time to follow me.  We all have a story to tell one way or another and it's fun to share and feel a part of each other's lives. 

Wishing You a Merry Christmas

 To remind us of the reason for the season

 ~Some beautiful music~

 Away In a Manger

       

Silent Night

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Holiday Wrapped Up 2014

Here is a little Holiday Tour with a collection of images from this year's posts. You can see any of my holiday posts located at the right side margin under the Blog Archives- December 2014 

 Dicken's Village on the Etagere

 Christmas Garden Window

In the Forest With Santa

 Snowy Cottage Vignette

 Plaid Tidings To You

Cozy Christmas Gone Tartan

 Silver Santa and his Reindeer with Ruby Reds

 Dining Table Glitz

 Oh Christmas Trees

 Holiday Mantel 2014

Nativity and Santos Cage Doll

 Time to relax, bake cookies and savor the moment.

Nativity and Santos Cage Doll

A few of you noticed the wings on my Santo's Cage doll in my Christmas Tree post earlier this week.

Did you know that originally, Santos were created for use as in-home altars.  They were needed in small villages that did not have a priest, as well as for when it was not possible to travel to church, such as during times of war.  Their development flourished in Europe  in the 1700's and 1800's, primarily due to these wars.  (source)

I found a cross to add to my doll this year. 

 I used two candle rings to decorate the bottom and a flameless candle.

The little wings came from the same on-line source called Mothology as the cross.   The table topper came from my Mother's.  She's always had a good eye for picking out nice things.

 

Away In a Manger

Season's Greetings Everyone!

I couldn't leave well enough alone- I had to plant something!!

November 10th

I planted some Amaryllis.  One is called Magic Green and the other is called Wedding Dance

November 22

These bulbs took off growing like they were on steroids!

December 7

I put everything near the sliding glass window to catch the morning sun.  The Magic Green is now 36" tall!  My Christmas Cactus decided to join the fun too and is budding out!

Dec. 10

The flowers opened fast

They have a soft yellowish green to ivory coloring 

with burgundy accents

As they age they get lighter in color and look more ivory

With the sun cast on it the Magic Green really looks yellowish/green.  The white Wedding Dance one started blooming promptly

I love this one- the flowers are huge- 8" across and have this pretty lime green center and a wonderful textured petal.  This one is described as being from Africa

Dec. 18

The Magic Green is all done blooming but the the Wedding Dance Amaryllis is in full bloom.  The Christmas Cactus are blooming nicely.  That's a seed ball on the right that's going out to the birds soon.

I decided to set it on the hearth.  I've been reluctant to put anything fragile there because of our 7 month old kitten that can be a bit rambunctious!  

I wish winter was sunny like this more often!   We were under the "gray dome" for days.  Snow has come and gone 3 times.  I think this might stay through Christmas- let's hope!  So far this winter is nothing like last year- thankfully!  We had 70" of snow by the same time last year and were experiencing sub-zero temps.  It was a brutal winter!

I hope you are relaxing and enjoying the holiday season!  

Merry Christmas to you all!

I'm joining
Have A Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson
Share Your Cup Thursday