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Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 30 December 2019

Winter is the Time for Home

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~ Edith Sitwell 

Hello dear ones! I hope you all enjoyed the Holidays and you are looking forward to what the new year will bring.

Winter has settled in upon us with some fresh snow and outside my window looks like a Christmas card. In the evenings we like to watch a movie or sip hot chocolate in front of the fire. New Year's Eve we are supposed to get a snow storm, so winter is definitely here. 

I will be one year older come New Year's and to be honest, I will be glad to put the old year behind me. It has been a trying year for my family what with my mother passing a few months ago and other matters.

Christmas was very busy but quiet, does that make sense? We were happy to have a couple of our family members with us. We have next summer to look forward to now when everyone will be coming home for a visit. It will be a very full little cottage with everyone here including a furbaby. Full of love, that is! 

Every year I send my one little granddaughter a Christmas ornament to decorate her tree with when she grows up. Isn't she a cutie? I miss her so much because she lives out on the west coast.

She's getting older and appreciating the ornaments more every year. My son sent me a picture of her newest one from me hanging on their tree. The wee candy cottage looks so cute hanging there next to the candy cane and she loves it!
                        
Every year my hubby gifts me with a new tree ornament and this is my newest one. It is large with an embossed design of chickadees and cardinals on it. 


My Island son took this picture with his new i-phone and I thought it pretty enough to share with you. This is my crystal hurricane lamp in the middle of the coffee table.


I am taking pictures with my phone right now because my camera won't run off the pictures on to my computer. I have no idea why. At least my phone takes a decent picture.

I was surprised to see the tulips are in the grocery store and since it's still the holiday season, I picked some red ones. The holidays are coming to an end but I'm now looking forward to Spring so the tulips are a welcome sight.
The teapot is a gift I received one Christmas.  Perfect for the winter months.


My Vista teacup was an antique find several years ago.


Chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce and fresh whipped cream was one of the desserts I served at Christmas. The cake is made from scratch and has no eggs in it. It is a very dense and moist cake.


Many of my recipes you can find on my sidebar when you print in the recipe in the box marked "Search this blog."


A cup of tea, a yummy dessert, and my friends dropping by, what more could one ask for on this pretty winter day? 

Have a beautiful day everyone and this week, as we begin a new year, may we look forward to all the delights it will hold. 


This is your year to SPARKLE!

God bless and watch over you all! 


We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called OPPORTUNITY and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

15 comments :

  1. So lovely Sandi. Pardon me if this is a second comment. It seems the first one did not publish when I hit the button!! It is typical Christmas weather here....in the 50s. A bit chilly but bearable. I too give my grands ornaments so they will have some for their own trees. I did that with my kids and they still use them. I plan to use the winter months for some deep cleaning, sorting and donating. I have so many things I do not use so why am I holding on to them????Happy New Year to you and yours.

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  2. Happy New Year, Sandi! Your granddaughter is such a sweetie and her little ornament is precious, as is the gift from your husband.
    Blessings, Linda

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    1. Thank you, Linda, and thank you for all your visits. Happy New Year to you!

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  3. What a cute picture of your granddaughter, Sandi! I love your custom of sending an ornament every year for her tree. Won’t it be wonderful to have everyone next summer?? Your tulips are so pretty, and I know how much you love them. Yes, we both made a dense chocolate cake. I’d love yours with the raspberry (My favorite) sauce.
    Thank you for sharing such meaningful quotes, dear friend. I’m sending warm hugs for a most Happy New Year!! xo

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  4. It was unseasonably warm during the holidays so it felt odd to have a "green Christmas".

    I like your tradition of giving your granddaughter an ornament each Christmas. I do the same thing for my godson.

    Your cute snowflake teapot will definitely help you get through the looong winter months.

    Last year, a professional photographer did a Lunch and Learn: Intro to Photography at work. He said that the latest cell phones are so advanced that their cameras are actually better than most of the compact cameras.

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  5. Happy New Year to you and yours! I do pray that your New Year will be filled with joy and good health and many blessings. I understand how difficult this past year was for you and pray the next will be blessed. Love the pictures, and that little cottage ornament for your granddaughter is so sweet! I know she will treasure it! Love your cardinal ornament as well! The tulips look so lovely!! Have a wonderful week, and stay warm!!

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  6. Hi Sandi,

    Your granddaughter sure is cute. A wonderful tradition with ornaments to have with her. She'll enjoy it more and more as she ages.

    We haven't had winters arrival yet. We are stuck in weather pattern of clouds, rain and balmy temperatures. Not very enjoyable.

    Happy and healthy New Year!

    Cindy

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  7. Dearest Sandi, I always want to kick myself for not stopping by more regularly.. your posts are always so uplifting and encouraging! and not least of all a feast for the eyes! I came to you this morning with little expectation for the new year but you put hope in my spirit! We live in Virginia and it is diffiuclt for me to separate myself from the turmoil that surrounds us as is being perpetrated in high places in our state... I love Virginia dn it's glorious and inglorious past having taught Virginia history for 30 years, and I am afraid we are about to see an attempt to undo many ungirding priniciples that are tantamount to the our fabric! Therefore, I have approached the new year with a bit of trepidation vowing to keep my eyes on what God is doing and not man!! And your post reminds me to never fail to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us..in things vast and small.. It gives me the impetus to get out of the doldrums and plan a tea party and enjoy each day with anticipation and love! I feel renewed in spirit and in heart! Blessing to you, dear friend, and prayers for your New Year to glisten with every good thing for the Lord.. health, happiness, love and joy! In Him! Schotzy!

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  8. Happy New Year Sandi! I saw dessert dishes to match your teapot at Home Sense. Nice idea to give the ornaments to your granddaughter.

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  9. Happy New Year!Your Grand is an adorable princess.Thank you for this sweet post to start the New Year!Hugs and blessings.

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  10. Sandi, I always enjoy your lovely photos. Your granddaughter is beautiful and looks like one who is beautiful INside as well. Wishing you all a wonderful 2020.

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  11. Happy New Year to you dear Sandi. I love that you send your granddaughter an ornament each year to decorate her tree with when she is grown. What a wonderful idea. I give my grands a new ornament every year to place on their tree and have for as long as I can remember. My hopes is that one day they will take those ornaments to their own home to decorate their tree with. I hope that you have a blessed and healthy new year! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  12. Hi Sandi,
    I love the picture of your little granddaughter.
    Love those tulips...so nice to have them early this year.
    Carolyn
    I hope you have a wonderful year this year....full of love,joy and good health!

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  13. Such a lovely Christmas you had, I like your concept of busy and quiet, it was rather like that here too. Our daughter got the flu, so it was busy, but yet quiet. She is better now, thankfully. The chocolate cake you made looks quite delicious! And your son's photo of your candle is beautiful! I take a lot of pictures with my phone camera now too. They are quite convenient. Praying you have a blessed and lovely year 2020 :)

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  14. I am late responding to my blogs....no internet until today! It sounds like you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and Happy Birthday to you! Yes, 2019 was a challenging year for me as well but keep the faith that 2020 will be the best year yet...and that is also my hope for you! Happy New Year, Sandi!

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I am delighted to have you visit me and I read every comment. Please forgive me for not being able to visit you all as there are so many of you lovely bloggy friends now. I will visit as much as possible. I wish you a day filled with JOY!

Also, due to the amount of spam I've been getting, I have had to set Comment Moderation. ~ Sandi

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