Black Velvet... if you please...

Day 12... still sick with this awful "bug"... doctor says another 5~7 days... I miss my Nature walk... I miss my family... we still have not had our Christmas get~together and exchanged gifts yet...(I don't want any of them to get sick)... I miss my voice, I have pretty much lost it... Jack goes for the mail each day and gets what we need from the store... I have only been out of the door once in 12 days and that was to the doctor... just not the same as going to TJ Maxx... my sister Jill brought us dinner last night...and left it on the porch... yummy beef cubes in gravy over rice, sourdough bread, salad with red wine vinaigrette, Sprite (my favorite) and cheesecake... and a cute get~well card... thanks Jill!... I love you!... then Filly and Ellie dropped a little surprise package off on my porch... yummy chamomile tea, delicious chocolate mint European biscuits, a cute get~well card and a Tea Time magazine... thanks girls! I love you guys!... That is the prettiest magazine!... I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope your New Year's Eve tonight is wonderful... me, I will have my Delsum cough syrup on~the~rocks... and pretend it is some yummy Black Velvet... Happy New Years everyone... Bisous...

My Petite Maison...

Awww... look at this precious little face... this is Zeke, one of my bloggy doggy pals and assistant to my friend Tracie at My Petite Maison... I do think Zeke is telling us that after all of the holiday hustle and bustle we need to take time to stop and smell the roses...

I ordered two items recently from Tracie, gifts from Moi to Moi for Christmas... we all need to spoil ourselves from time to time, non?... Tracie sells these adorable little vintage bottles she creates into one of a kind treasures she calls Petite Maries... I special ordered mine and asked Tracie to choose what she used as embellishments... it turned out sooo beautiful!... in the bottom she included sand from Nice, France... Tracie also sent me some yummy organic French tea... Merci Tracie!... I have had so much fun chatting back and forth through emails with Tracie about my orders, and our love of everything French, and our French ancestors...we wonder if perhaps my great~grandparents knew her great~grandmother... one day I want to visit France and see where my family lived... Tracie warns me though... I may not want to come back!... She loves France!...

I also ordered these pretty salad plates, each plate depicts Marie Antoinette dressed in different fashionable outfits with the names of her different homes ...Tracie's shop is featured in the current issue of one of my favorite magazines, Romantic Country on page 14... (right next to another favorite lady of mine, Janet at Shabbyfufu!)...

Even though it is the coldest part of winter here right now (we were -1 degree on Christmas Day), I will dream of the Spring that is to come, and sitting outside on my deck, perhaps with a glass of wine and enjoying a yummy salad on one of these pretty plates... and waiting for my tulips to peek up from their sleepy winter nap... I hope you will visit Tracie and sweet Zeke at My Petite Maison... her shop and blog are both beautiful... she recently showed a little tour of her local wine country on her blog... so enjoyable!... I felt like I had been on a mini~vacation!... be sure to tell her Julie Marie sent you... Merci Tracie... doggie kisses Zeke!... Bisous...

Our Christmas Day Dinner Guests...

Christmas Day didn't go quite as planned for us this year... I have been sick all this week, (and still am) with a nasty cold~flu bug... I was unable to go to my sister's house on Christmas Day as, besides not feeling well, there was no way I wanted any of them to get sick... we will celebrate our Christmas together when I am feeling better... I missed seeing them all so much!... Jack has been taking care of me and doing everything... he makes sure all of the bird feeders are full... We had a number of guests for Christmas dinner... let me introduce you to some of them... (as it was -1 degree here on Christmas Day, I took all of these photographs through our windows, not going outside in that!)... first off, this pretty little Robin enjoying her Christmas dinner... with our beautiful snow~covered mountains in the background... our little rural town of Centerville is a narrow little stretch of land that lies nestled between the Great Salt Lake on the west and the beautiful Wasatch Mountains to the east... we are so fortunate to have so many species of birds here... some year round... some only for the winter... watching them enjoy their Christmas with us just made my day...



A beautiful Cedar Waxwing, trying to decide on a berry...

YUM!... this one looks good!... Waxwings often pass a berry back and forth along a row of birds before one bird finally eats it... silly birds!...

I adore our beautiful Quail...

This little Black~capped Chickadee is a frequent visitor at the suet feeder... I love to watch her hang upside down to eat sometimes!...

Mourning Doves are ground~feeding birds, but this pretty one wanted to see if she was missing anything in my flowering pear tree...

Another favorite winter visitor of ours is the Dark~eyed Junco... they are the first to arrive to eat in the morning and the last to leave the feeders at night...

My beautiful little male Wild Canary... did you know many birds actually scout out their Spring nesting site in the cold of Winter... my birdhouses are up "For Rent" year round...

I love these gorgeous iridescent European Starlings... we rescued one of these precious beauties and after she was rehabilitated we released her at the Ogden Nature Center back into the protected wild... (click here to read about Stella, our little Starling)...

This beautiful daddy House Finch adds so much color to the yard...

A little mama Wild Canary waiting her turn at the feeder...

Another favorite (aren't they all???)... my little Pine Siskin... don't you just love her little "punk hairdo"...

I absolutely ADORE this little female Downy Woodpecker... look how soft her tummy looks... no wonder she is called "Downy Woodpecker"...

I hope you've enjoyed meeting some of our little dinner guests... As always, I am constantly amazed at the beauty of Nature... I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year as well at this time... See you soon!... Bisous...

Merry Christmas...

And the greatest is love...

I was not going to do another post until after Christmas, but my sweet brother~in~law just emailed me this photo of all of the gifts they are ready to drop off to our "adopted" grandmas and grandpas for Christmas... you can read my posts about them by clicking here and here and here... it is a bittersweet Christmas love story with a happy ending... the email said they could not fit one more package in the car... I am so grateful for all of the other caring people who adopted an abused grandma or grandpa as my family did... and to my brother~in~law Wes... thank you for organizing everything and getting the packages delivered...I love you Wes!... these sweet grandmas and grandpas are survivors... "Faith, Hope and Love are some good things He gave us... and the greatest is Love"... I love you grandmas and grandpas and wish you the Merriest of Christmases... Bisous...

Peace on Earth...

Thank you all so much for your heartfelt comments on baby Shaba... wishing you all a beautiful and blessed Christmas... Bisous...

Goodbye little Shaba...

This morning I am saddened...I received an email telling me my little adopted baby elephant Shaba in Africa passed away in the night... they say elephants never forget... I will never forget you little sweet baby... I am too sad to post her little picture but I found this one called Animal Heaven... of course ALL God's precious creatures go to Heaven... I love you little Shaba... rest in peace...

God's Quiet Gift of Nature Fills My Life With His Love...

Take time to enjoy the quiet beauty of the season...Merry Christmas!... Bisous...

Vintage Christmas Monday...and my Christmas wish to you...

Welcome to my Vintage Christmas Monday post... I have had sooo much fun at this party hosted by sweet Joan at Anything Goes Here... please be sure to visit Joan to see her vintage treasures and also a list of all the participants... she has worked hard to make this a fun blog party that we will all never forget... thanks Joan! I also want to say thank you to a very special blogger friend of mine... Marydon at Blushing Rose... Marydon read my post one Monday about almost all of my family's treasures my mama and daddy gathered over their lifetime being stolen by the man who was selling my daddy's house for him, and how my heart still aches over that... Marydon found this precious vintage snowman ornament for me and sent it to me with her wishes that it helps ease my loss over these treasured ornaments and the precious memories they held... and starts new family memories for me... It already has! It is hanging in the very front of my all~vintage decorated tree, even the little old string is still attached that it once hung from...these things mean so much to me... I always post how I feel about these treasures that once belonged to someone else who has now passed on, and how I know they must be looking down with love at their treasured keepsakes and smiling, remembering so many happy times at Christmas... I believe they know how much I love and take care of these things...how could anyone not believe this... just envisioning their happy memories makes me smile... Marydon, you are an angel here on earth!... Merci!...



I wish we had more Mondays... I didn't get all of my vintage Christmas photographed for this year...but here are some more of my treasures... I hope we do it again next year... I hate goodbyes... I hope we visit each other again very soon!... next are my little PINK deer from the 50's... they are some of my favorites!...


I had alot of extra smaller ornaments from the 40's and 50's that I had no more room on our trees for, so I took my 50 percent off coupon to Michael's and bought this apothecary jar to put them in... I love how they look!...

Jack's step~dad made him this wreath almost fifty years ago... the lights are kind of "iffy" about working, so I lit it for this photo and we will wait to light it again until Christmas Eve...

More of my little kneehuggers... they all wanted to give you a "group hug"... tee hee hee!...

I love my Santa wall hanger ... it is pre~WWII and after all these years still plays Silent Night...

Gurley candles from 1950, made in the good old USA back then... reproduction ones today are made in Viet Nam... so sad no longer American made...

My jingle bells marked 1942...

A pretty little battery operated tree from the 50's...

My favorite box of mini Shiny Brite ornaments... love the box too... look inside...

The inside has cut outs shaped like the ornaments for them to rest in...

A pretty tree topper angel from the late 50's...

Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus tree topper from the same time period...

Cute little elf package tie~ons... I really should use these...

My little lighted church "Made in Japan"... making it pre~WWII as well...

And last, my Christmas wish for you my friends...

Merry Christmas!... Bisous...