Out with the Old, In with the New

The last week was a blur for me---how about you?

Christmas came, and was gone in a flash. We had a good one, no gifts for each other as we really have more than we will ever need. But lots of good food, family, and friends. Does it get any better than that?

Things started to get interesting a few days before Christmas, actually. On the 18th I was storytelling in two different towns, both Christmas presentations. The first was for the Salem (WV) garden club, a group I have told stories for at Christmas for the past 3 years. Lovely people, a fine meal, totally  pleasure.

Brought some fruitcake along :) and a pretty plate and server

We left there for my next gig in the small, beautiful town of Philippi, WV, which boasts a two-lane covered bridge. So cool. This time I was joined by musician David O'Dell, who has done this performance with me for the past 3 years. It was a wonderful time, especially seeing friends I've made in the area over years of performing there.

But on the way to Philippi, we stopped at a Goodwill since we had some extra time and lo and behold, I came out of there with a new couch! I mean, brand new, and a sofa-bed one at that! For $15.00! It was a tight fit getting it in the van but we managed. I am so happy with it. Our old brown couch was about 20 years old and just worn out. Getting the new couch in meant rearranging things a bit, and also finding neighbors to help move it because it is h-ea-v-y. It took half a day to get everything situated, but was time well spent.

We got home and got seriously to work on cleaning and finishing up decorations, etc. for Christmas. I baked cookies for the neighbors and also made a batch of homemade Kahlua as gifts. (It was mighty popular!). We knew we would be driving back across the state on Monday for our grandson Clayton's wedding--a wedding planned in two weeks as they had to figure out his schedule in the Navy and his bride-to-be's work and class schedule. We thought we'd be alone on Christmas but a granddaughter texted and asked, "Granny, are you making Christmas dinner again this year? Why yes! Yes, I sure could!

We left early Monday morning (Dec 23) for the wedding, getting there in plenty of time. It was lovely, small and just perfect.

We hated to leave but we needed to stop on the way home for Christmas dinner supplies so that I could start putting the dinner together the next day. So a ten-hour driving day, followed by a cooking day on Christmas Eve. Surprisingly neither of us felt worn out--it was nice to see a little snow here and there.

Christmas Day we started out slow, with a small breakfast and time by the fire. We had a few gifts from our sons to open, and that was nice. Then it was on to cooking. And since it was such a pretty day, I decided we'd eat on the deck. Something totally different for us, but with temperatures in the upper 60's and the sun was shining, why not?

The rest of the week was spent on painting furniture, cleaning off the back porch, and I had a nice long visit with a good friend in a new coffee shop in town. One resolution this year: make more time to visit friends.

Helen's is such a pretty place! Complete with a fireplace, and the best homemade pies.

This week we've worked at both antique malls, restocking booths.Sales have been very slow for several months at our Marietta location, so we're downsizing there by one booth. It's hard to know why sales have dried up, and it's not just here--everywhere antique malls are struggling with the same thing. Will they soon be a thing of the past? It's hard to say, but I hope not because I love visiting and shopping in them.Perhaps it's the swelling online sales, or the Facebook marketplace that causing the decline?

We spent New Year's Eve with neighbors a few miles away, and had a great time. Nice people, lots of laughs, great food. We came home in time to see the new year in here, just the two of us. There is something special about being at your own fireside as the old year drags its tattered skirt into the darkness and the new year dawns. I stayed up a while, writing a poem. Another resolution: commit more time to writing.

Yesterday, New Year's Day, we dropped off this little spinet desk to its new home,

Before--I had just put the first coat on the top before remembering to take a photo.

and drove out into the country to pick up another desk and an antique shelf. The lady had goats and it was just nice to be there, petting her goats, fending off the billy, petting her dogs and just chatting. I hope we see this young woman again.

And today, we worked at our Ravenswood booths again, and I got back to the paints. It's such a pleasure to have time to work on furniture again.

Finished this one yesterday

and this one is currently in progress.

Now that the excitement and busyness of the holidays is past, I need to catch up with all of your blogs, and get back to writing my own more often. January--it's made for re-grouping, isn't it?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.