Monday, December 27, 2010

All is calm, all is bright....


I think this must be the part of Christmas that is described by that line.  Everything is calm, the rush and hurry is over, and today was graced with bright, glorious sunshine.  I played with my gifts to make a new centerpiece for the week. Something that reflects the calm.  Adorable faceted lantern and sparkling green Christmas tree candles courtesy of my darling husband.  Large white rectangular ceramic platter from Victoria, (I got the pottery barn bowls on my wish list from Earl and Lauren, amongst other wonderful goodies!) The tree was down Christmas day, not because I was anxious to get rid of it, but because we noticed a hatching of hundreds of tiny bugs after opening the gifts and realized the tree we purchased from Costco this year was the source! Thank goodness they waited until Christmas day to come out. A quick undecorating and it was out of the house.  Everything else is staying up until next week.  Just a little more time to savor the prettiness of Christmas. Besides, I'm guarding my last week home from work closely and the downer of taking everything down can wait. I hope everyone else is enjoying the calm. My heart goes out to my friends on the east coast who are under a snow emergency. I hope you are all home where you can burrow in until the storm is over.  Best wishes to all for a Happy New Year!  I'll see you soon:>)

10 comments:

  1. The lantern is just beautiful...I love the little vignette you made. How sorry I am about your tree! I wonder how often this happens? What a fright you must have had! You can bet I'll be checking my tree today!

    XO,
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oooh that faceted lantern is just beautiful!

    We had that happen with a tree a few years ago. We also had a tree that one year made me sneeze horribly! We've always had live trees but I think next year I'd like to go with a faux white one.

    Enjoy the rest of your break!

    Manuela

    ReplyDelete
  3. no bugs here, but the tree came down.
    leaving a few pretties up, just like you, for company on January 9 ...


    I get the itch real soon after Christmas to clean it all up

    happy new year dear friend

    ReplyDelete
  4. What wonderful gifts from such a thoughtful family! The picture is beautiful. I'm so glad that we are not getting snow right now, but it sure is cold here in Michigan, brrrrrr.....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Kathy, another amazing photograph of a beautiful vignette. We had a blizzard yesterday and it finally stopped snowing this afternoon. I was wishing for some snow, but now we have more than we could ask for...I hope to get photos before it melts. Although we have very cold temperatures and high winds, it is supposed to reach 45 on Saturday.

    Wishing you a wonderful New Years Eve.
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a pretty new centerpiece. I always love the week between Christmas and New Years day. I can enjoy the pretty lights, eat left overs, relax and enjoy the holidays. Hope your Christmas was as fun as ours. Mimi

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very Pretty, Kathy! I love those little trees. I hope your last week of vacation is blessed with lots of quiet calmness. They are getting all of that snow in the east and we are getting lots and lots of rain here in the Pacific Northwest.....I almost feel like I should build an Arc. Debbi

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy Holidays! Maybe your little tree critters were waking up for their Christmas dinner. :-)

    I confess that every Dec. 26th I have a little sign of relief. And I'm still packing up ornaments. I think they multiplied while I was out of town.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gorgeous! Love what you did with your new pretties. I am enjoying the calm after the 'storm' of activity even though the schedule is full.
    ~Adrienne~

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, how beautiful, Kathy. I love it.

    We have really enjoyed the calm, too. We took our little tree and all decorations down today and stored them back in the attic until next year.
    I am going to clean house again tomorrow and we are having a
    NEW YEAR/BIRTHDAY party on Saturday. We have done it for the last 3 years and I can hardly wait. Everyone brings snacks, drinks and games. We always have such a good time.

    Oh, and sorry about your buggy tree. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)