The Chapman Christmas Den is DONE!!!

 Summer headed back to Arkansas Friday morning!

She was such a blessing to us while she was here - getting the truck inspected on the down low - this is a sensitive thing since LD doesn't drive anymore and she just saved us a lot of anxiety by getting this done while I was with Louis Dean at his eye doctor - whom Summer knows and recommended!

She and I had a great time together watching Christmas movies and talking and catching up!

I love my daughter and she is so special to me....I guess your first born child always is AND she and I are both Baby Boomers! I was born in 1948 and she in 1965 - we are just 15 years apart! We still connect in an unique way - saying the same thing at the same time and even our mannerisms.

On her way out of town - Summer did one last thing for us.

She took our Spectrum equipment back and closed our account.

We went back to Frontier and will stay! They ran all new lines and set up and we are loving it!

I'm painting a little bit every day when possible - trying to finish the Santas for my grandsons.

I want to gift them by Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter.

How cool is that - my grands asked for paintings????

I went with my collection of Santa ornaments and I think that was the right decision.

I've been working in the den for over a week but I do believe it is DONE!

Or mostly, anyway!

Nita is always in my heart and on my mind.

Decorating for me - or for any season - is like basing in the canvas - and then putting in all the details.

Saturday was a beautiful one and we were out in the front yard picking up pecans - praising God for a harvest after the last three years of nothing!

We had a few helpers from next door!

Stephanie and Mark and their adorable grands all pitched in to help us!

Sunday morning I woke up just in time to watch Fellowship Church online before getting ready to go watch the Bell grand girls play hockey!

Louis Dean was out picking up more pecans when I was leaving.

He is such a sweetheart!

LD loves shelling pecans and I love baking with them!

Tomorrow I will be making him not one but TWO pecan pies!

One to serve Louis Dean and one for the freezer!

The two grandmas dressed up for the game!

Mike's mom and me!

Just look at these girls and their mom!

The game was so fun and all THREE girls scored goals!!

I was thinking about meals on my way home. 

LD has not been impressed with the last couple of menus but I remembered he mentioned we hadn't had Subway in awhile.

I fixed that!!

We ate and watched football - I'll say no more about that!

Then I took a nap and got up to put the finishing touches on the den.

It's roomier since I took out the game table chairs and added two smaller scale ones.

More Santas will be going here on the baby grand - as soon as I can find them!

I still need to decorate this fifth tree in the den!

Maybe in small red bulbs?

I'm loving this room!

Hallmark Christmas movies are always playing when I'm in here.

Comfy and cozy!

This one room is such a blessing to me.

The rest of the house is trashed - you have no idea!

Tomorrow I will get up and finish the kitchen!

When I get tired I will take a break in my Christmas den and rest.

Decorating for fall and Christmas/winter is a huge undertaking and at 76 years of age - I am grateful I can still do this.

I am using the changing of the seaons to sort, purge and simplify things.

Summer will be here in a couple of weeks to pick up several tubs of Christmas 'debris!'

I'm parting with all my western themed decorations and most of my snowmen collection.

I am not using the handpainted ornaments I have made this year.

For some reason I am feeling the need for change.

My Knight in Shining Overalls is amazing.

He is always there to do whatever I need him to do.

Did you know it's 44 days to Christmas??

My  Christmas cards and canvasses have been shipped and should be here on Tuesday! Then the addressing shall begin!!

An early Merry Christmas greeting!

The Den is Looking Christmasy!!

 Today we had Frontier out to put in our new Internet!

Our Spectrum was so slow - the modem was in the sewing room and the signal was weak by the time it reached the den that it was hard to stay connected in order to watch a program.

Summer stayed here while  I went to work at the Book Fair and I really appreciate her help.

She told them we really needed the modem in the den since that's where we use the Internet most.

They agreed - even though the construction crew had already put cable in the back yard!

Thanks to Summer, plans changed and I am loving the new service!!

I got home at 4:00 and went right to bed for a nap before going out to the den to work.

 

It's still a work in progress and I keep changing things.....

Cleaning the mirrors really does make a difference!

Summer restrung the tree lights on this one.

I haven't decided how to decorate this one yet...all red or hang the Santa ornaments I've collected over the years?

Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime!

Internet works like a charm!

So far I have worked in the den and the kitchen and will be finishing both rooms by the end of the weekend.

Then I'll move on to the foyer and living room and since I already have angels in the foyer - I may focus on that theme and use the nativity collections in there.

Step by step! Room by room!!

We had another fire log tonight and that will be the last one untill it is truly fireplace weather!

Dinner was Caesar salad....

and pasta with pumpkin sauce from Trader Joe's.

I used a pound of ground turkey instead of beef and it was pretty good!

It's not yet midnight so I am going to close and finish watching The Professionals with Louis Dean.

Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance and Ralph Bellamy all star in this 1966 western!

Book Fair With Amber, Tuesday Treasures With Brenda and the Bell Grands, and Summer's Supper for Wednesday Night!

Monday was the set up for the Fall Scholastic Book Fair!

I woke up early and arrived at shortly after my scheduled 10:30 time.

Book Fair is one of my most favorite things to do!

I always dress up and enjoy the while ambiance of being in the midst of seeing young people choosing and loving books. And I understand the lure of the 'extra' things that seem to attract the students.

I do not understand why they include flimsy and cheap things that catch the attention of the students.

Not the same quality as a book that can impact a life but a piece of inferior distraction.

But I see the attracttion and that may be a stepping stone in the education of young people as they see the brief life of some things as opposed to the substance of a good book.

Amber and I make a good team for book fair as we both love and realize the power of the written word.

She and I have been doing Book Fair since the Bell Grands were in Kindergarten and I love doing this.

Harrison came to the library to pick up his lunch box and we got to hug and take a picture!

After all was set up , Amber and I went to lunch at La Madeliene ...

We sat at a table by the fireplace and I told Amber, "I always feel rich when I come here!"

The Mimosa just added to that!

The weather turned stormy and I was glad I had an umbrella!

I left Amber and dropped some things off off at Goodwill and then shopped Walmart for some things and got home between the storms.

Loouis Dean's long arms stapled up lights on the front porch.

It's still a work in progress but at least progress is being made!

These lights will be going UP - as soon as I can corral Louis Dean to do them.

As I was coming in from sitting out and admiring the lights - I snapped this pic of Louis Dean sitting in his music room listening to Roger Miller on his record player.

I'm so grateful Louis Dean has such a love of music and working on projects and gardening and so much more.

Have I mentioned that Summer is here?

She arrived on Sunday afternoon and I am so happy to SEE her!

It's been awhile!

I made a good dinner of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, cheese broccoli and garlic toast.

Tuesday was SUCH a special day!

I was up early to do my Quiet Time and chores and then I made a really good breakfast!

The Bell Grand Girls were coming!

I buttered my iron skillet and lined it with flour tortillas then added some cooked sausage and poured a mixture of eggs, half and half, sliced sweet peppers, shredded cheese and seasonings.

Plus I cooked the rest of the sausage in patties and had fried potatoes with onions and green peppers.

All in preparation for the arrival for Trystan, Kailey and Logan!

And here they come!

I always love the way they love when they get here!

 Tuesday was such a gift!

The kids were out of school and I was so blessed to spend an entire day with the girls.

Logan and I had made some tentative plans and they bloomed into a beautiful day!

The girls brought their instruments and I loved hearing them play!

Kailey did my hair for me.

I do wear hair pieces from time to time - but this is all my own hair!

Here I have my 'extra' bangs!

I loved every minute of my Tuesday with the the Bell Girls!

We met up with Brenda and Summer for a Tuesday Treasure Hunt and they had a ball!!

This is my haul for the day and the upper left pic is the bag full of goodies the girls found.

Lots of fun things to decorate their room for Christmas as well as a few gifts to loved ones.

Can you guess whose feet is whose??

No pics from Chick-fil-A but we all had such a good time eating lunch together!

From there we hit up Aldi and the girls made it such a fast and easy trip!

We sailed through the store and they loaded the buggy and unloaded it and then packed it in the trunk of the car AND carried it all in to the house!

They are awesome!

Brenda shared this pic of Santa painted rocks she found and the girls really jumped on it!

They went out to look for stones and couldn't find any - BUT - I had several clear glass ornaments and they sorted out some acrylic paints in the storage building and went to town with the project!

They did a great job!

Logan also painted in the four reindeer for Sam's Dallas Cowboy Santa painting for me.

She is a gifted artist and can draw anything.

I can paint but I can't draw!

Ilene joined us Tuesday evening and we all ate dinner in the den and watched Christmas movies.

Kailey worked on the tree!

All three girls have artistic eyes just like their mama!

I opened the new den windows and cooled the house so we could have a firelog burning while we watched movies, ate and decorated!

I loved every single second of Tuesday.

Mike and Harrison and one of his team mates picked the girls up after their hockey practice.

I'm happy to say that Little Debbie Christmas Tea Cakes are still favorite treats for the kids and now Max loves them, too!

I found jumbo sized ones at Walmart and they were a big hit!

Wednesday was a rest and recover day as well as taking Louis Dean to his eye doctor appointment.

He got a good report and doesn't have to go back until May and that's a good thing!

He's tired of all the medical stuff!

I also made an appointment for myself since my optometrist told me I have macular degeneration as well as cataracts and glaucoma. I'll see her in January!

I worked on this journal entry when we got home and Summer fixed us a good supper of grilled cheese and soup.

She used a loaf of sliced Brioche bread I bought at Aldi and it was so delicious.

While I was writing, Summer spruced up the small den tree I keep up year round.

I am good at decorating but not at arranging lights on a tree.

I tend to just throw them on or drape 'em!

She is an artist and places them perfectly!

Finally! I am closing last night's journal entry and plan to be back this evening with pics of the den trees! Right now I am going to get dressed and go work at the Book Fair!

Summer is staying here with Louis Dean and waiting for the Frontier Internet people to come.

We are going back to Fios!!

PS.....this year's Christmas cards have been ordered as well as the Green Santa canvas prints! 

I have two for the drawing!

If your address has changed or if you haven't been receiving my cards and would like to have one, please send me your address.

I ordered 280 this year!