Quite simply...Merry Christmas

I woke early this morning and whilst lying in bed trying to fall back asleep and having no luck I thought about you... this blog, and anyone who stops by to check it out. That led to thinking about this post...which led to more not being able to sleep which led to me sneaking out of bed and turning on the laptop and now here I sit...

We are but a couple of days and a handful of hours away from the big day. For me I have been in Christmas mode for what seems like months, and so it is that about this time I feel totally void of any excitement...no worries though, it will return, just not until the last minute.

Here in my little corner of Muskoka, it has been raining...yes raining...ugh. Rain means mild temperatures, which at any other time of the year I would welcome, but I love me a white Christmas, which does not seem to be in the cards this year for us...oh well fingers crossed for some un-forecasted cooler temps to give us just a dusting in time for the big guy!

So I thought I chat a little about Christmas traditions and what my family does that is special to us at this time of year. As I said before my family growing up was not a stickler for tradition, Christmas unfolded in it's own way each year; the tree, the location, the host. The mainstays were always waking super early to see what Santa had placed under our tree and the opening of presents before the sun rose...or at least before breakfast, and the meal with extended family later in the day. Whomever hosted would lay all their gifts out on their beds to show to the rest of the family...It was always exciting when it was our turn.

And then I met my husband and the tradition of Christmas for us changed. He had traditions that he felt very strongly about continuing with our new family. The biggest change my Christmas traditions have undergone is the timing of the opening of the presents...We still wake early to see what Santa placed under the tree, but the rest of the presents are not opened until after dinner...yup after dinner. Now in fairness dinner happens early afternoon (3ish) but the anticipation builds...and therein is the point I suppose. It really is the best of both worlds...the immediate wow of the Santa gifts,and the ability to play with those things all day, but still more to look forward to after the big meal. I'm not gonna lie, it has taken some getting used to and my family still thinks it is crazy but I like the flow of the day, and the little extension of Christmas Day excitement.

What are your Christmas traditions? Have they changed since childhood? How have marriage and children affected how your Christmas plays out?

Wishing each of you the Merriest of Christmases, and the best in the year to come.

From my family to yours Happy Holidays!

In my household of late...

Good Day everyone in blogland...oh how I am missing you. I have tried to keep abreast of what is going on out there, comment when I can but time is tight these days as many of you well know, and some things just fall to the bottom of the imaginary list...not today!

I downloaded some pictures off my camera this morning and thought I would share all that has been happening in our household of late.

The tree is up and trimmed. This is my favorite thing to do getting ready for the season ahead. Nothing starts until the tree is up for me. My husband tries to hold me off as long as he can, but this year he did a wonderful thing and surprised me with a tree... Or he would have, had I not looked at the bank account and noticed a transaction that did not make sense. Still it was a nice surprise that I totally needed. More important...he knew I needed it. I could love him for that alone.

Last week I came home to find this wonderful craft that my daughter made at school, it is her handprint on a glass ball with the fingers made into little snowmen (I'm sure you've all seen versions of this on pinterest) but it was so nice to receive it along with it's little poem about how fast she will grow up...not gonna lie, I cried...yup it was a nice gift to receive and hang on our tree.

 My tree is steeped in tradition and memory. My family growing up was not big on following the same traditions each year, there was never a right way or a wrong way to do Christmas, but the one thing we always had were our ornaments. The same ones went up every year, I always had my favorites, and I still do today. the ornaments have been passed to me, and for that I am thankful. Each year I realise just how much these simple little things mean to me. I am not one to hold onto things for sentiment, so these things that I pack away every January and dig out every December bring me great joy.

Another thing I try to do each year is to build a Gingerbread house. One year I even made my own gingerbread...only one year because ugh that was a chore, and a frustration to beat all frustrations...so now as un inspired as it is, I buy a kit. The girls and I did this one day last week, it was fun, they enjoyed and I let them...meaning I did not take over too much, try too hard to control the outcome wanting perfection, these moments were perfection enough...

 

A self portrait by Isobel...I couldn't resist :o)

So this is what has been up in my neck of the woods in my moments at home with the girls...the rest of the time I have been in the gallery where I am happy to report that people are shopping local and buying handmade.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each of you!

2 Days until my big girl comes home...

2 More Saturdays to shop...

10 Days until the big day...

YIPEE!

A moment to breathe....

Well the Christmas season is well underway and I am happy to report that people seem to to be getting the message to shop local, or buy handmade...and of course at my gallery they can do both! We have been as busy in the last two weeks as we are at the height of the summer season when our population swells with cottagers. We couldn't be more happy, and thankful.

Running a retail gallery open seven days a week makes it a bit hard to get our own shopping done, but we are almost complete. I just have my husband left to do, and he is proving to be a tricky one...here's hoping I come up with something in time. Regardless the Christmas spirit has enveloped me and with the tree up and the house decorated I feel that warm fuzzy inside.

Today we embark on the gingerbread house...we will see how it turns out at the hands of a 2-1/2 year old and a  4 year old...should be fun. Ours won't look anything like this, but isn't it amazing!



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Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead and remember there are only 2 more Saturdays until Christmas...and one of them is Christmas Eve...how exciting!

I will leave you with a few of my holiday pins from my Pinterest...yes I am addicted  :o)

Been awhile...

So the number one rule about developing a loyal blog readership is to post regularly...big old fail on my part I'm afraid...and I don't think it will get much better as Christmas approaches.

I will post when I can, but things are getting crazy here right now, and I need them to be so, because in the new year things go quiet in my neck of the woods...so I will return more regularly then, and until then I will post as often as I can in the hopes that I will not lose on of the 8 followers I currently have and/or alienate anyone who checks me out regularly.

Today some things I love via my Pinterest

Happy December all! See you when I can...please don't forget me ;)

Still finding my legs...

I am a new blogger...I have been blogging for several months now, but I still feel new, unsure and have yet to figure out where all this is going. I think I knew when I started that I would not be able to focus solely on one thing and that I tend to like to comment on whatever is on my mind at the moment and thus the name of my blog 'In Corners of My Mind'. This post is a perfect example, it is not what I had intended to post on this morning, but I happened upon Jen at Rambling Renovators post this morning about her new venture Blog Podium, and here we are.

I ventured over to the Blog Podium website and perused there, and as I read the bios of the three creators, and read about the purpose of blog podium I started thinking about it all. Who am I in this world of blogs, what kind of blogger am I and where do I want all of this to go? A lot of questions and only I have the answers, I just haven't figured them out yet. So...I already have my trade day pass for the Interior Design Show where Blog Podium will have their inaugural discussion, I will await registration for this discussion and plan to attend, maybe participating in this will help me define who I am and where I want to go with it, maybe it won't but I believe with the wonderful bloggers behind it all I won't walk away disappointed.

Now as for today's post, I had intended to apologize for my lack of posts last week, the week just slipped away. However the back hall was finally finished with my old window pane frame, and my driftwood sign (both DIY I completed last week and hubby hung last night) so without further ado, here are the after photo's...which are just taken with my little Sony point and shoot...I am realizing the merits of a really good camera...maybe in the new year.

The driftwood coat rack was a DIY creation of my husband's several years ago; a piece of driftwood, and some iron hooks found at our dollar store and for less than 5 dollars we have this! 

There is still some finishing to do, a little bit of trim work, but it is far more complete than it was a week ago, which means I am far more happy. Now all I have to do is decide which project to tackle next...hmmm

Happy Monday all!

Enter through the back...

Happy Monday...it is a beautiful but very cold morning here in Muskoka. Last week saw the snow storm as predicted, and I would guess we did indeed get the 10 cm they were calling for...perfect snowman snow.

Alas it warmed up considerably and the snow is all but gone, and our snowman is looking a little worse for wear. I have reassured the girls that was just the beginning of the snow.

I was a busy little beaver over the weekend working on the rear entry to our house. This is the door we use daily, many times a day. It leads to the driveway and garage, but it is a small space that is perpetually untidy with coats, shoes, boots, umbrellas etc. It is really just a landing with stairs up to the kitchen and down to the apartment.

Some of you may remember some of my before photos of the house...this one of the hall shows the lovely (note the sarcasm) carpeted walls...yup carpeted...glued to the wall, and glued well. It has taken me three years to get this space as far as it has come. I'll tell you now there are no after photos just yet...they will come in the next few days.

We started three years ago by pulling the carpet off the walls, however it was foam backed carpet and every...and I mean every, square inch was glued to the wall. The carpet came away, the backing did not. We toyed with the idea of re-drywalling, but the hassle of it all seemed too much to deal with. So with chisel in hand I scraped away the backing...then sanded the walls, but it still wasn't enough...so we decided to use a bead board panel over top...that was completed probably two years ago...but left unfinished, unpainted trim, unpainted panels. So this weekend I sanded all the nail holes, and painted away...of course the rest of the walls needed a coat of paint as well which has been done as well as the ceiling. Now we just ave some touch ups to do...and by we, I mean my husband, as I do not do ladders...not past the third or fourth rung anyways...so once that is done and everything back in place I will post some after photos...until then enjoy my before...go ahead laugh...I do.

Just know that if I could I would have an entry way (front or rear) that looked more like this:



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 Or perhaps this:

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But these would require a whole new house...and that is not happening any time soon.

Have a great week everyone! Once again Happy Monday hope your weekend was a good as mine!

Snow is in the forecast...

We have had a very mild November here in Muskoka...I'm not complaining, just stating facts. However it appears we are in for our first major snowfall of the season with over 10cm forecast for tomorrow. We'll see it the weatherman is right.

Monday I posted about my planned adventures in decorating the gallery for Christmas...well I'm done...I think. I am always receiving new items from artists so it is a completely evolutionary thing that is never quite done. Regardless all the Christmas paraphernalia is out and it looks pretty...I have even had Christmas music on to get me in the mood...or mode really.

Anyhoo...I thought I would share the fruits of my labour with you. So here are a few pics of the gallery at the moment...soon the art will be switched over but I need both my husband and I in the store to do that and that can't happen until my parents return from their trip in early December. So until then here it is.

Okay...that was a bit more than a few :o)

Happy Wednesday all!