Purple is the Winner

I've decided I like the deep purple better than black....

Black Instead of Purple

I'm trying black today as my background color instead of the deep purple. Actually I thought I had picked black the first time! I'll keep it like this for a couple of days. Any thoughts??

A New Look

I've been thinking about a new look for my blog for the New Year. I don't really want to change my banner; I like the wisteria photo I took in Provence. I read a couple of blogs that are on black backgrounds...Soar-Dream-France is one. And I really like how the photos pop against the black. I'd be interested in your opinion before I set this template in stone. How do you like it?

Merry Christmas from Red Bell Farm!

For all of you out there who are dreaming of a white Christmas, here's one from Red Bell Farm!

"May your days be merry and bright,

And may all your Christmases be white!"

Merry Christmas from Red Bell Farm!

Atop the Tree

I read Tongue in Cheek every day. Corey is a wonderful storyteller and her blog is always a fun read. This week she asked people to comment on her blog entry telling her what sits atop their Christmas tree; she randomly picked 5 comments and the winners will receive a red French beret! Alas, I didn't win a beret, but I did have a load of fun reading about other people's Christmas trees! Many readers have stars, angels, and bows as tree toppers; a few have more 'unique' things, like a bird's nest, American flags, snowflakes, a coil of pearls that looks like white grapes, a crown, a snakeskin (really!), C3PO from Star Wars, and feathers. One woman doesn't put up a tree; she hangs a 12-string guitar on the wall and decorates it with garland, lights and ornaments! This lovely Provencal dove from my favorite ceramist, Edith Fidler, is atop my tree this year. It blends nicely with my postcards from all over the world and ornaments purchased when I travel. What sits atop your tree this year? I'd love to know!

Christmas Joy

"We don't remember days; we remember moments."


Cesare Pavese


Like the moment you open the back door and find the tall box left by the UPS man...











"The future is plump with promise."

Maya Angelou



Waiting, waiting for the future while plump buds drink and drink and drink....

" Before me, may it be delightful.
Behind me, may it be delightful.
Around me, may it be delightful.
Below me, may it be delightful.
Above me, may it be delightful.
All, may it be delightful." Navajo blessing






Thank you, Walt and Debbie, for my delightful Christmas tulips! My kitchen feels alive and blessed.

Christmas Angels

No surprise, I guess, that yesterday's CD was full of photos! I'm thrilled. This is the photo that Trav and Becky used for their Christmas card. I actually took it at La Jolla in October when we were all in San Diego.

This one of Marley and Parker is also on their card...

There isn't a better gift in the world for a grandmother than pictures of her 'angels!'

Favorite Things

One of my favorite things about Christmas (besides the carols, beautiful store windows, twinkly lights, sentimental tree ornaments, fudge, Christmas cookies...oh heck, there's not much about Christmas that I don't like!) is going to the mailbox and finding real mail...love those Christmas cards. But when I find a box from Montana, I feel especially blessed! In Becky's box to me, I found a new favorite Christmas tree ornament...








beautiful notecards with art by a local Yellowstone artist, Lynn Chan...











artwork by Parker (I think it's purple snow)....






a lovely and mysterious red satin bag to open later...

and this...a gift to make a grandmother's heart sing! Come back tomorrow to see what treasures it holds!





PS...Becky just called. I'm supposed to open the red bag now! She's got 'a theme going,' she says. You don't have to tell me twice to open a Christmas gift early!

The Blizzard of the Century

Just as predicted, the winds arrived at 4am this morning...how do I know? I was awakened by their moaning and howling! The gusts literally do howl over the top of my wood stove pipe...kind of like blowing over a bottle top. Yesterday was a 'work from home' day. As I checked voice messages and work emails, I watched it snow and snow and snow...to a total of almost 15 inches. Then early this morning, the snow moved out and the winds began to blow. Coupled with dropping temperatures into the single digits today and below zero overnight, this has been labeled a 'dangerous storm' and the 'blizzard of the century.' Hyperbole? maybe...maybe not! All I know is that I'm home again today. Who knows when the road will be plowed? Lucie, Sis the Cat, and I are fine...warm and snug inside with books to read and movies to watch. These big weather events do make me pause and think about how little control we really have over our lives.

I shot this video standing on my back walk looking east over the gravel road towards the ridge. This is what an Iowa blizzard looks and sounds like. Makes you appreciate the hard life the early pioneers had, huh?

The Final Obsession

What do strings of iridescent beads, tiny white lights, silk poinsettias, and Versailles have in common? They are all decorations on the small, artificial Christmas tree in my bedroom. Versailles is represented by postcards that I purchased there during my 2007 visit. See, I told you I was obsessed with cards this Christmas! Versailles took my breath away; it was over-the-top luxurious, opulent and beautiful. While I took many interior photos of the Palace, the postcards show it off the best.

Okay, I promise...no more Christmas decorations! But, I do want to share with you that I really was at Versailles. I took this photo of myself in one of the mirrors in the famous Hall of Mirrors. Last year I visited with a woman who is a huge traveller. She always takes a photo of her own feet at her travel destination to prove that yes, she really was there! Do you take photos of yourself when you travel?

Obsessed

I confess. I've become obsessed with cards this Christmas. No, not Christmas cards...postcards and business cards. It all started with my postcard Christmas tree. Suddenly, every card I've ever collected became fuel for my imagination. I remembered the business cards I collected from my trips to France. Mickey got me started with that; she asks for a business card at every restaurant she visits and tucks them into her travel notebook for future trips. I became a collector as well, but usually because cards from French businesses are so pretty and unusual. And now these pretty and unusual cards decorate another small Christmas tree in my entry hall. The one you see here with the different colored squares? that's from a tea shop in Paris and those are all labels from Kusmi tea which the shop features. The blue one with the mountain...that one is from l'Oustal, the B & B I stayed at in Montsegur. Restaurants represented in this photo are La Fregate, Le Christine, La Rotisserie d'en face, and L'Epi dupin..all in Paris. If I page thru my travel journal, I can tell you what I ate at each one!

The green and yellow card is from E. Dehillerin, a virtual paradise in Paris for serious cooks. Lined floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall with every kind of cooking gadget, pot, pan, dish, bowl, utensil you can imagine, this store is a treasure trove of goodies. The only problem is this: remember if you buy it, you have to either carry it home in your suitcase or have it shipped. You might think twice before you get carried away and purchase those lovely and colorful enamel-covered cast iron pots by Le Creuset! The card that is a picture of a pretty Lot village is from Lou Bolat, a delightful terraced restaurant perched on the hillside in St. Cirq Lapopie. I ate there twice; yummy both times.

Tiny red lights and gold bead chains complete the look of my memory-filled Christmas tree. But wait...I'm not done yet! Come back again for another card tree.

Red Belle Update

A quick update on Miz Red Belle....her headlight and fender are fixed, and she's back, better than ever! The entire repair process went smoothly and with hardly any hassle. I used Jack Anderson Body Shop in Indianola and I can wholeheartedly recommend them for your body shop needs...they were fantastic! We allowed 2 days for the repair, but the guys got it done before noon the first day. Because Enterprise didn't have the right car for me to rent, they dropped me off at work. When the repair was completed so quickly, they simply picked me up and took me back to the body shop...no charge! Gotta like that. I will also recommend Enterprise now to anyone who wants to rent a car. Their customer service couldn't have been better.

Kelley at the body shop said the guys were really excited to work on my Smart car since they'd never seen one before. They started on her before I even left the shop! They said the car was very easy to work on...everything just pretty much snapped into place...no worries! Kelley said she even had a woman come into the office who saw my car parked out front and wanted to know if she could look at it...she'd never seen a Smart car up close! All in all...a very pleasant ending to the deer vrs. car story.

The Postcard Tree

I adore postcards! I love to send them, I love to receive them, and I love to buy them just to keep. When I travel, I frequently buy postcards of interior spaces where photos are prohibited. The postcard is always a better picture than I could take anyway. I can't bear to throw away postcards that I get from friends and family which means I have quite a few tucked away in drawers. What to do with all these mementos? Decorate the Christmas tree with them, of course! My big tree in the living room is full of beautiful cards from national parks, trips to New Hampshire, Las Vegas, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Disneyworld. I've hung cards from Vienna, Mexico, British Columbia, Thailand, France, Spain, and Lithuania. If you've sent me a postcard in the last few years....it's hanging on my tree!

There's always room for one more, tho....so don't forget me when you travel in 2010. Your postcard could end up on next year's tree!

What do you do with your old postcards??