How We Celebrated Christmas

I hope everybody had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. We really have no family here so we decided to drive to Pensacola to visit John's dad. My mom is doing fine and she is back with my sister in Waukegan, IL. It is so quiet here without her and I miss her.

I am linking with the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

and Susan for Outdoor Wednesday at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

We left on the 24th at 4:30 in the morning. We picked up a friend and then started our road trip. My friend and I fell asleep right away while John was driving and then John woke me up to see this amazing sunrise.

The post taken from a moving car resembles a crucifix, doesn't it?

I just kept shooting because the sky was just beautiful.

We made it to Spanish Fort in Alabama by 9:30 AM and came across this pretty shopping center. The tree is so beautiful.

I invited my friend, Debjani to come with us, cause her hubby is taking a surgical fellowship in Michigan and could not make it home for Christmas.

We shopped at Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Michael's for a while.

And then we had lunch at Wintzell's Oyster House. The food was excellent!

Please excuse my outfit, lol. I dressed to be comfortable for the 6 hour drive so I wore my Florida sweats.

The shopping Center was all decked out for Christmas, complete with a horse carriage that was giving free rides.

We had this oyster sampler for an appetizer and it was soooo good!

Off we drove to Pensacola right after eating

We went straight to the nursing home to visit my father in law.

This is John with his dad, a picture taken a few years ago. Dad is in a wheelchair now and I thought I would post this picture instead. He will be 89 next month.

Later on, we checked into the hotel, had dinner at a Vietnamese Restaurant, then went back to the hotel to nap for a few hours and woke up in time to go to midnight mass at St. Michael Church in downtown Pensacola.

The service and the church were beautiful!

On Christmas morning, we went back to see dad and then left for the drive home around noon. These trees were outside the hotel.

We are home now but we are too tired to open presents so we will probably do that tomorrow.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you all have recovered from all the Christmas activities and partying. Save up some energy for the coming New Year. Thanks to our hosts, The Tablescaper and Susan for these blogging events!

Changes in the Kitchen for Christmas

It is getting so close to Christmas and I thought I better share this since it is a Christmas decor and it is going to be put away soon. I am linking with Kim for her B & A party at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ and Susan for Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. If you are looking for inspirations, you will definitely find them there.

I am sharing our little hallway in the kitchen leading to the garage on the left and a bathroom which opens to the pool area on the right.

This is how it used to be.

I found this window frame from one of the vendors in the shop for $12 and bought it. At first, I was going to put my vintage ads in it but they were too big and I did not want to cut them so came another idea.

I have 4 plates with birds in them. I thought they would be cute in there. What do you think?




I also bought this wooden box from the same vendor for $5. I decided to put it on the floor and added stuff I found around the house into it.

I added a wreath for the holiday season and I also added a little table so that the box does not have to be on the floor.

Do you see the white penguin in the red box? Well, I think it is a penguin wearing a white scarf. I just laid it there while I was hanging the wreath.

It eventually went on top of the frame. It is non breakable and is very light so it does not matter if it falls.

I also changed the dishes in the kitchen hutch. This is the "Before".

I moved the Polish pottery into a bottom kitchen cabinet and moved 3 sets of Christmas china in the hutch.

The bottom shelf now has my Lenox "Christmas Greetings" set along with a"Friendly Village" tea set.

I also left there a few of the Polish pottery that has a Christmas design.



Inside the cabinet on the top shelf are my Johnson Brothers Old Britain Castles set and in the bottom shelf is Friendly Village set.

I cut some holly berries from the bushes outside to add some greenery.

Lastly, I want to show you what I did to the breakfast nook. We hardly ever eat here cause we use the round table in front of the TV and kitchen fireplace to eat our meals.

I saw this santa rack from another vendor and thought it was cute and for $4 for the whole set, it had to come home with me.

I placed it on top of the cabinet by the breakfast nook. I added the santa hat.

And from the same vendor, I saw these 4 chair covers. 2 santa and 2 snowmen. Naturally, I bought them, lol, $10 for all 4.


They fit perfectly in the 4 chairs. Good thing I did not take my tablescape apart yet since like I said, we normally do not eat here. The covers add a little whimsy, don't they?

And here's a view where you can see the Santa plates.

Thanks for coming by. I know everybody is busy during this time so I really appreciate the visit. Thanks Kim and Susan for hosting these parties.

I hope everybody enjoys their holiday season and may the coming New Year bring prosperity, peace and lots of blessings to everyone!

A Tribute to Calvin

Calvin is Tina and Scott's dog.

He kept her company when she bought her first house, even before she got married. Tina felt safe living alone in the house because she had Calvin.

He was in the church when they got married.

Look how happy Calvin was for the newlyweds! See that big smile in his face?

He took Christmas pictures with them even before the baby boys were born.

He even took Christmas pictures with us. He was such a good dog that he was loved by all of us.

I even painted a picture of him one Christmas to give to Tina and Scott.

And of course he moved with them when they had to move to another city and then to another house to accomodate a growing family.

He was always so good to the boys after they were born. He was always so calm and he never complained no matter what the 2 boys did to him. This photo is so sweet. Brendan fell asleep on Calvin.

He had a very good temperament. Look at AJ's bunny leaning on him. He did not even move after she laid him there.

Welcoming the first baby home.

You can put a hat or a scarf on him and he would never complain. In fact, he never complained about anything.

Even when he was in pain after developing a big tumor in his back leg, he never complained. For the last few years, he could not use his back leg. It would always be suspended when he walked, but he never complained. For the last few months, all he did was lay down because his back leg was just in pain. Scott had to carry him in and out the door when he had to go out to pee.

Last week, Tina and Scott had to make, probably the first worst decision in their lives. They agreed to put Calvin to sleep as the Vet recommended because the tumor was getting so bad. It was always bleeding and Calvin's glands were swollen, meaning the tumor had spread. The veterinarian said that even if he took the tumor out, it would appear in another part of his body and then they will have to face the same dilemma again in another month. It was decided that the vet would come to their house on Friday at 3 PM to put him to sleep. Before the day came, Tina would call me everyday, sad and crying and I just felt so bad.

Friday came and Tina sent the boys with the babysitter to the park. Tina and Scott just stayed under the table petting Calvin before the vet came. The vet was late so they were under the table with him for at least 2 hours, just crying, holding him for the last time and saying goodbye. Finally, the vet came and gave him the first shot. He sent the couple to the bedroom before giving the last dose to stop the heart. I can just imagine the pain they were experiencing while waiting in the bedroom. They were both bawling in there. And then it was over. Our beloved Calvin is gone.

The vet took the body to cremate it.

When the boys came back, Brendan kept telling his mom that the doctor will bring Calvin back after he makes him better.

We love you, Calvin. I know you are happy eating your t bone steak in doggy heaven but we will always miss you. You have always been the best dog ever!