It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas!

So this year in my woods - the tree is very BLINGY and it spins! :) Hudman just had to have the tree spinner this year after salivating over them for a few years. With his own $$ - Mom finally said "Why not?!" He's such a talented young man besides his singing voice that must have come directly from ANGELS! :) He's got a florist's touch as well!!

Shortly after changing out the bedding and making it quite festive, Kitty decided that she LOVES Christmas too, but in a Kitty kind of way! :) Napping is her favorite! Thanks to my beautiful Momma Rosie for the hand tied poinsettia blanket & to my wonderful MIL for the Christmas bedspread!

So have you seen the glittery electric candles?? OH MY - I would have a collection of them if they weren't a little out of my meager budget for the season. Moms usually come last as far as purchasing things for our selves, don't we? Think Santa would understand??


As you decorate in your cabin this year for Christmas, please don't forget the real reason we celebrate. It's CHRIST.... and all He did & is doing for us that makes this time of year so special! The celebration of his birth so many years ago and remembering what a gift from God he is to the world is definitely worth celebrating! We decorate cakes, put out some table top decor for our own birthdays, perhaps - but for HIS birthday - I go all out!! :) We remember the humble beginnings that He had, but what a glorious celebration we'll have one day when He returns to gather those who have trusted in Him!

ONE of my favorite Christmas songs has to be Mark Lowry's "Mary, Did you Know?" If you get a whole 3 or 4 minutes sometime in the next few weeks - listen to the words. Do you think she fully understood the baby she was carrying was the Messiah? I don't think so, but she had FAITH that God, no matter what, would see her through the task at hand.

May God RICHLY bless your Christmas Season and may you and yours remember the reason for the season is Jesus!
From my woods - to yours ~
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Deer Season in my Woods

Opening day of Deer Season in Arkansas is almost a holy day. It's the day when all the redneck, gun tote'en, camo loving cells in my body come together ~ it's a day of oneness with the land that I love, the time of sitting in utmost AWE of the land that GOD created.

For a while, probably my first 15 years of marriage or so, Deer Season Opening Weekend was a time to spend with the other ladies in my family. Sometimes, when we could, we'd take the drive up to Branson, MO and do our pre-Christmas celebrating & shopping. Then...something happened. I think it must have been around 2001... I decided that if I wanted to see Hubby anytime at all in the following months (usually Oct. - Feb.), maybe it was time to look deep inside this transplanted Southern body and see if anything resembled a woman that could hunt and well...guess what? She was THERE! It also was around that time that deer hunting changed, probably not for the better, in our area. The local tree/land company Weyerhauser started LEASING their property, making it a crime to hunt it unless you had the "rights" to hunt it. And so it began - the family got together, pooled their money into the PKL, Inc. Lease and started hunting not 3 miles from our home in the woods.

I began hunting and ENJOYING it around that time and haven't missed an opening day since then. I am not "die hard" vs. other ladies in our area, but I can hold my own. I am comfortable using a fire arm and have harvested (the P.C. term for hunting and killing an animal) 2 deer. My first deer I got was within 30 minutes of stepping into the deer stand. Got me an 8 point!!! :)
From that point on, I knew I could do it.

Now mind you, for those who are compassionate towards animals ( and I am....) I have to stop and give a disclaimer here. In our area, if we didn't have a controlled deer hunt, the population would overtake us, spread all kinds of nasty deer viruses and cause way more automobile accidents! I am a firm believer that taking and using these deer, not wasting them, is a good thing. I do not advocate taking deer illegally or poaching deer when a season is not open. I do not advocate taking deer that are too young or under the size restriction. I do not always agree with the rules and regulations set forth by our game & fish commission, but it IS the law and I am bound to said laws.

Now, with that out of the way - let's go to this past opening day. It was a cool day, a little windy, and cloudy, but on to the stand I went. . . and what a stand it was!!! Similar in size and shape to the outhouses of olden days, I took my place in the dark, situated myself - my magazines (to pass the time) & my gear and settled in my little house. I always enjoy looking around at the natural beauty that surrounds our lease and I certainly wasn't disappointed this year!

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, through the clouds was the most amazing sunrise I've witnessed in a LONG time! It started out with billowing clouds, making their way from the horizon toward the west in long streaks. When the sun started peaking out, it made the most beautiful array of colors.... started out with greys and blues, went into reds and oranges and then it was like the sky was on fire!

As it would be, I didn't harvest a deer on this day, but I will forever - as long as the Creator will allow - remember this beautiful beginning to the opening day of 2011 Deer Season. I did witness 2 incredible and very cute "Bambi" deer who almost wanted to share my outhouse stand and another very tiny buck, but as I said - I pride myself as an ethical hunter and let them all live to see another day themselves. I may not have gotten anything to brag about but the pictures I have are all the trophy I need!!!

A Fresh Coat of Paint...

It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do for a room!! I've seen it a gazillion times on t.v. - on the room makeover shows - and now.... I've experienced it for myself. I said it was like a facelift, but my son DT said, "No Mom, it's just makeup!"
It was very therapeutic for me to paint, much cheaper than a therapist I'm sure! Time by myself, just me and a paint brush and a wall that wasn't going anywhere - a rather captive audience!
So here's before...











And since we know the Hubby was away, I could play and leave things as messy as I wanted to and take my time...which I did. Thanks to my sweet and very understanding boys Hudman & DT for letting Mom work out her frustrations and just paint.

I chose a "natural" color - Pine Needle. It was an Eddie Bauer color at Lowe's and I had them put it in an Olympic paint rather than what it called for simply because it was less expensive.
I have searched and searched for a whopping 3 years for the "just right" color and found it in this exquisite shade of green. Just went perfectly in my humble home - with all it's cabin type, antique & hunter provided decor. (What's my style?? Oh no hesitation - EARLY CONFUSION!)

So armed with just a paint roller and accessories that I thought I needed- off I went!
After 3 short sessions, I had a nearly new kitchen! It may not have all new appliances in the latest styles and new granite counter tops, but it is just wonderful what a fresh coat of paint will do...and how it makes me feel and that's all that matters.
So Mrs. Happy Homemaker or just person wishing for a change... pick out the color that best suits your tastes, splurge a little - buy the supplies and take a few hours and change YOUR WORLD!~ Who knows - it may just give you the "face lift" you've been needing; a SMILE!

...interruped marriage...

If you look closely, you can see the little darling deer who has been hanging out in my woods lately. Although I fear his mother met her fate on this highway, he seemed to be making alright.

It's this time of year that we tend to see so many deer in our neck of the woods and sometimes, it's a welcome sight - but most of the time it's a STOMP ON THE BREAKS kinda meeting!

The official kick off of hunting season, deer hunting, began October 1st with the opening of archery. Modern gun season doesn't begin until November - that's the time I get involved.

Hubby, the great white hunter that he is, begins in September with the opening of Black Bear season...not my favorite adventure of his - but thankfully God has kept him safe now for the years that he has been sharing the woods with the bear of our great state. It's really amazing how much wildlife we really have. Growing up not to far from where I make my home now, I really don't remember seeing that many deer and certainly do not recall seeing bear!!

From my home, the Fall colors are just beautiful!!

Just let the SUN SHINE IN!!!

Fall is one of my FAVORITE times of year. It's the promise that summer's heat is nearing an end, the hope of greatly needed rainfall and the refreshing breezes brought by oncoming northerly lows. It's kind of sad, though, when I just soak in so much of the beauty of nature, only to be heartbroken when the winds take the colorful leaves from the trees and deposit them on floor of the woods. I want to scoop up those beautiful reds, oranges and golds and hold onto them for just a while longer...

As it would fall, this year is the year of the Hubby's GREAT HUNTING ADVENTURE! He and a crew of manly men left out for their westward trek in search of bigger trophies than Arkansas can provide... well at least different trophies. Elk meat is the most sought after trophy in my mind, although in Hubby's, it's the majestic trophy of the horns that appeal to him. The cool, crisp mornings that he'll be hearing the piercing bugle of the elk - I almost envy, but then knowing just how COLD that will be makes me shiver back to reality and know that HOME is the best place for this Hunter's Wife to be!!! YOU GO, HUBBY - YOU GO!

I have several projects in the back of my mind, a few of which actually have come to the forefront and have had a few motions made toward actually STARTING them! For one, my kitchen needs painting - well not NEEDS it, but I NEED to paint it! I've had the same boring eggshell color on the walls for 25 years. YES, I said 25 years!! Now, with the aid of my new found passion for COLOR - it's going to be a wonderful shade of sage green. Pine Needle to be exact - most fitting for my woods, don't you think?! It's an Eddie Bauer color (Thank you Lowe's!) and I found it after nearly 3 years of searching for the JUST RIGHT COLOR! Yup, 3 years Ladies & Gents.... It has to "speak" to me, before I'll buy it! A special "Thank You" goes to one of my church Sisters for sharing her living room color with me... it was THE ONE!

So now the paint and accessories have been purchased and now...all I need is time. I'll be posting pictures SOON... before the project starts.

As I sign off for the day - I'm reminded that all good things come to those who wait. With that thought and a prayer on my heart for Hubby & company - I hope their hunting trip is very successful, full of memories and safe and I hope my own adventure is all of those things as well.

HAPPY HUNTING Y'ALL!! and may your time in the woods be blessed!

Newly Inspired

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

SO I have a blog, me...the confused, somewhat ADD domestic diva/computer geek. I'll do the best I can, but know that some of the posts will be strictly for my mental health...it's cheap therapy I hope! I welcome comments, help & household hints and tips - and certainly once I start posting pictures of my projects or dreams - if you feel you can contribute something to make them come true, please do!

I've been newly inspired to do more creative things lately, or maybe not newly inspired but REinspired! :) One thing I have managed to do is to paint Hubby's Grandmother's bathroom. Goosey's bathroom went from a dull pinkish color to a strange color. I have bought the bucket of paint on clearance at Wallyworld thinking I might use it in my kitchen at home - then it was too blue. The best way to describe the color (without a picture) is Robin Egg Blue...that's green! :) It's been a fun project for me and I'm ALMOST finished. I want to finish as soon as possible so I can move on to Goosey's kitchen! With the help of my Sisters-In-Law and other family members, we're gonna kick this thing!

So...on to my kitchen. I have found a paint color - Pine Needle (an Eddie Bauer color from Lowes) that matches the color I have in my vision. I want to warm things up and shake it up...since it's been 25 years since paint was applied to those walls! LOL! I have wood paneling about 1/2 on the wall, bottom half and I'm considering painting that too, but color is undetermined at this point. Feel free to weigh in on colors. My flooring presently in the kitchen is the peel and stick vinyl (don't recommend that!) and it's a grey color w/brown - kind of a mock stone color. NOT my favorite, but it did what we needed it to do.

I have a love - nay - a PASSION for antiques with meaning. I don't just pick up random things, I like them to have a meaning behind them. Items that got me started on this little treasure hunt were things that my Granny or my great Aunt Esther had in their homes. I love the blue Indiana Carnival glass - grape and vine pattern?? and the forest green glass - but I'm not opposed at all for other patterns or colors. I have several items in clear glass that Hubby found for me in yard sales that I'm having a hard time parting with...and I have odd things that just jumped at me. I love roosters and chickens in my kitchen, and I really lean toward fall colors. I'd love to have more rooms in my home to decorate with all the styles that catch my eye, but alas - God let's me have 3 main rooms and 1 bathroom to play with.

My bathroom changes with the seasons - well with Summer & Fall. Fall brings out the nature girl in me and I decorate my bathroom with bears, deer - nature things! Dark Hunter Green & tans/browns are the primary colors. Summer brings out the palm trees & beach things like my sea shells from my cousin who lived near Galveston, TX at the time of my marriage 25 years ago. Yup, kept them for that long!

My bedroom is a work in progress. I hope to paint both my kitchen and one wall of my bedroom in October when Hubby goes hunting in Colorado. Won't he be surprised when HE COMES HOME?! LOL!
My bed boasts a wonderful yard sale find - a camo comforter thanks to my Seester. I have a beautiful set of furniture that my folks bought for me after she left the nest in 1981. I'm leaning toward more frames painted black or black accessories and some gold tones. I LOVE (even though some think it looks "trashy") the words that you can decorate your rooms with such as "HOPE" - or "LOVE"... and I have 3 pictures that I found at Wallyworld that are one of my walls. I have various other photos of Larry's dad and grandfather on his side...and plan to carry out that idea as well.

I now have an 'office' of sorts. I share this room currently with Hubby's gun safe (which I'm thankful we have...don't get me wrong) and with DT's only storage for his clothes - a 2 door armoire'. All of this room is paneled, but hopefully I can begin painting in there as well so I'm not suffocated in brown all the time! ha Purple is my FAVORITE color so...purple is coming in! :) I also love the flower Iris - so that also will be found in this room.

My living room - well, it's pretty much o.k. except that I need new carpet in a BAD WAY! I WILL have that carpet too, but I need to figure out for sure what I want and how to pay for it. I have a "lodge look" going on in there with the 2 3/4 bear mounts and all the deer heads - Hubby's trophies!!! I get to decorate around all of them - aren't I a lucky woman??

Wish me luck as I go on my quest for decorating perfection!! I'll update my progress as I can...and even post some pictures for those with strong stomachs!!

May God bless you all with health, much love from those YOU love and the joy of making your house a home!