Sunday, December 22, 2019

And....So It Is Christmas...........

A lovely, almost Christmas, welcome to all you lovely lovelies. It's not long now, till Christmas Day comes aknocking softly on your front door, and mine; and settles into our homes, bringing with it a sense of expectation, love, joy...........and perhaps.....peace.

How are you all?? Excited?? Exhausted?? Pensive?? Sorrowful?? Joyful??  Eager with anticipation?? Why, if  I was to step onto that porch of yours and peek through your decorated windows, what would I see?? Perhaps some of you, with a vintage apron wrapped around your waist, busily preparing gastronomical delights.....gingerbread houses...cookies decorated as santas, reindeer or other such concoctions. Others of you perhaps dressing the turkey and mixing ingredients for the Christmas cake?? Perhaps some of you have collapsed exhausted onto the sofa under the branches of the twinkling Christmas tree?? I can see some of you buried under pretty paper and ribbons and trims, carefully wrapping presents. Oh, all the pretty paper.....I must say, so beautiful!  Oh.....and then there are some of you who are busily stitching the very last stitches onto that last beautiful handmade gift. Aah....Christmas, the season quite like no other.

If indeed, you were to peek through my windows what would you see??


Why, you would see a Christmas tree and sweet vignettes telling the story of Christmas. We happened upon a different Christmas tree last year. One that is so different from the norm that it has sent some of those who know of my 'slight' obsession with having the 'perfect' Christmas tree, into apoplectic shock. But...I am a changed woman. I have gone from a rather mad woman who for year upon year, clambered up and down a blasted ladder all weekend, decorating the perfect tree, to a rather calm and almost serene woman who now decorates the tree in an hour!! I know!! Who would've thunk it!! I have seen the light and have stepped over to the other side, into the redemptive land of quick and easy decorating of Christmas trees. I must say I love my new self. I once wrote about "The Sharman Christmas Tree Chronicles' here.....if indeed I have piqued your interest and you want to amuse yourself for a little while. =)

I have decorated the tree much the same as last year, just because I love all the pretties, and have loved revisiting each pretty as I adorned the tree. Though, there are few more pretty birds that flew in and found a perch of their own. Kudos to those of you gals who decorate with a different theme every year. I bow down before you. =)










'Tis Sunday evening here. I am sitting in the parlour, joyfully hand quilting my pretty quilt, engulfed by Christmas shimmering sparkles. It is beautiful here. It is peaceful here. I feel a quiet, deep joy. I feel blessed.  I feel Jesus' love. He whispers to my soul that I am loved. To me this is the spirit of Christmas.


Another year will soon draw to a close. As I sit here and think of you, I would love to say thank you to each one of you who has visited my little place throughout the year. Thank you for the gift of your visits, patiently reading my 'stuff and nonsense', and for blessing me with your sweet comments each time. Again, you all truly make my heart sing! May your Christmas be filled with wonderful wonderment as you celebrate with your family and friends. May your Christmas shimmer and sparkle as your joy and love touches and brightens others' lives. There are some of you, I know, who will find Christmas difficult for your own unique reasons. Sometimes Christmas is well.....just darn hard. There are tears in my eyes, just thinking of you and your circumstances. To you I am sending an armful of hugs wrapped up in much love As I sit here I am reflecting upon the real spirit of the joyousness of Christmas......Jesus'  'Birth'day, the miracle of Christmas. To me, this is the most precious gift that could ever be given to me♥

Until next year...............


Linking with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching

58 comments:

  1. Your home is beautiful with all of it's Christmas charm. I love your tree and your fireplace mantle. Merry Christmas to you, too! I hope you have a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year.

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  2. Oh my goodness! Your decorations are absolutely gorgeous! I LOVE your non-traditional tree! I love the decorations. The modern manger is splendid. Enjoy the holiday season!

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  3. Your tree is lovely and so is your decorating. Enjoy your stitching!

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  4. How absolutely delightful! I just love your tree and your decorations are exquisite. I just love you have an eye for such beautiful design. Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year x

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  5. What a great Christmas display your home is Kim! I love it <3 If you came to my home firstly I would be ecstatic to meet you in person... second I would want you to help me create some vignettes like you do for you blog posts... but you would find me overall peaceful, relaxed and ready to welcome in a new year... in fact the beginning of a new decade too <3 Have a wonderful week!
    Kathi

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  6. Your Christmas decorations are lovely! The lights and the way they are reflected in the mirror, the tulle, the silvery sparkle and the roses. Just perfect!

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  7. Your house looks beautiful. Have a wonderful Christmas!

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  8. Beautiful decorations !!! So classy ! Shiny and pinky ;)
    I'm a basic Christmas decorator...White and red everywhere...
    Have a peaceful, joyful and colorful Christmas ! And 2020 be full of laughs, creations and health !
    Big hug from the other side of the Earth !
    Anna

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  9. SOOOO AMAZING! Breathtaking pictures...I feel so happy when I visit your adorable world...Merry Christmas,my kind friend.Blessings!

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    1. ....and I feel so happy when you gift me with your visit, lovely Maristella. Hope you enjoy a beautiful Christmas in your lovely part of the world. Kim Xx

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  10. Merry Christmas to you, Kim. I like your unconventional tree. And find it hard to imagine being able to decorate for Christmas with fresh flowers from the garden instead of evergreens and poinsettias. Your wrapped packages are also delightful. We no longer put up a big tree (always a real one) but I have several table top trees. I do miss my favorite ornaments, though, and need to find a way to display some of them. I hope you have a wonderful day and that you are not as ungodly hot as some of the rest of your country. The wacky weather is truly a global phenomenon. Happy New Year to you!
    Pat

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  11. Beautiful photos Kim, and as always, beautiful words too. Thank you for sharing your delightful home, garden and stitching in lovely Tasmania with us during the year. I always do so enjoy reading your blog. Merry Christmas to you and hubby and family

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  12. Hi Kim, Your home looks wonderful! Beauty peeping out from everywhere.
    Your Peace Creche looks lovely. So different and beautifulfrom any I've seen.
    I think I mentioned it before, but I adore your lamp.
    A very Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Sending my Best Wishes too!

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    1. Hi Dixie.....thank you for your lovely comments. It is a rather lovely lamp isn't it. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas to you and your family, too. Hoping the New Year is a wonderful one for you. I look forward to visiting you often in 2020 to see what beautiful paintings you imagine. Kim Xx

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  13. I love virtual visits to beautiful homes and your home is very special. I don't like the darker days of winter and your home is full of light. Have a wonderful Christmas.

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  14. Hello Dearest Kim, Your home looks lovely in the pastel decorations. Very fitting for the holiday in a warmer climate. We must not forget, during the hustle and bustle, the true reason of Christmas celebrations. Your posts are a delight to read and your photos are eye candy. I look forward to, hopefully, seeing more in the new year. Happy stitching this holiday season!

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  15. Your tree is beautiful dear Kim - as are your beautifully wrapped gifts. It all just looks so gorgeous. I think about now - if you were to peep in my windows I might be the one collapsed in a heap on the sofa !! But not long to go now. I am not one of those that decorates in a different theme each year either as I tend to treasure the pretties that only come out once a year. I hope you have a wonderful festive season my dear friend xxx

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  16. Oh, what a delightful Christmas you must be enjoying; so different in ways, but the reason the same. And, yes that is the greatest gift ever given! Merry Christmas from our house to yours way down there at the bottom of the world!

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    1. I am enjoying the lead up to Christmas, Mary. It is a very relaxed one for us this year. Yes, a summer Christmas is very different to the wintry landscape that you enjoy. It is strange to think as we enjoy hot days, perhaps celebrating Christmas lunch outside, you are cosying up in front of the fire. From my little summery house to your little wintry house way up there, Merry Christmas to you, too. Kim Xx

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  17. Hi Kim so love visiting you with all the wonderful photos and lovely words. Your tree and decorations look amazing. Hope you have a great Christmas and happy healthy New Year.
    Love Kay c xx

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    1. Thank you, lovely Kay. Thank you for gifting me with your sweet visits throughout this year and sprinkling delight into my days. Hope your Christmas is a wonderful one and your New Year a happy and healthy one, too. Kim Xx

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  18. I love your christmas decor. I wish You and Your Family a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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  19. Dearest Kim, thank you for sharing your Christmas with us. I often wonder what Christmas must feel like in the Southern hemisphere, as your days are long while ours are short, but then I realize it is much the same. The lights bring us joy no matter the length of day, the pretty decorations and package wraps/ribbons may be of any color scheme, not just the traditional reds and greens (yours are lovely, like the flowers blooming in your garden!), and we all have our own stories, happy and sad. I am particularly joyful this year for having accomplished our downsize (including the tree! Amen to less time decorating and climbing!). My heart goes out for those who I know are hurting in this season, and I pray for them to feel loved more than anything, the best gift of all. I look forward to being with family, joyful that my daughter and son-in-law will take the torch of hosting the big crowd, and hopeful for a new year filled with many blessings for us all. Merry Christmas!I am so happy to have met you in this blogging community. Your posts bring me joy!

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    1. It is a pleasure to share my little Aussie Christmas with you, Rita. Christmas here in Tassie, is mostly a warmish day where the celebrations more often than not end up outside under the canopy of a blue sky and smiling sun. We always escape the dreadful heat of mainland Australia. Yes, no matter where we find ourselves at Christmastime, it is much the same, isn't it. We celebrate with our loved ones, thankful that we can. How fabulous your daughter and son-in-law have "taken the torch" to host the "big crowd". It does sound as if you and yours will enjoy a beautiful celebration. I too, am thankful to have happened upon your lovely place, here in blogland, Rita. Your beautifully written posts and delicious photos bring many smiles to my day each time I visit. Here's to a wonderful 2020, where I can visit your lovely place and see what you have been up to. A very happy and blessed New Year to you! Kim Xx

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  20. everything looks so elegant kim, so lovely, so very festive!! i like the colors you used, they are "you" your "personality". i really like the mantel on the fireplace, i don't think i have ever seen one decorated in that way!!

    i am excited, exhausted, joyful and eager with anticipation!! i am also a little nervous. i am cooking christmas dinner and i want everything to go well!!

    merry christmas my dear friend, i hope you have a wonderful holiday!!!

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  21. Merry Christmas! How lovely and festive your home looks. And fresh flowers - beautiful! Anna x

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  22. Have a wonderful Christmas Kim. xx

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  23. Awwwww Kim, you write such truth and beauty! Yes, We must remember the true reason of gifting and it’s because of the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. And yes, it’s also true that there’s sadness in the season, too. However, your tree, which I do remember from last year, gives such sparkle and simplicity. All your decor is just gorgeous. Enjoy your quilting and Merry Christmas to you, dear Kim!

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  24. Elizabethstreeter21@gmail.comDecember 24, 2019 at 8:36 AM

    The thanks go to you who so generously shares your life and loves with us each week i have too many emails unread but none of them are yours.I often read yours twice and look at the pictures three times or more wishing i could com pose such beautiful scenes but that is not my style and styling i am not good at so it is beautiful to see someone elses beauty.my house was styled for males one day i keep saying i will change it but not there yet.Thankyou again and enjoy your Christmas and 2020

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    1. When I opened my computer and saw your beautiful message, I felt so blessed; thank you, Elizabeth❤️ How kind of you to take the time to gift me with your beautiful visit and beautiful words. It is one of the blessings of my blog to 'chat' to people such as you. I did smile when you mentioned your home was one where boys once lived. It is probably a very good thing that my home was filled with girls....excepting my husband, of course. I am not quite sure how a house filled with rowdy boys would have gone down. I don't suppose they would have liked to be immersed in all things pretty. Surprisingly enough, my husband loves his home filled with flowers and other such pretties. I would have got into trouble if I had married a man who loves stark and minimalist surroundings. =) Our little humble abode is surrounded by flowers, flowers everywhere and lush pasture and distant rolling hills, so the decorating of this funny little place in 'all things flowers' just makes sense.

      As for styling my photos, it is second nature to me. It always has been, really. It is funny but when I started blogging in 2013 it was as if I had found.....me. Funnily enough, I did not really know I could string a few words together and I did not know that I loved to take happy snaps. The writing of my little blog is a joy to me......AND......of course, through my blog I have 'met' beautiful people, such as you, who gift me with their visits each time. I am indeed a blessed gal.

      So, thank you for your kindnesses, Elizabeth, your words have touched me deeply. I hope your 2020 is a lovely one. Perhaps you might begin to make those 'girly' changes you desire to do. A new year, a new decade.....I wonder what both will bring. May you have the most beautiful day in your little corner of the world. See you next year, dear Elizabeth. Kim Xx

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  25. Visions of sugarplums dance in my head......so lovely, Kim! It's always such a delight to visit. Wishing you and your loved ones blessings at Christmas and in the New Year! I still can't believe it will be 2020! Hugs xo Karen

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    1. Now I have the "Sugarplum dance music" in my head. =) Thank you, lovely Karen for your beautiful visit and sweet words. I know...2020....how did that happen?? I know you would have enjoyed a beautiful Christmas celebration with your beautiful family. Wishing you many beautiful blessings in 2020, lovely lady! Kim Xx

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  26. Merry Christmas! You have a beautiful house.

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  27. Your tree looks spectacular Kim and I love how you added your pretties to decorate corners of your home! It looks like a festive winter kingdom. I would try making something similar.Remember my sewing dummy Christmas tree ideas? Well, I would definitely love to try something like that. I wish you the happiest of holidays and a very Merry Christmas!

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  28. Thank you, dear Kim, for allowing us to see you inside your beautifully decorated house, it is so completely you!
    I think about what it's like to celebrate Christmas in the summer heat.
    I wish you and your husband a very nice and merry Christmas! ♥

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    1. It is always a delight to open my bright pink, front door, Loes to welcome you inside. Celebrating Christmas, down here at the bottom of the world, is rather lovely. Here in Tassie it is more often than not a warm day, not too hot, so quite often the celebrations end up outside under the canopy of a blue sky and smiling sun. Thank you, lovely Loes, for the gift of your visits throughout this year; you always make me smile. I know you will be enjoying Christmas Day with your family. I can just imagine the scrumptious spread you have whipped up. See you in the new year, lovely lady. Kim Xx

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  29. Thank You for sharing your beautiful decorations. Wishing you A MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY,HEALTHY,BLESSED NEW YEAR
    Marion

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    1. It is a pleasure, lovely Marion♥ I hope you are enjoying a beautiful Christmastime with your loved ones. AND.....may you enjoy a happy, healthy and blessed New Year, as well. See you in 2020! Kim Xx

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  30. Oh how I wish I could come and sit awhile in your pretty world! I would love a tree just like yours - different and yet more special because of it. Merry Christmas my friend - to you and yours - and thank you for blessing us with beauty every single time we visit with you.

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  31. Merry Christmas, Kim! Your house is so beautiful and festive! I like the flying angel!

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  32. You were writing about me - being in shock - over the change in the Christmas tree. :) I do love your new tree and the vignettes are just so sweet. I, too, have decided to make some changes in the next couple of years - not as drastic as you, but I told the kids to think about things that they might want of mine. In the past couple of years I've not put out all the decorations as I'm used to doing and I know that I need to downsize the decorating. I wanted the kids to know that they have 'firsts' on anything before I give it away. It is going to be rough on me - I love 'things' to much but it'll also be freeing. You said, "I am sending an armful of hugs wrapped up in much love♥"...I know your context was different but I loved what you said so I am sending it back to you with a wish that you are having a Merry, Merry Christmas.

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  33. Wishing you and yours a Blessed and Merry Christmas. Have a Happy and Healthy 2020. God Bless. I love the pretty wrappings on your packages.
    Marilyn

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    1. Those pretty wrappings have all been ripped to see what lies beneath. =) Thank you for your sweet visit, lovely Marilyn♥ Hope you are enjoying your Christmas celebrations. A Happy and Healthy 2020 to you and yours, too. Thank you for visiting my little place throughout the year. You always sprinkle delight into my days. Kim Xx

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  34. Kim - Merry Christmas to you and yours! I admire you for transitioning to a simpler tree for your holiday festivities. I am sure that will come to us some time in the future when we are too "seasoned" to clamber up and down a ladder, and our kids have families of their own and aren't here to help us! Your decorations are all spectacular, but I am especially drawn to the two nativities - gorgeous!

    I have so enjoyed our "time together" this year, and look forward to all that 2020 will bring to those of us in blogland!

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  35. Your post just gives such a sense of peace and joy and calm. Your pretty decorations shimmering in your lovely room tell the story of a peaceful, loved home and family that live there. May your New Year be all of that for you! xoxo

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  36. Kim, always such a joy and delight to visit your beautiful home, and I just love the contentment and joy that oozes from your posts, and the sharing of your life. Our Christmas was very simple here too, not even a tree.. I just put up a nativity and we gather a few gifts around it. I like to keep the meaning of Christmas as simple and sweet as possible. I think the hectic, frenetic pace that seems to be demanded of us in this season, is just so far from what the Lord had intended. I love your simple tree and beautifully wrapped gifts, and sweet contentment. What matters most is the spirit of Christmas, the giving, the love, the joy and peace, which I felt here as I visited you. May the sweet presence of the Lord continue to abide with you, my dear friend! Blessings and hugs!

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  37. Your home is just beautiful, this year we went with our little tree that we usually have in the kitchen counter to our mantel since our little kitty Opie is still quite wild and he loves to climb we were thinking it would be better if we skip the big tree this year, I think hubby really missed it, I always love all the light it gives on the cold evenings, but we will try that next year. I just love your nativity and sweet Peace sign. Your stitching at the end is just gorgeous, and I like the little hint of the quilt you are working on :) This time of year can be very hard, especially when we have lost those we love or are far from our loved ones but having the love of Jesus and remembering his special gift sure does bring light to the situation! I thank you for all the wonderful uplifting comments you give to me, wishing you a very Blessed and Happy new year!

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  38. I am so glad I stumbled across your blog! I can already tell I am going to love following you and will find lots of inspiration. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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    1. Hello lovely Annie♥ How lovely to have you visit my little world and bless me with your beautiful words....thank you. It is always such a pleasure to welcome lovely new ladies to my little place. I in turn am going to have the best fun visiting your blog throughout the coming year....and may I say a "Happy New Year" to you, too. Kim Xx

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  39. Your home looks so lovely and welcoming, Kim! I adore your decorations, fun and colorful as expected. I hope you had a lovely lovely Christmas and wish you only good things for the coming year! Can't wait to see all your makes and revisit that gorgeous garden.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. ....and a Happy New Year to you♥ Kim Xx

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  41. Kim, Happy New Year to you! I have missed reading your lovely posts but as I am 98% done unpacking boxes in my new home, I am back to blogging. xo

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  42. Hello sweet Kim! I always enjoy reading your vibrant writings. Your home looks so beautiful and cozy and your tree is splendid again this year. I understand about simplifying. It makes life so much more enjoyable. Blessings for the new year!
    xx Beca

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  43. A very elegant Christmas decoration, Kim! And your narrative of the Christmas preparations is so full of humour! All my best wishes for the New Year and may it be full of the enchanting pictures of which you have the secret!

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  44. My goodness your home is beautiful and winter wonderland indeed. I love your Peace Nativity, that is very special.
    Wish you a lovely New Year, may 2020 bring you joy and good health.
    Connie :)

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