Christmas Reflections...



We hear the beating of wings over Bethlehem and a light that is not of the sun or of the stars shines in the midnight sky.  Let the beauty of the story take away all narrowness, all thought of formal creeds.  Let it be remembered as a story that has happened again and again, to men of many different races, that has been expressed through many religions, that has been called by many different names.  Time and space and language lay no limitations upon human brotherhood.  ~New York Times, 25 December 1937, quoted in Quotations for Special Occasions by Maud van Buren, 1938, published by The H.W. Wilson Company, New York

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Let Christmas not become a thing
Merely of merchant's trafficking,
Of tinsel, bell and holly wreath
And surface pleasure, but beneath
The childish glamour, let us find
Nourishment for soul and mind.
Let us follow kinder ways
Through our teeming human maze,
And help the age of peace to come
From a Dreamer's martyrdom.
~Madeline Morse

~

That special time of the year

I received a gift in the mail from my friend Kay of kaylovesvintage and I just love St. Nick with the tree and candles. Thank you Kay. Check out her blog, she is my decoration inspiration.

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I have lots to do yet getting ready for Christmas.

Have to mail one more package and more Christmas cards tomorrow.

Have not even started to bake cookies, and, and, and.....so much more.

But it will all come together....hopefully.

* * *

Are you all ready for the Holidays?...What are your plans?

* * *

One more week of work and then four days off.

* * *

Looking forward to reading "The Beautiful Things that Heaven bears" by Dinaw Mengestu. Another book recommended to me by one of our Instructors.

* * *

And a big thank you to my friend Ursula from "Hotel Mama" for thinking of me and sending the post card from beautiful Karon Bay Phuket in Thailand. It looks like you had a great vacation.

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

What a great idea.

Seen on a porch in downtown Lafayette.

One of these days I will stop by in the evening, when it is all lit up.

* * *

At Grandma's

Two little boys went to their grandparents' place for Christmas. At bedtime, the youngest one began to pray at the top of his lungs.

"I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE...
I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE...
I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE..."

The older brother exclaimed, "Why are you shouting? Do you thing God is deaf." The little one promptly replied, "Nope! But Grandma certainly is!"

* * *

Have a great start of the new week.
~ ~ ~
We are enjoying temps in the 70's right now. Windows open in December, no heavy winter jacket to wear, how wonderful is that.

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1st Class Clutter

 Jan

One of my favorite vintage stores downtown Lafayette is 1st Class Clutter.

The owner Jan is a wonderfully sweet and gracious lady.

During the summer we spent our Friday lunch hour at Jan's store.

We had a great time browsing and buying.

Hope you like this photo trip through her store.

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A little shack by the shore

Sells many treasures, antiques galore.

Teakettles tarnished with ripe age,

Books; Thin paged, and edges frayed,

Crystal glasses, pots and pans,

Bottles filled with shells and sand,

Vintage clothes, and jeweled pins,

Photo-Overflowing bins,

Slightly yellow, tiny pearls,

Porcelain dolls of beautiful girls,

Old fashioned shoes, and lots of lace

Eyeglasses in a beat up case.

See the sign that says ‘Open’ on the door,

Leads to all of these and many more,

At that antique shop on the beaten shore.

These treasures are no longer used,

And so are taken somewhere new.

To receive another chance at life,

And that life lies with you.

Though this generation is young, and we have a while to go,

There will come a day when we must grow old,

And in the end we all will loan,

Many antiques of our own.

~

by StephanieD

Who is the lucky one?

The winner of the little print is Sheri from Red Rose Alley.

Congratulations!

Sheri please e-mail me your address, so that I can mail the print to you.

Fall and all its wonderful colors has arrived here and it is getting pretty cold. Hope you are all staying warm.

Took another trip to Indianapolis on Saturday. Trader Joe's, Stein Mart, german bakery and the mall at Keystone were on the agenda.

Very busy at work right now. Our office is being relocated. Friday is the big moving day.

Take care and have a good rest of the week.

Flea Market

Here are the promised pics of my recent trip to Shipshewana, largest flea market of the Midwest, in the heart of Amish Country.

Well, it was huge and quite interesting and also a bit disappointing, because many stalls displayed items you can purchase in a Discount Store or were pure junk.

But I got to meet my friends that I have not seen in so many years and got to spend the day with them. 

We already made plans to meet again next year.

Now there is also the world's longest yard sale, which stretches 690 miles from Michigan to Alabama and gets featured each year on the HGTV channel. But when you read the reviews, lots of junk there, too.

But I guess it is all the hunt to find that special piece you did not know you were looking for and that makes it all worth your while.

~ ~ ~

I am looking forward to reading a book that was recommended to me by one of our Instructors.

It is "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese.

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Have a great week ahead!

Little Print Giveaway

It's time for another giveaway.

This little "Girl wearing a wolf mask" print is by one of my favorite illustrators,

 Paola Zakimi from Argentina.

The print is signed by the artist.

The drawing will be on Sunday, November 4th.

Just leave me a comment on this post and your name will be entered in the drawing.

Good luck! :)

Have a great rest of the week!

Kaffeeklatsch...

 Hazelnutcream Torte

 Cherry Cheese Cake

 The Ladies

 The place

 The Art

 The Bread

Oh happy day ~

Look what I discovered

A wonderful place called Brotgarten at the Perk Up Cafe 

in Broad Ripple

Finally I can buy some good german bread and pastries not too far from where I live.

We went there for Kaffeeklatsch (=gossip over cups of coffee,"  from Ger., from kaffee "coffee" + klatsch "gossip) this past Sunday and the Hazelnutcream Torte and the Cheese Cake were so delicious.

Beautiful local art is displayed throughout this cozy place, it is just so warm and inviting.

What a great place with an amazing atmosphere and dog friendly, too.

Will take Gracie and Lucy there next time.

Hi there...

 Window to my patio

 Morning Glories still blooming

In my garden

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I have been so busy lately with no extra time left for blogging.

Hope you are all doing fine and I will be visiting your blogs soon.

It just seems there is never enough time in a day for all the things I would like to do.

One thing is for sure, I am never bored.

No matter how busy I am, I still have to read.

Just finished a great book "The Girl in the Garden" by Kamala Nair.

And have started another one "Vita" by Melania Mazzucco.

What are you reading right now?

~ ~ ~

Time is a figure eight, at its center the city of Deja Vu. 

 ~Robert Brault

P.S. I have just reconnected with a friend I haven't been in contact with for 20 years.
 We are both living in the same state and we are planning to meet soon.
I am so excited.

Have a great week! See you soon:)

My Girls

 Gracie

 Lucy

Gracie and Lucy outside having fun.

Gracie loves to chase her red ball, but Lucy does not really care much for running after a ball.

We have to throw a stick for her, but she gets easily bored with it.

Whereas Gracie does not know when to quit. I always say she could play for the Chicago Cubs and I am tempted to get her a shirt.

Go Gracie, go!

I am going to see my friend Claudia from Michigan soon. We used to work together and I have not seen her since I moved from Michigan to Indiana six years ago. The distance between us is rather large - 500 miles (800 km). For us Europeans that is hard to believe. You can drive from the north of Germany to the south in one day and here I can do the same and I am just in another state. It took me 8 hours of non-stop driving from Northeast Michigan (still the lower Peninsula) to West-Central Indiana.
 We are going to meet in Shipshewana, Indiana and I am looking forward to it.

Shipshewana has the largest Flea Market in the Midwest.

And it is Amish Country and a shopper's paradise.

 I have never been there and I am sure we will have lots of fun.

Have a great weekend!

Take care!