The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 1: Our Hillbilly Christmas Wreath 2020!
Inside: Our favorite Christmas tradition is back again! Check out our Hillbilly Christmas Wreath 2020.
Welcome to the official start of the 12 Posts of Christmas 2020!
We kick things off with our favorite Christmas tradition–the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath. (Here’s the back story, and our 2018 and 2019 versions.) We’ve kept it simple this year with one of those large bows folks decorate large gifts with–you know, like a car or washing machine. Frankly, I can’t imagine either of those being on my Christmas list, but, hey, you never know.
This year our feeling was that we needed to keep it simple. (My word for the year, remember?) A purchased bow was right up our alley, though we did end up having to do “bow surgery” when the duct tape didn’t hold. Back to wiring the bow into place. This is what we’ve ended up doing every year. You might also notice rough spots on the tire where the original color is peeking through. We made an executive decision to let the “patina” be. (It sounds better when you say “patina.”) Yes, easy was our theme this time around, but we count it success that we got ‘er up and decorated in this challenging year.
You can find complete directions for how we did the original tire here.
Merry Hillbilly Christmas Wreath!
Resources and related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas series:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Hearing Christmas Bells
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Pursuing Joy
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: Clothespin Stars
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Santa’s List
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 6: Peppermint Mocha Pie
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 7: Letters From Santa
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 8: The Write Gift
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 9: Christmas Morning Casserole
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 10: Jute Basket Ornament
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 11: What I Want Most for Christmas
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 12: Moved into the Neighborhood
Gratitude Attitude, Early Seasonal Lighting, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: Practicing a gratitude attitude, early seasonal lighting, and oh Christmas tree! Check out all the latest news fresh from the farm.
Practicing a Gratitude Attitude
This past week I’ve seen several articles and posts listing twenty reasons to be thankful in 2020. I won’t bother to number mine. I’ll allow my mind to ramble, with an impromptu, unorganized, and even downright messy collection of a few things for which I wish to express my gratefulness. First and foremost, I’m thankful for my family, and that we’re all healthy. I’m thankful for work which pays the bills and puts food on the table. And speaking of food, I’m thankful that never, not once, did I have a problem finding what I needed at the grocery store. (I never had an issue locating toilet paper, either, not that paper products are food.)
I’m thankful that in my neck of the woods, people have remained kind and helpful. I’m thankful that the weather here was mostly mild and the crops thrived. The weeds did, too, but that’s another matter. The point is, the temps were overall pretty pleasant. My flowers were lovely, and my garden produced plenty of tomatoes–including some to give away to my sister-in-law–and cucumbers to put up some pickles. Oddly enough, ticks, fleas, and other nuisance bugs were scarce. Not sure why that was, but I sure appreciated it! (I will admit to about a month of mosquitoes being unruly, but, hey, you can’t have everything!)
My brothers and their families visited in the summer, and it was wonderful to spend that time together. Mom and I attended the Apple Fest in our area this fall, and life, in places, looked pretty normal thanks to freedom to move and be in our state. I am very thankful for this!
I’m thankful for the common sense of rural folk, as well as their common decency. I’m thankful to God for His care, and I’m not just paying lip service when I say that. He’s been a constant, an ever-present help in times of trouble. He’s smoothed my rugged places into straightaways. He’s kept my feet on solid ground.
And when the shelves of life sometimes appear empty, He brings me abundant joy.
Until my cup runneth over.
Early Seasonal Lighting
Normally I’m a proponent of waiting until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas lights, but this year calls for drastic measures. Folks in the bend have put up their Christmas lights early, and I couldn’t be more happy to see it! In fact, one neighbor had his lights up mid November, and that was fine by me.
Now I haven’t put my own up yet. For now we’re focused on getting the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath going this year. But in the meantime I have plenty of inspiration when I look out my door across fields of corn stubble to see those strands of colored lights in the distance.
Oh Christmas Tree!
So it was different this year when going Christmas tree shopping. For so many years we’ve gone to our favorite Christmas tree farm, Brushy Fork Pines, but this year they were closed.
As Mom and I drove by Sacred Heart Church and spotted a lovely selection of pines in their parking lot, a plan B quickly formed in our brains. We would stop by there on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. . .
We did.
And boy am I glad we did!
We arrived bright and early that morning to a parking lot of men waiting to assist us. This bunch of friendly guys explained their selection of pines, and in less than five minutes I spotted the tree of my dreams–my Christmas 2020 dreams, anyway.
“I think I’m in love,” I said, grabbing the douglas fir.
Mom quickly selected a Scotch pine, and a couple of saw cuts, bundling, and forty bucks later, we were on our merry way.
And the coolest part of the deal? The money goes to charity.
Win-win. Now if I could just get those guys to come over and help me decorate!
Resources and related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: In Pursuit of Perfect Pines
Swirling Patterns of Blackbirds, Posing, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Wake-up Call, Missing Dad, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Stump Garden 2020
Inside: An annual tradition around here, our Stump Garden 2020 does not disappoint! Check out this year’s selection of annuals and returning favorites.
Stump Garden 2020
Of all the things that fell by the wayside this year, thankfully the Stump Garden wasn’t one of them. But it wasn’t due to any hard work on my part. In fact, this was the easiest year ever. With all the perennials and re-seeders, I only needed to tuck in a few plants in simple black plastic pots. One thing I did differently this year was to plant some vinca on top the of stump. Three kinds thrived on Stump Garden 2020–pale pink, white, and my new favorite variety, tattoo raspberry. (Top, second from the right.) It’s hard to see the pale pink vinca with the lovely burgundy dahlia in front of it. Previously I didn’t have much success growing dahlias, but this year they delighted me with some gorgeous blooms.
This is a long view of Stump Garden 2020. Notice the sweet potato vines on the far right. The sweet potatoes do double duty–beauty and good eating! Red seemed to be the unofficial, unplanned theme this year. I love the pops of color from the flowers, in different shades of pinks and reds.
Mexican firebush has reseeded itself for the last several years. It’s beautiful both in its feathery green summer appearance and lovely in this pinkish-red hue for fall. Mom donated some red salvia from her surplus stash, as well as the Mexican petunias potted on top of the stump. Unfortunately the petunias were not in bloom. Still lovely foliage, though!
And now for some returning favorites. . . Creeping jenny has taken over the stump! I love the texture and yellow-green of it! The splashes of silver mound and the sedums (top left and top right) are such a cheery sight to me early in the season. It’s such a thrill to see them make their spring entrance! Now for something brand-new–red dragon wing begonias! I had not been a fan, but like so many plants I’ve come to appreciate, Mom drops off orphans for me to incorporate into my garden plots, and I end up loving them. She knows me so well!
With each passing year, the stump changes. The wood has weathered, and some of the initial roots have fallen off. The perennials grow and spread out, and the reseeding plants surprise me, popping up in various places. I love how this established bed started from a fallen tree that no one got around to hauling out. Good thing, too! Who knew procrastination could turn into something lovely and wonderful, year after year.
Happy dreaming of next year’s garden!
Resources and related posts:
Cornfields, Stump Gardens, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Stumped Again: Our 2019 Stump Garden
Our Top 10 Favorite Gardening Tips
Past posts from this month:
Coffee Love: How to Make Pour-over Coffee
How to Turn an Old Shirt into a Pumpkin
Acting Debut, Attitudinal Issues, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
My Five Favorite Fall Posts
Inside: My favorite season has arrived, slow and steady, just the way I like, which has me revisiting my five favorite fall posts. Take a look.
My Five Favorite Fall Posts
Living in the Midwest, I love the change of seasons–even more so when that season is fall! There is just something about this time of year that makes me feel fully alive. So to celebrate my favorite season, what better way than to share my five favorite fall posts!
Without further ado, here is a small sampling, along with a link to read the rest of the post.
My Top Ten Must-do Fall Activities
August, we hardly knew ye. . .
Is it just me or did summer speed by? The month of August is such a transitional time. Going from the lazy days of summer to the structured days of back to school. The strange thing is, even if your children have left the nest as mine has (six years ago this month), the rhythm of yellow buses and school bells never really leaves us. September feels like a second January in a way. Whatever wasn’t tackled or attempted from the goal list can still be accomplished in these last months of the year.
And September brings an excitement in the air–at least for us autumn enthusiasts! I’m already checking the coffee aisle for pumpkin spice flavored coffee and scanning clothing catalogues for sweaters and boots. A list is also forming in my head of what I want to do before the weather gets too cold and, well, miserable. From my fall bucket list I’ve boiled it down to my top ten must-do fall activities. Here are my favorite picks for the quickly approaching season. CONTINUE READING
Make Our Pumpkin Spice Pumpkin Seeds
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making something pumpkin spice for a while now, thus our Pumpkin Spice Pumpkin Seeds. Lots to love about these. For one, they are so simple to make and require so few ingredients. For another, they’re perfect to make with the kids or to whip up for a quick snack or last-minute “hey I need to bring something to the party” dish. CONTINUE READING
How to Turn an Old Shirt into a Pumpkin
I know what you’re thinking–awww! Am I right? While I wish I could take credit for this idea, Emily sent the link to me from a website called It’s Always Autumn. With that inspiration, I took some old flannel shirt material, toilet paper rolls (yes, toilet paper), ribbon, and sticks from the yard and made a couple myself. (The ones pictured above.) But the small one? I had to improvise and so I can tell you how I made it. But, first, let me direct you to the link where you can find the instructions for these cute pumpkins.
Incidentally, you might be wondering why I don’t go ahead and include the project instructions here, but it’s not mine to give. So please support It’s Always Autumn by clicking over. Besides, it’s a cool website, and you’ll be glad you did! CONTINUE READING
Make Our Healthy Butternut Squash, Apple, Cranberry Bake
Beautiful, isn’t it? If you can call a casserole a thing of beauty. It tastes absolutely wonderful! And the smells? A treat when you come in from the cold!
I had meant to post this recipe right before Thanksgiving, but it didn’t happen that way. The ingredients, colors, aromas all fit nicely under that fall-harvest category. But the truth is that I make this several times over the course of fall and winter, usually paired with my mother-in-law’s simple recipe for pork loin roast. (One of these days I’ll have to include it.)
This butternut squash, apple, cranberry bake would also make for an easy side to bring along for the family gatherings, too. Easy, I say, though I do know working with butternut squash can be challenging. But there are ways around cutting into the hard uncooked flesh of the butternut. Some cooks briefly microwave the squash in increments of several minutes until the rind is soft enough to cut. (Make sure to pierce the rind before you try that!) I usually pre-bake mine just enough to be able to slice through it. That would cut down on the overall baking time of this recipe, as the instructions reflect using uncooked squash. Easiest of all is if you are fortunate enough to find cubed butternut squash in the refrigerated areas of your produce section. CONTINUE READING
Mum’s the Word, Hundred-Mile Man, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
I bought these mums the other day. Mom and I were entering Walmart when I saw these lovelies and couldn’t resist.
There was a time in my life when I wouldn’t have spent the money on flowers. My life was all about making frugal decisions, pinching every penny. Buying mums that start dying a little after a week was not a good investment.
But with age has come wisdom. I’m reminded of something Mom had said in her interview a couple of months ago–“concentrate on small areas where you want beauty.” It was in reference to a question I’d asked regarding tips for gardeners on a budget, but I think the meaning can extend beyond gardening to the little things in life that bring us joy. These mums brought a little beauty to my world. Happiness for a few greenbacks.
I guess my idea of a good investment has changed. CONTINUE READING
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I hope you enjoy my selection of favorite fall posts. Wishing all of my readers a wonderful season living the “pumpkin spice life.”
Happy reading!
Resources and Related Posts:
Slipping into Fall, Internet-less, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Make Our Simple Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Butternut Beer Brats Soup Revisited
Starting the Long and Sentimental Project
Past Posts from September:
Simple Suppers: Easy Pizza (2017)
Golden Beans, Whacked-out Weather, and Other News Fresh From the Farm (2017)
Announcing Our 2018 Decluttering Challenge! (2018)
Early Harvest, Seasonal Signs, and Other News Fresh From the Farm (2018)
When Seasons Linger (2019)
Our Top 10 Favorite Gardening Tips (2019)