An Untraditional Thanksgiving 2017

Times change.

Life changes.

The trick is to not get stuck in the past,

but rather move on and change too.

First, let me tell you 

I AM a traditionalist.

I don't particularly like change.

I pretty much cook the same

holiday meals every year.

I decorate with the same 

accessories over and over.

I might be accused of being stuck

in a rut.

BUT, not this year.

This year's Thanksgiving has been

anything but my traditional one.

You may remember my best friend/sister Nancy

has moved away to be a caretaker to our Mother.

So, it was only Kate and me this year.

(SO HAPPY she made it home for the holiday!)

Since Kate would be having a

Thanksgiving dinner with her Dad

later in the day,

I decided this year 

I would not be cooking my traditional 

Thanksgiving dinner.

It seemed so excessive to cook

a huge meal for the two of us

just to send her off to eat 

another huge meal.

So, we did Thanksgiving brunch this year.

I found an interesting crust less quiche recipe in the current

SOUTHERN LIVING magazine.

(If you have it, be sure to take note

of their article on Abingdon, Virginia.

It's a neighboring town and a treasure.)

The recipe suggested quiche toppings

of sour cream, chopped tomatoes and green onions.

That cried out for an avocado as well.

We did pull out the holiday dishes.

No point in giving up every tradition!

We both decided the recipe is a "keeper."

My local grocery store does very nice muffins,

so I added store bought pumpkin and cranberry ones.

We filled our plates and ate in front of the TV

watching the end of Macy's parade.

(I'm usually up to my elbows cooking during the parade.)

After brunch, we settled in to watch the final episode

of the current season of

GAME OF THRONES.

Kate had already seen the whole season,

at least two or three times.

She's a G of T nerd and would not 

be bothered to have me call her that.

I, on the other hand,

have waited for Kate to be home

to watch this season.

Mainly because she would explain all the

finer details to me.

It did not disappoint.

Finally, we finished up with a nice long walk

in my new neighborhood.

We had a lovely, late fall day

and it was great to be outside.

This is my street,

a walker and house lover's delight!

Kate has now traveled on to her Dad's and 

I have the rest of the evening on my own.

Earlier in the week I did make my favorite

Cranberry Relish

(I cannot let every tradition go!)

and will have for dinner

 a turkey sandwich,

with this delicious relish on it.

All in all,

a lovely and relaxed Thanksgiving.

Change is good and I am thankful!

Finally, a quick house update.

This area is at the top of my stairs

and just got finished this week.

I replaced the window with a solid glass one,

knowing I wanted to use a stained glass panel 

which came from my previous house in it.

I'm so pleased with how it looks

at the top of the stairs.

I'm showing it to you now,

rather than waiting until 

I share the rest of the upstairs because

tomorrow the Christmas decorations come out,

and this spot is calling out for

one of my traditional holiday trees.

My Cottage....Still Tweaking!

I haven't posted in a while.

Life seems to be getting in the way!

Although I still have more house projects,

which sometimes seem never ending,

I have made lots of progress settling into 

Buttermilk Cottage.

It's hard to believe I've been here

almost six months!

You've already seen the office and kitchen,

so today I'll show you the rest of the downstairs.

Here's a look at the living room

when I bought the house.

Very good bones,

but I needed to make it "mine."

This shot is just inside the front door.

The ceiling was smoothed out 

and the carpet was removed from the stairs.

All the walls in the house were painted a pale gray.

That enabled me to use the window treatments

from my previous house 

along with my numerous

blue and white accessories.

And of course, there's a pop of red

in every room!

The chalk painted wardrobe came from

the entrance in my previous house.

The mirror backed french doors,

also chalk painted,

were from the dining room.

One of the fun things about moving for me

has been using old things in different rooms.

The fireplace has gas logs which have already been used

on numerous occasions.

I am loving this cozy, comfortable room!

Here's a reminder how the dining room looked before....

...and after.

There's a curved archway

from the living room

into the dining room. 

The table is presently "dressed" 

for fall.

The corner cabinet

is still a work in progress.

The top portion has a

pretty arched glass door

and the bottom 

two shelves will be 

closed behind two solid doors.

Presently the doors are all 

in the basement

waiting for me to finish them.

(Another project....another day.)

I am highlighting green in the dining room,

since these are the dishes on display.

Loving how the downstairs

has come together.

Finally, the last bit of downstairs

I haven't yet shared

is the bathroom.

Except for keeping the

original tub and toilet...

...lots of changes in here.

I am using bead board halfway up the walls.

The mirror above the sink

belonged to my grandmother.

As in the kitchen,

I've also used subway tile

and the same checkerboard floor.

That completes the downstairs.

And of course,

I couldn't have a single room

without at least 

one little lamb in it!