Oooooh... just like a postcard! I just posted on your other thread, asking to see a larger photo of the exterior. And here it is. LOVE THIS HOUSE!! Do you want to sell? :o) *smile* Of course, dh would tell me "no, you have to finish your own house" and then he would remind me that I'm trying to ESCAPE the snow. But why does snow have to look so gorgeous in photos? :o) LOL! Good job Denise. Glad you shared photos. Everything is perfect!!

It's been so great having more members join in on this forum. There are times when it gets so slow here, and that is understandable since we all get busy with other things in our lives and can't do any painting no matter how much we might wish we could. I hope that even during those times, all of you will come chat on the conversations side. Just a morning hello or a goodnight post letting us know you're around and what's going on in your lives would be wonderful. We could also talk about any good books or magazines we've found, or any yard sale or thrift store finds we hope to fix up. Do you get a thrill out of seeing a new book or magazine full of projects? I'm always looking for ideas to paint up ahead of time to have on hand for gifts when needed. I'd like to hear how far in advance you select and start on projects for upcoming holidays. What motivates you to start a project? What obstacles hold you back from working on a project you'd like to do? You get the idea, we can at least TALK about painting even if we are too busy to get a project worked on right then. ;o) Lots of people are talking about the economy, so I imagine more people will be staying home more and that means they will be looking for things to do. I hope some of them will find this forum and be encouraged to pick up a brush and join in here. So have a very Merry Christmas, and let's hope we all get even better acquainted in the new year. Luvs

Belated Merry Christmas to all. Especially to Triciae, who was on my mind a lot this holiday and will be during future holidays. Dear Wonder Woman, I hope you are doing well, where ever you are. Thank you for showing me what courage and strength and kindness are. We drove down to the Bay Area for the holidays. Christmas Eve we had dinner with our good friends in Berkeley, raw oysters with mignonette, cracked crab, and the traditional Buche de Noel. Last night we had dinner with other good friends in Richmond, tenderloin, mashed potatoes and a warm cauliflower-brussel sprout salad. I made half of the tenderloin, cut pieces 1" thick and tied them into rounds, pan cooked, with a sauce of reduced white balsamic vinegar, Muscat wine, shallots and garlic, butter, sauteed mushroom stems, blended smooth, then simmered over whole mushroom caps. No recipe, just made it up. Our hostess roasted the rest of the tenderloin with a red wine and shallot reduction. We were supervised by a friend who is a head chef at a large hotel and, for the first time in many years, didn't have to work on Christmas day, but was nonetheless pressed into service which he did with good humour. I've been negotiating a stressful matter at work for the past few weeks. As of Dec 24, we were uncertain whether our little business unit would be shut down and I had prepared myself to be jobless come Jan 1st. That all got resolved satisfactorily at noon on Christmas Eve, final document review pending, so for the first time in a month, I was able to relax and unclench. It was nice.

This indeed is a bit early for the year, this thread revival. I say what I want to say. If it is December 25th, I say Merry Christmas. If it is December 21st (MY actual holiday) I say Blessed Yule or Blessed Solstice. Otherwise, since there are so many of them, I say Happy Holidays. However, I will note if a shop clerk says "Merry Christmas" to me at checkout, I'll parrot back with the same. I hate seeing people bent out of shape over this "issue". The idea is that you are wishing someone something happy and joyful, or so I thought. PS, I call mine a Solstice Tree. I'm quite happy to call yours whatever you want me to call yours, as you probably don't share my religion, and so yours is probably a Christmas Tree. And yes, those things I mail out early December I do inevitably call them Christmas cards (although I don't buy the religious ones), and I hope we are still able to mail them this coming December. (You hear me, USPS???). And I love getting any I get, no matter religious, spiritual, or just simply fun the impetus is behind your sending them to me...