Sunday, January 5, 2014

Clearing the Decks

Hi there, thanks for stopping by.. how has 2014 been treating you so far?  We've been packing away the Christmas decorations, wrapping each ornament with tissue, finding each and every Santa and snowman.. it's quite a job around here since I go CRAZY decorating for the holidays.  And we're having a run of brilliant sunny days, pretty amazing, really.  It gets up to 45-48 degrees fahrenheit during the day, too.  The east winds are blowing so the air is brisk and fresh!


Our winter garden.. it's kind of.. bleak?


Our garden wind art piece was spinning like crazy and whirling around.  


We have a little forest on the east side of our farmhouse and it is there to cut the effect of the east wind which blows a lot during the colder parts of the year.  We have gusts up to 60-80 mph.  I wish I could share with you the smell of the fresh air here.


Our gazebo in the winter.. we had to remove the fabric shade awning from the top so that the east wind won't blow it away.  :-)


I am soooo enjoying the sunshine in the dining room.  Here it is bare bones, post holiday.  I need to get a tablecloth on the table and something decorative.  Candles?  Flowers?  Yes and yes.  


We are heading off soon for lunch out and grocery shopping.  Tonight we're making baked pork chops, fried potatoes and corn.  A real southern meal.  My mom made the best fried potatoes with onions, all crispy and delish.  The secret ingredient is using some bacon grease to fry them.  :-P  Are you all set for a new year?  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

23 comments:

  1. I heard on the news about the bad weather. I hope it will go away,soon. What a beautiful home youare having!

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  2. There is always the bare feeling once all the decorations are packed away. Next month is Valentines and I am sure you will warm the place up long before the hearts come into play. My goodness, what crazy weather, what happened to that blizzard that you just had? We had a lot of snow a week or so ago and in 2 days it was melted. Then we got another foot of snow and now to get another 6+ inches on top of that. Then our frigid arctic cold blast is suppose to be here for a couple of days. I hope the weather man got that one wrong and it lasts less than one day. Your evening meal sounds good, love baked pork chops. I always bread mine in Kellogg's corn flake crumbs. I bet your mom's fried potatoes were very good fried in bacon grease. Moms were good cooks weren't they. Keep warm friend.
    (((HUGS))) Susanne :)

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  3. I am so jealous!!! Wind chill tonight will be around -50! I am so glad that I am not sitting in the stands for the Packer game! The stadium is not covered!!! They had to de-ice the seats!!!
    You always put such gorgous pictures of your home and landscape on here. Love seeing your place.

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  4. Your house is so pretty, Teresa. I just love the yellow in your dining room. Dinner sounds pretty awesome! I'll be right over. :)

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  5. You lucky thing to have sunshine Teresa, we are having some really bad flooding here in the UK and more to come. Luckily we are fine so far but some poor souls are under feet of water. Your room looks so bare now..time to get some Valentine things out?? ;0) Enjoy dinner xx

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  6. Your home always looks so nice Teresa....enjoy all that beautiful sunshine!!!!!
    xx Shari

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  7. Sunshine. glorious sunshine! We have it here in Spokane too and it's 46F right now. So beautiful. Hubby is out taking Chloe for a walk while I catch up on blog posts and begin my crocheted cotton blanket. Your dining room looks really different from two weeks ago Teresa! My house looks the same, but it IS kind of a relief for the eyes to have a bit of quietness isn't it? Soon I'll get out my few valentine's day decorations and it will brighten up again. :-)
    We had pizza for lunch and will have boring leftovers for dinner. Not very exciting is it? Your baked pork chops and potatoes sound much better.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  8. Hi Teresa. Don't you love to get the house all back to normal after the holidays? I sure do! I am so very behind on all of my blogging friends posts. I hope to get a post up later today. I love the video with Dayle in the blizzard. And yes, I did see the bird land on his shoulder! It has been summer like here lately. Nicer than our summer weather. Today we went on a 5 1/2 mile hike! It took us almost 4 hours! It was gorgeous, and so fun. I am pooped!!!
    XO Kris

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  9. The sun looks so pretty coming into your dining room. Winter gardens have a beauty all their own. Happy new year. Heather

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  10. Hi Teresa took down all decorations today as well. I was sad to see the tree and lights go. It is very wet and windy here!! Lots of flooding.
    Icooked roast pork today with veg, roadt potatoes,stuffing &apple sauce. It was yummy.
    I should be trying to sleep but can't . We have granddaughters tomorrow as it is a training fay for teachers at their school. I'm going to be very tired tomorrow nigjt. Hugs Anne x

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  11. I packed my decs away today as well. I am going to add some new flowers and plants to cheer the space up.
    But it has put me in the mood for more changes. Maybe some new decorating......
    Rosezeeta.

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  12. Always love your pictures Teresa......here is summer but today is bitterly cold lol
    But having a bbq with a cousin coming to visit ☺

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  13. Oh yes the new year is welcome here!!!!! Its' cold and I need something for my wooden long table as well. It looks bare after the holidays …..interested to see what you do with your table…

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  14. I loved the sunshine today, too! Everything looks fresh and ready for a new year :) xx

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  15. I've been your blog for about a year now aond this is my first comment, I LOVE YOUR BLOG. You are so happy, warm and I love your home and farm. Your family is beautiful and you are a whiz at decorating for the holidays. Cheers and Happy New Year.
    A big fan from California :)

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  16. I really enjoyed packing away all our decorations yesterday, it feels like a fresh new year now.
    It has rained constantly for about a fortnight here, making the children fractious and me a little restless. Still, we have some sunshine this morning so perhaps we'll manage to get out and about!

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  17. We are currently hunkered down with below zero temps and terrible wind chills. Very unusual for our area. I love all of that bright light in your dining room. So refreshing!

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  18. Sure doesn't look bleak to me. I imagine after the summer colors and fall splendor, it might feel that way. Sometimes around here it is definitely bleak and the past two days have been dark and drizzly which make it worse. Brisk and clean and fresh sound nice. Yusef sure isn't ready to go back to the cold in Colorado. He loves the States, but not the frigid temperatures and the snow. Wishing you and yours all the best in the new year, Tammy

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  19. I too have a big room with yellow and 3 large windows, that is so bright in the sunlight! I've never been sorry I had it painted yellow. You're having snow and storms and we're having winds and fire alerts down here. Crazy weather all over the country. I remember my Mom's fried potatoes, oh so good. I think it was the cast iron skillets!

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  20. Lovely bright new year pictures, Teresa! I love clearing up after the Christmas holiday, though I do miss all the little twinkly lights! We have had strong winds here too.....still have, and luckily today some sunshine too. Wishing you a happy week!
    Helen x

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  21. It looks sunny and beautiful. Today I am all about cleaning and organizing. I have been on a mission to start the New Year off with an organized house!
    Hugs to you Teresa,
    Meredith

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  22. Beautiful sunny day my dear friend. I always love to decorate for Christmas but love even more the feeling after we put all the decorations away... So clean and fresh. Your house looks great !

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