Happy 2023

A new year has begun -- ready or not.  I remember how glad we all were to usher 2020 out the door, and then 2021 was not a whole lot better, as I recall.  Turns out that 2022 was not the best of years, either.  Yet, we're still here, and I'm thankful for that.     I hope you all had a good Christmas holiday; we did here at Forest Manor.  I'll share a few pictures from our Christmas decorations (for posterity).  😉  I'll try to show a few touches that were different this Christmas, since I mostly decorate the same way every year.  When reviewing Christmas 2022, there were a lot of small things that made me happy, and the small things are sometimes the best.   

Merry Christmas 2022

Merry Christmas Everyone!!     

   

From our house to yours...   

A Blessed Advent

'Tis the Season, everyone!       

      

Thanksgiving 2022

Happy Thanksgiving, dear American friends!!  Wherever you are, I hope your day is blessed with family, friends, love, good food, and thoughts of what you're thankful for.  This is one of my favorite days of the year.   

       

Thistle Tablescape

I remember the first time I saw a wild thistle growing along the roadside in the mountains.  I did a double-take -- surely I was mistaken.  I thought they only grew in the Scottish Highlands.  I was wrong; they do grow around here at the higher elevations, but we haven't been able to spot any the last year or two, so I wonder if the farmers or the state park rangers are trying to kill them off.  I've heard they can be invasive, and I know from experience they sport some seriously wicked thorns.      I meant to set up this table some time ago, but I was waiting to find the right dishes (at the right price) for it.  A few years ago, my sweet husband gave me a beautiful table runner with embroidered thistles, along with some coordinating doilies.  He ordered them from the Gretna Green website, where we both like to shop for gifts.  I already had the napkins, thinking I would set a Mardi Gras table, and they were perfect with the other linens.  Then a few months ago, I finally found the dishes on e-Bay.  I would have loved to buy the teacups and saucers, too, but I didn't want to spend the extra money.     

   

First of November

Hello friends!  Happy first day of November!!  We're smack dab in the middle of my favorite time of year, and I can't believe that all of October passed without my writing a single post.  Life has been busy here, and I've been trying to live each day so haven't made time to write about my life lately.  I'm not sure anyone's still interested in reading what I write, but no matter.  I'm still here.  😉  Are you having a nice fall so far?  The foliage has been spectacular here, so I feel sure it has been lovely everywhere else, as well.  Two years in a row of extraordinary fall beauty, and I'm drinking in those colors everywhere we go.     

  

Saying Goodbye To Summer

Hello friends!  Are you enjoying the last days of summer?  Maybe I should say "official last days of summer."  Chances are, it could be hot in parts of North Carolina into October.  Nevertheless, summer is waning, and fall is just around the corner.