A Magical Snowfall for The Record Books

Hello again!  We're having quite the winter, huh?  Here in North Carolina, we got record snowfall on January 31st.  Our coastal towns had the most snow they've gotten since 1989 -- almost 40 years ago.  Our town received 8 to 10 inches, but the nearby town of Lexington got 16 inches of snow on Saturday.  The town of Wilmington, North Carolina, on the coast got almost 18 inches of snow.  The town that had the most snowfall is Faust, North Carolina, which is part of the Asheville Metropolitan area.  Faust received 22.5 inches of snow!  Where we live, it snowed continuously for about 24 hours.  It really was beautiful!  Our meteorologist said we rarely get a snow like this -- soft and powdery with no ice, which is a good thing because we already had ice on the ground from winter storm Fern.    

  

A Bird Tree For Winter

Hello everyone and Happy February!  I just read that our little buddy Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, so six more weeks of winter.  People have mixed feelings about Phil (depending on what his verdict is in February), but I think he's mighty cute. 😊 However, I think he and his kin are much cuter when they're not in our yard.  They can sure make a mess with all their holes everywhere.     I wanted to share our small bird tree in the den, which I put together after taking down the Christmas decorations. This tree is in our den where we can enjoy it in the evening.  It's decorated with ornaments that I've collected over the years and previously hung on our big Christmas tree.  My mom has a winter cardinal tree that sits on the floor at her house from winter until spring, so that gave me the idea to do a bird tree of our own.     

January 2026

Hi Friends!  How are you today?  I hope you're having a good 2026 so far.  We have snow and ice in our part of North Carolina today, and it really is quite lovely.  Hal and I have been hoping for a pretty snow for a few years now, so this is just perfect for us.  I know a large part of the country has been hit with a major winter storm, and we were quite nervous a few days ago, I can tell you.  The forecast was for lots of freezing rain, sleet, and snow.  We were out there with the rest of North Carolina stocking up on food, bottled water, and gasoline in the car.  The worst part of our forecast as of Thursday and Friday was a good chance of losing power and we were told that the power outages might be for an extended period.  I know a lot of people who enjoy a pretty snow, but I don't know any who wish for their power to go out, especially as cold as it was here for the last three days.  Bitter cold wind and temps. in the low 20's down into the teens.  We were extremely fortunate -- our power didn't so much as blink at all during the storm, so we stayed quite comfortable.  Today is actually very pleasant, but the cold temperatures are supposed to return starting tomorrow.  Here are some pics from our front porch this morning.  Notice the blue, blue sky out there, often the case after a big storm.   

Merry Christmas 2025

Merry Christmas, dear Friends!!  I hope you are all having a joyous Christmas and I wish you happiness in the coming year.  Thank you for reading House at Forest Manor, your visits make my day. 😊     

   

A Ralph Lauren Table and Dining Room

Season's Greetings!  I hope you are all well and busy.  Thank you for your kind words about Hal's hand injury; he saw the surgeon again today, and unfortunately, the top joint of that finger will have to be amputated.  We are sorry that has to be done, but we know it could have been much worse.  Today is his birthday, and I love him dearly.  Happy Birthday, Hal!!      

First Christmas Post 2025

Hello sweet friends.  The season of Advent is upon us, and it's such a special time.  We hung our Moravian Star on Sunday, the first day of Advent.     

Another Autumn Table

I almost didn't share this table today because we're all so busy at this time of year.  I enjoyed setting it up, though, so I decided to go ahead and write a quick post to go with.    

A Fall Apple Tablescape

Down through the ancient StrandThe spirit of October, mild and boonAnd sauntering takes his wayThis golden end of afternoon,As though the corn stood yellow in all the landAnd the ripe apples dropped to the harvest-moon.~William Ernest Henley, "London Voluntaries," 1892

Hello Dear Readers!  Are you happy to be in the midst of fall?  I definitely am!  This is my favorite time of year -- so many things to do and so much beauty to enjoy!  Do you have autumn color yet where you live?  We have some, but not a lot.      I set a fall table in the dining room a few weeks ago, and I've enjoyed looking at it, along with our other autumn decor around the house.  This is sort of a re-boot of a fall tablescape I put together the first year of my blog (2011).  I always liked that table, and I think I like this one even better.    

        

July On Our Front Porch

Hi there!!  Have you had a good summer so far?  Since I haven't been posting much, I thought I would take some time to do a re-cap of July.  First of all, it's unbelievably hot here (for us).  These temps. would be no big deal for people in Texas and Arizona, but whew!  I even saw that North Carolina was mentioned in the The New York Times yesterday in reference to the heat wave we're having.  I'm not a fan of The New York Times, but I get e-mails from them because I play Wordle on their website.  Anyhoo, the temperatures have been in the 90's consistently, with the heat index in the triple digits.       Aside from this heat wave, July has been a nice month for us.  We made homemade ice cream to take to my mom's house for July 4th.  We had a cookout, and I got to see my niece's little foster child; I tell you I'm smitten with that child. 😊 I've gotten some really nice fresh vegetables and fruit so far; this has been a good summer for the produce.  We're engaging in our annual tradition of watching the Tour de France here.  It actually ended Sunday, but we're a few days behind.    

Fresh Flowers for the House

It seems I've taken a four-month sabbatical, and I certainly didn't intend to.  I've discovered the longer I stay away, the harder it is to think what to write on my blog.  I hope that all of you had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday; I most certainly did.  Went to lunch on Saturday with my mom, my sister, my niece and her adorable foster child.  I so wish I could share pictures of the little girl, but I completely understand why that is not allowed.  Yesterday, our son came over and the three of us went to dinner at a nice restaurant.  Afterwards, we visited my mother-in-law, so I think we all had a good family weekend.   

            

On A Cold Winter's Day

**I actually started this post on Sunday, and today is Tuesday.  We never got the snow I was hoping for when I started writing this, but there is still hope.  They are now forecasting snow for this coming Saturday.**     It's Sunday afternoon, and we are having a bit of snow here, off and on (mostly off).  In the part of town where my mom, sister, and niece live, they have a few inches covering the ground already.  Hal and I have really hoped for a pretty snow this year, so we shall see.  It has been bitterly cold here for the last few days, for sure.  Is it cold where you are?     Our son gave us a jigsaw puzzle for Christmas (750 pieces) and we started on it Friday night.  It's challenging!  We've got sections put together, but we've got a long way to go.  I thought I would share some of the things I've been reading lately.     

Happy New Year 2025!

Hi everyone!  It's been a minute, no?  Five months since I've posted a real post here on the blog.  I've missed blogging and I've missed you.  Our year got very busy in the last half, and then I kind of lost my blogging mojo.  Writing takes practice, and I'm a bit out of practice.      

   

It's Christmas 2024

Merry Christmas Dear Ones!!  I wish you a happy day with those you love most.     

   

For The Bees

I wanted to set a table with a bee theme this summer but had not gotten around to it.  I dithered over purchasing a La Rochere carafe or some glass bowls to go with our bee goblets, but in the end, I decided I couldn't justify buying those right now.  I had planned to try and gather enough flowers (but was pretty sure there wouldn't be enough in my young flower garden) to make a center piece.  Then, I was gifted a lovely flower arrangement on Sunday, and I decided it was time to do my bee table, even though I didn't have all the elements that I wanted for it.      

      

Home and Travel

Hello all!  Are you having a good summer so far?  Ours has been a mix of good, not so good, and chaotic.  The good part is that our flowers, trees, and shrubs are blooming prolifically.  I'm guessing all the rain we got in the spring must have really helped out.  The not so good is that the weeds are also flourishing (as usual) and I just can't seem to get on top of them.  Also, we had to have repair work done on our practically-new refrigerator, and I've decided that things really aren't being made to last these days.  We're hoping the fridge truly is fixed because I love everything about it -- looks, layout, design, convenience.  In addition, we've just replaced a coffee maker which was just a little over a year old; it started leaking out onto our countertop.  Roseanne Roseannadanna is right, folks, "It just goes to show you, it's always something -- if it's not one thing, it's another." 😏   

Former U.S. Coast Guard Station on St. Simon's Island  

The Middle of May

Hi all!  I hope you had a good Mother's Day.  I did, and I'm so very thankful for my wonderful son and husband.  I'm continuing to document (loosely) our lives here at Forest Manor.  I have spent a large part of the spring working in our yard.  Yesterday, I worked on removing weeds from our large natural area in the front yard, where I'm in the process of creating a flower garden.  I cut a few stems yesterday evening to enjoy in the house -- they're a sampling of what we have added to this area over the past three years.      

Before The Month of April Is Gone...

Hello Dear Friends!  It's hard to believe that I haven't posted since the middle of February -- a Valentine's tablescape.  Good grief, I've let the time slip away again.  We have been busy, though, living life, and I'm thankful for that.  In February, we visited a friend whose husband had died unexpectedly during the Christmas holidays.  Then, the following week, we attended a funeral for a man that Hal had worked with for 30 years.  I think it's nice that people are referring to these occasions as "Celebration of Life" now.  Hal's co-worker had lived a life to be celebrated, for sure.  He was quite down to earth, but such an inspiration to so many people.  Both of these men died from cancer, which is another whole topic.  Is it just me, or is this dreaded disease becoming more and more prevalent?        In March, Hal and I took another calligraphy class; this one was held at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art in Winston-Salem, N.C.  

Valentine's Day With Juliet

This year I decided to set a Valentine's Day table with our wedding china, because even though I chose it many years ago, I still love it (just like my husband). 💘💟💕 The last two days here have been totally gloomy with very little sunshine, so the lighting isn't the best for these pictures.  In spite of that, I really enjoyed putting this table together, and I hope you enjoy the pictures.   

      

2024 Winter Products

Hi folks.  On occasion, I have shared some fun finds here that bring us pleasure in our home.  I'm not affiliated with any of these products, nor do I receive any compensation for talking about them on my blog.  These are just things I'm enjoying at the moment and thought you might be interested in them, too.     First thing I wanted to share is this new-to-us milk we purchased this week at our local grocery store.     

A Winter Tablescape

Hello there!  Happy February to you. 😊  I set a winter tablescape this January, thinking that I would try to set more pretty tables this year.  I really would have liked to get some pretty winter flowers at the grocery store for my centerpiece, but it just didn't happen.  Instead, I went with my standby of a pillar candle and hurricane globe.