Monday, December 15, 2008

The Aforementioned penultimate Christmas Tour post of '08

Here we are with Boomama's Annual Christmas House Tour about to start,** and I'm only up to posting photos as far as the kitchen. I DID try to time it so that we would have the glorious finish on the day of the tour but, y'know, best laid plans and all that.
As with last year I'm just posting the one room and giving you the links to the rest if you're so inclined. it just isn't the room I was aiming for.

Apologies to all concerned but if you really want to see the main event aka the rumpus room which I haven't posted yet[ without having to come back tomorrow that is] then you'll just have to go and check last year's post on the subject. Of course there are subtle changes this year, there are always some changes but the essence is the same

Edited to add: the rumpus room post is now here
and I've found two other house tours going on
Kimber's is here
and Hooked on Holidays House Tour is here
this could take all year !!

Anyway
have some Christmas Pudding and welcome to the heart of my home which is, of course, the kitchen ... the place where friends and family always seem to congregate around my big pine table
... this is where all the snowmen hang out and try to beat the Aussie summer heat [ not that we're having any of that just at the moment ]

There's a small quilt here too - of course - one that I designed for one of the Aussie patchwork magazines a few years back.
I think that the naive style partners well with the rustic tree which is a 4 footer and is mainly decorated with miniature wooden and china ornaments, teeny kitchen related things, spoons, cookie cutters and candy canes.
I did toy with the idea of lots of torn plaid or gingham bows on the tree but that kinda didn't happen.

These little guys are sitting on a vintage handmade wooden suitcase that Marc and I found at a garage sale many, many years ago. It has wonderful old stickers from the many ocean voyages it went on from about 1910 right up until the late 60s. Where would you ever find another quite the same ?
All the teas and coffees get swapped into festive tins, and that tiny one at the front ? That has my sweeteners in it.

Some of my blue scandinavian Christmas plates
and some more - The kitchen is the only room in the house that is allowed to have blue Christmas stuff in it. ... and don't get me wrong, I LOVE blue, it's my favourite colour ... just not at Christmas.
Mmmm what else ? Well, there are swags of fake evergreen and cranberries garlanding the old ladder that hangs over my kitchen bench and currently there are 13 crocheted stars and snowflakes suspended from it ... There are another 7 hanging in the window, and the windowsill has its own collection of folk art trees-and-candles by Maz and some more snowmen, but I can't seem to get a decent photo of them without backlighting from outside.

This laminated version of the classic poem "The Night Before Christmas" was a card given to me 55 years ago - I was a week old at the time - and it has been put up every year thereafter. My parents were stony broke in the early years of their marriage, as I've no doubt mentioned before, and so the only decorations were ratty, stringy, pathetic bits of tinsel , those accordion-style tissuepaper bells and lanterns that everyone had back then, a spindly tree, recycled cards and framed pages from the Reader's Digest... pretty tacky and awful but the upshot is that I still have wonderful treasures like this [ and the little paper nativity that I showed you last week ] that might have been thrown away had mum and dad been a bit more affluent.

as for the rest of the house:
bedrooms are here
bathroom here
big room here
and here
and here
my bedroom here

and that should about do you
until tomorrow

** and of course in the time that it's taken me to write this post and to get all these photos up here, the House Tour has already started and I'm 80 odd on the list!
Let the visitin' commence.

24 comments:

jennwa said...

Your house is so festive and beautiful.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Unknown said...

Love the snowman collection.

Cat said...

Hi there Susan,

your house is incredible - especially your patchwork. Oh to pop over the ditch & have some lessons from you!

Merry Christmas!
Cate in New Zealand

http://momentsofwhimsy.wordpress.com/

Dana and Daisy said...

very pretty! but I can't get over how cute all your kitties are!

the accordion card is a real keepsake!

Susan said...

You decorate like I only dream of decorating! :) Everything is beautiful - love your oak hutch. Thanks for stopping by my place!

Sheepish Annie said...

Just to keep you updated on these things, I will share that the third ornament of the season was smacked from the tree yesterday. No damage...but it was my favorite tacky-got-it-in-Las Vegas ornament!

The Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty is getting ever so much more crafty in his Tree Attacks!

Alice said...

Your beautiful pine dresser didn't look like that when I sat at your table back in August.

Your house is totally amazing - you can't help feeling the Christmas spirit just looking at it.

You must just about need a special room to store all these fantastic things during the year?

A Very Happy Christmas to you and all the family, Susan.

BTW, did you get the links I sent you for D&T at Hamer Hall?

Heather said...

I love your vintage figurines and tins!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

It all looks so beautiful!

Dena said...

Your home is beautiful and so festive. I love all your snowmen. So cute!

Nise' said...

Wonderful decorations. I love the pictures of Santa's helpers!

Warty Mammal said...

You have such a gift. Thank you for letting us visit!

P.S. Your house is definitely clean, despite what you would leave us to believe.

Keetha Broyles said...

Love it all - - - especially the stainless steel kitchen tools hanging from the ceiling!!!

Merry Christmas.

Anonymous said...

Miss Moggie wants to come visit and chase Bear around in all that good 'stuff'. She says it is hard to get into trouble on your own...cause you are the only one to blame.
Bt she says it looks just great.
But.......do you have a Christmas bedspread....we nearly do...ha ha says Mummy. And...she has to tell you about the train with lights that Mummy cannot get a good photo of.

Celestial Charms said...

Your home looks oh so cozy and your snowman collection is to die for! Thanks for sharing and have a very Merry Christmas!

Celestial Charms said...

Susan..I'm back again...This time I double clicked on your treasure of a vintage Christmas card. I have always loved that special sweet font that was used on cards from the 50's and 60's. What a lovely keepsake for you and one that can be displayed year after year.

Decor To Adore said...

I love your decorations~absolutely adorable!
I hope you'll visit soon, I will have my last giveaway of December this Friday.

Anonymous said...

Love those festive tins and all those different snowmen! Thanks for the tour!

Manuela

Anonymous said...

Is there a baby in a manger anywhere? The real reason for the festivities is . . . that there is now peace between God and man. Merry Christ-mas :-)

catsmum said...

Yes Olivia
if you can be bothered to go through the links to all the other posts of the House Tour you will find that there are several

pcb said...

Love the Night Before Christmas card...what a sweet piece of nostalgia!

phillips phamily said...

Wonderful 4 footer rustic tree!

We've got 2 of those blue plates: one for each year of my children's births.

Have a blessed Christmas day and glorious new year.

catsmum said...

Yes the same here - I've got the three birth years and the year I was married
other just because I like them