Jane Austen said it well, "There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." I'm so thankful for our home - it is a place of rest and restoration, of laughter and tears, and certainly, of comfort.
My American friends are thinking about Thanksgiving, but since we here in Canada celebrated last month, I'm thinking about Christmas. Most of my shopping is done, and making of gifts is well underway.
I've not really begun decorating - I like to wait until Advent for that, but I did pull out my red dishes. Then I thought it looked a little bare, so I went out with my clippers and snipped some greenery. It will all have to be changed and freshened up a couple of times between now and Christmas.
When I bring in greenery from my garden, I plunge it all into a sink (or tub) full of water with some white vinegar added, to clean it and get rid of any lurking bugs.
I love the graceful shape of this teacup, purchased in Switzerland when I went on a tour with my mom and sister in 2009.
Everywhere I look in my home, objects spark memories. There's the watercolour painting we bought while boating one year, and the store wrapped it up well because we had an open dinghy ride over choppy water before getting back to the boat. There are plants from friends, and furniture made by Tim, and it all adds layers of meaning to us. Homes are very personal places and should reflect the personalities of the people who live there.
Yesterday I roasted a chicken for a midday dinner, and served it on the red plates. I'll use them regularly now. I served a sliced orange and avocado salad alongside.
This weekend was Christmas Fruitcake time, too. I chopped and mixed all the fruit - dates, raisins, glace cherries, nuts, and cranberries with some liqueur and let it sit overnight before mixing up the batter and baking the cakes. This recipe is one I have not tried before and I don't think I'll make it again. It's okay, but has pineapple in it and we think the pineapple dominates the flavour too much. Still, it's quite edible. I'll be brushing them with rum over the next weeks, and some will be given away.
Sandi, at Rose Chintz Cottage, is hosting a weekly "No Place Like Home" link up for a few weeks. She's a fellow Canadian, living on an Island on the opposite side of Canada from me. Blogging is a wonderful way to make connections.
Are you thinking about Christmas yet?
Lorrie, what a lovely posting! I have one plate like yours and I love it; so pretty! I find all your red so inspiring and it is especially pretty during the winter months and the Holidays. You are so right about home being a very personal place and it really does reflect who we are. Thank you for sharing with us and have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteI really like your red dishes. So pretty. Your midday dinner looks delicious! Glad that your home is a place of respite and comfort. Hope your week is a good one.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that I have a sudden fancy for a piece of cake, a biscuit or some other delicious item after I have visit your blog?
ReplyDeleteI can understand why you love your red cup and saucer, it is so pretty and also very elegant.
We also have many items around the home collected from our travels that bring back special memories.
Love those plates! It is rare to see any with pinecones in such a beautiful design. Same for fabric and bed linens.
ReplyDeleteGrandmother served pineapple sherbert with fruit cocktail as first course at holiday dinners. A good use for pine apple.
Christmas linens and china are very special, and give such joy when they are brought out each year. Your plates are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe red teacup is so sweet. I bring in bits of greenery too but have not de-bugged any. Maybe I shouldn't take the chance of any uninvited guests.
ReplyDeleteI began soaking my raisins and fruit today and will make my fruit cake later this week. Yours look very nice. Sorry about the pineapple though.
Oh I absolutely love that red and white teacup you picked up while in Switzerland. It must make you so happy to have that as a beautiful reminder of time spent with your mother and sister. ♥
ReplyDeleteYou know I have never made nor ever eaten fruit cake before? You said you didn't love this recipe - do you have a very favorite recipe? I would love to make it to see if I like it. I know my big brother does, and if I don't - well gifts, everyone gets one, haha.
Stay safe, stay well, stay hopeful....
Not many thoughts of Christmas here yet. Shopping starts tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteLove you red dishes. They look happy!
I love your red plates. I usually decorate for Christmas the day after our Thanksgiving and will still do that this year. Enjoy the season.
ReplyDeleteYour red dishes blend together beautifully. The pretty teacup is the perfect memento from Switzerland.
ReplyDeleteI've been on Christmas mode since mid-November: my decorations are up (except for the outdoor lights), and I've been watching the Hallmark Christmas movie and listening to holiday songs. My small kitchen tree is decorated with all the handmade ornaments that my crafty blogging friends sent me.
Hmmm, I can smell the fruitcakes in the oven....lovely post, I'm here from NPLhome...love your cupboard and all the red and white! Thanks, Sandi
ReplyDeleteI agree- There is no place like home. This year I have spent some time reflecting on the home I grew up in-on a mountaintop farm in PA. The homestead burned down a few years ago so there is no 'home' there anymore-but OH! the memories of that time of life.
ReplyDeleteI love your red dishes. Not sure I will drag my Christmas china out this year-we'll see. I have gone ahead and decorated -for the first time ever before Thanksgiving. I needed it this year. xo Diana
Your red dishes are gorgeous. Even a peanut butter sandwich would feel like an elegant meal, when served on one of those plates.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty teacup from Switzerland, Lorrie. I love your dishes, too. Yes, homes should be a reflection of us. I look around my home and see so many memories of loved ones. I guess that’s what makes our homes a comforting place to be.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely, homey post, Lorrie! I agree with you that homes are personal and that they should reflect the personalities of their owners. These glimpses of your home are beautiful and cozy. I love your shelf display with its red and white dishes and tea things and its pop of greenery. (And thank you for the tip about the white vinegar!)
ReplyDeleteThe red dishes are really lovely and perfect with some greenery. Don't really do anything for the holidays anymore. I'm a maximalist when it comes to decorating so it's kinda hard for anything to really stand out when there's already so much stuff on display. :) Have a good day. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI agree about how important our homes are and how comforting they can be! I love your red plates, and the greenery. That is a good tip about the vinegar.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of Christmas, and will begin to decorate on Friday.
My husband loves fruit cake. His sister used to always make it and send him one, but she doesn't anymore and I never got into making it, so I usually find one to buy. He loves it with his coffee!
Thank you for the lovely post.
Your red and white dishes are stunning. I love them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea for soaking the greens too. I think I will collect some today.
I did put up our little faux tree with lights, but will decorate after Thanksgiving. Right now I am just enjoying the lights and a few Autumn things sitting under the tree. I do love Christmas cake and yours are pretty.
Oh, the fruitcakes are inspiring! One year I made a Very Different sort of fruitcake that was a lot of work, and contained ginger and pineapple, and marzipan I believe, and it was okay... but not worth making again. I guess I'll resist the inspiration here and just stick with my cookie efforts ;-)
ReplyDeleteLorrie, I enjoyed this post. I have done a little decorating but always wait until after Thanksgiving to do the majority. Your red plates are lovely and the greenery looks so festive. I agree with you about our homes. They are so important to us for such a wide variety of reasons. You are ahead of me on the fruit cakes. I bake ours the day after Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week and weekend.
There certainly is no place like home. I’ve started a bit of decorating, mainly winter with bits of Christmas tossed in. The shopping is done, and when a third of our family lives out west it makes it easier as I send them money. I’m glad or Thanksgiving isn’t as close to Christmas as the American holiday is.
ReplyDeleteWe are almost finished with our shopping. We have started to do some wrapping. W* want to avoid the rush and enjoy December.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn and Family
we put up our lil fake tree earlier thanEVER this week. It is right out the kitchen window. Lit up . Just 2 feet tall. A tiny thing. So festive and simple.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your comment on LowCarb's blog post. I'm tired of COVID deniers.
ReplyDeleteMy kids live in Vancouver. We're hearing stories.
I'm just doing shopping online. We're in a small town and I refuse to go to malls.
There are so many COVID deniers, like our MPP. Such twits. Who does it hurt to wear a mask?
cheers from SE Ontario.
Lorrie, I'm certain the Christmas Fruitcake you made was much more than just edible. :)
ReplyDelete"No Place Like Home" link up sounds wonderful and this (as so many of your posts) celebrates the comfort of the home.
I'm definitely thinking about Christmas and gradually preparing it. I do all the shopping online, if possible. Reading Jenn's interesting comment above, I read yours and many other good ones on the mentioned blog post. I too wish more people would follow the guidelines.
Stay well!
Those fruitcakes look beautiful! I miss baking with my no-sugar thing, but I do enjoy seeing what others are doing. Canadians are so sensible to celebrate Thanksgiving earlier than we in the US do. Kind of spreads things out a bit more. We will set up our tree on Saturday as we usually do. You're right, a cozy home is especially important now during these difficult times. xo Deborah
ReplyDeleteNo place like home - more important than ever these times ! Your red dishes are so fresh with greenery. I am adding Christmas decorations because they help through these dark weeks and covid restrictions. New tighter ones are coming tomorrow in the Helsinki region meaning no family reunions and all public places shall be shut forabout three weeks. So, cosy home is a real blessing.
ReplyDeleteLorrie - even though we are not yet past US Thanksgiving, I am very much into Christmas already. Shopping is mostly finished, Christmas cards are ready to be addressed, and so on. Our daughter and her boyfriend arrive on the 12th, and so I want to be "done" by then so I can just enjoy their company. We will do all of the decorating this weekend, other than the tree, which we are saving for their arrival. So excited!
ReplyDeleteDear Lorrie,
ReplyDeleteYour red dishes are the prettiest I have seen. Will you use them on your Christmas table?
Lorrie, your home is not just "pretty" or well decorated—we've all seen those that might look good but just don't "feel" quite right—yours looks warm and welcoming as well.
ReplyDeleteA lovely post ... and we got our green and red floral decorations out earlier today, Christmas is only a month away now :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Our wild turkeys do fly, Lorrie! QUite well. It saves energy to walk when the coyotes aren't around!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ‘no place like home’ sentiments! You are so organized, accomplishing much and having time to sit.
ReplyDeleteDo you make to do lists? It would be fun to visit in person.
Great post love to see it
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