My wee attempt at making a Putz house village on the top of the piano. I had limited space, as there is a lamp and a Bose radio/CD player sharing space with it. All of these houses and churches are vintage.
We’re on the same weather rollercoaster as much of the country. Heavy rain yesterday and all night long. We’re currently in a bit of a lull, then more rain/snow around noon with temperatures plunging from 49 degrees (our current temp) to 8 degrees. The high tomorrow will only reach 16. So far the roads seem clear. I guess the determining factor is how much precipitation we get while this dramatic change is happening later in the day.
Yesterday, I was at the library when they opened to pick up that book and managed to get back home before the ‘event’ started. Later on that afternoon, I got another message from the library saying a book I had on hold had arrived. So I’ll try to get there today around noonish to pick it up because they’re closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It’s the newest Michael Connelly, by the way, and I was at least number 25 in the queue when I last checked a couple of days ago, so I have no idea how it turned up this quickly. It’s rather shocking.
Now I have three books that I have to finish by the first week of January. Hmmm. Don is now reading the book about Dorothy Kilgallen.
Our big decision: I will bake cookies today and Don will make the apple pie tomorrow. Frankly, it will help to have the oven going tomorrow – it’s going to be COLD.
Last night we watched The Shop Around the Corner. It has been a favorite of mine for years and years. And it’s now a favorite of Don’s. Ernst Lubitsch was a brilliant director and the cast is simply wonderful. Tonight, A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim – the only version we watch because Sim’s incredible performance spoiled us for any other. Tomorrow – It’s a Wonderful Life. On Christmas Day – White Christmas. That’s the lineup for this year.
Okay. One more post tomorrow before I take the day off on Christmas.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
Terribly cold here in Illinois! Our high today will be -1F! The wind chill was -30F this morning and the furnace is working overtime to warm the house. We do have some snow and there will be much blowing and drifting they say. I don’t have to go out, tho, so I am lucky.
Stay safe and warm, Claudia!
Oh my! That is incredibly cold! Stay indoors, Ellen!
And stay safe.
White Christmas was my favorite for years…I even had red velvet for our wedding Dec 21…I don’t watch it anymore…love the shop around the corner and Christmas Carol… found a new one…few years ago…I watch on you tube…One Special Night…have a delightful few days…enjoy your books…and Merry Christmas to you both…
Thanks, Brenda.
Stay safe and Merry Christmas!
glad you (will) have some books, cookies, pie and movies to enjoy with your don in the warmth of your cozy, charming home … any day, every day and especially given your weather forecast!
i love all the movies on your list! we watch “it’s a wonderful life” at Christmas, too.
your putz village is sweet … and reminds me of some small nativity ornaments we used to have … chocolate-brown-colored hard plastic mangers maybe two inches tall with tiny figures, a couple of animals and usually a green Christmas tree in them (visible from the front) and glitter and a star on top. thinking of them reminds me of a white glow-in-the-dark cross on a little black hard plastic stand that i kept by my bed. i would be happy to find them in a box somewhere!
super-cold here …7 degrees below zero right now (didn’t get above zero yesterday, either). :o we received about five inches of beautiful snow on wednesday and it’s been blowing around in 40 mph winds ever since. while such weather is no joke, it reminds me of a commercial i’d see on tv each winter for years when living in minneapolis … a woman dressed as a viking, singing (to the opening part of wagner’s “ride of the valkyries”) “welcome to winter … in minnesota … here is your fuel bill … ha ha ha ha!”
hope you, don and everyone else are warm, safe, well and will have a good day!
kathy
Kathy my air is on but cold coming to Florida
Daughter in Indy 12 below plus wi d hills
Other friends in arctic also
So awful when people
Trying to get home for Christmas
Stay warm
Merry Christmas
thanks, brenda. :)
i hope that you and all your loves travel safe, stay safe and warm/comfy and have a very merry Christmas!
hugs,
kathy
Mine are not traveling thankfully. We learned a long time ago…also having owned a business, snow and bad weather affects sales at a really crucial time. I feel for the merchants…stay warm
retail can be especially tough at the holidays.
glad you don’t have any travel worries … just a great Christmas ahead!
kathy
Kathy, I have one of those two inch mangers from the 1950s in one of my dollhouses. It’s a little treasure. I wish I could show a photo of it, it’s just as you described.
oh, good … i’m glad for you to have one of those sweet little mangers! and, barbara, putting it inside a dollhouse is a great idea!
merry, safe Christmas to you and your loves.
kathy
Thank you, Kathy.
You are so thoughtful.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Barbara
Yes, I had one of those little mangers as well. Also the glow-in-the-dark cross! They’re long gone, unfortunately.
Very very cold here with wind chills well below zero.
Stay safe, Kathy.
I love the village, so cute! Enjoy your baking and Merry Christmas to you and Don.
Thank you, Lynda! Stay safe.
Thank you, for your lovely, interesting and fun posts . You are a person who always responds to what life throws at you with grace. I admire you.
Merry Christmas, to you and Don.
Stay warm and take care,
Kaye
Oh, thank you for your kind words, Kaye.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Stay safe.
This weather is perfect for baking cookies, old movies and curling up with a good book. I’m resting up for the busy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day activities with my family. Such a joy. Stay safe and warm.
Enjoy your Christmas with your family, Linda.
Stay safe.
When I woke up a couple hours ago, it was -34 with the wind chill. But, good news, the sun is out…so it looks warmer even if it isn’t…lol. Baking here as well.
I always get sentimental and nostalgic during the holidays….as I’m sure many of us do. As I was reading your post, this is the picture that you were painting in my mind. The smell of cookies baking in your oven, affectionately named Stella. Your new books awaiting on the table for you to read. The lights twinkling on tree, and your putz houses having their moment on the piano. Don, of course is serenading you with his guitar. And, we can’t forget the lineup of Christmas movies that are planned. It sounds to me, like a perfect couple of days in your cozy cottage. And, it makes me smile. Enjoy! ;)
I’m so glad it makes you smile, Donnamae. What lovely words!
Stay safe.
That sweet little village always warms my heart. Makes me think of my Mom’s little tabletop scene when I was small—a mirror for a lake, rimmed with piles of cotton wool snow, glitter-speckled Christmas tree candles all around it, snowmen, a Santa and carollers and reindeer—I loved it!
We even have unseasonably cold weather down here in Florida! It does help with the Christmas atmosphere.
I’ve finished the Reporter Who Knew Too Much, Louise Penny’s and Michael Connelly’s most-recents, and have just started The Dictionary of Lost Words, recommended by Susan Branch on her latest blog post. I think I’m going to like it.
I remember the mirrors used as lakes! I should try that!
I’ve had The Dictionary of Lost Words here on the TBR pile for months. Just haven’t read it yet.
Stay safe, Shanna.
Here in Texas, we’re colder their usual, with temps down to 15 degrees in the wee hours, but without the two days of sleety precipitation that usually precede a cold spell for us. Streets are still clear, a wonder when we’re without adequate road equipment here in our small town. So far, our grid is holding, but we personally learned our lesson in 2021 with my husband only just now able to stop treatment that resulted from frostbite to his diabetic feet. With many hundreds of dollars spent that we’d rather not have at this point, we have both a solar inverter/generator that can run inside and keep phones, lights, TV and computers going and a gasoline generator that will keep our fridge and other appliances–but not heat-generating ones–going. We have firewood and our cast iron cookware.
Congratulations on the new job working out.
I’m glad you could upgrade those things, Linda.
No generator here, sadly!
Stay safe!
Your little village is very sweet. I think you should/could leave it up all winter, or forever if you want!
The weather outside is frightful…it is 12° F but it’s very windy so I’m sure its way way below 0° with wind chill. I think we’ve gotten around 5-6 inches of snow so far but it’s hard to know since it’s blowing around so much.
Many businesses are closed here…Dr offices, restaurants, local shops, libraries, etc.
I have some cleaning to do today and some prep for family Christmas tomorrow. I still have packages to wrap. I really don’t know if our guests will make it if tomorrow is as bad as predicted.
I have plans to watch my favorite Christmas movie tonight, Christmas with the Kranks. It’s silly and I watch it every year.
Best wishes to you and Don… and all of this little community you’ve created…for a very safe and Happy Holiday.
oh, i like that movie (“Christmas with the kranks”), too! and only this year did i learn that it was based on john grisham’s book, “skipping Christmas”. enjoy it and a very merry Christmas with your family!
kathy
Same temps here. And the wind continues this morning.
I hope your guests make it, but it looks like a lot of plans have been ruined by this weather.
Stay safe, Marilyn.
I am interested in your opinion of the Three Pine series on Amazon prime. I know you are a big Louise Penny fan. Perhaps you already mentioned it and I missed it.
Congratulations on your job working out. I know you are an excellent coach.
Kay, I do not watch adaptations of novels I love. Especially series – like anything from Michael Connelly (Bosch) or Louise Penny. After investing so much time in her novels, I have a clear, fully realized image in my head of the characters. I don’t want any other image to intrude and it would if I watched the series. Plus, I’m invariably disappointed by those things! I’m happy for Louise, but it’s a big ‘no’ for me.
Stay safe.
I agree. I am almost always disappointed. I just look at it as if it wasn’t even related. The series is entertaining though.
Warmest wishes for joyful, peaceful Christmas. May the new year bring you both good health, good fortune and much, much laughter.
Lyn
Thank you so much, Lyn. The same to you and yours.
Merry Christmas!
Claudia, your favourite movies are our favourite movies, too. We watched the Alistair Sim version of “A Christmas Carol” last night. Your little putz houses are sweet. We’re getting bad weather here, too – high winds blowing the snow around and freezing temperatures. We’re not going anywhere today, for sure. Take gentle care. Make things merry and bright! Hugs, Elaine
We will!
It’s frigid here today and I’m wearing a sweatshirt over my pajamas!
Stay safe, Elaine.
I had just checked in yesterday with author/illustrator Susan Branch’s blog, and she said her husband is the same; that the Alastair version is the only one he’ll watch. I don’t know about any of this stuff!
Your weather scares the you-know-what out of me; get that book, then stay in, stay cozy, and read-read-read!
Always glad to get your reviews on new books and movies. Clearly I’ve been living under a rock for a long time, but I have never seen the ‘real’ Shop Around the Corner, only the Meg what’s-her-name/Tom Hanks remake (of a sort). You’ve Got Mail.
I’m in a hurry so I’ll just say how much I luv-luv your putz houses always; and, of course, because I live under that rock, I never knew in all the years, that my folks’ little ‘paper’ church was called a putz; not until I started reading you right here, Claudia! You are well-informed about your collections.
It’s the only one we’ll watch. A brilliant performance by Sim.
You must watch The Shop Around the Corner. It’s scrumptious and even though I love You’ve Got Mail and watch it when I can, nothing holds a candle to “Shop.”
Stay safe, Vicki.
Baking is always good when it’s so cold and windy. Our ride home from Livonia was harrowing — and that was on the “good” day when they said travel was OK. I’m grateful Rick is a careful driver and not like some of the idiots who passed us. Icy and bad visibility — I was glad to get home and hunker down.
I love Shop Around the Corner!
That kind of travel is always so nervous making. I was braver about it when I was younger, but now I’ll do anything to avoid it.
Stay safe, Jeanie.