So Much to Be Thankful For...Including YOU!

I can't even begin to express how much your comments have meant to me this past week. I was very down when posting my tale of health woes, and then things got worse: A torn meniscus, again, and sciatica, again, different leg than last time, though! 

At first, I was angry at myself for posting when I was down. It seemed weak, unworthy. And of course, I am weak and unworthy, yet I have the love of the Holy Trinity, and all the angels and saints! It was good to be reminded and to strike down false pride. I have such an unfortunate tendency to false pride. Ugh.

Flowers, a palm-tree, and turning leaves, all at the same time at the little park I like!

So, I've been down, but not out! In fact, the worse I feel, the more often I pray, the more often I go to Mass, and the more determination is given me to carry on! Because although I am just a shy, puny person, with no great credits to my name, I can still be an instrument of the Lord, and light my little candle to brighten someone's day, be they human or animal! 

I used to sing that song at summer camp: "It is better to light, just one little candle, than to stumble in the dark...and if everyone lit, just one little candle, what a bright world this would be!"

Thank you for "lighting a candle" for me with your kindness.

Yes, much to be thankful for this year! And every day! Yesterday I was determined to run errands, leg or no leg, so to speak. I just could not delay any longer, and be able to make Thanksgiving dinner. And God placed me to see an altercation with a disturbed man attacking a woman, and call 911. And I saw a loose dog (a chiweenie), but sadly was unable to catch him. But I did alert our wonderful local rescue that just swarms like a SWAT team when a dog is reported running loose, and I got a message he had been captured. And I found a "blow mold" (those light-up hard plastic snowmen and Santas and so forth that folks put on their porches and lawns) that I could afford! I put him (it's a snowman) in my room and had him lighted all night, I was so excited. At the thrift store where I got the snowman, I was also given a big bag of leftover Chick Fil-A cooked pieces, free! There was 8 quarts of frozen chicken in there! And I put out the trees!

This year, feeling puny, I just put up a few ornaments on the turquoise tree to make a "fiesta tree" to fit our Southwestern area.

Can you see my German good-luck pig ornament on the old-fashioned tree?

And I reread all the wonderful comments, as the icing on the cake.

I can smell my turkey in the oven, hooray! And I hope you are having a sweet day. My son decided not to visit after all, and my husband doesn't celebrate any holiday, but I hope you have someone to share the day with. And if not, know that you are not forgotten, and that all the angels and saints, bidden or not, are all around you and concerned for your happiness! And remember that God's eye is on the sparrow! 

These fine fellows wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Much love and kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

 

Free "Jar" Hostess Gift Tags for Thanksgiving

I don't know what will be happening around Thanksgiving this year. Perhaps no one will be visiting for the holidays, but if they do...here are a few printable decorations to celebrate the upcoming feast. They would be pleasing tied onto a real jar filled with something good or interesting, like a cookie mix, honeyed pecans, homemade spice mix, and so forth.

As always, click on the LINK under the preview image below to save the file for printing. It's saved in the Google Cloud, so it's perfectly safe. The link pops up a new window. If you can't see the pop-up, you likely have that blocked and will have to "manage pop-ups" in your browser settings. If you save the little image below, it won't print right. USE THE LINK!

Thank'ee for stopping by!

 

LINK IS HERE! *Click*

And We Roll Towards Thanksgiving!

My Hallowe'en decorations are safely tucked away, and Thanksgiving and Yuletide touches are now begin placed in the house, with full Christmas lights going up outside. And on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the honeycomb turkeys and harvest items will be put away, too, and the entire house will be changed over to exclusively Christmas/Winter/Holidays!

I have notice a trend this year, probably because of COVID-19 and the feeling of bleakness that has gripped the U.S.: Christmas is being embraced much earlier than usual. For once, the stores are lagging behind the consumer. We want Christmas! 

It reminds me of the dear song, "We Need A Little Christmas" from the play Mame. The song was written by Jerry Herman:

Haul out the holly
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again
Fill up the stocking
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now

 

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
Candles in the window
Carols at the spinet

 

Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
It hasn't snowed a single flurry
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry

 

So climb down the chimney
Turn on the brightest string of light I've ever seen
Slice up the fruitcake
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough

 

For I've grown a little leaner
Grown a little colder
Grown a little sadder
Grown a little older

 

And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder
I need a little Christmas now

 

Haul out the holly
Well, once I taught you all to live each living day
Fill up the stocking
But auntie Mame, it's one week past Thanksgiving Day now

 

But we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
Candles in the window
Carols at the spinet

 

And we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
It hasn't snowed a single flurry
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry

 

So climb down the chimney
It's been a long time since I felt good, neighborly
Slice up the fruitcake
It's time we hung some tinsel on that mayberry bough

 

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
Candles in the window 

Carols at the spinet

 

And we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
We need a little Christmas now

We need a little Christmas now
We need a little Christmas now

 

Yes, I need a little Christmas now, but I also love Thanksgiving! So here are some FREE printable rustic tags celebrating that wonderful holiday. Check out my rustic and shabby Printable Tags and Postcards that I'm putting in my Etsy Shoppe, MerryNeedle, this week, too!

 

As always, CLICK THE LINK RIGHT HERE to download the full-sized, correctly printing file, stored over in the Google Cloud. It's perfectly safe! A new window should pop up, so make sure you allow pop-ups. If you don't know how to do that, here is the link written out, so you can copy and paste it in your browser address bar: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19htV_wmd8Z2qYBiS_p42SuMQXgI4ag0n/view?usp=sharing

 

 

 

    Kind regards,

    Olde Dame Holly Rose

DIY "Harvest Blessings" Sachet to Print

If you are hosting a Thanksgiving get-together -- if it's allowed where you are living -- you might want to have a little party favor for your guests. And if you're lucky enough to be a guest, it might be fun to bring a little hostess gift along. 

Some don't care for the smell of chrysanthemums, but I love it. It seems so spicy and fresh: Bracing, like the essence of a cold snap.

Use the link to get the full-sized printable stored by Google. If you use the image below, it will be a smaller file and won't print at the proper resolution or size. It's perfectly safe and the link should open in a new window.

It will be just myself and my husband for Thanksgiving this year, and of course the pets. The pets are our lives: Two kitty rescues, and two doggie rescues. Scruffy little things we love beyond belief.

    Kind regards,

    Olde Dame Holly Rose

LINK: Click HERE