Merry Memes

Wanted to pop in here quickly to do a couple of memes courtesy of Annie and Kim.  The first is from Annie.  Housekeeping Meme: 
1. Do you enjoy housework?  Enjoy would be an overstatement but I do like a clean, organized house
2. What chores do you dislike most?  The constant battle with pet fur/hair and paw prints
3. Which chores do you enjoy?  Changing decor seasonally
4. Do you have a favorite cleaner?  Spraywell Glass Cleaner from Costco, Bona for hardwood floors and the always amazing Magic Eraser!
5. Household appliance you can't live without?  Roomba/Scooba, dishwasher and washer/dryer
6. Powder, liquid or new drop in?  Liquid
7. Softener? favorite brand?  Dryer Sheets
8. Softener sheets or liquid?  Sheets
9. Dryer or clothes line?  Dryer
10. How often do you change bedroom linen and bathroom towels?  whenever they need it
 11. What one thing would you just love to have to aid in your housekeeping?  A maid

And a Christmas meme from Kim:

1 Eggnog or hot chocolate?  Hot Chocolate 

2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  Wrap 

3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white?  White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes

5. When do you put your Christmas decorations up? After Thanksgiving

6. Favorite holiday dish?  All our favorites but Honey Baked Ham for our Christmas Party 

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?  That we actually had an aluminum Christmas tree with a color wheel! 8. When did you learn the truth about Santa?  Maybe six?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  One gift on Christmas Eve

10. How do you decorate a tree?  Lots of special ornaments for our pets, grandkids, Li Bien Ornaments, ornaments from friends... a lot of meaningful decorations that we've had many years 

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?  Love to visit it

12. Can you ice skate? Yes 

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  No 

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you?  Being with family 

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?  Anything chocolate 

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  Our stocking tradition where we all buy a gift for each other's Christmas stocking

17. What tops your tree?  A very fancy bow

18. Which do you prefer-Giving or Receiving? Giving because I never need anything

19. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

20. Candy Canes-Yuck or Yum?  Yum

21. Favorite Christmas show?  Love, Actually followed closely by The Holiday

22. Saddest Christmas song?  I'll Be Home for Christmas 

Half Century Ago...

People always say there are certain events in history that you can vividly remember exactly where you were when you heard the news.  50 years ago, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, was one of those moments in time.  I was a young girl but I remember that 1960 election as being the first time I ever was interested in a presidential candidate.  I remember it was very controversial that he was a Catholic.  We loved his pretty, stylish wife, Jackie, and young Caroline and John-John.  On November 22, 1963, I was sitting in a classroom when a funny tone came over the loud speaker and it was announced that JFK had been shot and killed in Dallas.  We looked to our teacher to see what it all meant and he was crying.  We were scared, didn't really know how to take it all in.  The next few days were so sad... everyone was glued to their TV sets watching the events unfold and the funeral.  It really marked the end of innocence of our country and the next decade brought us more tragedies like Viet Nam, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert Kennedy.  Now we have September 11, 2001 as one of those days that everyone knows exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.

Annie's Meme:  What's for Dinner?
Do you prepare a menu for the week?  Do you stick to it or are last minute changes a habit?  Not a week ahead but maybe 3 or 4 days and we often change plans if something comes up and we need a quicker dinner.
Do you spend a lot of time planning menus?  No, now that it's just Jeff and I we don't do much planning
What is your family's favorite menu for dinner?  Barbecued anything.  We probably BBQ 3 or 4 times a week, year round.
Do you eat out during the week?  Regularly or is that a special treat?  We have Friday Night Takeout...doesn't everyone?  (I've convinced Jeff it's a given.)
Is dinner simple or elaborate?  Not sure... it's always healthy with a salad, crusty Rosemary bread, fish, chicken or lean meat, a fresh veggie and a healthy carb like quinoa, wild rice, or risotto.
Do you have dessert after your meal?  No
What beverages are served at the dinner table?  Small glass of wine
Do you serve different foods in summer and winter?  We might add something like vegetarian chili or a soup in a crock pot during winter but we can still BBQ here year round.

Hearth and Home

Having Jacob here with me all day makes it hard to get around to blogging.  He always wants me to sit with him, be with him, play with him.  The only time he is on his own is when he has my iPad or Jeff's Kindle.  We don't want him to spend too much time like that so we only allow it during his quiet time in the afternoon.  He used to often fall asleep during that time period (1-3 PM) but that doesn't seem to be happening anymore.  He is four now so maybe just doesn't need a nap.  I really do enjoy being with him as he is super fun and so sweet and he loves to go with us on dog hikes or Costco trips.  This weekend, Jeff and I went to see Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks.  This time of year is when we always try to see the movies that will be nominated for Academy Awards.  Next I want to see 12 Years a Slave.

Thought I'd answer Annie's meme:  "Hearth and Home".
What does your dream home look like?  Can you describe it inside and out?  As long as we are dreaming, I would have 3 houses, not just one.  Each would be beautiful but not huge mansions.  I'd like a sprawling ranch house in our nearby Santa Rosa Valley where you can have horses.  I wouldn't have a horse but our dogs would love having an acre or two to run around.  Then I'd have a fancy log cabin in the mountains where it snows... maybe Mammoth, California or in the Colorado Rockies.  Finally a beach house... in Maui!

What style of decorating do you lean toward, or are you an eclectic decorator using whatever is on  hand?  My style is eclectic, I'd say.  It's traditional- heavy with touches of modern and rustic.  Look at a Pottery Barn catalog and you'll know my style.

What about fireplaces or woodstoves? Have one?  Love it or too much work?  I hated the fireplace that came with out home.  No mantle!  What's a fireplace without a mantle?  It was so blah so after many years of disliking it, we finally did a total makeover.  Here's a before and after:

Before

After 

Describe your idea of the perfect day at home.  Well, pretty much every day is a perfect day at home.  What we need is some perfect days doing some traveling around the world!  It's time for that!

Moore!

I was so concerned about my friend Sindee who lives in Moore, Oklahoma where the tornado struck.  We've been internet and blog friends since 2002 and she hosted Elliot during his Oklahoma visit.  We exchange Christmas cards so I had her exact address and I was google mapping the path of the tornado and saw that it was very close to her home.  In fact, the elementary school that was leveled and where children died was only 4 miles from her home according to what I saw on the map.  I knew she worked in an elementary school but didn't know which one.  She was finally able to post Monday evening to say that she and her family were safe.  She rode out the storm in the bathroom of her elementary school (a different one than the one that was leveled) with her scared little charges.  Her husband and son took refuge in their storm cellar.  Their house was not destroyed but suffered a lot of damage,  She posted quite a few photos of her house so I took just one to post here to show you.  (Hope you don't mind Sindee.)  I told Jeff that I think a brick house must've helped.  I don't know much about tornadoes but I know that much from "The Three Little Pigs!"

I have to say that between the shootings in Connecticut and the tornado in Oklahoma, I am very proud of teachers!  They are so brave and shelter the children as if they were their own!  They cover the children with their own bodies!  How brave is that!?!

Kim has started a meme called Wednesday Chatter.  I don't have the logo or the link, Kim, so if you could let me know about that I'll link it up properly.  In the meantime, I linked it to your blog.

Wednesday Chatter:  Decorating the Home. Do you have a favorite room? What style is your home/apartment/flat? Share!

My favorite room is our living room.  I'm very happy with the way it has come together.  I literally look at it every time I go up and down the stairs.  We rarely use that room so it stays pretty much like what you would see in a model home or magazine.  It's the room I change seasonally.  I have pillows for the sofa and loveseat from Pottery Barn and I change the covers for summer, autumn, Christmas and spring.  I also change things like candle centerpieces on the coffee table, console table, server and entryway organizer.  I'll see if I can find a photo that I've already posted... Here's a photo from fall.

I would say our style is traditional.  To me, that's like dressing classic.  Traditional things never go out of style unlike trends like Southwest for example.  The big Welsh Cupboard is English Country style and I mix that with more modern touches from places like Pottery Barn.