You Call This a "Dusting"?????

How did this beautiful "dusting" of snow........

turn into THIS????

If you've seen the national news, you've heard about Snowmagaedon in Atlanta.  I thought I was terribly inconvenienced when it took me 3 hours to make what is usually a 15 minute drive, but when I hear about people who were 22 hours getting home and children who never did get home from school, I'm done whining.

I thought I was going to do a sweet post about our snow and get a little humor about how Atlantans panic at the thought of a wee bit of snow.  

This photo that I took yesterday is the only photo I have ever taken of our whole house from the driveway in the snow.  The few times we have had measurable snow, I've never gotten this view.  This was taken on my cell phone as I came up our driveway after that 3 hour drive, so it is not very good quality!

I'd like to give a great big hug to every teacher who comforted a scared child, every policeman who tended to the many, many accidents, every snowplow driver who made pass after pass on those treacherous roads, every store manager who opened their property for bathroom breaks and aisles to sleep in, and every school bus driver who sweated delivering that precious cargo.  Bravo!

There's no way Atlanta can prepare adequately for this kind of weather.  We just don't have the resources.  This will scare us into orbit next time bad weather is expected! 

Making a Christrmas Eve Memory

Doesn't she look like she has a secret?  This is Tammy (or Tinsel),  She is a registered Percheron belonging to Derek and Rebecca Smith.


Here's what she had planned for us on Christmas eve day!  A surprise horse-drawn toboggan ride!  (That's me....that black lump in the cart beside Driver Derek.)

Here's the cast of characters: Owen, our youngest grandchild; Lizzie, his cousin, who is Rebecca and Derek's daughter; and Teddy, our middle grandson.  Adam, our oldest, was invited, too, but he had a date with Mr. Pressed Pants.  We missed them both.  That little guy over Teddy's shoulder is not related to me! 

Derek takes the gang down to the paddock area.  Rebecca and Derek recently bought this wonderful old farm called Valley High.  You can see a canine and an equestrian tablescape I did at her house just after she moved in here and here.

This photo of the Smith's herd was taken a few days earlier, before the snow.  The little pony, Licorice, seems to be in charge here!  She's leading 6,000 pounds of Percheron, bless her heart!

Well, this majestic girl was picked to be our playmate. Tammy, aka Tinsel, is a registered Percheron, a draft breed that originated in Perch, France. (That is probably why I like her!).  This is the breed that built America. The were important in farming, coaches, taxis and hauling, and most well known as the horses that pulled up the tents for Ringling Bros circus.  They almost went extinct after the war, when the tractor took over.

Into the barn she went to get all geared up for us.  There were even brass sleigh bells for her, but she was a little new to this, so after we all admired her bells, they were hung back up.  Man, this is WORK getting this done!  That's a lot of horse to manage and a lot of hooks and stuff!

Here's Rebecca getting her hooked up to the pretty, red forecart.

And off she goes for a little spin without kids first!

How much fun is this????????  A horsedrawn tobaggan ride!  How cool!

Look at those smiles!

The Smiths have a large front yard, which will have lots of hoof prints in it come spring, since the ground was not yet frozen.

Just look!

It's a good thing Derek knows what he's doing, because that's a big animal to control!

There were a few dumps, but they could run to catch up.  And I'm surprised to say that I didn't see anyone intentionally pushing someone off.  Real surprised!

Here's Rebecca thanking Tammy for all of her work.  And I want to thank them for all of their generosity.  It was a very special moment in the holiday.  Our daughter, Susie, was especially grateful, as Christmas eve day is a time when she needed the boys to have an activity.....out of the house.  Know what I mean?

And afterwards, I suggested the boys hop into the old sleigh for a photo op.  See what's in both guy's hands?  What do you think happened just after the camera snapped?  That's right folks!  I got two snowballs in the head.  I still love them dearly and was so very, very, very glad to be able to spend the most special time of the year with them and the rest of my precious family.

"EPIC" Winter Storm Breakfast

 

The Pink Pagoda is such a lovely blog and I follow it regularly.  Jennifer is hosting a blue and white linking party and she's particularly looking for seasonal posts, so here's my offering.  It's an old post taken during a freak snowstorm here in Georgia.  We made the most of the event and snuggled in with lots of hot chocolate and fires.  I pulled out these blue and white snowman dishes that I hadn't used in a long time.  Here's the post:

 

 

You won't believe this, but we have more snow in Atlanta!!!  This is being hailed as historic, even EPIC by the weathermen and newscasters.  Mr. Pressed Pants even closed his business today.  Actually, he never opened, as the roads are truly impassable and he didn't want any of his employees to even try to drive in this.

So this is the way the (late) breakfast table looked.  To reflect the weather, I dug out some old pottery that I haven't used in years.  I've said before that I used to be a blue and white girl, but that has changed.  However, I still have a ton of blue and white, and even though it doesn't look too hot in our green breakfast room, I really wanted to use Mr. Snowman.

I started with a tablecloth that I made years ago from Pierre Deux fabric and co-ordinating border. 

Then I used these plates that I think I got at Macy's many years ago.  They say Cooks Club on the back.  Wasn't that Macy's house brand?

I used the two sizes of plates.....

and the matching bowl.

 

The flatware is from some discount store, and the napkin is from the Palm restaurant line of linens that Homegoods carries.  I've had the napkin rings for years, too.  It has Blue Willow designs on it.  As a matter of fact, I think I got them at the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, Georgia.  (That could be another post!)

I'm really glad that I picked up these cute snowman glass coffee cups at Kroger the other day.  I just had a feeling that I "needed" them.  They were on sale for 50 cents a piece!

This thermos pot is another oldie.  I don't remember where I got it, but I love the Blue Willow design.

I served these delicious cranberry and orange muffins.....

from a box mix!!!!  I keep them on hand all the time.  They only take a sec to whip up and please note that they are "fat-free"!!!  Delish!!!  I also made hot oatmeal, but unfortunately I was out of our favorite oatmeal from Trader Joe's freezer foods.  They come two to a pack and they are the chewy, steel-cut kind.

With fat-free milk and Splenda, they are a low cal breakfast that REALLY sticks to your ribs.  You gotta try both of these!

Mr. Pressed Pants uses butter on his muffins, and I served it on this darling antique wooden butter dish with a Blue Willow china insert.  I am soooo careful of this little plate, because I know I could never find the right sized replacement if it broke.

This is cranberry apple butter in a white porcelain dish from Pier One, served with this cute white faux bois spoon from Christine's Creations.  It was a sweet store that has gone out of business in Woodstock.

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk in the snow and take some pictures of the "historic" event.  My mom sent this tray out for us with hot chocolate.  Sure wish she had known where the marshmallows were!

Sitting on the stone wall overlooking the lake, we couldn't believe how cute it was.  What's that?  Snowballs? 

 I had no desire to make a whole snowman, but couldn't resist a few snowballs. 

We wish that everyone could have stayed home today, safe and sound as we did, but by watching the news, it was obvious that that was not the case.  I hope that all those accidents were just fender benders.

So, after our brisk walk, here's what Mr. Pressed Pants did next.   

Z Z Z Z Z!!!!!!

Ski and Showshoe Table

I must admit that I'm sort of over Christmas decorations and tablescapes.  I was pretty sure that I'd post something non-seasonal this week, but we got a "gift" of snow in Atlanta on Christmas day, so I decided to do this winter sports themed table.  I have this cheerful tablecloth that I found at The Christmas Shop.  As a matter of fact, many of the items are from there.  Ok, it's not Christmasy, but it's not non-seasonal either.  Did you get that???  The skis....

and the snowshoes are embroidered on it several places.

I decided to use it on the breakfast room table for a breakfast for two. 

I limited the colors to just red and white. 

I started with a plate that Kroger is selling.  Pretty good match, don't you think?  I added our everyday flatware from Williams-Sonoma.  

Then I used a white plate under a red scalloped cereal bowl from Ballard's.

These red stems are so old that I can't remember where I got them.  Oldies but goodies!

I got a little clever with the napkin.  I found these at The Christmas Shop and bought them for a centerpiece or something.  I wasn't sure, but could any of you pass them up?  Didn't think so.

Here's how I used them!  Napkin rings???  Napkin skids???  Napkin adornments???  You decide.

   

And here's the best part.  The stag standing in snow with SNOW outside!!!!!

See?  Even the lower terrace has snow on it!

He's from Z Gallerie this year.  Couldn't resist.

Here's an aerial view of how it came together.

So, after I had almost everything put away, I realized that I forgot two items that I had planned to use!  Do you ever do that?  Well, since I probably won't be using this again for a long time, I'm slipping them in for you to see.  One is these cute little mittens that I thought I'd use as silverware holders.

And these juice glasses would have been cute, too.  Oh well, at least  they'll be available another time.  

I'm linking up with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.  Go over there and see her great blog party.

betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com