Simple Sunday & Christmas Cheer Giveaway Week 3

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.
~Harlan Miller

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~TIMES UP! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER THIS MORNING! 12/6/08

I bet you are here to take a peek at the goodies in this weeks giveaway...right? Well, I hope you like the color green, because as I said yesterday, there is a lot of green in this package.

I love the reds and greens of Christmas, but sometimes I think the reds outshine the green. So, for this package of giveaways, I have tried to use most things green or that has green in it somewhere.

Here is a list of all the pretty green things in this giveaway.

• The first thing is a Lenox Holiday Gatherings Tea light lamp. This has pretty green holly on the lamp itself.
• Oh, and who could not love this adorable Snowman pillow. Look closely, it does have green in the pillow.
• The little Snowman angel is just super cute with his little green scarf.
• Included is a little tin of Holiday Spice tea - look closely, there is green in the tin.

• Next is a really cute Santa plate for serving Holiday goodies on.
• This snowman garden flag will look cute displayed in your garden.
• Santa looks adorable on this little green bag filled with lotions.
• This is a green necklace by Mixit from JCPennys.
  

• There are three green flocked votive candle holders, these are just so pretty with a candle in them.
• You will receive a little soap and bath beads for relaxing after a long day shopping or wrapping gifts.
• Included in this package are two finger towels, one green, the other white with green holly.
• I have thrown in two packages of Hot Chocolate & two of the Santa Letter Ornaments ~ can you tell I just love these! I will tie a green ribbon around the ornaments....so they will qualify!
  

Well, I hope this giveaway turns you green with envy and will hold great anticipation for the winner to be announced.
Do you have a favorite Christmas color? If so, tell us all about it in your comment to this post. (It does not have to be green)
Truthfully, my favorite Christmas color has always been frosty blue. I remember when I was a little girl, I used to love the blue Christmas lights on houses. We never had blue lights, always red, never any other color but red. I always wanted blue lights on our house....today, I boycott all red lights, we have multi color on our house.

To enter:
Leave a comment on this post. You only need to leave one, just remind me you have added my button or blogged about my giveaway on your blog. I will add the extra entries to this post for you.
Make sure you leave your email address in the following format if it is not displayed on your blog: dora (at) yahoo (dot) com
You do not have to have a blog to enter, just a email address. International friends are welcome always.

Good luck everyone. Contest ends Saturday December 6th and the winner will be drawn randomly and announced. New giveaway starts next Sunday. You won't want to miss it. I will give you a hint.....it contains something for everyone! Have a great week!

Christmas Cheer Week #2 Giveaway Winner Announced

Hello Everyone!

It is time to announce who the lucky winner is for this weeks giveaway. But first, I would like to thank each one of you who listed your favorite things in the comment section this week. I truly enjoyed reading each and every one of your comments. Most of them I have to say, I agreed with. It's funny how we think about the things that mean the most and what we could not live without when the question is asked and a response is requested. I really hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

This week there were lots of entries to compete with. Total entries for this week was 152. There were 79 from the actual post, then I added everyone who either has my button on their sidebar or has blogged about the giveaway event their extra entries for a total of 152 entries.

Are you ready to see who the Random Integer Generator chose this morning?

Drum roll please..........................

Lucky entry number 28 is the winner!

Now the fun part, I got to look down the list and see who is the lucky duck is this week. The winner is Karla from Ramblin' Roads. Congratulations Karla. I hope you enjoy this box of goodies coming your way. I KNOW you will love these sheets.


Karla just celebrated a Birthday on the 24th, so this is a great belated Birthday treat. You will find all kinds of great stories on Ramblin' Roads. Karla is a Vintage Thingie Thursdays participant, is a wonderful photographer and a inspiration for anyone who stops by her blog. Happy Birthday Karla and congratulations again.

Don't forget to stop by next week. Week three giveaway starts Sunday and I promise you will be delighted in this giveaway. Just a hint.....if you love the color green.....you don't want to miss this one! Have a great week everyone!

SkyWatch Friday: Front Yard View ~ Pastel Swirls

Here we are again, another segment of SkyWatch Friday. While most of us here in the USA are most likely shopping and shopping and shopping some more, maybe some of our friends from other places in the world would like to see some great sky photos. Click HERE to view wonderful photos from around the world.

These pictures were taken from my front yard last Sunday evening. I could not believe what beautiful colors were in the sky. My husband called me outside and said to being the camera. Boy, am I glad I did. These were taken at dusk.



Have a great weekend everyone and I hope all had a great holiday. Remember, to keep your eyes on the skies, the views are spectacular.

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Guest Writer #4

Welcome to Vintage Thingie Thursday. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday if you are here in the USA. Happy Thanksgiving. This is my last installment for my thankful segment of Vintage Thingie Thursday in which I have highlighted all month several special people who are a treasure to me. I hope you have enjoyed the variation of VTT this month and looking at the lives of special people in my life.

This week, my guest writer is my mother, Patsy. I hope you enjoy the vintage pictures and the story she tells.

Words according to my mother, Patsy.

My daughter asked me to write something for Vintage Thingie Thursday. My thoughts on vintage are.....

Vintage means choice, excellent,outstandingly good of
its kind; of exceptional
merit, virtue,
priceless,
and invaluable.
Representative of or dating from a long past.

I have two treasures that meet that definition - my two sisters, Joyce and LaVoice. Of course we are all vintage as all of our ages are in the 70's.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Joyce, Patsy & LaVoice
Both my sisters have been such a blessing and support to me all of my life and have always been there for me. I am thankful we have always been close. I was the youngest and Joyce my middle sister spent a lot of time with me when we were young. I think she thought I was her daughter. So during my early years, I developed a close relationship with her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Joyce, Patsy and LaVoice
As time goes by, changes come. I have had the opportunity in my latter years to get to know better and develop a close relationship with my older sister LaVoice. And that has been wonderful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Joyce, Patsy & LaVoice
So, I have had the best of both times and I love both of my sisters dearly and am very thankful to have them. They will always be my dear beloved sisters, no matter what age we are.

***Did any of you notice that in all of these photos, that these three girls are situated in the same order? I just thought I would point that out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Joyce, LaVoice, Patsy and mother
Since it is November, Thanksgiving month, I want to acknowledge a big thank you in the memory of my mother. Unfortunately she passed away at the age of 54, but left a world of love to us girls.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My mother, Thelma

Growing up, we never had much, but what we did have was love. Mother loved us, sacrificed for us, instilled character, honesty and moral values in all of us girls. My mother was a wonderful housekeeper, loved to decorate and was an excellent cook. She really instilled in me the love for Christmas. She would decorate with all the bright colored items we had and we always has a tree cut from the woods. We had little, but mother made Christmas special because she would always strive to do so.

Thelma, this is my mothers pin, this is very old. Thanks to LaVoice for providing this pin for a photo to be able to show this vintage treasure.

Thank you to the honor of my mother and to my two vintage treasures: my sisters, Joyce and LaVoice.


Thank you mom, for your memories from childhood and taking part in Vintage Thingie Thursday. My mom is a treasure herself, and is as unique as they come. A rare find. She is like her own mother in so many ways, most importantly, she has always been there for me and I know she loves me.

I hope you have had a good time this month reading about the treasures in my life. I enjoyed sharing these special people with all of you this month. They are all a blessing to me and I am thankful for each one.

To participate in Vintage Thingie Thursday, add your name to the link below and share your vintage treasures with us this week. Be sure to link back here to my blog for Vintage Thingie Thursday.

Reminder: Don't forget to click HERE to enter this weeks giveaway. Winner will be announced Saturday. Have a great week.

Click below to add your link....as you can see, I still do not have the other link I want to use installed....working on it!

Wordless Wednesday: Anticipation!

Just a reminder to be sure and place your entry for this weeks giveaway to Sundays post. Winner will be announced Saturday. Click HERE to enter. ~ Have a safe and wonderful holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Blue Monday: Weekend Recap

Happy Blue Monday. I can not believe the weekend is over already. Sally host Blue Monday every week. Hop on over and check out all the great blue items on display today. Click HERE to visit Sally and put a smile in your Monday.

This week, I will give you a peak into what went on during my weekend, and also a look into my childhood. Both qualify for Blue Monday. Enjoy.


Here is a little box that I hope I have seen the last of for a while. Friday, Alisha had her wisdom teeth out, the weekend went pretty well, but it is never a party when you are dealing with teeth being pulled. Eating is still difficult, some swelling and we are still using the items in this box. Hopefully by Thursday she will be as good as new.

My mom popped over this evening and brought a treasure from my childhood. This is a cookbook I believe was purchased through the book club at school. It has a bright blue cover. Did you notice the price? Only 55 cents, a real bargain.

See, it has the history of this book inside the front cover. Thanks mom for writing that inside this little cookbook.

This is a cute recipe for an Angel cake. I love the graphics inside this book. So charming and cute. I know I read every page over and over as a kid. I can not remember how many of the recipes I actually made, but I do remember I spent a lot of time looking through the little book.

I want to show you this page, I remember it being my favorite page in the whole book.I remember thinking that a recipe for an Indian Dinner was just as neat as could be. I enjoyed looking through this book that I have not seen in years. It brought back lots of memories.

Hope you have a great week. I know everyone will busy this week. Just a Reminder to click HERE and enter this weeks giveaway. Winner announced on Saturday November 29th.

Simple Sunday & Favorite Things Giveaway Week 2

When the world says, "Give up"
Hope whispers...
"Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

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Week 2 in the 5 week Holiday Giveaway:
Welcome back to week two of my 5 week Holiday Giveaway. I hope you had fun last week anticipating who the winner was going to be. Once again, congratulations to Sara for winning last weeks loot. This week, I want to share a few of my favorite things. I hope you will find this giveaway package just as desirable as last weeks. Have fun looking!


I am delighted to share with you some of my favorite things in this giveaway. First, let me say one lucky winner will receive this Super Plush Luxury Sheet set. These are my all time favorite thing in the winter months. This is a full size sheet set, complete with flat, fitted and pillowcases. These are top of the line when it comes to sheets.

The photo can not even begin to demonstrate how soft, plush, warm, comfy, addictive oh, yes, addictive and you will not believe the high quality. Listen, these are the best....not cheap.....the best. You will think you have fallen on top of a cloud. Seriously. There will be no excuses for not getting a good nights rest with these sheets on your bed.

If you think the sheet set is a great thing, sit back and take a look at these great items.

This little pillow is just as wonderful as the sheet set. It is brown and plush, soft and comfy. I know you will love it.

Now, I have a great set of note cards. These are Restoration note cares, very classy, perfect for use thoughout the year.

How about some tea? You will also receive a tin of Peppermint Cane Tea and Holiday Spice Tea. Perfect for enjoying throughout the holidays.

For your holiday decor is a cute little Snowman Dip bowl and spreader set. I just love this little snowman, perfect for the holidays.

Now I just love these items and can not wait to share them with a lucky person.

First you will receive a 5X7 frame, this has mother of pearl inlay in the frame itself,very nice and high quality.

I just love this little dish. The flowers are so delicate, perfect for a soap dish or a candy dish or maybe even a jewelry tray on a dresser.

You will also receive this cute cross. It is actually a Christmas ornament, but you could use it as a wall decoration. I have a collection of wall crosses, and wanted to include a cute one in this giveaway.

You will love this lotion from Bath & Body Works, this is Aromatherapy Sleep soothing body lotion. It is one of my favorites.

Lastly, in this photo is a cute magnetic note pad for your refrigerator. A favorite of mine for jotting down notes to myself....I love the colors.

Ok, we are not done yet, here is what else is included in this favorite things giveaway

Next, do you remember the little Santa letter ornaments from the first giveaway? Well, here are two of them in this giveaway too. I just love them, and I want you to have them.

This is a great little book titled "Taste-Berry Tales...stories to lift the spirit, fill the heart and feed the soul" by Bettie B. Youngs, PHD. Perfect for curling up in bed and reading.

Next is a cute little find, I love them. These are a set of candle holders for a cake. There are only four in the package, but I would use only three at a time for ...past, present and future wishes. I hope you find them as charming as I do.

Well, I hope you get as excited as I have by putting this giveaway together showcasing some of my favorite things.

What are some of your favorite things you don't want to live without? Include your favorites in your comment and share with all of us. It will be fun.

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post. You only need to leave one, just remind me you have added my button or blogged about my giveaway on your blog. I will add the extra entries to this post for you.

Make sure you leave your email address in the following format if it is not displayed on your blog: dora (at) yahoo (dot) com

You do not have to have a blog to enter, just a email address. International friends are welcome always.

Good luck everyone. Contest ends Saturday November 29th and the winner will be drawn randomly and announced. New giveaway startes Sunday. You won't want to miss it. Have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Christmas Cheer Week #1 Giveaway Winner Announced

Hello Everyone!
This week went by very fast for me and before I knew it, it was time to draw the winner of my first week's giveaway. I would like to say thank you to everyone who blogged about the start of my Holiday Extravaganza and put my button on your blog. I was super excited with the response for the first week.
All of your wonderful comments made me feel like I was doing something special for the lucky winner. A Big Heartfelt Thank You once again.

As promised, I used the Random.org Integer generator. I put in the numbers, held my breath, closed my eyes, peeked....then hit the button. Here is what happened....

Random.org chose entry number 19

Well, I could not wait to count down the column of the entries and see who won this box of goodies......

Drum Roll Please.......

Oh my goodness, I could not believe it. The lucky winner is Sara, aka Gitzen Girl . I could not be more pleased.

Just knowing Sara is a gift like none other. I found Sara's blog shortly after I discovered what blogging was all about. Her attitude towards life and living with a life impairing disease is indeed more than I can even comprehend.
Sara is such a inspiration to everyone who reads her writings and I can not even begin to explain how her words touch my heart. Her words challenge me every week to be a better person.
Sara always whispers to me through her writing that my life is not nearly as bad as I sometimes think it is. She has a special gift, and she touches everyone in one way or another.
And I must say, she has the cutest dog named Riley. He is just adorable and he brings a lot of humor to Sara's writing. I think my Dora has a crush on him...Shhhhh just don't tell Riley that.
Congratulations Sara I hope you will enjoy this box of Holiday Cheer.

Now I am sorry I do not have a box for everyone who entered, but you have four more chances to win one of my giveaways before Christmas. Tomorrow is the second giveaway announcement....please remember to stop back by and enter.

Today's Request...........Good Vibes!

Update: We are home. Thanks everyone for your well wishes. All went well. So far so good. We will see how the rest of the weekend plays out.

I have to say, when they were finished and called me back to see Alisha, she was babbling like a baby....and I could hardly understand her. She claimed "this was just great, and when could she come back and do it again!" She told the nurse she looked like Sandra Bullock....and thank goodness, she did. I was beginning to worry. I am used to screaming and tears, not hysterical rambling from this child. It was funny, and not so funny at the same time. Thank goodness the babbling has stopped and things are quiet again. Hopefully, the recovery will be an easy one.

Please keep my daughter, Alisha in your thoughts this morning. She has to have her wisdom teeth out and we will be at the Oral Surgeon's office this morning having this done.

Do you see this crying tooth? Well, I am sure I will be seeing lots of tears today. * sigh * Alisha is not the best patient and has high anxiety about the dentist...and any doctor for that matter. .....I don't blame her....Like mother, like daughter.

Keep me in your thoughts too, that I make it through the day intact!
My poor baby....I would like to remind you if you have not entered my giveaway this week, please click HERE to do so. This ends on Saturday and the winner will be randomly drawn and announced.

*** I just discovered this was my 100th post...Yea!!maybe that is a good sign for how the events of the day will unfold.... *wink*

SkyWatch Friday: Fall Colors

Friday at last....Be sure to take a peak at all the great SkyWatch photos from around the world. Click HERE.

This week, I want to show you some of the great fall colors in our area. Living in Texas, we don't always have good colors when the leaves change in the fall. I have noticed this year, several trees are glowing with color. And there is nothing wrong with the blue skies in the background. If you are from the USA I would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Have a great weekend and holiday.

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Guest Writer #3

Wow, November is moving right along. It is already time for the next installment of Vintage Thingie Thursday hosted by myself, Coloradolady.......Did you catch that?? Hosted by ME!! Lisa, at Confessions of an Apron Queen graciously passed this on to me and I am happy to continue the weekly fun. Lisa had some wonderful opportunities develop for her career and had to scale back on her duties. I am happy to take this one over, as it is a favorite day for me out of the week. It is my hope you will continue to check in and contribute to Vintage Thingie Thursday. It may have a new home, but it will be the same!

Remember, that this month, I have put my own spin on this special day, showcasing the special people in my life and their own vintage treasures. Each week features a new guest writer. This week, let me introduce you to my Aunt LaVoice. She has a array of wonderful vintage treasures to tell you about, so grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy this trip back in time.

Words according to my Aunt LaVoice:

This is a YoYo quilt handmade in the 1930's. Since I am a lover of quilts, my stepmother gave it to me.

Close up of the depression era fabrics the quilt is made out of. These YoYo's are very fragile and old.

This is my primitive, scrolled, corner wall shelf. This belonged to a very special person in my life, my grandmother. She was born in 1878 and lived to be 98 years old. I obtained this wonderful shelf from her estate.

This framed print is very special to me. My mother worked at Perry Brothers 5 & 10 cent store in the 1940's. When she was laid off from her job, the clerks who worked with her chipped in and purchased this and gave it to my mother as a gift when she left.

This is a page from my mothers journal. It shows the date she went to work for Perry Brothers, date she was laid off, and note in 1947, her bonus from the company was $19.80. This is my mothers handwriting and notes of her working here.

This next group is some of my glassware pieces. These are carnival and depression items made in 1907 to around 1925. These were obtained from my mother-in-law and her sisters estate.

These are a vintage pair of depression glass candle stick holders. They are the iris pattern made by Jeanette Company.

This is a footed, Fenton Carnival banana bowl.

Early Fenton grape and cable carnival glass bowl.

These two tumblers are Northwood carnival, blackberry pattern. Notice the unusual colors.

These two glasses have the Northwood stamp (N) on each glass.

Handkerchiefs were the "in thing" of times. These lovely handkerchiefs were my mothers. If tissues were available, they could not afford them. Handkerchiefs were what we used. Also, understand girls would drop them to get a boy's attention!

Vintage red Parker mechanical pencil made in the USA 1850-1935 time frame. I tend to think this came from my dad's side of the family. I do not have the pen that went with it, but the pencil is in it's original box.

This is a record of my dad's school from 1922. All classes were held in a one room school. He was 16 when he completed the 6th grade. This was the end of his education.

I would say this was the equivalent to the modern day version of a Yearbook.


Home Comfort Range wood burning cookbook. Dated 1933. The stove was used by my family during this period. This cookbook belonged to my mother and she cooked on this stove.

pictures of the vintage stoves.

Lots of recipes fill this book. It is very fragile, and the paper is very thin.

Old iron, heated to press clothing. Also, we used to wrap it and put in the bed to warm it. My stepmother had this and gave it to me.

This rub/washboard was used to hand rub your clothes. Back then clothes were put in a black cast iron pot for boiling. After boiling, clothes rinsed and hung outside on lines to dry. This was all done by hand. We even made our own soap by using lard, water and lye mixed over an open fire in a cast iron kettle.

I Trust you enjoyed your tour of another era when times were really bad. Lots of vintage things to share from a time not too long ago. I would like to share with you my most priceless treasure. My great-grandson Layton and I bid you farewell from one generation to another.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, and live each day to the fullest.

I would like to thank my sweet Aunt LaVoice for sharing with us her treasures from her life. Thank you for always "showing up" when I need something. It never seems to matter if I need a friend to talk to, someone to cry or laugh with, or a request for someone to dig out their treasures to share on my blog, she is always there. My aunt always "shows up" no matter what. You have no idea what that means to me. She is a rare blessing. And I am most thankful.

Reminder: Friday will end the first week giveaway, the winner will be drawn randomly on Saturday and announced. Be sure to click HERE to enter for this weeks loot. And most importantly, check back on Sunday for the next giveaway starting.

Please be patient with me this week, I don't think this is the right link I want for this post...I will try and fix it by next week. I like the "linky" that shows all the blog names, and I am not sure this is correct. Sorry.

Be sure to join in the fun and add your blog to the link if you are participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday Today: