It's New Years Eve

Time to pour a giant glass of champagne,

throw on your favorite gold bikini,

and dance in the New Year!

Lump of Coal???

I wish the jolly guy would have stuck with the lump of coal.

I'd much prefer that over the head cold he left in it's place.

Thank you man in red.

Perhaps he could have left some

snappy, mod Kleenex like this....

so I could wipe my nose raw in style.

Along with some matching cheerful bed linens.

Marimekko please.

A cup of dark rich cocoa

would make my head feel better.

Top it off with a pile of

homemade marshmallows.

Sugar makes everything better.

I wonder if my sister is reading

this from her tropical paradise?

She is here.

or here

We were invited along

but I couldn't hitch a ride

on anybody's jet.

Poor me.

Christmas

This year's crafty, clever wrapping paper.

Call me TOO TIRED TO WRAP ANYTHING!

My mom thinks it should be a new tradition.

Call me "green".

Did I really put all the boy's gifts in one grocery bag...

and put a ribbon on top?

Yes I did.

So shoot me.

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

I'm ready to move on.

Samba For Rats

Check out this fabulous wrapping paper from

Samba For Rats.

It's available at Target.

I NEED Samba that!

Christmas is Exhausting !

The Skies Opened Up This Weekend.

Rain gutters overflowed.

Streets flooded.

The wind howled.

I had to call on my Rainy Day Man

I felt like a fish...

In water.

Suddenly we had a water feature

on our deck.

And a pond in front.

And one in back...

for good measure.

Our senior home

took on a little water.

Okay, a lot of water.

There was a creek

where there wasn't one before.

My rainy day man told me

to put the camera down

and grab a shovel.

The pool became a pond.

I think it needs some fish.

Isn't life exciting?

Good Night Blake Edwards

and thank you.

Owl Together Now

I had one owl of a week.

Everywhere I went,

they seemed to be there.

It was a real hoot!

Love these 70's holiday cards.

Printed in Belgium for the

Marcel Schurman Co.

And these two guys were

looking for a place to nest.

Another box of cards.

Printed in Switzerland.

Also from Marcel Schurman Co.

This Hi-Brow card

is much better in person.

It has a shiny

foil-like finish.

Aren't the graphics great

on this card?

That's all for the owls.

Now on to Christmas.

I love how the reflectors look

against the white tree.

Thanks Jean!

The misters Snow and Claus.

Pretty bulbs in a bowl.

I just found this little angel lady

at a local thrift store.

Her dear little deer were

waiting for her at the next store.

Nesting Santas and little snowman

were a gift from my sister

when our kids were little.

These have nothing to do with Christmas but they

come out of the closet every year with the

Christmas decorations.

Mikhail Gorbachev was president

when we adopted our boys.

We are thankful to him for

his part in ending the cold war,

so we like to make him part of

our Christmas.

The other guys are just

along for the ride.

And here is a picture from our

small town Christmas parade.

I always cry at the parade.

I don't know why.

Maybe because it's so

Norman Rockwell.

Or maybe I'm just

a big baby.

Good Morning

A song from my favorite singer/songwriter

about my favorite place.

Enjoy.

Joni Mitchell/California

Thanks Readers

Last month I asked for information

on a chair I'd found recently.

Two readers responded with the designer Yngve Ekstrom.

I wasn't totally sure because the arms were a bit different.

I thought maybe it was a knock-off.

I sent an email to Swedese, the manufacturer in

Sweden along with a few pictures.

Yesterday I received this reply:

Hello Jamie,

This chair is called Kurva. Designer is Yngve Ekström.

It is no longer produced.

Best regards

Cecilia

As it turns out, the Kurva was designed and produced in 1953.

Coincidently, the year I was born.

Thank you readers for sending me down the right path.

Biography

Yngve Ekström was born 1913, in Hagafors in

Småland, where the country's oldest furniture

factory was placed. His father, a carpenter

of wooden chairs, died early. At 13, Yngve

already worked at the factory. His talent for

carpentry, all-round practice and studies in

drawing, painting, sculpture and history of art

gave him a unique feeling for material and

construction.

Ekström's career coincided in time with the

best part of the postwar modern movement

when colleagues like Alvar Aalto, Bruno Mathsson,

Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjaerholm made the

concept "Scandinavian Modern" famous all over

the world. Yngve Ekström and his brother Jerker

founded Swedese in 1945 and Yngve was

leading the company until he died in 1988.

Ekström's furnitures have been exhibited in

Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Munich and

Belgrade and are represented in many modern

permanent collections, including the Victoria

& Albert Museum, London and National museum,

Stockholm.

Kurva in wicker

My Kurva in leather.

Mark of designer Yngve Ekstrom.