Decorating Progress . . .

I'm still decorating, but the tables are set.

This year I decided to create some Christmas table scapes so I could enjoy a few of my holiday dish sets.

This is the kitchen table.

This is the dining room table.  

The goblets belonged to my great-grandmother.  The little presents hold name tags on top and a little chocolate truffle inside.

The tree plates are hand painted plates by Blue Ridge Pottery.  When I was young, eating off plates like these at my grandmother's house was a tradition I fondly remember.  I also remember that the plates had to be washed by hand after the meal.  My grandmother's plates are still in the family, but I was able to find a few for my own table setting.  

Since the plates were hand painted, each one looks just a little different.  These plates were made over 50 years ago by Southern Potteries in Erwin. Tennessee.  At one time that company employed over 1,000 workers.  The factory closed in 1957, after the invention and wide acceptance of plastic dishes!

I'm in the mood to try a new dessert for our Christmas feast. Last year I made Ina Garten's coconut cake, it was pretty enough to be on the cover of a magazine, but was as dry as the desert.  It sat in my cake dish for days before I finally just dumped it in the trash.   I couldn't talk anyone into trying a second piece.  Do you make a yummy Christmas dessert that you think I would like to add to my menu?  Pass it along, thanks!

My Wild Air geese are coming together quickly and stacking up, they're a nice diversion, sometimes, too much of one.

I won't address the tragedy that occurred Friday in Connecticut, I like my blog to be a happy diversion for folks, but it sure was hard writing about dishes, decorating and the upcoming holidays with such a heavy heart.