Well, it is 11:55pm and we just got home from working all day at the shop preparing for the American Harvest Christmas Open House. Here are a few of pictures to tease you!
We love working this hard to make wonderful displays for everyone’s enjoyment. Laura, April and Monique worked with us again. Without their help we would be so far behind schedule! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Tomorrow Jan will be back from vacation and ready to help with getting the shop ready for Christmas.
We are all working long hours at an exhausting pace in order to amaze and astonish you at the American Harvest Christmas Open House. Tonight we were rockin’ and rollin’ at American Harvest. Not to music, but to a 5.6 earthquake! Then we had a little friend visit us….a lizard.
April is once again creating a fabulous office display of lights, tulle and iced garland.
Monique is "fluffing" trees. She is now called the Fluffing Queen.
Sharon is so excited to have Connie Govea Stuart’s wonderful creations back in the store. Everything must be perfectly placed.
Rodger just keeps saying, "She’s trying to kill us all off".
Here’s a little teaser of a portion of Connie Govea Stuart’s terrific art.
Thank you to everyone for the nice comments and emails asking for more pictures. I’ve decided to give you a few "teasers". Please keep checking back later this week for more photos of the progress we are making on the American Harvest Christmas Open House.
The door is locked, the windows are covered in paper, artists have delivered their incredible creations and the pricing is done! Now, let the magic begin!
We invite you to kick off your holiday season and share in the tradition of Christmas at American Harvest. Our doors will open at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 3rd.
I had a very fast and small getaway trip to Southern California a few days ago. While I was visiting my son and daughter-in-law, I found some time to run over to Paris to the Moon in Costa Mesa. I met up with Lidy Baars of Tales From a Little French Garden House. We have commented on each others blogs several times, but this was my first time to meet her in person. She is so nice and very friendly. We hit it off immediately, as I knew we would. How nice is she to take time out of her day to meet me!! She also made a gift for me, a beautiful Christmas cone decoration. It is so special.
Lidy and Sharon
Sharon, Lidy and Kerri Judd, Kerri co-authored Crowns & Tiaras.
Darrin Calkin is the owner of Paris to the Moon. Notice how he could not get a word in, because Lidy and I had so much to say to each other! It was a great afternoon and an excellent way to finish my trip to SoCal. By the way, the Santa Ana winds were blowing like crazy, which whipped up the fires something fierce. Please keep the victims of the fires in your hearts and prayers.
I am sorry that I have not posted anything recently or left comments on your wonderful blog sites. I have been extremely busy getting ready for the Christmas Season at American Harvest. Now, I have come down with the flu and laryngitis (not a good thing when I’m trying to talk with my customers).
Pictured above is our warehouse of unopened Christmas inventory. In reality, I wish that I had a place this large to store my Christmas treasures. Instead these goodies are stacked six feet high in my store’s tiny back room, three car garage and now in my family room! Did I forget to mention that my van is full also?
If I could only get Rodger to stop the UPS man from delivering so many boxes, maybe I could get caught up with the pricing!!!
The stress is mounting daily as November 3rd is quickly approaching!
But oh, what wondrous treasures will be unveiled at the Christmas Open House!
We’ll keep you posted as I make some progress on the Christmas preparations.
In the meantime, I just threw this picture in, because I think that Harrison Ford is HOT!!!
Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. I love the cool mornings and especially the golden light in the afternoon. In the Mattern household, Fall also holds an additional excitement – - – Cross Country Season.
When my sons were in high school and in college at UC Davis, we lived and breathed Cross Country. Every schedule, conversation and meal were planned around distance running. Sensitive stomachs, carbo loading and proper hydration were all factors in a successful race. Imagine trying to figure out yet another way to serve "power pasta" before each race!
(Pictured above is Coach Brian John and Coach Noel Mattern)
Our sons were talented runners at an early age. Referred to as the "Mattern Brothers" by our local newspaper, their hard work and incredible discipline helped them to achieve many goals. Among these goals, participating in the California State Championship Meets as runners and now as coaches.
At this point I must tell you that none of their athletic talent was inherited from their parents. Rodger and I figure that some mutant gene somehow manifested itself to create these "super jocks". I would certainly NOT be putting my body through the sweat and pain that it takes to be a great runner.
Still…the passion for the sport is completely contagious. I have become a HUGE cross country fan, cheering for every runner who dares to step up to the starting line.
Now, both sons are high school teachers and cross country coaches. Noel teaches and coaches locally at Granada High School in Livermore and Jeremy is at Brea Olinda High School in Southern California. As coaches, they have the opportunity to share their passion for distance running with many young athletes.
Now, I happily cheer for young runners whose names I do not know. At meets, I’m always asked, "Which runner is your child?" At this point, I can either lie (there must be a Johnny or a Kaitlin on the team) or tell the truth. If I confess to being the coach’s mom, then the parent will think that I’m really OLD or that I was a promiscuous teenager. Given the choice, I’ll take promiscuous every time! In reality I’m honored to be known as Coach’s mom.
Sharon cheering on a Granada runner at the finish line.
I hope that you enjoy these photos taken at the EBAL cross country meet held at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton, CA. Be assured that if your child is running in a meet that I am lucky enough to attend, I will be cheering for them — sharing the passion.
P.S. Congratulations to Granada High School Varsity Girls team for winning their league race today.
