Let's Talk Beds and Grab Bars

WOW!  I have not written a post since Christmas and haven't decided if I truly want to return to blogging; but I wanted to share some trials and tribulations of a recent road trip The Man and I took to Oregon.  We were not sure I would be able to do long days in the car because of some serious back problems (spinal stenosis), so we did some trial runs locally here in AZ to see how I did.  Our car is fairly new and equipped with heated seats....I really want to bring my car seat into our home and use it there! With the air cranked down low and my back and bum all toasty warm, I had many "aaaah moments!"

Those comfy moments ended when we got to our first hotel of the night.  It was a Best Western (we usually find them quite adequate & reasonably priced), but we walked in and a steep flight of stairs was staring me in the face...oh no!  We immediately asked if they had an elevator or a ground floor room available...NO to both.  The clerk got on the phone and found us a ground floor room at the Holiday Inn Express just a block away.  We walked in to a brand new room, never used...the hotel chain is going through all of their hotels and updating room by room.  The bedding was beautiful, but wait...the bed was looking rather high.  The top of the bed was above my waist; okay, I'm a shortie...5'1ish" and I could not get in the bed!  I would have had a struggle even without my current issues.  Our suitcases are soft-sided, so those didn't work, and the only available chair was a rolling desk chair...great way to get my bum on the floor!  Well, The Man went to the office to see if they had a step stool (which they did not) and came back with the only other option...a case of copy paper.  That box gave me just enough height to get in and out of the bed easily.  The next morning we were told that the room was comped, and they apologized for our inconvenience.  The desk clerk asked us to please share online with the company that beds this high would cause issues with lots of people of all ages...rest assured, we did that! We were told that the company has set this room design, including all beds, to be standard in all of their hotel rooms across the country.  So be aware!

Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture until the next morning!Needless to say, we got on the phone and secured ground level or elevator equipped rooms for the rest of our journey.

Here There and Everywhere

Time to share a bit more Christmas around here!  Please forgive me if I have not responded to some comments...having an issue with blogger.  Those who are always so faithful about commenting, rest assured, I will get to you sooner or later.  Today I am sharing our family room, breakfast area and kitchen.  This is where we live, and I chose to have it be merry, bright and fun.  If you missed my first Christmas post, you can find it HERE.

Our mantel decor got some updates this year.  I found the flocked, pre-lit garland at At Home and combined it with the cotton stem garland from my Fall Mantel...love how it looks!

 I use to collect snowmen, adding one each year, but haven't added any for quite some time.  I adore the ones I have and find new ways each year to display them.

Lots of Christmasing Going On

Hey everyone!  Long time, no blogging; but I am back and ready to share!  In case you are wondering, "Christmasing" is definitely a word....at least around my home, and I've been doing lots of it.  I seriously pulled out all the stops this year and used everything I had, plus a few new things.  And, you know what?  It took me over a week, but I enjoyed every minute of the process.  And, isn't that the way it should be?  Well, anyway, let's get this show on-the-road.  I promise I will TRY  not to be overly wordy.

I've never had this tree in this location before, and The Man and I are loving it!  This is the view as you walk into our entry.  I wasn't sure it would work, but there is ample room to walk around either side of the tree....well, maybe not for me after I ingest a few too many Christmas cookies!