Cedar Hill Farmhouse

updated COUNTRY FRENCH

Twinkle Lights

By 37 Comments

One chilly night recently, I told my family I had a surprise for them.  We rode down to the edge of the secret pasture (so called because it is hidden by trees and the entrance is almost impossible to see from a distance) and then walked through the woods to our creekside deck to find my surprise.
I brought blankets, cups (from my set of “deck dishes”)
and a large thermos of mocha-latte.  As we were walking near the woods, my fifteen-year-old saw some lights through the trees, and said that the lights must be coming from the neighbor’s house.  (The neighbor’s house is on the other side of a hill, so that wasn’t what she was seeing.)  Then she saw that the lights were on our deck.  She loved it.

This deck is about a quarter mile from our house and has no electricity down here, so I had to find battery-operated lights.  I found some at Walmart before Christmas.  These are LED lights that run on 3 C batteries per strand.  I ran four strands over the deck.

I used flameless lights for the chandelier and the railing.  The reason I chose the flameless candles is so that I could turn on the lights before-hand, and leave them unsupervised without fear of starting a fire.  Then the lights were already lit when we walked down to the creek.

I took a several of these shots before I invited my family down to the creek.

When I was taking these pictures, I was walking around the woods looking at the deck and not down at my feet.  That was not very smart considering there is some old barbed wire fencing down there that has the top wires missing.  So, I tripped over the wire, ripped my new pants and gouged my shin… what I do for my family and my blog friends!!   The next day, I took my bolt cutters down to the woods, and took the barbed wire to task.  I took down a long section of fence so that I or anyone else out there won’t trip on it any more.  Well, actually I threw it all into a pile that I have since handed over to Mr. CH to deal with.  While I was taking down the barbed wire, we had a guest visiting.  I was unaware how enticing the chore sounded, since the guest asked if he could cut some of the barbed wire. “Sure!” I said, handing him my bolt cutters.  I have to admit I felt a little like Tom Sawyer who tricked some boys into whitewashing a fence for him, only I didn’t do it on purpose.  Sadly, he had his “fix” of barbed wire removal in a few minutes, and handed the bolt cutters back to me.  (I love city guests!!)

I am pretty excited about the possibilites of using this deck in warmer weather.  Can you imagine it set up for a Summer dinner party?  I just bought some Chinese paper lanterns today, and can’t wait to see them hanging up out here.

It was really cold, but with the blankets and warm mochas, it was a perfect evening.

When we finished our mochas we headed back to the house, getting chilled in the night air.

As we walked in the warm house, it felt so heavenly.  I was glad to be inside, since the mochas had worn off and I was getting pretty cold.  As we put away our coats and the blankets, our teenager reminded us that we had promised to play the new games she got for Christmas.  In the city, my teenager is too busy to play games, but at the ranch with no cable, wifi, or phone, games are a welcome diversion. So we played the new games we got… ALL OF THEM.  Yes our teenager forced us to play all three new games.  It was fun, but I was exhausted when we finished.

A few weeks before, our friends, Sheila, Nate, Eli, Gabe, and Sam came for a visit. While it was too cold to eat dinner on the porch, after an indoor dinner, we did light a fire in the firepit, where we enjoyed wassail and s’mores, while Nate, Eli and our musical daughter played their guitars and sang.  How wonderful that the burn ban was lifted in time for this visit. We gave the fire-making chores to the guys since they are boy scouts, and I must say they did an excellent job. We really enjoyed the visit, since they are lots of fun, and because I love to share the ranch with our friends. So even if you haven’t been for a visit in person, I hope you enjoy this virtual ranch visit as much as I enjoyed having you here. So glad you came.

Comments

  2. Coastal Cottage Dreams says

    Anita:

    I love your creekside deck….Such a wonderful retreat for family, friends, and neighbors…..A place to play board games, cards, dance sing, roast marshmallows, I could think of 100 things….Thanks for sharing! What a wonderful little haven!

    Reply

  3. Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door says

    I can not tell you how much I’d love to sit and visit on this deck! The twinkle lights are just lovely. I think you need to consider adding a hammock to this spot! Can’t you just imagine relaxing in a hammock with the sound of the creek below?

    Reply

  8. Karen says

    Anita that is Gorgeous…. I just love places like that…what state do you live in? Im in Fl so we dont see hills and valleys like that..but I love them ..I come from a long line of WV country fok..so its in my blood, just not in my zip code..lol.. way to go.. I love doing stuff like that (surprises ) for my family.. breaks up the day to day ruts..
    God Bless and have a awesome weekend.

    Reply

  10. mary beth says

    I’m so glad you live in a climate mild enough to enjoy this getaway even in the winter! You’re not going to believe this, but early this morning as I was waking up, I thought of your little woodsy hideout, and thought how wonderful it is going to be in early spring and the sounds of that season come to life! Thanks for sharing your twinkly night with us!

    Reply

  12. Rebecca says

    Enchanting! That’s all I’ve got to say. Kudos to you for creating this beautiful memory for your family.

    (And “Happy New Year”, if I haven’t already greeted you in 2012….)

    Reply

  17. Shelia says

    Hi Anita! Oh, what a marvelous place! You are so blessed to have such a fabulous place. Your family is blessed to have you and your wonderful ideas! 🙂
    Love your future plans of using this place during the spring and summer. Hope your little skin is healing up as that sounded like a real big ouchy!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia 😉

    Reply

  20. gio says

    THANKS FOR STOPPING BY 🙂 I AM NOW FOLLOWING YOU ALSO. I’LL BE OVER TO CHECK OUT THAT DECK LOL. IS IT SNOWING YET? GIO

    Reply

  21. Trudy Callan says

    What a nice surprise and memories you will cherish forever.

    In answer to your question on my blog, yes, the t-shirt refashion was Emily’s work. Thank you for visiting and commenting. It was nice hearing from you. We think about you all often. Hope you are well. And while I’m thinking about it, did you ever hear back from the lady with the rodeo?

    Reply

  37. Lori says

    I am partying right in front of you at Nifty Thrifty Tuesday. What a great secluded spot. Fun to think of all the ways you can use it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright Notice

All the photos and text this site are copyright protected. Email requests to anita(at)cedarhillfarmhouse(dot)com

Disclosure and Privacy Policy

For my Full Disclosure, click HERE
For the Privacy Policy, click HERE

Disclaimer

Perform any project shown at your own risk. The author assumes no liability for loss or damage that result from these projects. If unsure, seek professional advice before attempting any project.