Christmas Decorating Underway....

Here are some pictures of my Christmas decor. I am not nearly done. The tree needs some more baubles, and the mantle is missing some stuff . My goal is to visit Pineridge Hollow in the next week and pick up some items like twinkle lights and maybe some fake twiggy stuff for my vase to match the sofa table arrangement. Home Sense is another  store I love that Im sure will have some Christmas items I may want to get my hands on.

Moravian Star Pendant

I absolutely love the Moravian star pendant. It is traditionally from the 1800's and is said to bring luck to the family. I am thinking of replacing our oh -hum-drum of a light in our foyer/hallway with this beauty. I believe I saw them at home depot made by Hampton Bay Lighting.  This will give a wow factor upon entering our great room...lets see if hubby approves. I bet he wont like it, until he really sees it. Men don't have the  vision, lol.

Vintage Christmas Baubles

I know we still have yet to pass Halloween, but my mind is in full swing with christmas decorating. I was passed down a high quality white christmas tree from my mom. It was bought through sears possibly over 20 years ago..Its beautiful really. Every year I come up with a theme at my house..This year  I decided to put up the white tree as my main tree in the great room filled with vintage colorful ornaments.  The green one will most likely be downstairs in the recroom, with all the ornaments of the kids ect...I dont really have a collection of vintage glass ones....so I am now on the hunt for some.

Chile Rescues Workers Break Through to Trapped Miners

By Nathan Crooks and Randy Woods




Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chilean rescue workers broke through into a chamber half a mile underground today where 33 miners have been trapped for more than two months.

A crowd made up of hundreds of foreign and local journalists, family members and government officials erupted into cheers and chanted “Long Live Chile” as alarm bells signalled that the drill had broken through at 8:05 a.m. local time.

“It’s unbelievable; it’s an emotion you can’t explain,” said Jeff Hart, an operations manager at Layne Christensen, a drilling company assisting in the efforts. “It was extremely hard, harder than we expected.”

Authorities will spend about six hours today preparing for the rescue site before running a camera down the shaft to determine if the well is stable enough to pull the men out without first lining the walls with a metal casing, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne told reporters today at the mine in northern Chile. The minister said yesterday that withdrawal of the miners may begin as soon as Oct. 12.

The miners have been trapped since Aug. 5 after an access tunnel caved in at Cia. Minera San Esteban Primera SA’s San Jose copper and gold mine in the Atacama region. Chilean state-run Codelco, BHP Billiton Ltd. and other mining companies assisted in what has become the world’s longest-ever mine rescue.

Family Members React
Family members and union officials have urged rescue workers to install the casing to ensure the miners’ safety. Trucks with the casing arrived at the mine this morning.

“We’ve waited for two months, we can wait another two days,” Norma Laques, whose son Jimmy Suarez, 19, is the youngest of the trapped miners.

The miners’ only contact with the outside world has been through tiny drill holes into which people on the surface send down food, water, medicine and games such as dominoes.

As engineers prepared the rescue shaft, workers on the surface were rehearsing plans to extract the miners and transport them to a nearby hospital. Medical facilities will be ready by Oct. 11.

The miners are split into three groups. The strongest will come out first in case they are needed to go back down to assist others, the minister said yesterday. The weakest will then come out, with the rest to follow.

24-Inch Tube
Workers will need two or three days to prepare cranes and other equipment for the extraction and as long as eight days if they opt for the casing, Golborne said.

When the rescue starts, a tube 24 inches wide will be lowered into the hole, which measures 26 inches at its narrowest point, Enes Zepeda, an engineer and director of the Codelco’s supervisors’ union, said at an event on Oct. 7. Once they start pulling out the men, it will take about 90 minutes per person to complete the rescue, he said.

 
Let's pray for these miners and miner's families that they get out safely.....

Pictures from Italy

My dad's hometown Maiera in Calabria

A picture from my dad's house where he grew up.1of 2 balconies

My Husband and I at the wedding (Can you tell he is 6ft 6  and Im only 5ft 2? lol

My Uncle Vincenzo , my sister and I

Reception

Bride and Groom (Eda & Fabio)

My cousin's son Domenico

New Cupcake Flavors In!

Cupcake soaps are back in stock...flavors include: birthday cake,orange cream,pink sugar,chocolate raspebrry and chocolate :)

Another Home Sense Find!

I waited and waited until the perfect counter stools popped up in the store.  These stools I picked up are listed online for $220 CDN (plus shipping of course). Homesense price: $99. What a steal! I bought 2 for my breakfast counter and I just love them. Easy to clean too, because when you have 5 kids ,you never know what may happen. They also swivel, and have  metal footrests which is quite nice. I also picked up a cotton table runner for the kitchen and a pair of lamps for the dining room. The lamps didn't look as good as thought on the server...so, going to return them.