Yesterday we joined what seemed to be 75% of New Jersey residents and spent the day blowing leaves and putting up Christmas decorations. I had to run an errand while The Viking was communing with the new leaf blower and saw no less than four other men on our street alone doing the exact same thing. Stopped in at my mothers and saw three more men doing it. I guess it was National Blow The Leaves And Deck The Halls Day! I felt like a lemming.
Because of my...er...motivational problems I am not very enthusiastic about the decorating. Plus, The Viking decided to just decorate the outside of the house however the heck he wants to and that worries me (I have yet to go outside to see exactly what he did). We had a silly argument about colored vs. white lights and I went to bed trying not to worry about what the house might look like. I mean, come on, it's silly, right? So why does it bother me so much?
I want white candles, simple wreaths, and maybe some white lights entwined with garland. He wants net lights on the bushes, white or colored, whatever combination he happens to find, colored light bulbs in the porch lamps and strings of lights wrapped around the tree trunks. Just the trunks. I am cringing just thinking about all that. I am dreading what I'm going to find upon nightfall this evening. I fear I won't be able to resist the temptation to redo the decorations the way I want them or may just have a complete meltdown about something as inconsequential as fairy lights, neither of which is wise.
I do have a few pics of Holiday cheer to share, however.
This is, roughly, what our kitchen porch now looks like. This is actually a shot from last year, but it varies little from year to year so I don't feel like I'm cheating by showing this pic. It's just too cold for me to venture outside to get a current one right now. I'll tell you what's different, though. The white chair has been moved elsewhere, a vintage desk is in its place, and I have not yet wrapped the packages to put out there yet. Once we've unpacked our Christmas decorations I usually wrap up a few of the empty boxes (some with a brick or two inside to keep them from blowing away) in whatever wrapping paper we're using this year and display them on the porch. It saves me from having to haul the empty boxes back down to the basement and looks pretty, too! That's one of my brighter ideas, which isn't really saying much, but there it is.
I love this sled. Love it. It was another yard sale find. Have I mentioned my love of yard sales? Do you see why? Really, it's because my mother is the Yard Sale Queen. No, really, she is. She is the Go-To-Girl if you want a yard sale bargain. People call her from all over to have her take them yard saling. She's amazing. Some day when I have lots of leisure time I'll do a post just about her incredible finds, but not today. Maybe on her birthday. Anyway, someone had given me a pair of ice skates for Red Headed Snippet several years ago and I promptly wrapped them around this sled, no doubt denying my poor Snippet years of figure skating enjoyment and possible fame and fortune all for the sake of a charming vignette. Ah, such is life.
In case you were wondering what that sign says. We put this up every year even though it clatters horribly against the siding when the wind blows and startles us all to bits. You'd think we'd get used to it, but no.
I think I've made a decision about the dining room centerpiece. Everyone in the house has voted this one as their favorite, but I still find myself eyeing it critically whenever I walk through the room. It just seems to need a little something...
This is one of my prized possessions, a vintage Santa Claus bank my father gave to Man-Cub for his very first Christmas in 2001. It was given to my father by his grandfather for his first Christmas back in 1948 so it has great tradition and sentimental value. My mother always brought it down ceremoniously from the attic and put it in pride of place on top of the piano each Christmas and we were never, never, never allowed to touch it! I remember loving it as a child and getting close enough to breathe on it, but never lay a finger on it, so I could admire it. I was thrilled to pieces when it was handed down to Man-Cub and now I bring it out with the same pomp and solemnity as my mother did. I admit, I'm a little nervous about having it out in such an accessible place, which might be what's bothering my about having it there, but I want to be out where it can be enjoyed. Man-Cub has been stowing pennies in it, though he doesn't know the plug is long gone. There's going to be a great pile of pennies sitting on that tray when we lift the bank to put it away!
That's all I have for now, decor-wise or Christmas-wise. The kids and I are supposed to finish putting the rest of the stuff out, but we'll see. The Snippet has basketball practice and I have to get caught up with laundry and grocery lists, but hopefully we'll get to it.
I leave you today with photos both sweet and discomfiting. Red Headed Snippet had her school's annual Snow Dance last night. I may be a wee bit biased, but I think she looked smashing and way older than her years. As one friend put it, The Viking better start carrying around a big stick!
Here's my not-so-little girl in all her splendor:
Have I mentioned she's twelve? Yes, we know we're in big, bad trouble.
1 comment:
I know exactly what you mean about having trouble getting started, and ditto the white vs. colored lights outside. But in our house, he gets the outside and I get the inside and it all works out (despite possible neighborhood humiliation!). Can't wait to see how it turned out!
~Angela :-)
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