Decorating For Christmas

About a week ago when I was at work Hubby got a $5 permit and went to the National Forest to find us a Christmas tree.

As I drove into the garage after my work day I noticed some tree trimmings on the front porch.  Hubby greeted me at the garage house door and I asked if he was able to find a nice tree for us.  He replied that the best he could do was a little five footer.  Well, I was a bit disappointed but figured it was only five dollars so that would be hard to beat, even if the tree was a "Charlie Brown tree".

As I walked into the house I felt like I was walking into the Narnia Chronicles, where the kids are hiding in the closet and it turns into a forest.  The "little five footer" turned out to be a whopping 12 foot tall Douglas Fir, originally cut at 14' then cut to 12' to fit into the house.  Our vaulted ceiling is 12' at the highest point.

The next day while I was at work he cut it to fit in the space by our dining area window.  A few days later I was able to do the tree decorating.  It doesn't look so great in the picture but I think it's beautiful. I still feel like I'm missing some of my ornaments, but oh well. 

Can't complain about my $5 tree!

And the rest of the house is done also.  I put a string of lights on the deck rail.  This time I got a bunch of LED lights so they wouldn't keep popping fuses.  Supposedly I can string 30 sets together without worrying.  I've got the whole length of the deck lined with lights and they have not given me any trouble, unlike last year with the older sets of lights.

Inside I lined the edge with lights and placed the poinsettias in groups around the cabinet tops.  

Since we don't have a hearth I put our fake garland on the curtain rod over the door and hung all the Santa ornaments there.

The front door got regular lights (the bluish lights are the LEDs) and I had a string of reds that I  used to outline our card holder.

I still have a bunch of older light strands that I'm not sure how I should use them.  Maybe I'll hang on to them and turn them in next year like I did this year for some discounted new LED strands.

I do enjoy having the house decorated for the holidays.  And I am NOT going to think of when I have  to take it all down.

Black Friday

As you all know today was Black Friday. That's the big shopping day right after Thanksgiving and something I never felt the need to participate in.  But since I had to be there bright and early for work I decided I might as well take advantage of one of the specials at our store.

Poinsettias, $.99 each, limit 12 per customer.  So I got six of the red, and six of the white for $11.88.  That way I don't feel so bad when I throw them out at the end of December.

Now it is time to start decorating for Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  I know we did.  We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, yams, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce, and brussels sprouts.  I was totally stuffed but of course there is always room for desert:  pumpkin pie and apple pie!

Our tiny, rather thin, just over 9 lb turkey going in...

...done cooking...

...and after we ate.

And a couple hours later we dug into the apple pie and pumpkin pie.

After today comes the best part:  left overs!

Wrong Number!

I got this message yesterday on my phone.  It sounded somewhat important so I thought I'd reply and let the person know they had the wrong number.  I think they finally got the message.