I was supposed to do these yesterday.  I finally made myself do the stairs to the basement, to look for the bows I needed for the wreaths and swags.  I was so efficient boxing up Christmas last Spring to get it out of the way of our packing, that I can’t find a bin filled with burgundy bows!  So, I sulked and didn’t get anything done yesterday.

In a moment, I’ll be leaving the computer to make bows for three carriage lights and two wreaths.  This morning Dear Husband and I went out to Michael’s so that I could get the bows I needed.  Of course, those bows are no longer to be found on every end cap in the store, so I’ll have to make them.  Luckily, the ribbon was on sale, at half price.

I want to get the swags up at the carriage lamps, and the outdoor wreath in place this afternoon.  We have a little bit of rain coming in tomorrow, and I’d like to take advantage of our 62 degree temps!  I also need to trim some of our evergreens for branches to fill the container at the dining room windows.  I have tall, curvy twigs that will give the arrangement some height, and I picked up some fake red berries.  It remains to be seen if the squirrels will check out the berries while they look for places to hide black walnuts.  If it looks like they’ll be an attractive nuisance, I’ll find something safer to use.

So, I hope you’re all enjoying the day as much as I am.  Happy Holidays, and a Merry Christmas to you all!

I  have really enjoyed the days since Thanksgiving.  The timing of Thanksgiving resulted in the longest period we get between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it seems so much more relaxed when we have more time.  A friend reminded me that next year we will have the least amount of time between the holidays, and it will feel frantic.  I’m going to put that thought right out of my mind! *G*

My stepson took all the Fall decorations downstairs Thursday.  I didn’t ask him to bring Christmas things upstairs.  I thought that I could do it.  Maybe not.  I’m still having problems with my right foot (I see the doc on Tuesday).  However, I did bring up the boxes of things I use to make wreaths.  Unfortunately, I can’t find the bin that should have dozens of burgundy bows!  I might have to buy three more so that I can get the swags up on he coach lights while it’s still so warm outside.  We may be above 60 degrees F. tomorrow!  I was outside feeding the birds without a jacket this morning!

I’m going to make a rustic wreath using a grapevine base for the fireplace face in the living room.  Dear Husband is allergic to cedar, and he’s camped out next to the fireplace as he recuperates, so I thought maybe I’d depart from tradition and spare him.

I hope you’re all comfortable with your preparations, and enjoying the season.

It’s cookie day today. That is, it’s cookie day today if I can ever get myself in gear. I hope to make several family favorites that aren’t what you normally think of as Christmas cookies: sugar crisp, brownies, spicy nut slices, and peanut butter cookies. If there is time, and the body is willing, I’ll make Raspberry Ribbons, and Russian Tea cakes. The raspberry ribbon is a lovely sugar-type cookie that is rolled out in tubes, and a depression is made lengthwise in the tube of dough to hold raspberry jam. After it’s baked, you drizzle glaze over the tubes and cut them into one-bite diamonds. SO yummy!
Tomorrow I plan to cook brisket for “Mom’s Barbecue.” We’ve been invited to share Christmas Eve with my oldest sister and her family, and she was willing to let me make the barbecue that we’ve had on Christmas Eve for the last twenty years or more. While the brisket is cooking, I’ll be wrapping gifts. Dear Husband assures me that we have all the gifts on our list, so the shopping is done.
I hope you’re all enjoying the holidays. What’s the purpose of all the preparation if we don’t enjoy what we are doing? Merry Christmas!

I DETEST that term! I am sick unto death of the ads telling us to get out and bust down the doors for the best savings. It’s all about SPENDING…..it has nothing to do with Christmas.
I don’t understand why stores don’t do special sales earlier in the year on their own individual schedules, rather than all of them trying for your attention at the same time. Doesn’t it make sense that the consumer would buy more if he can spread it out over more time?
I hate lines. I hate badly behaved shoppers. I hate seeing people fighting over the last of some highly touted item that their child is going to ignore after a week. I hate the feeling that I MUST buy a gift for someone, when I haven’t a clue what they might like to have.
I am fed up. I will not be giving Christmas presents this year to anyone other than our granddaughters, who are seven and younger. I am having a reaction to years and years of increasing hype, and am having my own personal revolt! It’s quite probable that part of the problem lies within me, because I truly don’t like to shop. But, a larger share of the blame for my reaction goes to the force-feeding of ads and the focus on spending for the season.
So, please don’t be upset when you do not receive a gift from me. I’m going to be celebrating Christmas differently this year.

We are at the wrapping stage of the season. I’m just amazed, because I frequently spend a couple of days just before Christmas wrapping all our gifts. Most of Dear Husband’s gifts came in on Monday, so while he was at work today, I opened the bags, checked the invoices, made notes about what came from which store, and then boxed the gifts.
It was a good plan, because just as I closed the last of the boxes, Dear Husband walked in the door. It’s so bitterly cold that he hasn’t been able to put in a full day at work. He’s been repairing heaters and other equipment, and working on proposals, and then coming home around lunchtime..
DH asked if he could have the scissors and tape, so he could wrap gifts. I let him have them, and went off to move some laundry. You have to realize that DH doesn’t wrap gifts for beauty. His wrapping is very functional. I asked him if he really WANTED to wrap gifts, and was relieved when he said, “No.” I told him that I would wrap everything but my own gifts. He could do those. He seemed to be as relieved as I was! *G*
So, I wrapped the gifts for my youngest sister’s family, which need to be mailed off tomorrow morning. Then I finished the wrapping on DH’s gifts, and wrapped most of the packages for our oldest granddaughter. I have a long way to go with the wrapping, and a short list of things I still need to get, but we are well on our way to being ready for Christmas.
I really like the idea of simplifying our preparations for the holiday. I’ve enjoyed the past two weeks more than I usually do because there’s less pressure to have everything “perfect.” I think I may get around to making cookies next week! YEA!!

Will someone PLEASE tell me how to keep calm while trying to find the one bulb on a line of fifty, already wrapped around a fake Christmas tree, that’s keeping a string from lighting???
I have two pre-lit fake trees that have strings that have gone out. Unfortunately, on the tallest tree this string is last from the top, meaning I have to work with my arms up over my head. And to make matters worse, this string has the little extra plastic piece that is supposed to snap in place to keep the bulb tight against the connections. It’s tough to wrestle the bulbs out of their bases without twisting them and causing damage.
I decided to work on the four-foot tree that is lit with all clear bulbs. I thought it would be easy to sit down and find the one that wasn’t working, but I couldn’t solve that one, either. At one point I started trading white bulbs for red ones so I could see what I had already tried, but I didn’t have enough red bulbs to get very far. I can either mark my starting spot with a clothes pin, test the white bulbs I have, and then swap the red bulbs for white ones, or I could buy more red bulbs to fill the string, and hopefully find the bulb that is bad.
Despite having several days to laze around, I’m really not up for this task. I think I’ll go finish the laundry.