Hodgepodging Christmas Decorations

View from the front porch yesterday.
The sun peeked out for a minute or two and then hid again.

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1. Let's talk holiday decorating. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall? (1=Scrooge and 10= Clark Griswold). What's your favorite corner-room-table-space to decorate? Is it done?

Probably a 3. The older I get, the less I decorate because the kids aren't here to help and aren't here to enjoy it. Still, my favorite space to decorate is the living room. Am I done? Not quite.  I'll wait until the night before the kids are coming to visit before I put up the remaining lights, candles, and cranberries.

2. Is there a nativity scene in your decorating somewhere? Post a picture or, if it's special to you in some way, tell us why. Or do both-it's Christmas!

Oh yes, we have a Nativity. Many of the pieces came from my cousin Bobby, and I bought the stable at the Humane Society of Barron County auction one year. The Nativity spends all of Advent, the 12 days of Christmas, and the remainder of January on the piano. I had once thought of getting rid of that piano because its sound board, pin block, etc. are beyond repair and we have a good piano, but my daughter said, 'Mom, where would you put the Nativity??!!' Yeah, good point. So we have two pianos in our living room. The little grandkids get to bang on play the Nativity piano. The older grandkids, who can respect a piano, are allowed to play the other one.

3.  Do you live in a social neighborhood? If so are you glad? If not do you wish you did?

We live in a very unsocial neighborhood. Although it's beautiful out here in the middle of nowhere, and I've loved it for 27+ years, I'm ready to move to a smallish town, and live right smack in the middle of it so I can walk my new, yet-to-be acquired German Shepherd puppy by the light of the street lamps, walk a block to the grocer, to church, to the pharmacy, and to the river or lake. And a hill. And an old English pub (not a sports bar or tavern). Or maybe 3 blocks would be acceptable. Oh, and a big city with lots of cultural events needs to be within a 20 minute drive. :-)  I really need to be able to teleport. Is this asking too much??

Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis

4.  As the saying goes, 'there's no time like the present'. How does that ring true in your life right now?

For me, that's certainly true. If not now, when? I hear the clock ticking faster and faster. 

5. Do you dread Mondays? Why or why not?

I have no dread of Mondays because I don't work outside our home, which means that I don't have to go outdoors in the dead of winter and scrape the ice from the windshield and slide off the icy roads into the ditch on the way to work.

 December 6, 2016
View SE from porch

6.  Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis-which on the list is your favorite holiday plant? Are any of these on display in your home right now?

I LOVE all of the above, but the one I own is a Christmas cactus. I've started many Christmas cactus plants from this one mama plant and it's still going strong. It's ancient.

7. Share a favorite quote from a Christmas movie.

I love this entire segment from A Muppet's Christmas Carol with Michael Caine. It's SO CUTE!!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

We had cookie baking and decorating here last Saturday, while the guys put the Christmas tree up on the front porch. Then they came in, drank coffee by the fire and snitched Christmas cookies.

 Oliver's mommy helping him decorate Christmas cookies.

He had just awakened from a nap and I think was rather dazzled by it all.

 From left: Christmas cut-outs, later frosted

Molasses

Peppermint

After the cookies were done, we divided them up and everyone took a pail of cookies home. My pail is out on the freezing cold front porch. It would be way too tempting for me if they were sitting on the kitchen counter. I LOVE Christmas cookies!

I need to collect more pine boughs to put across the rest of the railing 
AND move the Christmas tree back a bit, but you get the idea.
I think it tipped since they put it up.

Christmas 2013

***

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 December 4

Linked to: Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

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Sunrise Photos, Christmas Tree, Waiting for Spring

Yes, folks, the Christmas tree is still up on the front porch. Want to make something of it?  We've heard a complaint by someone who thinks we don't own a calendar. Well, this has been such a snowy, cold, LONG winter, and that little bit of cheer on our front porch is staying right where it is until the snow melts. That may be a while.

 The backyard, photo taken March 2

We're not like other places that have huge snowstorms followed by warm days that melt it all. No, we get our snow starting in November (if we're lucky to avoid it in October) and then it merely accumulates throughout the winter until sometime in March or April when we get days that are warm enough to begin to melt it. So far, we're still getting mornings well below zero degrees (yesterday minus 29 degrees F.), so the Christmas tree on the porch is staying put. Back off!

 Sunrise creating thousands of tiny white ice lights

 No, it's not the same photo, but maybe I'm the only one who thinks it looks different.

Today I heard a guy on the radio say that the difference between Wisconsinites and other people is that other people, when summer is over, roll up their beach towels and put them away in the closet. In Wisconsin, we roll up our beach towels at the end of summer and put them at the base of our doors to keep out the draft. Sometimes we put them on the window sills for the same reason. There they stay, frozen in place until April. - (That's not an exact quotation, but the guy was Michael Perry, a Wisconsin author, born and raised just down the road a spell.)

Sunrise, On the Piano

Stairway Landing, Sunrise Window

 Waiting for Spring

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Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following:  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday and Tuesdays with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and What we Accomplished Wednesday and  Adorned From Above  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and The Charm of Home and  Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday

Sunrise Sequence, a November Morning

A November Morning

Get up.

Take dogs out. Misty on lead.
See sunrise.

Wish I'd brought my camera.
Wish Misty would hurry up with her business.

Take dogs in.

Hope nothing changes until I get back outdoors.

Grab the camera.

Run back outdoors.

Take photos of this spectacular sunrise.

***

By the way, this is the first time I have joined Vee's Notecard Party. Check it out!

And since we're all thinking about Thanksgiving, I just wanted to mention that I am so grateful to God for our home and family and friends and such glorious sunrises (and sunsets) AND the fact that our ground is not yet covered in snow. Every single day without snow shortens our winter.

And of course, all these shots were only a few minutes apart.

But what a special treat to have this beautiful start to my day.

 Box cover, by request :-)

Sunrise reflected on the new and not-quite-finished wraparound porch
I'm so tempted to put no railings or knee-walls up.

***

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This post is linked to Mosaic Monday and Vee's Notecard Party and Weekly Top Shot  and Memories by the Mile  and Weekend Reflections