Leaves, leaves and more leaves

This counts for Christmas decorating, doesn't it? 

I've not yet decorated except for the tree but I have been baking and making up some old family recipes and meals that bring me comfort. I'm missing my mom's country-fried pork chops so I made some the other night, with some mashed potatoes and homemade pan gravy. It was so good. Not something I should eat all the time though. I also made a peach cobbler from canned peaches. I was craving it so I made it. It was so good. 

Right now my energetic husband is blowing the leaves in the yards and then will mulch them. It's a never-ending job until the leaves have all fallen and ours have just started. He wants to put up our nativity, so he is getting the yard ready. 

I think I mentioned he finished the patio.  I am pleased it is done. 

Our Christmas Tree 2020

 

Thanks to my husband, our little artificial tree is up. I haven't done anything else. I don't know if I will. I'm just not in the mood. 

We'll give the kids gift cards this year and no secret Santa. Pops, my 94 yr old FIL won't be here due to covid and I really don't know who will be able to come. 

I hope my mood picks up. I'm really on a downer and just going through the motion, for my husband.

The Perfect Christmas Tree

Wow.

This time of year, all we see are these beautiful houses, with their absolutely gorgeous Christmas trees - homes decorated just right, and their outdoor space, perfectly balanced with the right amount of yule decor. 

I love to look at the photos I see online, and in magazines.

"That's what I want"

 "That's what I want," I tell my husband. Whereas, he would be fine with popcorn garland around the tree.

Would I be that much happier, if my tree was as perfect as I see on the decorating blogs and magazines? It must be nice, to live as if you are in a Christmas store display. 

Wow. Everything is so perfect. 

But, where are the extension cords? The Christmas Cards? Their children's artwork from school?  Even down to their perfectly built fire in the fireplace - the kitchen counters are free from clutter, no cookie sheets, no batter bowls in the sink soaking - even the bedrooms and bathrooms are a sight to behold. 

So how do normal, regular people like us, decorate for the holidays? 

My Christmas Tree 2010

We chopped this one down - and I like just the tree -
I did very little decorating. 

All lit up, shining brightly at night, it doesn't matter if your tree is not as beautiful as the cover trees on House Beautiful. They say, Art is in the eye of the beholder and one could say that about Christmas Trees. 

Without a professional digital camera, many of our regular trees look better in person, than in photos. 

Who cares? Has Christmas been whittled down to who decorates their house the best? Who has the perfect tree?  Who has the most beautiful tree Wins? 

Yeah, each year I TRY to get that perfect tree for my home. Funny it always looks the same. I'm not willing to part with my old ornaments. Opening that box every year, a flood of memories come barreling out.

Whenever I get off my butt, I hope to take some pictures of my decorations for 2017.

Visit World Wide Christmas Tree Photo contest and give one of them your vote. Let's hear it for the regular tree! 

To each his own

We've all seen those gaudy Christmas outdoor displays. 

You can find at least one in every neighborhood. 

I told my husband if I should ever break down and

want to buy a blowup Santa or any inflatable lawn ornament -  to just shoot me. 

Then there is How to use your empty beer cans.

I have an outdoor nativity that I have had since the late '70s.

 It belonged to my parents

Some might think it is tacky - 

I call it Vintage. 

You can't buy that particular set anymore 

and definitely NOT with the *cat!

Kitty Koo is no longer with us. 

He was a character and a half and we still miss him to this day. 

RIP Mr. Kitty Koo aka The Big Kahuna. 

Christmas in every room

I love Christmas decorating, probably MORE than anything else - even eating! I've always wished I could decorate every room - but usually only the living room, kitchen, and dining area. The above photo is from a few years ago - I hope to change all of that around. I have a small skinny tree I use in the dining area - but even that takes up too much room. I wish I could move my china cabinet into the eating area, but it doesn't square up with the ceiling fan. I had it there once, and it bugged me to where it actually threw my emotional equilibrium off. It wasn't Feng-shui at all. 

The china cabinet is in our entryway and that bugs me too. 

I've asked my husband if he would center the ceiling light over the dining table so I could move back in my china cabinet, but he doesn't want to. I even thought of getting rid of the ceiling fan, BUT with 115 degree summers, we need those fans in every room especially with the vaulted ceilings. 

So I don't know exactly how I will do this - Seems this year I am in a festive decorating mood and I just want things to look good.