Monday Musing

Christmas is over.  I'm sure there are people out there very sad about this.  I am, however, not one of them.  The relief that I felt on the 26th getting that Christmas tree down was huge.  I'm not a total Grinch:  I do still have the wreath on the front door.  But it will soon be coming down, too.

That being said, I had a wonderful Christmas.  The company was sterling; the food was wonderful (and fattening); the presents surprising and satisfying.  My sweet Significant Husband gifted me with a Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader, which I ordered yesterday.  It will actually be a Valentine's present, too, since it isn't shipping till February 1st.  But hey -- something to look forward to in the dreary grip of winter.

I am ready to move on to a new year.  Well, I'm ALMOST ready to move on.  I need to get my office and craft areas cleared out and rearranged to meet 2010 with conviction.  Betcha can't guess what I'm going to be doing for the next several days.

You Can Quote Me

O, Come All Ye Faithful to the Little Town of Bethlehem in the Silent Night to celebrate Joy to the World.

                                               ~~~ Donna Noland

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

You Can Quote Me

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace, the gladness of Christmas give you hope, the warmth of Christmas grant you love.

                                              ~~~ Author Unknown

Christmas Icicle Crunchies

I thought I was going to get away with no Christmas tree-dog mishaps this year.  Yes.......I was wrong.  Over the weekend, Vivi determined that the nice, sparkly plastic icicles I put on the tree must be new doggie treats sent from Santa just for her.

The first crunch that I heard, I couldn't really place what it was.  I kept on with what I was doing, but then I heard it again.  I got up to check and there she was, the evidence strewn around her in several small pieces.  As I bent down to look, I quickly realized that there weren't enough small pieces to make a whole icicle.  Uh oh.  I resumed what I had been doing and an hour later, I heard the telltale crunch again.  I ran this time to the scene of the crime.  Now, I picked up the top and two-thirds of the bottom.  When I picked her up, Miss Viv gagged up the other half-inch.  This time I went to find the baby gate (used in emergency cases like this); removed all the remaining icicles from the lower third of the tree; and, closed the pocket door in to the dining room effectively sealing off the temptation.

I spent the next two days watching for signs of intestinal blockage, which thankfully, never materialized.  I would have hated to spend all of Vivi's Christmas present money on a big, fat vet bill.  As far as I can tell, the tree ornaments have now lost most of their glowing appeal.  We have 10 days.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Monday Musing

That soft little breeze whispering by your cheek just now was a sigh.  From me.  I think I'm finally to the point in the holiday season where I can begin to unknot the kinks in my shoulders.  I think.

There are two more presents to wrap.  There are 3 bottles of wine to pick up sometime this week.  I have two gifts left to mail today. The Little Black Dogs get taken to the groomers tomorrow for Christmas Cleanup (just hope that lasts a little longer than 36 hours).  I know which food items I will be attempting this year for our Christmas get-together.....all easy recipes, thank God.  So right about now, I'm feeling pretty good.  Tomorrow could be another story, but I'm not looking ahead.

Well, actually that's a lie.  While doing all those housewifely chores this morning, I was contemplating what I'd like for 2010 to be like.  Maybe by New Year's Eve, I'll have some kind of list.  Not that much ever gets checked off each year, but it makes me feel positive about turning over that new leaf.

Right now though, I think I'll just enjoy some holiday breathing space.

Deck the Halls, Y'all!

So, I've put on my Elf Hat (if not my Elf Attitude) and begun the process of turning a country farmhouse into Santa's Village.  Ummmmm....maybe not.  But at least it might look a little bit Christmasy.  Here's what's happened so far:

I made this wreath several years ago out of a 20' lead, miniature chew sticks and dog ornaments.  I hope it's going to hold up forever because I don't want to have to do it again.  The Christmas sign came from good old Michael's about 3 years ago -- one of my "newer" Christmas decorations.

And of course, I have to have the Christmas flags outside on the walk.  And you can't play favorites.  They KNOW.

And here we have this year's "crafty thing".  Seems like I just can't make it through a holiday season without trying to make something.  There have been a few times that whatever it was got immediately thrown in the trash, it was so horrible.  I got lucky this year.  This attempt at creating actually turned out to work!  (Thanks a heap, Martha.)

And here we have the BIG EXPENDITURE for the holidays.  (This is what was in the boxes a few days ago.)  Now I know why people spring for the prelighted ones even though they're double the cost.  I think we need more lights, but by the time I got to this, all I wanted was THROUGH!  Obviously needs a little refining.

And, finally, I got to move to the inside of the house.  And scatter a couple of things around as you can see below.  Guess once I get the tree in a few days, I can complete the process.  By that time I should be pretty sick of the whole mess.  More later!

Let the Decorating Begin

Why, what is this?  Boxes.  They don't look very Christmas-y.  Oh, but wait.  What they contain is the kickoff to the new look of Christmas at Dosido Farm.

They arrived on Saturday afternoon.  I have refrained from diving in until I can devote a whole day to beginning Operation Tinsel.  Last year I didn't do too much in the way of Christmas; the tree was about it.  I think I may be feeling a little more like Tiny Tim than Scrooge this year.  Stay tuned as the transformation unfolds!

Right now I have to consider Thanksgiving Day food........

Martha Made Me Do It

See this?  It's all because of Martha Stewart and her magazine. 

Granted....I most likely would have gotten the fake poinsettas anyway.  I use them on my front porch for the holidays and half of them got thrown out after last year.  They were just way too faded and sad looking.  But if I hadn't been flipping through Martha's December issue, I wouldn't have gotten the bright idea to try some window dressing this year.  My porch is a trial.  It's VERY long and therefore, it takes quite a lot of stuff to make it look "decorated".  Not to mention that there is usually, for some unknown reason, a small gale-force wind blowing across it.  So anything over 2 feet tall sitting out there is repeatedly -- and I mean REPEATEDLY -- knocked down or over.

So, in the next few days I will don my Santa's elf hat and attempt again to fashion something I can attach to the windows that will get me in the Christmas spirit.  Lord knows I don't have it yet.  Of course, first I have to get all the summer plants off the porch and put somewhere to survive the winter.  Another trial......but let's not go there right now.