Christmas decor...

Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things about the whole season. Probably for some people they have the traditional layout of where everything goes. Not us. We tend to reorganize the house at least once per year which means that surfaces that used to be there may no longer exist. That's okay because it gives me the chance to be creative!

If I had the time and/or money, my house would look like the ones in the Hallmark movies with wreaths and fresh garland everywhere you turn. But that's not reality for us. 

Over the years I have collected a nice assortment of ornaments but didn't really go beyond that. Since I used to move every two years on average, amassing a large collection of decorations just wasn't  feasible. When A and I got together, he was pretty much in the same boat in terms of a collection. So over the past ten years, we have been slowly adding to it.

I'm not entirely a traditionalist (though I do prefer white lights on Christmas trees) and will often incorporate some other random items and consider them Christmas decor after some minor adaptations. 

The other thing that has happened over the years is that I've been handed things or picked up things along the way... Sometimes fairly random things... And because I'm my mother's daughter, I see the beauty in them... and I hang on to them with the intention of someday figuring out a way to put them to use. 

A is buried up to his eyeballs with schoolwork again tonight but we are less than three weeks away from Christmas and except for the Christmas lights on the beams in the living room, a tin angel and two snowman candleholders I forgot to put away last year... Our house was NOT ready for Christmas! Because we came back from our whirlwind trip to CT for Thanksgiving and A went straight to training for two days and I dove into the "Treats for Troops" project, we didn't get around to decorating the house Thanksgiving weekend like we usually (try to) do. With so little time before the big fella gets here, it was clear that decorating the (interior) house was up to me! (But I refuse to decorate the tree without at least A to help me - that just would NOT feel right!)

So tonight I've set about quietly (aside from the later-mentioned bell project and one near tumble from the hassock while hanging some items overhead) putting together what I consider my little Christmas vignettes in various rooms on the main floor of the house. Nothing is in the same place as it was last year... 

I started with a project I meant to do last year... and out of kindness for my very patient husband should have done before he got home. I had bought a dozen hackeysack-sized red and green bells last year and intended to string them up but never did. This year they came out of the decoration box next to some sparkly green double-wire ribbon. Perfect! I set about the incredibly noisy task of attaching the bells to the ribbon (while A assured me it wasn't disturbing him) and after ~15 nerve and otherwise jangling minutes, I was done. So was dinner. So A got a reprieve and after I finished eating, I quickly hung my creation along the banister while he finished his dinner break. I'm quite pleased with how it came out... though the photograph tells me it might need a little more umph... And running upstairs tells me that there will be no sneaking up/down the stairs without a little jangling...

Last year I made another little project that I thought I'd disassemble and use in different ways but I like it enough that it's making a second appearance this year. I started with a "frame" made from an old drawer of a chicken incubator. Then I used unbreakable ornaments to create the shape of a Christmas tree. You'll see that I added a few other items as well. (Don't worry, I won't light the candles while they are in there.)

This year, for about the third year in a row, I eyeballed a baggie of tiny shiny ornament-like balls attached to small stakes. They are from Christmas flower arrangements that my mom received (possibly one from me?) a few years ago. This baggie is an example of the random bits of pretty things I am often given. So... I decided this was the year to use them!

I searched around until I found a fun "vessel" for them - an old spring from a trash clean up project I did last year. And then I just started poking the stakes into the spring until I liked the outcome. I added a snowflake that my niece made us that is no longer sturdy enough for the tree and voila! 

I've just finished editing A's paper and I think he's all caught up on homework through tomorrow so HOPEFULLY tomorrow evening we can get the tree up and decorated! 

BONUS PICTURE:

Today in Hyannis, I identified where ole St Nick gets his tobacco for his pipe... I managed to snap a picture quickly before he stepped inside. 

"Treats for Troops"...

Recently I stepped into a role to plan an event to benefit our deployed service members. A's Masonic Lodge has started a project to send packages to service members overseas a while ago but when they hit a roadblock, the project ground to a halt. When A became Master of the lodge, we decided that it was time to follow through with this and get these packages in the hands of those that serve our country. But the ten boxes that had been half assembled didn't seem like enough so we kicked it up a notch. Here's how...

First we decided that we would assemble and ship around 25 boxes. We also decided to include homemade treats and a wide variety of goodies in each box. 

Next I set up an event and invited members of our family, the community, and the lodge members to come help decorate cookies and make crafts etc. 

Then... I started realizing how many cookies we would need so my friend came over and we spent several hours making sugar cookies the week before the event. (I had no idea you could freeze baked cookies! What a lifesaver!) We pre-made about 20 dozen sugar cookies. Whew!

I also asked people to donate homemade cookies and treats with the idea that each package would get a dozen sugar cookies and a dozen other homemade treats. That's a LOT of cookies!

So we got together at the lodge and had four stations set up:

Station 1 was to write Christmas cards to the service members. We ended up writing 80+ cards from different people. About 60 of them went into the boxes and the balance were shipped to "Holidays for Heroes" to be distributed to other service members. 

Station 2 was to cut out (and when possible, decorate) Christmas trees from fabric. This was a last minute craft idea so the decorations were pretty slim... Something to think about for next time. 

Station 3 was the grandest achievement - the cookie decorating station!

A second big table was used for drying and packing the cookies. I LOVED the creativity of the decor and... Of course since the cookies were coming from the Cape, we had to include some sea life-shaped cookies. 

Station 4 was where the kids could draw pictures to include. (They were SO sweet!)

We also included non-breakable Christmas ornaments and decorations, candies, nuts, socks, baby wipes, a few toiletries, donated DVDs, word search/soduko books, magazines, handwritten letters and notes, local beach sunrise photos, and various treats. 

In the end, we had enough materials to fully pack 22 large priority shipping boxes to the brim! 

I had hoped that during the event we would finish all of the baking, decorating, crafts and packaging of cookies so that the packing process would be quick and easy. Unfortunately there was a lot to organize so it took us a couple of days to finish loading the boxes and get them shipped but we did it!

We are planning to do it again next year so I'm hoping that we get some good feedback from the service members. We gave them our contact information so hopefully we will hear from some of the folks. 

Christmas traditions... Old and new.

On Sunday a friend came over and helped me bake ~20 dozen sugar cookies in preparation for the "Treats for the Troops" packages we will be assembling on Saturday. As we were measuring, mixing, rolling and cutting, we talked about each of our family Christmas traditions. 

I've got fuzzy memories of my childhood - what I do remember is more like snapshots rather than detailed, lengthy events so reclaiming memories of traditions is sweet. 

Among my favorites....

At Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinners my mom's dad (who would probably be called a "foodie" in today's society) often brought "exotic" items for us to all try. I'll never forget the year he brought raw oysters (which I still won't eat!) and we all had to try at least one. It made me more adventurous to try new things and is how I get the kids in my life to try new things at least once before they judge it. It also inspires me to often try cooking something new when contributing to or preparing a holiday meal. 

Writing our letters to Santa and burning them so he could read our wishes in the smoke is one that I've learned is quite unique. Over the years we have burned the letters in a variety of ways... A few years ago in a rental house in NC, 15 adults, two teens, and a pre-teen partook in that tradition (which included my brother reading all of the wishes aloud before burning them on a charcoal grill) for the benefit of my then four year old great-nephew. I'm honestly not sure who enjoyed it most!

Reading of the story "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" - it didn't matter who read it when we were kids - my dad, my step-dad, my mom... Didn't matter. It just mattered that before bed on Christmas Eve the story was read before putting out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. 

Opening one present on Christmas Eve. 

Midnight Mass/local Christmas pageant - we did one or the other (sometimes both) nearly every year growing up and I really liked the tradition. Occasionally we do it now depending on A's schedule. 

Somewhere along the line we stopped doing individual stockings. My mom got a HUGE stocking that was stuffed with little wrapped items for everyone. Until then, each of us raced around trying to find the BIGGEST sock we could find... And every Christmas morning, the toe of the sock would bulge with the traditional Christmas orange. A few years ago I bought a huge stocking and we do the little wrapped presents too. And I often include oranges just because...

Since we've been married, A and I have developed some of our own traditions. Like the following...

While we decorate our tree and house, we watch "Miracle on 34th Street" and/or "A Christmas Story". 

My step-son J gives up all other plans with friends when we tell him it's our night to decorate for Christmas because he LOVES it! It's his job to always put the angel on the top of the tree. Throughout the year we often buy an ornament or two when we are traveling - it's a fun way to revisit some of our adventures over the years. 

Each year we pull two names of children from the donation tree. We always pick one boy and one girl. This year we selected a 6 year old boy who wanted cars and trucks and a 7 month old girl in need of clothes. Honestly... I enjoy shopping for friends and family but I LOVE picking out gifts for these kids!

Cookie day! A few years ago we were going to A's cousin's house for an afternoon visit a few weeks before Christmas. On a whim, I packed the ingredients to make and decorate sugar cookies. A delightful tradition was born and we've done it every year since! We often make and decorate about 30 dozen cookies which we then give away to a wide variety of people. This year we are incorporating cookie day into a "Treats for the Troops" event that I'm helping to coordinate for A's Mason's Lodge. I'm hoping that the event becomes part of our Christmas traditions (though my real hope is that there not be a need for ANY service members to be deployed anymore).

Some of the traditions that I love about A's family are...

Every year they receive or make a plum pudding (last year's was an authentic one shipped from A's cousin in England) complete with the flaming booze to warm it. We dim the lights and often sing a carol or two while the alcohol burns. 

Singing the Doxology before a holiday meal... We stand in a huge circle, usually around the island in his aunt's big kitchen, holding hands and singing:

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Just the experience of doing this together makes me smile from the inside out. 

Playing charades in front of the fire. It's usually truly terrible and short-lived but it's often quite comical while it lasts!

A new one we started last year that I hope catches on is a family-wide Yankee swap. The rules were it could be either something from your house that you want to pass along (ditch!) or something purchased for $15 or less. I think last year everyone passed along an item from home. It was hilarious seeing what items appeared and I can imagine that some of them will make a re-appearance this year!

It's fun to see how that traditions all weave together. We will be with A's family for Christmas Eve again this year and I'm hoping to get them to join the tradition of writing down a Christmas wish and burning it. I think they will enjoy it and so will I. 

Bubbly delight...

We don't drink soda. Okay... Well... Because we are on this no sugar diet and can't satisfy our sweet tooth with some juice or the like, we do occasionally like some diet soda to break the water monotony. 

However, I am absolutely opposed to aspartame etc and finding diet soda without it is a stretch. So we don't drink much soda...

A few months ago I was visiting my friends in Maine and B made "soda" for her girls. She carbonated some TAP water and added a little juice... And the girls thought it was a lovely treat! She used her Sodastream to do it and I have been intrigued with this gadget since then. 

A few weeks ago I finally broke down and bought one and we LOVE it! I had been buying seltzer by the case and hating all of the waste so this purchase just made sense.

It's as easy as fill the Sodastream bottle with very cold tap water (we run ours through the Brita filter container that we keep in the refrigerator), screw the bottle into the Sodastream contraption and push a button 3-5 times to "charge" the water with the CO2 cartridge, detach the bottle and pour the now-fizzy water into your glass with the flavoring of your choice. Or just enjoy fizzy water aka seltzer!

When we need some taste use a variety of sugar-free flavorings for now but we look forward to the day we can use fresh cranberry juice or orange juice or the like. We use just a splash of the flavorings now - just enough to make it taste like something other than water because we drink SOOO much water, it's nice to have a little change of pace. We aren't people that will often pour ourselves a glass of straight juice of any sort because it's often too sweet so having "bubbly juice" will be perfect! Until then, we are making do with what we've got and enjoying it!

From $20 Rummage Sale Shelf to Priceless Custom Desk!

About three years ago I spotted this shelf at a rummage sale in our home town. A gave me the "Really?" look when I insisted that we buy it (and didn't negotiate with my favorite Cornwallian Octogenarian on the price) for $20. Thankfully we had brought the truck to CT that weekend - something he curiously votes against when we are traveling if the bed is empty... he's afraid I'll fill it up. (He's not wrong...)

BEFORE - $20 Rummage Sale Shelf

So we brought this home and I had vague visions of it becoming the base for a custom-built surround for our television. But the vision was only half-baked and I won't let him start on any project until the vision is more fully formed... so it was put into the sun room and housed all manner of decor since then.

When I was pretty sure that I was going to get the new job (which I love, by the way!), I told A that I could no longer operate on the cobbled together desk (compressed wood balanced on two wire racks pushed up against a built-in desk to make a faux L-shaped desk in the smallest room in the house) and needed a proper office. Thankfully he agreed. We quickly agreed that being on the main floor in the under-utilized sun room made a lot of sense and freed up the small guest room for guests (and possibly a shoe closet for me... but that's another story...).

We spent one long afternoon searching every office store we could find looking for a desk that had a lot of desk surface but didn't cost a fortune. We struck out. So my clever husband suggested building me a desk. I love him and his craftiness! :-)

BEFORE - In desperate need of a coat of paint...

A few days later we had zeroed in on the $20 shelf as the base, purchased a large piece of beautiful birch plywood, and chosen a quart of chocolate brown paint. The project wasn't really that hard. I was in charge of painting the shelf - that was a two night project that took minimal effort on my part. A was responsible for the desktop and the assembly of the desk.

AFTER - the $20 shelf painted
chocolate brown (and loaded up...)

A spent a couple of days (between everything else he has going on) preparing the desktop. I gave him my preferred design and measurements and he took it from there. He cut it the exact shape that I wanted, rounded all of the edges and leading corners, and drilled in holes for the cords. Next he attached it to the top of the shelf and added a leg (purchased for $.25 at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore). 

Then he started the process of finishing the desk top surface which included sanding everything multiple times and then putting on a coat of urethane, more sanding, more urethane and so forth. Finally it was finished and I had to be very patient (which I learned after dragging my fingers through dry-looking-but-still-tacky urethane) and let it set for several days before I could "move on" to the surface. 

In the meantime I scoured the house (and TJ Maxx...) for various organizational bins/baskets/trays etc. I

AFTER - All in place and ready to roll!

moved in to the shelf below days before I could put anything on the surface. (Yes, Ms. Impatience asked every day "Today?" to which my very patient husband told me, "You CAN but it will probably leave marks in the surface." (His very sweet way of saying "No! Be more patient!" :-))) So I busied myself with cleaning everything in the office (there was a mildew smell that made my face itch - turns out it was in the bookshelf so I took every book out, wiped it all down and put it back - MUCH better!) and finding various decor items around the house etc. (I am sooooo drawn to the earth tones of orange, brown, green, blue etc of fall which came through in this color palette as well... Oh well!)

At last I got the go-ahead to really settle in. It was TOTALLY worth the wait though and I absolutely LOVE how it came out! The whole office is cozy and homey - everything about it makes me happy!

AFTER - The view from above (two steps up in the dining room
with my camera over my head). The brown and green thing
on the right is my new Yogibo seating which I also LOVE!

AFTER - A closer view of my finely finished desk top. LOVE IT!!!

Now when I sit down to work, I feel like a real professional! I often have to do video calls with my computer for work now and I feel great about where I'm sitting. I'm comfortable and have everything that I need within reach!

And we did the entire project for less than $100! Yahoo!