GARLAND TIME WITH HANGING OF THE GREENS and DISPLAYING THE NATIVITY SCENE

THE HANGING OF THE GREENS.  GARLAND IS GOING UP IN THE HOUSE.  Sunday, garland went up around the dining room chandy, in the living room on the door casing and above the kitchen windows.  Tis GREEN around here.  Last week, greenery went above the living room windows.  A large wreath was hung on the bedroom door.  I think it's beginning to look like CHRISTMAS.

The garland glitters some.  Liking the results so much in our tiny COTTAGE.

As for hanging greenery above the Kitchen windows and the doorway, I bought really cheap imitation Dollar General command hooks and they are not holding up very well, so when we journey next to Topeka, I'll purchase some real command hooks replacing the imitation ones. The greenery has fallen down so back up it will go on the door casing this week.  I may wind the greener y around a spring rod like I did last year.  It stood the test of time.  grins.  

TIP.  DG's brown paper for wrapping mailing boxes in isn't as thick as what I have bought from Hobby Lobby.  The mailing tape is thinner also.  Little inconveniences until assembling mail boxes to go than it can be very annoying especially when in a hurry.
  

NATIVITY SCENE.  The NATIVITY SCENE is displayed on the walnut chest in the Living room. Each year, there is a sense of satisfaction when I display my Nativity Scene.  Of all the Christmas decorating, this means so much to me next to having a decorated Christmas Tree indoors.  The Nativity pulls me in to remember Jesus is the reason for the season.  All the hustle and bustle can slow down and be still.

Gazing at the scene warms my heart.  I have a very good view of it from across the Living room as I sit in my blue wing chair.

After the TV and buffet disappear from the living room, then a CHRISTMAS TREE will pop up to be decorated.  Praise the LORD.  Let it be soon.  

CHRISTMAS CARDS will go out, I may do some baking and making some sweets...then the SEASON will be slower paced to where I can sit and listen to Bing Crosby dreaming of a WHITE CHRISTMAS.  All those neat CHRISTMAS songs will be listened to as I drift off into a calm state.

TODAY IS MONDAY.  Plans for the day are flexible.  Laundry to be folded and put away.  More done. Some phone calls to make.  Hair shampooed and styled.  Storage boxes to the cellar.  Some messes to deal with.  Christmas letter to write.  Hopefully an afternoon walk around the track. Go shopping for goodies for Mom.  Bills to write out.  Boxing up items in one bedroom as preparations for moving the furniture.  Anything else needed.  Wrapping the front porch columns with greenery and lights?  Hope so.  The month will get away from me.      

Thinking about the yearly trip to Topeka to view Potwin Place's Christmas decorations.  It can't have been a year already that we looked at the lights, but it has.  I drove the neighborhood twice in the cold weather admiring the houses last year.  Here it is time to do it again.

I need to make a drive around the small communities here to see the decorations and lights.  I'll be on the hunt for a live Nativity Scene. 

God bless you and yours,

~d🎄🤶

THE SEASON HAS STARTED BY THE HANGING OF THE GREENS and CHRISTMAS WREATHS

THIS MORNING I WOKE BEFORE 5 AM.  One of those mornings when the bladder is my alarm clock.  Instead of going back to bed, I turned the living room lamp on and starting figuring what I needed to do today and then did some paperwork.

Much to do.  It's suppose to rain today on the prairie.  Not sure I will get my walk in.  If not, I can do other things. 

 

We hung greenery above the living room windows.  That little splash of green with pinecones up there makes me feel good looking at it as I sit in my chair.  This was the first of the hanging of the greens in our tiny COTTAGE.

We have 4 windows in the living room.  All of them have greenery above them now.  I had two longer garlands that I bought at a designer store two years ago that Hubby cut in half making 4 smaller garland.  It was a perfect fit and I am so very pleased with the outcome.

We are very cramped for space.  Later the TV will be moved to one of the bedrooms making a TV room out of it and freeing up the living room space, but until we morph to this, the TV is in front of the bay window.  That black box will journey out of here soon.  The sooner the better.  I can't wait, but have to.  When it finally happens, I will consider this a milestone considering what it took to get to that place in time.

Wreaths were placed on the front doors.  

Some wreaths we had in storage were hung.  No bows on them.  Just basic green wreaths.  I wanted to go simple this year so this is fine.  If I change my mind, I can add some ribbon later, but for now we have Christmas wreaths on the doors!  This is usually the first thing I do to start the Christmas Holiday Season decorating.  Tis done.  The season has started.

On the outside of the COTTAGE, the wreaths are hung.  On the inside, the greens are hung above windows, pictures, mirrors, and on furniture.  The NATIVITY SCENE is displayed.  A Christmas tree put up.   

This year the Christmas Tree will not be put up until we have shuffled the rooms.  I so hope we will get to this by next week.

Because we had just moved into the Cottage last Christmas, we did not have a tree.  Instead we hung a spring rod wrapped in greenery on the door casing between the living room and the dining room.  I think we may do this again as it is the simpliest thing I can do to have some Holiday decorating without a tree.

The front porch urns have been stripped of their pumpkin signs and are barren waiting for something else to go in them.  I hope that we can wrap the porch columns and across the front of the porch with greenery and twinkle lights this Christmas.  

Friday, I'd like to put the NATIVITY SCENE out on the antique walnut chest that sits in the living room.

The decorating for Christmas will be one piece at time.  Deliberately slow because the cellar that holds the decor is being rearranged for now.  Hubby has made great headway on it.  We have 5 monster storage racks that were in the SHE SHED that are now relocated to the cellar minus one that went to the garage.  When he gets the rearranging finished, it will be easy to reach the Nativity Scene.

I have to thin the decor out as we have more in a storage unit that needs reunited with the rest of it in the cellar.  I believe I can do the thinning now and let much go as I have preached about it. For now I want to keep my Nativity Scenes, greenery garland, Christmas faux trees, red and gold Christmas tree decorations, faux wreaths, lights, Pipka Santas, Santa collection, Nutcracker collection, acrylic snowflakes.

Not sure when I will get to the thinning out.  Not sure at all, but have it on the back burner of my mind.

Downsizing from the big house is still goin on.  It's been a process.  A slow one.

I managed to organize my kitchen fridge.  Did some shuffling and placing the fruits and veggies back in it as they were in a different fridge in the utility room.  Trying like heck to have a fridge that looks prestine.  Can I do this?  It doesn't look like a book cover, vlogger or a Kardashian fridge.  I will probably NEVER have one of these and that's fine.  The main thing is that the fridge is clean and orderly.

The utility fridge will be wiped down and turned into a freezer filled with our meats.  The small freezer on the bottom of the Kitchen fridge will hold frozen fruits and vegetables plus ice cream and ice.  A good place to get organized and hopefully stay very neat.  Orderly for the HOMEMAKER in me.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  A dinner meal will be picked up from the Community Thanksgiving Dinner that the local churches are hosting.  This year, this is the way I have chosen to celebrate the Thanksgiving meal because we are alone this Thanksgiving without our children and loved ones about.  I need a super easy Thanksgiving as I am truly worn out on living in a messy house being remodeled.  I am THANKFUL for so much that I will focus on this...this year.

I am making plans on the year 2025.  Lord willing we will get there.  As we inch along, I mustn't stop being active in the community.  

Blessings to you and may you have a wonderful THANKSGIVING day.  GOD richly bless you,

~d