It is a dark rainy morning and my mind wanders to brighter things--Christmas, and what kind of decorations I'm going to put around this year. The Christmas party for the church council is only a week and a half away, but my idea now is that less is more, and that a pretty tree in the livingroom and a topiary made with oranges and cloves on an antique platter on the new china cabinet will be enough. I like to leave room for the guests! Frankly, I don't want to use candles, or water, anywhere near the new mahogany dining room furniture when there are that many people in the house. I can't help it, I feel very protective like a new mama.
The new china cabinet arrives on Friday. No longer is the dining room going to be the gathering place for my papers and bills. My desk is moving out to a spare bedroom/home office.
I am going to get two small trees for either side of the front steps, and put white lights on them, similar to this picture. The lighted wreath is already in place on the front door. I bought a large sheer red and gold ribbon and wove it into the wreath. Another trick I have learned is to take real leaves and small bunches of dried berries or flowers and add them to an artificial wreath to make it look full and pretty. I used to think that only real greens were acceptible, but I have changed my mind. Artificial trees and wreaths are a lot prettier and better made than they used to be. With real leaves and flowers added, it comes across as just "pretty", not "fake".
This is a picture of our front door wreath in the early morning light. It happens to be raining today, so thinking of Christmas is a bit of a stretch and you'll have to use your imagination.
I have learned a few lessons about decorating for Christmas. One year I asked George to get a ladder and put a real wreath with green lights and a red bow high up on the eaves of the house over the front door. In early January, we had a hard freeze with lots of icycles, and it was far too dangerous to go up there again on a ladder to take the wreath down. I learned my lesson about ladders and icy weather. Another year, I was having a party for folks from work, and I overdecorated the house to the point that there was stuff in every room and hardly a place to put a glass. I'm holding myself back now. In my quest for simplicity, I often see homes decorated with way too many bows, ill-strung lights (we call them droopy-drawer lights), electric candles in every window, plastic poinsettias, etc. It is the time of year when we have to say "whoa" sometimes. Sometimes good taste does not come naturally to us and we have to prune ourselves into it.
So, keep it simple, and I'll see you tomorrow.
