It seems like Christmas merchandising starts earlier and earlier every year….these were out in front of the grocery store in mid November. Would you pay $120 for this – it’s way too busy looking – and is that a dog in the middle?
Amazingly, there were four of these overpriced jumbo size urns and they all sold.
I made my own again this year, but I had to buy the pine boughs as we had sold mom’s house in March and I didn’t have access to her pine tree. The first thing the new owners did was cut it down, as at 25 years it had grown too big. Apparently the neighbours were happy too as now the coyotes don’t sleep under the tree on cold winter nights! A few days after, we had a howling wind storm and the urn fell over and I had to redo the whole thing – something that would never happen with those jumbo urns.
It’s been nothing but bad weather here since early November and I’m sick of winter already. And to make things worse, a polar vortex has settled in, and it feels as bitterly cold as January.
My neighbour’s urn is a thing of beauty, especially with the snow on it.
The kids are liking the snow though – the first snowman of the season.
The night of the Santa Claus parade was freezing, so it was a challenge to stand there for 40 minutes. But as the parade is just down the street, I have no excuse….plus it’s a tradition, so you just have to layer up.
My favorite is the hippo float, because the song is so silly – I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. The Grinch is popular too. They’ve been recycling the same floats for years, but you can’t go home, even if your feet are numb, until you’ve seen Santa!
Day after day of the same depressing weather makes you want to stay home and drink tea….
and read books. But it’s either feast or famine with library books – these all came in at once – but there’s no way I can read eight books in three weeks before Christmas.. So far I’ve gotten through Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets (very good), and Wellness by Nathan Hill, the December book club selection (not so good). Both were 800 plus pages in large print. I’m just starting The Widow by John Grisham which has a long waiting list.
Sometimes the best thing you can do when the weather outside is frightful is to curl up and take a catnap. This is Felix – he’s camera shy. He lives on the east coast but I will get to meet him after Christmas. If I ever got a cat I would want a tuxedo cat, as they have such character.
I’ve started my holiday baking – chocolate-peanut butter-oatmeal cookies, which I only make this time of year, because of the two cups of sugar….
I bought some new plaid Ralph Lauren kitchen towels – which are much too pretty to use! I’m going to try a new recipe this year, Pecan Christmas Cake, as my cousin gave me a sample last year and I liked it better than regular Christmas cake. I’ll be blogging about it if it turns out.
Otherwise it’s been hardy foods like beef stew which I made – it was okay – and chicken stew which I bought – which was even better – especially with sourdough bread.
Of course the best meal of all is one where you just have to show up! I’ve already had two turkey dinners, which is good because I love turkey and could eat it every week, and it’s even better if you don’t have to cook it yourself. One was my retiree Christmas party, and the other was in a restaurant which advertises the 30 days of turkey every December.
I received an early and unexpected Christmas present – an L’Occitane four-sided house advent calendar. What a pleasant surprise to find on my front doorstep, and what fun it has been to open a new window every day for 24 days. L’Occitane is a skin care company located in Provence, which sources it’s all natural ingredients locally. Everything smells lovely, and French women are known for taking good care of their skin. According to Wikipedia their manufacturing facility in Provence has 1000 employees and 3000 stores worldwide. The advent calendar has sold out online because…..
….every woman should have a chateau in the south of France! And let’s face it, this is probably as close as I’ll ever get to Provence. (I can’t wait to see what’s in the chimney on Christmas Eve!)
I’ve done some shopping….and if the weather would cooperate I could finish the rest, avoiding the weekends of course. I bought six of these cute light-up-swirling-snow cardinal lanterns for $20 each. Last year it was plaid scarfs – I’m way past the stage of trying to find the perfect present for everyone. If you don’t like it, re-gift it. There’s one for me of course, as cardinals are for remembrance.
The indoor decorating is finished as it’s been too cold and windy to walk, so at least going up and down the stairs retrieving the boxes from the basement gets some steps in.
The plaid plates were brought out for a pre-Christmas lunch – if you invite people over for food then you don’t have to go out! Restaurants are too crowded this time of year anyway.
Wishing everyone the Joy of the Season…..Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!
After an extensive grooming session, Felix is nestled all snug in his bed, with visions of seafood dancing in his head.
thehomeplaceweb 
Despite having to brave the cold, Joni, it looks like you are quite ready to make the most of the Christmas holiday season. Everything looked so cheery and cozy, even Felix.😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Eilene! One advantage of the weather is it gives you an excuse to stay home and hibernate. I try and make my house as cozy as possible. I’m not a big Christmas fan in general but I find if I concentrate on the parts I like, the food the decorations the music, I can get through it fine. Anything could be better than last year (mom died and all the estate stuff and family drama) or the year before which I spent alone recuperating from heart surgery!
LikeLiked by 1 person
About those two cups of sugar… we also throw diet caution to the wind in December. Seems it’s more about comfort food this time of year (esp. with the cold weather) than healthy eating. January and the New Year’s resolutions will come soon enough, right? Have to admit it’s nice enjoying everyone else’s snow online (instead of right outside our door), although we’re getting below-freezing temps even here in the U.S. South. No comment on “The Secret of Secrets” among your library offerings 🙂 but curious about “The Widow”. I’ll always give Grisham a try. Finally, the Christmas urns are a new decoration idea for me. Yours looks great but I had to laugh at your first paragraph in reference to the lead photo. You worded my own thoughts perfectly!
LikeLike
Thanks Dave! The regular size Christmas urns used to be $35, now they are $49, so everything has gone up in price. The hanging baskets used to be $29 too and as I usually do two, it’s a lot of money to waste on something disposable, or that money could be donated to a worthwhile cause like the Salvation Army, whose bucket is right inside the door? Woke up to a foot of snow this morning – so I am not impressed. I envy you – cold weather I can handle, but not that cold and no snow please. I see the US temps on the nightly news and yes, it is even colder down there, but not Colorado cold! I’m only about 100 pages (of 400) in with the John Grisham book – the main character is a rather unethical lawyer in desperate need of money, who has prepared a will for a rich widow. I think it’s a bit of a murder mystery too I think. John Grisham is always readable, but it’s not grabbing me as much as some of his books – probably because the character isn’t very likeable? I’ll let you know if it gets better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are in the Christmas spirit for sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to be this year – and it sure beats the past two years which were both miserable…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Joni, this is a heartwarming and uplifting post which I have enjoyed reading from beginning to end – along with looking at your lovely photographs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Anne – I do love to decorate and Christmas is a good excuse. Plus we need some cheer this time of year – woke up to a foot of snow this morning, when it was supposed to be rain. I’ve never seen such an EARLY winter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Once the weather stabilizes, I’m heading out to the woods on my property and cutting my own greens. Money seems to be tight, I can’t imagine there will be a good year for a lot of this stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good for you! I actually enjoy doing my own. I was surprised the four $120 pots sold, as things are tight and they say people are not spending as much on Christmas this year. I wonder if they were bought by businesses who can write it off as a business expense. One day, the stuff-a-bus food donations van was right beside the display – that says it all – the haves and the have-nots….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh man. What a site that must have been.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe deliberately….for a guilt trip…..but maybe not many people made the connection. It’s an expensive grocery store…..I usually go to No Frills or Food Basics one of the chain stores.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice selection of photos. We’re like you… COLD winter weather and snow is here, ice and slush. I’m done with it too, but it has only started!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it’s depressing since we’re still ten days away from the official start of winter! Maybe we’ll get a break around Christmas and have a mild January….
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would be great! I like temps between 55-68.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These are beautiful photos Joni – you captured the beauty of the festive part of the season, both inside and outside. I do like seeing the snow on the boughs – it is so pretty. I cannot believe the price of the porch pots – absolutely ridiculous. I’m wondering if that is a Samoyed in the arrangement, though I wonder why they would put it there? I’m inclined to think it is a white wolf – I Googled and white wolves are found in Alaska. I must have remembered about white wolves from all those “National Geographic” programs and magazines I was subjected to in my formative years. 🙂
I hate this weather, not just detest it, but hate it. I will not make my walking goal and I’ve only walked twice since Thanksgiving, on November 29th and December 6th. I will try to get to the Park tomorrow just to feed the critters because we are getting some horribly cold temps this weekend, in the negative numbers, with a real feel of minus 20 (typing it out so you don’t think it is a typo) on Sunday, then more snow. I got all-house insulation done in 2017 and you’d never know it – the kitchen is very cold. That is dangerously cold weather and my gutters are still not done until he says the weather moderates and that will be Christmas week. I’m sorry I whined about the heat now – I’d like it back!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought it was a Samoyed because my mother had one. It was a nice dog, but when it was a puppy it would drag you for a walk it would be going so fast. Good sled dogs! It was called Ruff, because my dad asked him what his name was, and he said Ruff! But he used to get Rufus too.
Yes, I hate the weather too…..I’ve been cooking and baking all week as I’ve been stuck indoors, but today as it was sunny and felt warmer and the roads were finally clear, I went into town and ran errands for 5 hours, so I’m beat. I did see the forecast for the weekend, esp. the overnights are brutal, but by mid-week it may be warmer. I’m glad I had the new furnace put in last fall, as it’s made a big difference. I think I’ve walked maybe once in the past week, and a very short one as I was afraid of falling on the icy patches.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Samoyeds are nice-looking dogs. Marge’s son had a Samoyed and brought it to her house sometimes and I’d see it playing in the yard, but that dog didn’t fit in with Christmas decor unless it was created for a specific person?
I finally got out for a walk to the Park today, for the first time since last Saturday and before that it was the Saturday before, the 29th of November. It was okay walking to/from the Park as that street, one over from me, is a fire lane, so it is clear the entire one-mile walk to the Park, but the Park path, as usual, was treacherous. Last week they had put salt down, which was crazy since they put so much salt that it had clumped in blue piles everywhere and I thought to myself that they’ll be replacing the pathway at this rate, then the Park will be shut down to do that. They’ve never salted before. It did no good as it’s been too cold, so I walked on the snow as much as I could, fed the critters in the usual spots and they came up to me as it had been a while. I likely won’t get back there until Wednesday or Thursday now – it’s not even Winter. It is not enjoyable to use my Plan “B” walking spot in Winter due to the cold and getting over there is navigating some ice. This brutal weather this weekend will be awful and we are having snow early tomorrow on top of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
People are nuts to spend that much money on the decoration! Your stew looks yummy and Felix is adorable!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Diane! The stew was not that good, because I dumped the leftover gravy in it and the gravy was not that good!
LikeLike
Wow, that seems like a lot for a Christmas decoration to me too! Our Christmas decorating will be on the no-frills side this year, but we do what we have time and ability to manage. I’m looking forward to a 4 day weekend which will include a big dinner with the whole family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was surprised that they all sold. There have been years when it got so late that I didn’t decorate at all, but now that I’m retired I enjoy it. Glad to hear you got some time off!
LikeLiked by 1 person