Wreath

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we turn our thoughts to Christmas. I guess. I'm not a big holiday person. It would not be fair to say that I hate the holidays, but I really don't get whipped into a frenzy by any of it. Perhaps my emotional/nostalgometer is simply turned down a notch or two lower than other people's. Beyond the bizarre behavior of people standing in line for better than 12 hours to save a little money on stuff they probably don't need are the hyperdecorators in my neighborhood. They really got rolling this weekend. My across-the-street neighbor actually got out the ladder today and put up some of his lights, which are now lit. It's the 30th of November. It's RAINING. It's dangerous--never mind the wet, slippery ladder--but let's consider the 15 amps that the outside socket pulls. We drove to dinner last night, and coming home in the dark, it seems that roughly one in 10 of our neighbors has put up lights and action figures and blow-up stuff already. That will increase to about 4 in 5. I don't really get it--we did the outside lights last year, and they seemed nice enough, but a lot of work for something that wasn't that satisfying.

There are two things I'd like this year, aside from our old faithful Christmas tree and the various bulbs I've been forcing: a large, really nice fresh wreath, and a garland of shells for the mantelpiece. I like this garland--it's featured in the latest issue of Tradional Home. I'm sending away for the shells and I'm going to see what I can whip up. I'll show you pictures as I do it. Of course, since I have final exams the next two weekends in a row, it's going to be tricky to get done.

Speaking of wreathes, here's the wreath from Dorothy's Garden. The year goes under my initials, but why tempt fate and put a particular year in, just in case I lose interest and don't finish this until 2022?

And here's Pink, who as always, is doing his best to help me decorate. "Mom, instead of stringing cranberries, let's string doots this year, and hang them on the tree!"