Okay, it cannot be Christmas season yet .. but ...

The Christmas music is playing continuously at our house! Yes, continuously. If you were to get up in the night, you will hear our stereo in our living room softly playing the carols of the season. I love this season ... I love Christmas carols! I love the memories of waking up at Grandma Nelson's house on Christmas morning! She lived in a quiet neighborhood and while I could hear the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen as she prepared Christmas dinner, I would reach over to her radio beside her bed and turn it on hoping to hear the 'sounds of the season'. I would peek out the window hoping to see a blanket of snow and would sigh .. this is what Christmas was truly about. Family .. being together .. celebrating our Savior's birth.

I'm afraid my house is somewhere between beyond Thanksgiving and almost Christmas. The tree is up .. and it's one of those great pre-lit trees that I wanted so badly for so many years! Now I'm facing the task of figuring out why some of those prelit thingy's have gone on the blink ... completely off!! Not even blinking to say they still work. They are just off -- and in the oddest places. So, I picked up two more strands of lights to somehow fill in the dark places of my tree!! It's just sitting in the living room right now -- nicely ... well, partly nicely lit!!

But, I am encouraged because up high on the ledge (we have very high ceilings so have a ledge above (on top) of the cabinets) is a Christmas village that our son-in-law, Tim, has put up. He loves Christmas more than I do (how can that be?)and I'm thrilled because I'm not necessarily the most creative person in the world by a long shot. So to have someone around who can handle all that stuff .. I can sit back and watch .. not! Even in my own house, I'll be put to work to get that tree all decorated. My very first decoration on the tree? A wonderful gift from my sister -- a 'frame' ornament with my dad's favorite photo of him and my mom! I'll admit, I have mixed emotions when I look at that photo. This is the first Christmas that they are both gone. This morning, I was driving to Walmart (and at 11:00am, no less .. not the best time to go!) and I thought on the way home, "This is my time to call Dad." I often called him as I was out running errands. I have been so busy recently that I hadn't thought too much about that until today. And there was some sadness .. but I would not wish him back.

Of course, it feels just like Christmas here in warm, sunny (not so sunny today) Florida! I left on Friday before Thanksgiving .. I came home Sunday evening to a brightly lit neighborhood except for a few houses -- and yes, ours was one of them not decorated! I was sure hoping some of the neighbors wouldn't be quite so eager to get it done so soon! But, it seems we have to do an overkill of decorations to convince ourselves that this is wintertime .. or almost anyway. The first year we lived in Florida, I finally figured out in January that Thanksgiving and Christmas had come and gone and I still wasn't sure fall had arrived!

My Christmas wreaths are by the front door. Odd place, I know. But, you see, I forgot to take them down .. good excuse, huh? So, they stayed nicely on the front door most of the year and anyone who visited our house thought I must truly have some sort of dementia not to remember what time of the year it was. Christmas in July maybe? Anyway, the wreaths are by the front door. Sandi took them down momentarily so there could be some decoration or token of the fall season on the front door. She also put out nice corn .. whatever kind it is that you use with fall decorations. That worked well until the squirrels decided that it surely must be better food than decorations. To which Tim said, "I'll get you" and screened in the front porch! The funniest thing was before he got the door on, a squirrel got in and couldn't figure out where the opening was to get out. I mean .. it's right where the door was to go but that squirrel went everywhere but out for a few minutes. Totally freaked out!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care -- well, does the back of the chimney count? Okay, makes no sense -- you have to be here to understand. The back of our chimney faces the front door -- floor to ceiling mirror with a nice mantle where the girls' stockings are hung. And an antique piano!! Now, I love that and it blocks out having to look at ourselves every time we walk in the front door! Love that especially! And it also holds the flag that was presented to me at my dad's funeral. So, there are the stockings! So many grandkids that theirs won't fit there but I'm afraid to hang them on the mantle above the fireplace. I guess I'm worried that our nice fire (in the fireplace, of course) might either melt the kids' stockings or somehow burn them up that I have to hang them on the wall. So I guess our reading/song would be that the stockings were "hung on the wall" with care. I know, not a very good songwriter am I!

So .. right now, in our living room is a tree -- prelit, mostly lit .. awaiting more lights. And a ladder! You gotta have a ladder to reach to the top of that 9 foot tree! No, I won't be on it because the first thing I would do is fall off of it! Not a very pretty picture for sure! The decorations are in the box (big box, that is) ready and waiting! There's a folding chair in the middle of the room -- wonder why that is there .. oh, I know! I wanted to sit down while trying to 'fluff' all those lower branches on my prelit / mostly lit tree! The only thing is, we didn't get the top of the tree fluffed so it's like a big blob on the top right now. And it's half lit, too! The truth is, Sandi and I got discouraged when part of the tree wouldn't light -- we just said, "We'll leave it for a while!" Not sure what we thought that would accomplish but actually, some of the lights decided to come on after they thought about it for a while. Must be a spooked tree!

I know that there are fuses somewhere on those strands of lights that are supposed to be replaced maybe -- but Tim has worked and worked on that tree and since he is in construction by trade, if he can't figure it out, I don't think anyone can. We'll just add lights! Did I already say that? :) We'll see if that does the trick!

I did put one of those cut little fiber optic trees in the front window. Or rather, on a table by the front window. I know Sandi will work on that tree because it seems to be leaning a little to one side. I tried to fix it but I think it would probably go on strike, too, so think I'll wait and let her do it!

So .. there you have it! I love Christmastime .. so glad it is here but will be really glad when the tree is all decorated, the fire is lit in the fireplace (without us having to turn the airconditioning on!) and we'll relax with a cup of hot chocolate, tea or coffee and wish the season would never end! Oh, the photo above is of Ava last Christmas!