MORE THINGS TO DO - AS ALWAYS INCLUDING NEW SETUP FOR CHRISTMAS TREE AND DECORATIONS

 To pick up where I left off – 2 weeks ago – I finished my class and exams in 3 days.

We were way behind in decorating inside the house for Christmas. I used to do almost all of it, but in more recent years husband has been helping me. (“Don't climb up on that step stool, I'll put it on the tree for you.)

Our living room has changed over the past year. Back in my April 6 post I wrote about husband buying a small “big screen” TV. I was not happy about (and still am not). This involved rearranging our living room. We were careful to figure out how we would deal with our Christmas tree and decorations both in the living room and also in our dining room as a piece of furniture which used to pushed (it is on wheels) from the living room to the dining room to make room for the tree in the living room and holds a smaller tree in the living room – but could not longer be saved moved as it would be under the tree.

Moving a coffee table from the back of the living room to the dining room instead of the chest that cannot no longer be pushed there went fine. The tree went up in the new space at the back of the living room – doing well, it's working. Then we started putting the ornaments on the tree. I usually put them in a groupings – all the angels at the top of the tree, bear ornaments in one area, TV/movie characters in another area, souvenir ornaments in yet another area and so on. This was not working and we ended up just putting ornaments on the tree. We had a number of ornaments we did not put on the tree as we gave up – not enough room? A couple of days later I realized the problem – in its old location the tree used to have two “fronts”. Huh? Well the tree faced into the living room – a “front” of the tree. The side of the tree faced our entry way – another “front” of the tree. In the back of the living room it faced into the room – one “front” but two of the other sides faced side walls with no easy view of them and the last side faced the windows. Aha! There is less space for ornaments to be featured!

I have all sorts of Christmas decorations I put around the living room, kitchen and dining room – and a few I put in our entry hall. They hang from things, sit on things, etc. I started putting them out. I did okay in the kitchen – changed the decorations sitting on our window sill to the Christmas ones which belong there. Changed out some mugs from our travel mug collection for Christmas mugs.

I moved on to the dining room. I did not have the energy to put fake greens on the light fixture – so I just hung the “kissing ball” from the bottom of same. I set up the small Christmas tree we setup in there. We belong to Colonial Williamsburg and get an annual ornament from them – these go on this tree. Our dining room is decorated as a 18^th century tavern room so a tree is not really correct in there – but they are ornaments of 18^th century things. Normally this tree would go on the box wheeled from the living room, but the new plan was for it to go on the coffee table from there the main tree is now, moved into the dining room instead of the box. This went okay.

But now I started getting to figurines, stuffed animals, Christmas Lego pieces and such which would get setup in the living room – I did not have enough space for them. WHY? I realized that in the past we had two large flat surfaces for them – the coffee table (which would have been in the living room and without a tree on it) and the box pushed into the dining room (and would have the tree on it, with empty space around it). I was missing the equivalent space of the top of the box! I got most of the items out and setup on “something”. The stuffed Christmas bears still fit well on the sofa in the living room. Some large figurines (Santa, elves…) was a tight fit, but went in the area they normally do by the entrance into the living room – they stick out a bit further into “traffic” which worried my husband, but seem to be okay and have not caused any trips or falls by either of us. The Legos actually got to go on the table the TV is on – they are small enough to sit along the ends of the table and not affect watching TV.

Well, decorations are what they are for now. I will think over the problems for next year to see what/how I can improve where decorations and cut down on being upset at the changes his TV has brought.

I did not get a chance to decorate my “Teddy Bear Village” in the upstairs hall. Poor bears are still celebrating Easter! But I plan to do so during the coming weekend.

We leave our decorations for a while to enjoy them. The big items in the living room – such as the tree – will come down in mid January. I have an agreement with my husband. From mid December to mid January we decorate for Christmas. From mid January to mid December he has the room setup his loom and weave. Around then – or perhaps a little later the other Christmas will also get stored away.

For now we can sit and enjoy looking them.

Oh, I forgot our studio tree! We have a craft studio in what should be our “family room/den”. I put a small tree in the front corner of the room on a dresser (for storage) with some of the various ornaments we have made over the decades.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

I do hope that all have/are having a good holiday season!