CHRISTMAS DÉCOR Pt. 2

Sunday morning we put the final decorations up for this year – despite the skimpy trims this year, our home is quite festive without being kitschy with decoration overload. I like foil garland at Christmas time because it’s so bright and cheerful, but it was hard to find! Most stores didn’t even carry it (they had garish foil decorations like foil wreaths, Christmas balls, snowman faces, ect.; but NO foil garlands), and those that had wanted $10 for a measly 2 ft. long garland!; a few claimed they were bought out early – like before Thanksgiving. My husband, bless him, drove all over town and walked every store with me, and we finally found some at the Big Lots store and snapped 3 garlands up; brought them home, and put them up … waaaaaaaaaay high up ;-)

Christmas Foil Garland strung along the upper walls. Livingroom. Dining room has same set-up ... the rest of the rooms were strung with a different color and different style garland.

Christmas Foil Garland strung along the Foyer closet and upper entry arch. Back Door.

Christmas Evergreen Garland I brought from the other house; we strung it along the upper archway between kitchen and Dining room. Kitchen side.

Evergreen candle set in kitchen window. An old and dear friend gave this candle set to me about 30 years ago. I put it out every Christmas season.

Handmade plastic canvas snowflakes hung in kitchen window. I need to take these ones apart and make new ones – these are showing wear and tear. I don't have the pattern anymore, but they should be easy to replicate following the design.

Well, I better end off here tonight: gotta be up and out the door tomorrow morning bright and early, which means we gotta be in bed early tonight :-(

http://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2017/11/holiday-anticipation-in-full-swing.html

HOLIDAY ANTICIPATION IN FULL SWING

Today I started decorating the house in earnest. As soon as I finished my morning joy juice (aka coffee), I got dressed and ran into town to get some wreath trims at the $ Store:

Battery operated trimming Light Strands. Only a dollar at the $ Tree. 3 strands worked, 1 went in the garbage because the connecting wires weren’t connecting no matter how Hubs and I fiddled with it. It was a factory junker.

These little strands of lights were perfect for the wreaths: they weren’t too long, and they weren’t too short – they were just right ;-)

Breaking the glittered snowflake trims down with my handy needle-nosed snips I filched from Hubs ...

I bought these a few days ago while passing through Oregon because I knew they would look good on the wreaths. 2 bunched trims broke down into a total of 9 glittery snowflakes. Some glitter fell off while I was snipping the bunched snowflakes apart, but they were still pretty sparkly and that’s what I want … snowflakes tucked into the wreath greenery that look like they have fallen, got caught, and been kissed by a frosty breath of winter air …

GREAT deal!

And a bonus of 6 glittery branches that will look cool tucked here and there into the wreath too :-D

Then I focused on snipping these trims down ...

After the snowflakes were divided and placed by the wreaths, I flexed the needle-noses and got busy snipping these trims:

I don't know what these silvery thingees are supposed to be, but they caught my eye and I figured they'd add some pizazz to the wreaths - so I bought them.

And of course I had to have holly; even if it is silky fabric and plastic berries … and pinecones too!

Gotta have the holly at Christmas time!

Gilded pinecones for added festivity :-D

More Berry sprigs for filler ...

Then the special trims - mistletoe, 2 doves, and a cardinal on a frosted pine sprig: no snipping required for these delightful trims ;-)

Mistletoe sprigs for love, 2 Doves for devotion, and a Cardinal bird on a sprig of frosted pine simply because I miss seeing the bright and lively birds in the Winter time here. Hubs has never seen a real one, and I’m sad about that because they are really pretty – the Cardinal bird is similar in size and shape as the black hooded Blue Jay here - but bright red in Minnesota, and with a red crest instead of a black hood. The Pine Grosbeak here is considered a PNW cardinal type bird, but it really is not the same at all.

Cardinal bird.

Pine Grosbeak bird.

The Cardinal and frosted pine sprig were a clip ornament, so I left it as it was and just clipped it to a wreath. Then I pulled the florist tape off the mistletoe and divided the sprigs among the 2 wreaths:

Separating the mistletoe.

I laid the plain-jane wreaths out on the dining room table and got busy with arrangements. The wreath greenery was so thick that the trims were fine just tucked in place among the greenery covered wire branches. ((((YAY!)))) In no time at all the wreaths were strung with lights, decorated with trims, and placed on the doors :-D

MOD Lighted and trimmed Back Door Wreath. Carport. I LIKE!

MOD Lighted and trimmed Front Door Wreath. Sidewalk. I LIKE!

My wreaths were done for about $15/EA give or take, and a little elbow bending, but with all humble modesty, I do think they look better than the tacky prefab wreaths selling for $40. MPO

Lighted door wreath and lighted Front Porch Garland Swag. Looking good :-D

Next came the Front Porch Christmas Mat ...

… and the lighted Stars of David were hung outside and inside - Hubs made these a few years ago:

The largest of Bob’s Lighted Star of David stars was hung on the outer edge of the carport.

The 3 smaller lighted Stars of David were hung inside; we think they look fine.

I hope the weather holds so I can rake these fallen leaves and use them to mulch my flowerbeds and my 2 Patio Apple Trees overwinter …

Then it was time to get busy around the house – I started with the fireplace; taking down the Fall flower arrangement and putting the Christmas flower in place. This is my birth month, so I really go all out and leave everything out until after the New Year rings in. Tablecloths were hauled out and put into use (the ONLY time a tablecloth ever graces our table; LOL):

The Hanukkah Menorah up and ready to be fired up December 12th.

Poinsettia Doily I made a decade ago.

I bought this before Thanksgiving, so I am hoping it will thrive and survive through December.

The narcissus is my birth flower … and I do love them, but I prefer poinsettias through the month of December - I love these flowers but I have a hard time keeping them alive after the first 2 weeks. Come January I start checking the areas where I planted the daffodil bulbs and wait with baited breath for the first showing of the daffodil leaves ;-)

The 12 Days of Christmas tablecloth was spread on the dining table, topped with a candle centerpiece.

Festive Corner Table with Christmas Cactus: the cactus can be pretty fickle, so I am hoping it blooms by Christmas: it looks so nice with it’s pretty blossoms in full bloom.

So ... that’s how my day went today. Active; very active. Productive; gifts for everyone squirreled away. And escalating anticipation – a celebration of Yeshua’s BD as well as my own BD ;-)

Well, I better shuffle off to Buffalo and catch some ZZZ’s. We’re going to be visiting with friends and family tomorrow afternoon and I want to be sharp and attentive, so this night owl needs to hit the rack and wind down. TTYL

THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

Chapter 6: Yeshua said: “Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah (good deeds) in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you will get no reward from Elohim (your heavenly Father). So, when you do tzedakah, don't announce it with trumpets to win people's praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, that is their whole reward. But you, when you do tzedakah, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and Elohim, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.

And again, when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. I tell you, that is their only reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to Elohim in secret, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And, in praying, don't just babble on and on like the pagans, who think they will be heard better if they talk a lot. No, don't be like them, because Elohim knows what you need before you ask him.

You, therefore, should pray like this: `Our Father in heaven, hallowed (holy) be Your Name. May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day the food we need, and forgive us what we have done wrong, as we too forgive those who have wronged us; and do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One. For kingship, power, and glory are Yours forever. Amen.' For if you forgive others their offenses, Elohim will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their offenses, Elohim will not forgive yours.

Now when you fast, don't be like the hypocrites – they neglect their appearance so as to appear gloomy with disfigured faces, making a show of their fasting.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head, wash your face and groom yourself, so that no one will know you are fasting – except Elohim, Who is unseen. And Elohim, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break through or steal. For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body. So then, if you have a `good eye' (that is, if you are generous) your whole body will be full of light; but if you have an `evil eye' (if you are stingy) your whole body will be full of darkness, and how dense that darkness will be! No one can serve two two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't serve Elohei (God) and money at the same time. I say therefore, don't worry about your life, as to what you will eat or drink; or about your body, as to what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothing? Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; and yet Elohim feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are?

Now, which one of you, by worrying, can add a foot to his height? Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life? And why be anxious about clothing? Look at the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, yet I tell you that not even Shlomo (Solomon) in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. If this is how Elohim clothes grass in the field – which is green today and dry tomorrow, thrown into an oven – won't He not much more clothe you – you of so little faith? So don't be anxious, then, about what you will have to eat, and what you will have to drink, and what you will have to wear. For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things, striving hard to get them. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have its own problems. Each day has enough tsuris (troubles) of its own.”

 **Matthew 5: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2017/11/thursday-bible-study_16.html

TURKEY, CORN, and HO-HO-HO!

We were in oregon the other day and did some Christmas shopping in St. Helens on the way through; I wanted to see what their Wal*Mart has to offer … and I wasn’t disappointed. Our Wal*Mart is bigger and more modern, but theirs has more stuff to choose from in regards to holiday do-dads to break down and adorn the plain-jane wreaths I bought earlier.

Starting a Mini Santa Gift Sack Chain (no room for a tree now, and not a good idea with asthma). Got the bags done. They are small, but they’re big enough to hold things that interest a toddler ;-) I’ll get something every pay day and by this time next year the bags will be filled and strung before December 1st :-D

Wreaths & poinsettia & glittery snowflake trims; and lighted Outdoor Garland. I'll see what other trims I can find at the $ Store to flesh the wreaths out with.

I have to be careful now about what I buy for holiday decor because there isn’t much storage space in a mobile home, and we don’t have a nice roomy 2 car garage anymore either. So everything I do for the holidays will have to be rethunk and reworked to fit the life we have now, in the present. And that’s okay – challenges don’t scare me; they inspire me :-D

Well, Thanksgiving meal is over and I think I’ll just be lazy the rest of the day and conserve my energy to allow my sore lungs to heal (suffered a severe asthma attack earlier in the week) until later on in the evening when I kick into gear again and start decorating in earnest for Christmas ;-)

Turkey in the oven ...

The last of the frozen homegrown corn - what could be more Thanksgiving style than roasted ears of corn? This will be bake in foil alongside the roasting turkey.

Rain pelting down outside the kitchen window.

Giblet and neck meat stock simmering for the gravy.

This fluffy marshmallow topped Yam Bake is why this gamma is so 'fluffy'. LOL

The Thanksgiving Turkey Dish Scrubby I designed and crafted.

While the turkey baked, we started stringing the lighted garland across the front porch railing – and 2 nice surprises happened: the phone rang and a beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky:

This beautiful rainbow appeared over our area as Hubs was chatting with his granddaughter in Connecticut. Perhaps it’s a promise from Elohei to us of better days ahead. Hope so!

Yu’all have a great day today!

Enjoy the Holiday and don’t sweat the small stuff …