Christmas Decorations 2022

 This year, with both girls in college, I didn't decorate as much for Christmas as I have in the past. That being said, there are things I do enjoy putting up each year. 

One of the things I put on the windows each year is the collection of window stars that I have made throughout the years. These are the stars on the dining room and living room windows. 

 

One of my favorite things is the St. Nicholas Village that I have in the dining room. A couple of the buildings belonged to my parents who had a little village set up in the living room. 

In 2018, we had a fire at our farm. The building where the majority of our bins with Christmas decorations were stored burned to the ground...and with it many of the little buildings that my parents owned. It was very disappointing. However, the following year at Christmas I was thrilled to see that I had transferred a couple of the buildings already to the basement.

So, starting in 2020 I began adding buildings and people to the village. I go to the second-hand store and look for St. Nicholas Christmas Village boxes. This year, I found a ski chalet (far left in the picture below) and a home with Christmas lights (far right in the photo above). 

This year, on September 6th, my step-father-in-law died. Two of the things we inherited were these Santa figurines. I put them on our woodstove (when we don't have fires in it) so we can see them each day.

I put the stockings that I made for each person in our family (on the left) and our dogs (on the right). As I look at the stockings, it seems really bare in comparison to past years when we had many more animals - stockings for 4 family members and 13 pets (4 dogs, 6 cats, 2 horses, and 1 hedgehog). 

Right before Thanksgiving, one of our senior dogs - Scooby - died. He was 15 (almost 16) years old. So, it's hard to see only 3 dog stockings up there.

In the family room, I have a couple of Santas. If I open them up, there are smaller Santas inside them. I don't know where I got there...maybe an antique store?

For our Christmas tree, we were given one which was nice. Normally, we go to a local Christmas tree farm and cut a tree, but it didn't work with both of the girls' schedules when they were home for Thanksgiving. 

So, I put a bunch of lights on the tree (about seven or eight strings of lights) and added a few ornaments. This is one that I got for either Sophia or Olivia when they were younger and received gifts from St. Nicholas on December 6th. 

This is another ornament from Gammelgarden Museum (a historical museum that focuses on the Swedish immigrant experience). I always thought it was a horse. It's not. It's a goat...a Yule goat.

This is one of the ornaments I inherited from my parents when they died. This one features blue jays. There are two other ornaments with birds that are commonly seen here. 

This is one of many ornaments that Sophia, Olivia, and I made when the girls were much younger when I was homeschooling them (in early elementary school age). They were clear ornaments and we put acrylic paint in them that we swirled around. The result was these marbled-looking ornaments. 

In the family room, I have the flag from my dad's burial (he was a Korean War veteran). I put little nativity figurines in front of the flag. My dad, who was a deacon later in his life, would have loved these little figurines.

I have a nativity scene in the living room. Between last year and this year, one of the kings broke (the leg came off). I need to glue on the parts I can, but it won't fix his leg completely. I have had this nativity set since the girls were little - so probably a good 20 years now.

This is the advent wreath that Sophia made last year when we went to St. Croix Falls. There was a church that was offering this free craft using wood from a tree that had fallen down about a month earlier. They provided the (fake) greenery, candles, and decorations. 

Outside, I have lights that are strung on t-posts. For the past couple of years we had smaller lights. However, they were damaged last year by an animal that chewed through the cords - a rabbit...I have no idea. At any rate, it was frustrating to have to toss the lights. I do like these, lights, though. They are colorful and festive, and they are a nice welcome home when I come home in the dark. I also like seeing all the colors reflected on the snow when I wake up in the morning and it is dark outside.

So, that's some of the Christmas decorations around our home this year. Some new...some old...and the majority attached to memories that sustain me throughout the month of December. 

Scavenger Hunt #3

This is a swap on Swap-Bot that I'm participating in that I thought looked fun. The goal is to take five photos (from a list of ten items) and give some information about them - where did I take it, is it part of a series of photos, or whatever other information that I think is interesting. 

Another option is to use old photos that I have taken. This latter option is what I chose to do. I always enjoy going through photos that I've taken and seeing if they bring me back to when I took them.

Purple

I took this photo on June 8, 2019, in Osceola, Wisconsin. The town has a committee that does floral or natural displays along the main and side streets as a way to beautify the community and drive throughout town. One of my favorite colors is purple, so this display caught my eye.

Diamonds

On June 18, 2017, Sophia (then 16 years old) completed this diamond quilt. This was, by far, her most ambitious quilt because of the cutting and layout she needed to do to create the diamond pattern. She was very happy with how it turned out.

Keyboard

I had totally forgotten about this "learn how to type" program that I had Sophia and Olivia do as part of homeschooling. Here, on April 23, 2013, Sophia is playing a game on computer using the keyboard to learn to type.

Wheels

On June 18, 2018, the propane company came out with a Bobcat to move our tank to a new location after we had a fire that burned down our hobby shed. The propane tank was about 15 feet - at the most - from it. Thankfully, our neighbor who was a retired firefighter saw the fire (we weren't home) and turned off the tank. Things could have been quite different had he not done that. 

Flags

On May 28, 2018, Memorial Day, I visited Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Someone had put a flag in front of my parents' gravestone - as they did in front of the gravestones in the entire section. I was so touched to think that someone took time out of their day to honor my dad who served in the Korean War. 

Shopping

On March 12, 2020, the shelves at Walmart were completely stripped of paper products - toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins. Other sections of the store, likewise, were bare. It made shopping for the basics quite difficult.

Mountains

For Sophia's (homeschool) high school graduation, we took a trip to Washington (state) and Alaska. This is one of the many mountain ranges in Alaska. It was such a beautiful place to visit. We went there before she graduated since the costs increase substantially in the summer there. This was taken on April 27, 2019, on the way to Girdwood, Alaska.

Boots

Of course I could have used a photo showing a normal pair of boots, but why do that when these attractive blue plastic boots were documented on June 3, 2012? Sophia, Olivia, and Colton (their cousin) went to a dairy/creamery operation. Everyone had to wear these blue boots when they went into the creamery. 

Vintage

This was one of my favorite ornaments when I was a girl. When my parents died, my sister, brother, and I went through the ornaments and I picked this one. On December 8, 2013, the little red fawn with white fur trim was on our Christmas tree. 

Glass

By far, one of my favorite places we visited when we were in Seattle, Washington, was Chihuly Garden and Glass. The glasswork there - both inside and outside - was spectacular. I especially liked this boat scene with the glass orbs in and around the boat. The black floor reflected the boat and some of the orbs. I could have spent hours there looking at all the different colors and patterns of this on exhibit alone.

Decorating for Halloween

It's that time of the year again when I pull out the bin of Halloween decorations and add some seasonal items to our home. We used to decorate the home - inside and outside - with lots of items to celebrate the holiday. I've scaled back this year since this is the first year without both girls here (they are both at college), so it is a bittersweet experience. 

Nonetheless, I did decorate our home for Halloween this year. There's a welcome sign on the gate for the holiday.

As I look at some of the Halloween items, they remind me of the girls' experiences in ceramics at the homeschool co-op they attended from Kindergarten through 12th grade. 

I put these jack-o-lanterns on the piano. It seemed fitting since both Sophia and Olivia played the piano from 3rd-12th grades. 

I chose not to put up the Halloween-themed artwork that they did throughout the years. When they move to their first apartment or home, I'll give them the art they created and they can decide what they want to do with it at that point. 

Some of the other Halloween items that we have are from my step-father-in-law who passed away last month. The trio of ghosts was something he gave to us when he went into assisted living (and eventually the connected nursing home) many years ago. I put these in the kitchen so it's the first thing we see when we walk into our home (we live in an 1890 farm home, so the main entry is a mudroom and then the kitchen).

He also gave us this Halloween train when he moved into assisted living. This year it is at the end of our dining room table so we can enjoy seeing it at every meal. 

This year there is a new addition from him - a witch with a black cat. He had that at the nursing home and we just received it when his room needed to be cleaned out after he died. I'm not sure what (if anything) is supposed to go on the platter that the witch is holding.

Also in the box of Halloween items was this string of ghosts that light up. Many of them are playing musical instruments which I love. Music has been and is such an important part of our lives, so it is quite fitting for us. The witch, dressed in white, also is from him when he moved into assisted living many years ago.  

Back in 2018, we had a fire here at our farm that burned our hobby shed where I stored some of our Halloween items. So, I purchased a few replacements - like this Halloween bunting. It is hanging right by our woodstove. It adds some color and festivity to this area.

Also by the woodstove is our Halloween tree. With its purple lights, it has become one of our favorite items. With each passing day, it is getting darker earlier so this adds a pretty glow to the room. 

The final Halloween decorations are window stars that I made. I chose purple, orange, and green. There is no black kite paper, so that color is not an option. 

This is the only window that has the stars on it this year. I could make more to decorate other windows. I have the time now in the evenings. Maybe I could make some extra ones, too, and send Sophia and Olivia a surprise Halloween package at college. 

I have not put up the Halloween lights yet - indoors or outdoors. The first step is to do the last mowing of the season and then put up t-posts before the ground freezes. Once that is done, I can put up the lights outside. Whatever lights are leftover, I use those on the windows inside the home. This is what one of the rooms looked like last year with the lights up.

This is what the string of lights along our driveway looked like last year. I also continued the string along the road for everyone to see as they drove by. 

Maybe this year I'll add some more lights to the other windows in the front of the house. It seems a bit dark in the front compared to the windows on the right side of the house.

Happiness Scavenger Hunt #1

There are three swaps on Swap-Bot that are all Happiness Scavenger Hunts. I thought it would be fun to do them since I enjoy photography and looking for things and people that make me happy is always a good thing. 

For the first Happiness Scavenger Hunt, there are six things to look for and photograph. Something that:

You think is beautiful - There are two things that I think are beautiful - one is outside and the other is inside. There was a beautiful sunset the other night. At the horizon, the sky was gold, magenta, pink, and orange. 

Higher in the sky, it was a pale lavender and shades of blue. 

Inside, there's a little Christmas village that is on our dining room bureau. Two of the buildings and some of the figurines belonged to my mom and dad. The set is the St. Nicholas Square collection that Kohls has carried for decades. When my parents died, I inherited the set. It was stored in the hobby shed when it wasn't Christmas. 

In May 2018, the hobby shed burned to the ground while we were away from the farm. I thought I had lost the Christmas village. I did, in fact, lose quite a few pieces. However, I was in the process of bringing holiday bins to the basement in January 2018 rather than putting things back in the hobby shed, and several pieces were saved because of this. 

At any rate, this year I was looking at thrift shops for St. Nicholas Square pieces and found a building (Sophia's Dance Theater) and the ice rink with movable figures. I also added a horse-drawn sled and tree that is for harvesting maple sap. 

So, this is what the little village looks like now. I like it because it reminds me of my parents and there are so many little details that make the scene a beautiful one.

Makes you smile - Sophia was home from college for Thanksgiving weekend. She makes me smile all the time. She was excited to do whatever we had planned which I enjoyed. We went to a small town event where different families and community groups decorated Christmas trees that will be up during December. The Lions were serving grilled brats and hot dogs, chips, cookies, and pop. We had a brat for lunch.

On the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, we went to another small town that had a Lighting Festival going on. A church was doing an Advent activity where you could make a wreath. Sophia sat right down and started assembling a wreath for our family. We each took a turn affixing the greenery to the tree slice. At home, there are five white candles that go in the drilled holes.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a tree farm that is about two blocks from our home. She and Olivia wanted to hide in the trees from Paige. So, there she is hiding behind a tree smiling.

Is your favorite color - My favorite color is purple (I also like green...but I think purple is my top favorite color). The traditional dress that Olivia wore for one of her senior photos is purple. It was a dress that we purchased when we adopted her in 2003 at the age of 10 months. I'm so happy that this dress still fits her and that she has this special remembrance from the country where she was born. 

  

Smells amazing - On Thanksgiving, the whole house was full of the fragrance of spices and herbs. The table had all the food on it and smelled wonderful. There was pumpkin spice bread; applesauce with ginger and cinnamon; homemade dressing with herbs from our garden (sage, rosemary, and oregano), lemon curd, Brussel sprouts with maple syrup and bacon; turkey seasoned with herbs; and more. 

You love to wear - As the weather is getting colder, I am really liking this new coat that I got a couple of months ago. It's kind of a teal/green color, is puffy, and has a hood. It's been keeping me nice and warm on these cold days...sometimes too warm. So, it should be great once the weather dips below zero.

Feels good to touch - My dogs feel good to touch. The fur on each one has a different texture - from silky smooth to fluffy to coarse. It's comforting to have each of them sit or lay by me and to be able to pet them. 

This is a picture of Cooper. He is nine years old and has kind of coarse - yet soft - hair.

This is Scooby. He's 14 and has fluffy fur.

This is Aspen and Danny. Both have very smooth, silky fur. They are the softest ones out of all the dogs and the type of fur I like to touch the most.