I got my tree up last week and I even managed to get the lights on it, all in one day. That took me a week last year. I probably could have done it even faster if I hadn't realized the tree blocked some of my favorite paintings, so I paused putting up the tree long enough to move some things around on the walls. I made sure all my snow paintings are visible and the tree doesn't block any originals, just prints.
I like a lot of lights on my tree. It's a 6' tree and I prefer between 1200 to 1500 lights on it. Last year, I only had 900 and I didn't want to go out and buy more so I made due...then after the ornaments were on it, I discovered 4 unopened strings of 100 that I'd packed away in a different box. I don't know how many strings I put on this year; I had about 16 strings but 3 were half burnt out. In the old days when our kids were little and I couldn't spring for new strings, I would have sat down and tested each and every bulb on those strings until I got them lit again but it's been a few years since my figertips could take that kind of wear. Now, the cost benefit analysis tells me it's more efficient to chuck the 50% strings and buy new. Wasteful, I know but sore fingers cost me more than a new string of lights, even these days when a string that would have been $2.99 three years ago is $7.99.
While I put up the tree at least one more string conked out but I still had plenty. I got the tree up, lit and it looked great. The next day half a string died so now I have a large dark patch on the tree but I've decided to ignore it.
Imperfection is part of the charm!
I briefly thought I'd skip the ornaments entirely this year but that was an idea that died abornin'. I've put too much into my huge collection of needlepoint ornaments not to let them see the light of day. Besides; the tree does look exponentially better when it's profusely ornamented. I like a very crowded tree. I mean, if I'm going to go to the trouble and effort of putting up decorations at all, it's silly to half ass it. Imperfection may be charming but half heartedness is not.
After Thanksgiving, there was no question that we were going to put up decorations (there's never really been a question); as we're going to host the Pivec family Christmas Eve Bash again, for the first time in 6 years. Ty and Megan are heading west, leaving the rest of us scrambling. If everyone who has said they'd come actually shows up, it will be the most people we've ever had in our house at one time. After all, the family has grown considerably in 6 years. It should be a BLAST!!
We are now two weeks from Christmas and there is simply not enough time left to do everything that everyone wants me to do. Work is still booming like crazy, which is really, really good but I'm going to have to take a few days off to do some (very little) Christmas shopping, bake the rest of my Christmas cookies, decorate the rest of my house and finish all the gifts I'm making. I'm nowhere near panicking but as I said: decisions need to be made. Before our giant Christmas Eve party, do I clean both bathrooms or just the main floor bath?
Which Christmas designs make it to the shop before the season ends? That's only a question because I've been asked to do an old design that I just love and repeat a brand new design that sold the moment it posted on instagram but I don't have time to do both. Today, I'm betting on the old design because I love it and I think it too, will sell quickly but the new design is smashing and it's actually easier to paint so...I'll see what I think tomorrow when I get back to my studio.
I could have painted them both but I've been having some fun this week. On Thursday, my sisters, Mom and I all went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see the Botticelli exhibit flown in from the Uffizi museum in Italy. It was wonderful! I love the MIA and pre-pandemic used to go at least twice a year just to wander the free galleries and be blown away by the art and the special exhibits are always worth the price of admission. The Uffizi show was no exeption: my favorite parts were the drawings that accompanied the enormous paintings. The place was packed when we went; there were tour groups, individuals, class field trips and lots of art lovers of all descriptions. We toured the Uffizi exhibit along with a large tour of (I assume ) Italians, lead by a woman loudly lecturing them (in Italian) and they hung on her every word as thought there would be a test at the end of it. Maybe they were a class. They were very intense and serious. Not at all like our little group. We love art like we love food but if you're going to hang a painting of a woman wearing a lace snood over her ears to prevent pregnancy, we're gonna make fun of it.
Friday, I spent most of the day at painting class. It was very productive and I had a good time. Saturday, my sisters and I were joined by a couple of friends and we went to an open house at a local artist's studio. We're huge fans; my sister has a couple of small originals. I'm going to save my money and buy something next year. You can't swing a dead cat in Minnesota without hitting a phenomenal artist. I love it!!
Then we went to dinner at a nifty little neighborhood place we like. It was great fun and by 8:30, I was home, in my jammies and stitching up an ornament I'm making for one of my grandkids.
It's Christmas time! Even the (very fortunately) self employed get to take some time off the smell the roses! Or look at gorgeous paintings of roses. Or paint some roses of my own. Oh wait, that's what I do at work. There's a very fine line between work and fun when you're me.
Jay's job at Christmas time is to decorate the outside of the house. It's pretty much an extension of the rest of the year, in which he plants the flowers and mows the lawn and I turn every wall of our house into a gallery wall. He does the cooking and I do the baking. It works. He's put a lovely mix of lights on the front fence, the back fence and the driveway. He filled the planters that line the deck with decorated tree tops. It all looks lovely and when the wild life in the neighborhood discovered that he'd filled all the bird feeders our back yard is so filled with cardinals, chickadees, rabbits and squirrels that it looks like a Christmas card.
Today, I got the ornaments up on my tree. It didn't take nearly as long as the lights. Two hours and I was done, and that's with taking time off the eat the delicious breakfast Jay made for me. I have decided to replace the fake pine garland I've used on my fireplace mantel for the last 25-30 years. It still looks fine but I'm tired of it. I'm going to buy a new one. After I pick it out, I'll decide whether to go with white or colored lights with it and I'll hang our Christmas stockings. I'm going to have to add a hook, as I finished stitching one for Sara this year. I'm still behind: Kitten and #6 need needlepoint stockings. Lucky for me they can't read yet or they'd know they're unrepresented on Coach and Nana's Christmas mantel.
The only reason I took time to post this today is that I'm at Zach and Sara's hanging with #6. She's getting so big and beautiful! Plus, it's nice to get away from all the work that needs doing and do something more productive, like snuggle a baby. As I type, she's sleeping in the autorocker next to me. I don't know what it's actually called but I wish they'd existed when my kids were little. It would have made life a bit easier.
I mixed up Orange meltaways before I left home. I'll bake them when I return. I may mix up some chocolate crinkle cookies this evening, too. They need to be refrigerated over night, so I can bake them tomorrow. Then I have to do chocolate mint cookies, snickerdoodles, ginger snaps (we ate the first batch at Thanksgiving) sugar cookies and if I feel really ambitious, I could do Russian tea cakes.
Or not.
I'm a firm believer in not doing anything that I find stressful at the Holidays; if I don't want to shop, bake or clean, I don't.
Happy Advent!!