Since I have no plans for Christmas this year, due to the COVID crisis, I didn't see much of a reason to decorate. It's a lot of work when I'm the only one who will see it. But, with the nice weather that continued into late November, I didn't have an excuse not to decorate outside. Exterior decorating has always been my least favorite project for a couple of reasons. Number one is the difficulty of getting cold hands to manipulate tangled wires and attach things in a way that can sustain wind, rain, and snow. Number two is really part B of number one. Securing outdoor decorations usually involves a ladder on either wet and soggy or frozen ground. Bottom line, I'm not much of an outdoorsy type.
But, nice weather and the idea that maybe some colorful lights might be nice for my neighbors to see when they look out their windows, or drive by, gave me incentive to step up and brighten my corner of a 4-way stop intersection.
I decided to start with the new balcony on the back of the house. I needed about 18' of garland and I didn't have that length in matching strands. Determined not to check the stores during this time, I went against my better judgement and ordered online. I detest looking at a screen to evaluate the quality of merchandise, and this order confirmed why. The garland was the right length. That's about all that was right about it. Skimpy on the branches and lacking in fluffiness is a kind description. At that point I made two decisions. First I would carry on, and second, I would do it with whatever I had on hand and stop when that was no longer doable.
I alternated some icicle type ornaments between the uprights and came out with a couple extra gold ones. Whew! A few strands of red beads and I had something I could deem finished.
The next part was easy. This was a wreath I had used on my front door last year.
I hung it on the garage door and walked away. I would love to put two urns where you see those circles on either side of the door, but the urns still have beautifully blooming geraniums in them and they are pretty cozy inside the garage. No other options came to mind that didn't require purchasing so I let it be.
Now for the front of the house:
Last February I came across a metal spiral at an antique mall. I bought it thinking I would find a use for it eventually.
Because my grandsons are now way past this age, and the swing is not the hit it used to be, and because it needed to be refinished if I was going to keep it, I took it down...at least for now.
The metal fleur de lis that hung above and behind it also came down...for now. It might need a little maintenance check before it goes back up, but for now this is going to be home to the metal spiral. (Long way around getting to that, but here we are.)
My brother has almost completed the refinishing of my front door. Therefore, I chose not to distract from how lovely it looks and kept the decoration there simple. I took this shot with the door standing open so there would be less glare and also because the brick mold is yet to be put back in place.
Two little garlands grouped together with a string of Tibetan bells seemed to be just enough for the door. However, the front porch needed a little balance and more color. (Careful what you wish for applies here.)
I wanted to drop a swag across the stone of the porch. The problem is I didn't have one. Sticking to my plan of only using what I have on hand, I opted to wait a few days. That's all it took!
The house two doors to the west of me, has this huge pine tree in the yard. You can see it's at least two stories high and one of the branches almost covers my next-door neighbor's yard.
Well, as luck would have it, my neighbor next door decided to change that after putting up with it for a few years. And, he chose to do it just when I needed pine boughs.
I thought I could wire them together and have the swag I needed. However, that didn't go exactly to plan. To actually get it to hang and still hold together for a month would have required some serious construction. I just wasn't up for that. So I compromised and, with a little wiring and some bricks to keep the whole thing on the ledge, I have a blanket of pine boughs stretched between the columns.
The lights are something I purchased ten years ago for an indoor tree. As you can guess, they were overpowering everything else on the tree. So that year, after the tree was fully decorated, I took them off and restrung the tree with tiny white lights.
I did use them that year on an evergreen tree I had outside next to the porch. Luckily we had a heavy snow and they looked amazing surrounded by all the white snow covered branches. From that Christmas forward they have been waiting for their next chance to shine and the COVID year happens to be their opportunity.
This should be the end of the post. I completed the outdoor decorating. Finished. Mission accomplished! But... I still had more pine branches. I might as well do something with them. The back porch seemed like the logical place.
I dug a little deeper and pulled together some things from the basement, the third floor, and the garage, and then added the pine branches.
It all looked a little lonely so I kept going.
The lovely candelabra had been hanging in the basement for a few years and this seemed like a good time to put it to use.
Technically this still qualifies as exterior decoration.
But, of course, in the process of digging though my stuff, I found some things that could not be used outdoors. Why not give the rooms on the first floor just a pinch of holiday cheer?
Simple was the goal for the interior.
The window is fairly deep so it allows for a small vignette there too.
Two burlap trees with broach ornaments rest on the other window sill overlooking the back porch. I'm thinking of wrapping some tiny presents to put under them. That's it for the kitchen.
Between the kitchen and the dining room, in what was a butler's pantry, I have a petite secretary. It's probably the most used piece of furniture in the house and I thought it deserved some attention too. Finding, refreshing and installing this little gem is quite a story in itself. If interested you can find out all about it here.
I added a few wrapped boxes that I keep from year to year thinking they might come in handy again.
As I looked out the window today (Nov. 28, 2020) I found it a little hard to believe I was actually getting ready for Christmas. The weather has been beautiful.
Just lovely Christmas decorations!!
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