Yesterday I hung the outdoor Christmas lights. I hung a wreath on the front door. I dragged the decoration bins in from the shed. I put up the little white tree in the living room. Don and I debated whether we should get a small real tree for the den. Today, I’m thinking no. I may just leave it at that.
I did, however, decorate the dollhouse. These are night time views, so forgive the photography no-no. I didn’t use a flash and I know they have a yellow cast. I wanted to have light shining through the windows.
I don’t have any lamps or lighting in the dollhouse yet, so I use the standing lamp that is between the dollhouse and the piano as back lighting.
I can’t remember where I got it, but Santa and his reindeer are the perfect size for a porch decoration. I may paint it red.
The tree is courtesy of Donna. It was part of the wrapping on our present. (See yesterday’s post.) I thought it looked like the perfect roof decoration.
I’ve always liked seeing a glimpse of someone’s home through cozily lit windows and doors.
I had Pandora on all day yesterday. The Christmas music selection is fabulous. I hooked my little Bose speakers up to my laptop and wonderful music filled the house. It beats digging out my Christmas CDs. Though I will eventually do that, as well.
In other news, on three separate occasions yesterday, I substituted the word ‘pianos’ for ‘potatoes.’ I’m not kidding. Don couldn’t stop laughing. What the ??? This is when I start to worry about senility. I told Don it couldn’t be that serious. Each time I said it, I knew immediately what I had done.
Please reassure me.
Happy Monday.
Claudia, the dollhouse looks wonderful and so festive. I’m glad you got out a few decorations-you should just do what feels right to you. I say piano all the time(maybe because I teach piano) ha ha! Have a great week!
Good to know it isn’t just me!
Claudia, the dollhouse looks beautiful! I want a porch so badly! I also love glimpsing into windows :) I just learned about Pandora at a friend’s house the other night. I’d never even heard of it before. They had it set up to play Christmas music on their laptop (I think it was their laptop!).
Re: the piano/potato sitaution. Join the club! I do that all the time so be forewarned that could happen in an email from me sometime, or in a coment! I also have a different problem. Sometimes my phone changes settings where it will automatically try to figure out what I’m texting and put in a word all on its own. The other night I was trying to text “Hi Honey” to one of my girls and it came out “Ignoramus”!!!!! Now I need to learn how to turn off that feature as it seems to come and go at its own will!
P.S. I just went to take Jarrett to his grooming appointment and guess what? My car is dead. Yes, that is after Saturday’s fiasco. C’est la vie, right? haha So it gets towed back to the shop today. I told them I hope they still have my old alternator that they replaced Saturday and they said, “Oh, well that was shot. There must be something else going on.” I suspect the alternator was fine all along and they just didn’t take care of what WAS the real problem :(
Hugs, Donna
Oh no! That darned car! I also suspect something wasn’t fixed correctly when you had it in over the weekend. Hmmm. Hope you get it all taken care of! xo
Oh, goodness those happy and sad faces are annoying. I will knjow not to do that aymore!
Donna
Oh no, you’re fine – at least you thought of a *word*. It’s when you go completely blank, stand there with your mouth hanging open but nothing coming out, your mind desperately searching for The Word … that’s when it’s senility. Yay for piano potatoes!
I go completely blank quite frequently, Mary!
I love the little glimpse through the front door, it’s so realistic for the first few seconds, that I was going to say, you need to calk the door.
Well re the piano potato words, at least you are getting some of them out, I usually stand there tounge tied.
Jen
Me too, Jen.
Hey, I was with my girlfriends from high school and we had the year book out and I kept calling any teachers “Dr” in stead of “Mr” so and so….what’s that about?? I am hoping it isn’t senility but just being too preoccupied too much of the time. I did not get my dollhouse out for the holidays. It is still in the craft room. Last year we had company during the holiday and I wanted to get it out for my great niece to see. Your looks so pretty peeking in the front door! Very cozy! Have a great day Claudia! ~Hugs, Patti
I have a feeling it has to do with too much going on in my brain! And not all of if good.
Confusing potatoes and pianos…how funny! Nothing to worry about, just too much on your mind I’m sure. Your dollhouse looks so beautiful in the lighting…so cozy and romantic. I really want to know who lives in that house…is it you? There’s that little glimpse of turquoise that you see from the front door…I can’t wait to see more! ;)
It’s a mini version of me, Donna.
I will be happy to reassure you. That is very tame, Claudia. I can’t remember words I’m trying to type. I mean simple words. You are probably just tired and have a lot on your mind.
The dollhouse is so cute. I love the light through the windows and doors. It’s warm and cozy.
I wouldn’t worry about not having a tree up, particularly if you have the white one and lights. I had a small white tree in the middle of the table one year, and everyone loved it. I didn’t put up our big tree. And I’m doing a different kind of tree this year, too. I used to think it was critical to do the big trees (and I love it usually), but sometimes it’s fun to take a different path. I did with the exterior decoations in St. A. this year, and I’m not sure what I think. The man who helps us with yard things and house things told me the tourists were stopping and admiring what we had done, but my verdict is still out on it for some reason. Maybe because the goat cart is still inside from the storms we had this summer. That might be the ticket.
I vote for the white tree and Christmas music and the dollhouse being decorated and lights.
XO,
Sheila
I think that is what I’m going to do, Sheila.
I love your dollhouse! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. When I was little I was always playing with my little plastic dollhouse. I loved everything miniature…no Barbies for me! Yours is so cute!
Nice to hear that you are decorating a bit. We just came back from getting our tree. It seems they go up about $10.00 every year. I wanted to get a wreath but they were half the cost of the tree! If I find time I may try to make one or just wait until next year.
Have a great day, Claudia!
XO,
Jane
I know, trees are so expensive, Jane!
Claudia I love how your little doll house is decorated! It is so sweet and festive. I’m glad you put up at least one little tree! Oh the word thingy, it’s age and menopause and just so much ‘stuff’ in our heads we get confused….nothing wrong at all…am I right ladies!!! LOL….have a good day!
hugs, Linda
Menopause is an excuse I can no longer use. Unless it still keeps going after it is officially ‘over!’
Love the dollhouse! Just darling. I often say my brain is a sponge. After over 60 years of soaking things up, the sponge is saturated. So sometimes, little things need to just drip out a bit to make room for more information. And I believe if you googled it, there is possibly a recipe somewhere out in the universe for Piano Potatoes. Or, perhaps, a fancier dish on a restaurant menu somewhere that reads “Potatoes ala Piano”. Have a great week!!
I’ve had a lot of little things drip out lately!
Hi Claudia, I think you should do what your heart desires as far as the decorating goes. Sometimes life just hits us in a way that we need to rethink how we do things. At least that is what I have found to be true in our life. The last several years have been those kind of years.
In an effort to not sound “braggy” I must admit that I am jumping up and down shouting YIPPEE and clapping my hands to see the tiny Santa and sleigh on your dollhouse porch. I tucked it into the box of crochet snowflakes that I mailed to you last Christmas, thinking that it would look so cute with the dollhouse!! I’m so excited to see it there. That just made my day! And it doesn’t bother me one tiny bit that you can’t remember where you got it.
Not remembering things…substituting words…whatever…I say it just shows you have so much on your mind.
Take care sweet friend. I love reading your blog. Rachel
Oh Rachel! Of course it was from you! My brain is like a sieve lately. Forgive me. And thank you for my dollhouse porch decoration! Now that I think of it, I have to find where I safely ‘stored’ those snowflakes!!
That is so gorgeous Claudia it makes me want to build one too.
Do it, Sue!
Your little house is so adorable dressed up for Christmas. It looks so real. Don’t worry too much about the word switch. It seems to be a part of aging and stress also contributed to it. When you can’t remember what a word means is something to worry about.
Hugs,
Laura.
Well, so far I understand the meaning of potato and piano.
I call them “man” moments rather than senility. It drives hubby crazy when I say it too :)
Hmmm…..
We are contemplating a Christmas for two. Yesterday we bought a rose hip wreath for our barn. I think we won’t do a tree this year- and are quite comfortable about this. :) But I am glad that you are decorating your mini house!
As to losing/mixing words, it agitated me greatly in my 60s. Now that I am 70 I am accepting it. I hate it when I call people (my own children!) by the wrong name though. Names are so much a part of who we are and it pains me for others to think I don’t care enough about them to get it right.
My mom used to do that, and I find myself doing it. I call my dog Scout, Meredith, which is my sister’s name. Yikes.
Potato’s Huh !!! I always say that as long as you know that you’re doing it..All is not lost…The dollhouse is adorable..I was thinking about it the other day..wondering where it was..
It’s still here, Missy. I go through periods where I work a lot on it, then I don’t touch it for a while.
Love your dollhouse, Claudia- It is absolutely gorgeous decked for the season. As far as potatoes/pianos. As long as you don’t eat a piano I think you are okay…and yes you can play the potato…with no harm. They say as long as you KNOW you screwed up you are okay-it’s when you don’t know that you don’t know that you are in trouble. xo Diana
Well, I DO know the difference between a potato and a piano. I do.
OH! Your dollhouse looks beautiful! It looks like it is all ready for the holidays.
Enjoy!
Judy
Thank you, Judy!
Oh Claudia I would love a dolls house like that – what fun you must have playing with it!
It looks so beautiful dressed for Christmas!
You’re not on your own Claudia – mixing up words – both my husband’s and son’s names begin with R and I’m always mixing them up – much to my 38y son’s quissical looks!!! He just doesn’t get it….
Joyeux Noël
Shane ♥
I used to laugh at my mom when she went down the list of kid’s names until she hit the right one. Now I do the same thing myself.
I loved the dollhouse photos.. I was thinking of getting my tree back in the living room of my dollhouse, I put it up in the attic for the summer. I got the wiring and plugs to get my lights to work in mine.. now to bug hubby to hook it up. That will be fun! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
I’m in the process of bleaching a bottle brush tree for the dollhouse living room. Not sure how I will decorate it, but surely I can think of something!
The dollhouse is looking really lovely and welcoming, what a wonderful addition the white Santa and sleigh are.
As for the word mixing up, I’m so glad to be finished with my International Relations course, I think every single time I mentioned it to someone I said INDUSTRIAL relations – and I’m not even interested in that topic! From a psycholinguistics point of view it’s interesting to analyse these mixups, it’s a ‘window into the vocabulary storage system of the brain so rather than feeling bad about it be proud you’re adding to the body of knowledge of psycholinguistics ;)
Anything for the cause, Norma!
The dollhouse looks lovely Claudia. I have been so inspired. I saw a simple dollhouse at Home Depot that was on sale for $49 and although we weren’t doing gifts this year hubs kept insisting that there would be a gift from him. So before he spent money we don’t have for something I don’t need I asked him for the dollhouse. My mind is spinning with plans. I am a really looking forward to this gift on Christmas morning. Like a little girl. Thanks for sharing your sweet house with us.
As for the word substitution, I could name a thousand instances…if only I could remember them…
Wow, Pam! I didn’t know Home Depot had dollhouses for sale! Lucky you! Will you post a photo of it on the day after Christmas? They are so, so much fun!
I absolutely love your dollhouse and it’s Christmas bits! I am quite sure that I need a dollhouse with a sweet little porch and transom over the window like yours. So, so cute! :)
I know – I wish we had a little transom window here on the real-sized cottage!
Your house looks absolutely adorable, Claudia! That last photo–the glimpse inside–is wonderful. I love trying to create photos like that, too, on my mini houses. Great job! xo Jennifer
I hope I can do more of those, Jennifer. Have to figure out the lighting!
I llove your dolll house. You know, I’ve never had a doll house. I guess it’s never too late. Maybe one day. I’ve been listening to Pandora christmas channel all day on my i-pad and little Bose speaker that I hook my i-pad too. Love it! They play all the old Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole music. It’s lovely to listen to while puttering around the house. My little pups like it too.
I love the way your dollhouse looks at night, Claudia! And those decorations are just perfect. (I would leave the Santa sleigh white…. I think it looks so YOU against the blue shutters.) Do you like to walk around your house at night and look inside? I’ve done that for so many years. It’s a strangely comforting feeling and it gives me a perspective of my own home that I otherwise don’t have. Oh! and I do that with words quite often and it really throws me for a loop!? People do laugh but I panic and think I’m losing my grasp of my language skill. Sometimes if I feel it coming on I just stop until I can grasp the correct word, but then there’s a terrible pause as if my mind is searching for a word through a vast (and aging) card catalogue. It is very unnerving!