Because I’m tucked into my chair covered by a throw – and I’m feeling lazy – today’s photos are taken from my sitting position. “Corners of the den that I can see from my chair.”

To my left, pointing up.

To my right. (You’ve seen this view before.)

Well, it’s Friday. Things are heating up in the House. Emails, files…I sense the beginning of the end. That’s all I’ll say for now because I’ve learned that predicting the timing of anything that has to do with that piece of ___ is impossible. But you’d better believe I’m reading those emails.

I did end up ordering a jigsaw puzzle and it arrived yesterday. I haven’t unboxed it yet, but it’s another by Lawrence King – The Romantics. I’m really looking forward to hauling out the big wooden board (stored upstairs) and opening that box.

Let’s talk Christmas Trees. If you celebrate, when do you usually put yours up? Is it real or artificial? Is it tall or tabletop? White or Green (or any other color)?

My answers. We have opted for a real tree again and we always get ours from our local nursery. And we always choose a Noble Fir because we (well really, I) like the strength of the branches. I also put up at least one tabletop tree in white. One Christmas we only used a large white tabletop tree and passed on a real tree. But that was because Don was going to be working in California on Christmas, so simpler seemed better. We visit our local nursery during the first week of December and that’s when we get the tree. We keep it up as long as possible, sometimes into the second week of January.

That little white tree that sat on the table next to my chair last year is going to be the first decoration. Maybe the weekend of my birthday?

I would love a vintage feather tree to keep up all year round. I’d decorate it with seasonal ornaments.

Let me know your traditions, my friends.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

It’s been windy and rainy and extremely cold here, which means I haven’t been motivated to take a picture. Hence, Ruby and Dexter taken in my temporary accommodations in New Jersey.

I’ve moved all the porch plants together, placing them on the floor in a more sheltered area. So far, they’re surviving and it went down to 27 degrees the other night. I haven’t been bringing them inside. I’m just not up for it, mostly because I know it’s almost mid-November and we live in the Northeast/Hudson Valley and it’s not going to get much warmer. BUT, I still water them and hope they’ll survive a bit longer. Such a strange time of year, this is. Hanging on to the summer but knowing what’s on the horizon.

The other day, I said to Don, “It looks bleak out there.” As I glance out the window at this moment, it still looks bleak.

My birthday is in a little over a week and I realize that I’ve rarely had a sunny birthday. It’s almost always cold, the trees are bare, it’s not quite the Christmas season yet, so there are no decorations or lights. It’s just what comes with being a late November baby. I think my few sunny birthdays occurred when we were living in San Diego. Of course, my beautiful husband will make the day feel  sunny, bless him.

Still having problems getting into a book. I think the universe is telling me that it’s time to start a jigsaw puzzle. Working on a puzzle makes gray wintry days much easier to handle.

I might start adding the pastel Christmas trees to the doll cubbies soon. That way I can get a wee view of Christmas from my chair here in the den.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Everything else that thrived in the gardens is dying or dead, but the pansies are thriving. They love the cold weather. They really bookend my season of gardening –  they’re the first plants I potted in early spring and the last plants standing. (The porch plants are kind of hanging in there, but we’re due for some cold nights. At some point, I’ll have to let them go.)

I have to take a day away from the news today. I can feel my anger boiling just beneath the surface and I want and need calm and peace. I also feel like I’m entering a “hard to concentrate on reading” period. I have the new mystery from Elizabeth George on loan from the library. I just can’t get into it. I pulled out a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude  that I had on my shelves (I’ve never read it) and I’m hoping I can lose myself it. I do have the newest Louise Penny but I always, always hold off on reading it. I suspect I’ll crack it open in January.

The skies are gray, it’s raining off and on. Most of the trees have lost their leaves, save for the oaks and the crabapples. It looks bleak out there. This is the time – from here on through the winter – when I have to be on guard. I don’t want to sink into a mild depression. Thanksgiving and my birthday and Christmas will get me through the next couple of months, but what follows will be the hard part. I did play some Christmas music the other day. Don was out and about and I thought “Darn it! I’m going to listen to some Christmas music! I don’t care if it’s early November.”  I’m aching to decorate but it’s too early.

We almost decided to buy a faux Christmas tree this year. Surprisingly, I was the one pushing it. I felt we would save money in the long run (and we would.) We could set it up earlier and keep it up longer. Don was just about to go along with it when he said “That isn’t who we are. We love picking out a tree and bringing it home. We love the fact that every year the tree we choose is unique. What are we thinking??”

He’s right. We don’t really exchange gifts anymore – the tree is our joint gift.

So for now, we’ll get another real tree. I suppose we’ll keep on doing that until it becomes harder to deal with it all.

That means no tree until the first week of December, which really isn’t all that far off.

I’ll set up my little white tree at some point in November. Maybe on my birthday? That would be nice present to myself!

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.