One last look at Christmas here at the cottage. I took these photos yesterday as the sun poured into the living room – it was bitterly cold, but it was sunny.
A last look at the tree. Since we purchased it so early in the month – I think it was December 1st – it’s very dry now and it needs to go. I’ve only taken a tree down this early once before; when we were both going out of town for work. But we needed the tree in our lives earlier than usual this year and we needed the decorations and lights. And so, we’re ready to let it go.
Thank you, little tree.
Time to clean those stair risers!
I think the putz house village will remain in place for another week.
This hatbox with a putz house and pink trees was a gift from a blog reader several years ago. She made it. I’m so sorry, but I can’t remember who it was. If you’re the creator of this beautiful piece, will you let me know in the comments, so I can acknowledge you?
I added the little elf and the Vintage by Crystal ornament – On Dasher, on Dancer. (If you follow Vintage by Crystal on IG, she posted the most magical video of her two vintage trees a day or so ago, one of them German. Watch it if you can. I’ve saved it because I love it so much.)
This little display on the piano makes me smile.
We had a lovely day. We played Christmas music. We did on Christmas Eve, as well, when we danced to a favorite song as we do every year. Very romantic. Presents were lovely; we each gave each other a book and one other little present. We were on a strict budget, and you know what? It was perfect. It turns out the theme this year was music. Don gave me the first volume of Stephen Sondheim’s writings about his music – Finishing the Hat. I’ve wanted it for a long time. And I gave him Bob Dylan’s new book; The Philosophy of Modern Song. We’re at the age when we basically say: This is what I want for Christmas. It sure makes things easier. I also gave him a daily planner for 2023, something I’ve been doing for years. And he found a little wooden bird puzzle for me to put together. It’s almost impossible to do, but I will keep working at it! It’s really beautiful.
We had a lovely dinner, including biscuits, courtesy of my grandmother’s recipe. We were too full for apple pie, so we’ll dig into that today.
And then we watched White Christmas. A perfect day.
How was your Christmas, if you celebrate? I hope you were safe and sound, that you had power, that you were where you needed to be and not stranded somewhere. It was a tough Christmas for many people because of weather-related problems.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
I’m totally unsurprised to hear that you weren’t stranded somewhere… given the fact that you opted for staying at home. But I’m sure glad your power didn’t go out, which had been something I worried about.
No power outage. The lights blinked once when the wind arrived, but we are very fortunate. Never lost power. So many, many people did.
Thanks, Petra.
Stay safe.
That sounds like a lovely Christmas.
We had our children, granddaughters, and a nephew and his family, so 11 guests, on Christmas Eve. It was casual and I just fixed a couple dishes and everyone brought a dish to pass. We had way too much food and I ate too much sugar and didn’t sleep well. Christmas day was very quiet and we ate leftovers and watched A Christmas Story and A Christmas Story Christmas sequel.
Today I am ready to start putting the house back to normal. The tree will stay til Friday. I like to start the new year with a clean house in order.
The blizzard left us with alot of snow and slick roads but by Wednesday it is supposed to be above freezing and then we will have several days of 40+ degrees and rain. It will be a sloppy mess.
Take care
I’m glad you were able to be with your family, given the blizzard, Marilyn. It sounds lovely!
Stay safe.
It was lovely and peaceful Christmas spent with those I care for. It sounds like you had lovely Christmas, too.
I watched “The Bishops Wife” on Christmas Eve. I had not seen it in years. It is so clever it has laugh out loud scenes and such witty dialogue. A true joy to watch.
Take Care,
Kaye
It’s such a lovely movie, Kaye. Glad you enjoyed it!
Stay safe.
So happy to hear you had a lovely Christmas! We did, too. Our two sons and spouse, fiancé were here. Lovely dinner including lots of laughter and good cheer. And cookies…lots of homemade cookies. We also had a great FaceTime with our Edinburgh son, his wife, and in-laws who were all together. Thank goodness for FaceTime to bring us all together!
Our tree will stay up until at least Friday…as will the other Christmasy things scattered about. I guess we’ll see how we feel. Sometimes I want to start out the new year with a clean slate, and other times I don’t.
I’m curious about that puzzle Don gave you…hope pics will be coming soon? Enjoy your day! ;)
Sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas, Donnamae.
Thank goodness for FaceTime, right?
Stay safe.
I was searching and found a photo of that hatbox and Putz house on your post from December 22, 2014 and you wrote: “…the beautiful putz houses given to me by Chris”!
I am glad you and Don had such a lovely Christmas. Ours was busy, noisy, happy – I hosted family on Christmas eve (snacks and desserts) and again on Christmas day (tacos!) We had a lot of fun, sang Christmas carols, and enjoyed opening presents together. My four youngest grandchildren were bubbling with excitement! I am taking it easy today as I was worn out! But it was worth it…
Well, there have been a lot of readers with the name of Chris, so it’s still not ringing a bell, unfortunately. But thank you, Ellen. At least I know it’s someone names Chris.
Glad you had your family with you and your grandchildren!
Stay safe.
Just when I thought there were no more surprises—good or bad—for us, Mr Wizard went shopping(!) and surprised me with Christmas Jewelry! I am still stunned, for so many reasons. What a guy!
Whoo hoo! Good for Fred!
You deserve it, Shanna.
Stay safe.
I have a question for Claudia. I have read and reread To Kill A Mocking Bird.
I have taught the book. I have discussed in book clubs. What is the appeal for this book for you? Of course no real
Answer just opinion lol
Well, I can only give you a brief answer as I’ve spent the morning putting everything away which involves trips to the shed, bending over a lot to take the ornaments off the tree, etc. In other words, I’m pooped.
It’s a book written from the viewpoint of a child. The story comes from the words and memories of Scout, who comes face to face with the inequalities of the world; racism, hatred, fear, intolerance. Lee writes Scout’s story brilliantly. The picture she draws of small town Alabama is pitch perfect. Above all, it touches my heart deeply. It also breaks my heart. The ever-present guidance of Atticus; strong, loving, with a willingness to let the children feel and experience the realities of the world, rather than to overprotect them.
The characters of Atticus and Scout and Jem and Tom and Dill and Calpurnia live in my memory. They are just as vivid in my mind as when I first read the book. I’ve never read a finer novel, and I’ve read pretty much everything of note.
Stay safe.
Wow…amazing…thank you
xoxo
So good to hear you had a lovely Christmas, and are safe, snug & warm!
We had a quiet and peaceful Christmas Eve — good food, good company, good conversations punctuated with laughter, and hearts filled to the brim with love & gratitude.
I traditionally wait until after Epiphany before starting to take the tree down & put away Christmas decorations.
May the new year be filled with laughter, good health, prosperity, contentment, and all that fills you with peace & joy!
We usually do that as well, but the this year is different. I’m beginning to embrace a ‘what the year seems to dictate’ kind of attitude.
Thanks so much, Amy.
Stay safe!
We haven’t had Christmas yet. Weather kept the kids away so will open our presents sometime in the next month or two. Not much in the way of presents either.
Well, you’ll have something to look forward to! Sorry that the darned weather interfered with your Christmas!
Stay safe.
glad to hear that you and don had such a wonderful Christmas eve/day and weren’t troubled by the weather. :)
i hope everyone had a beautiful and safe Christmas.
some of my family and i went to church on Christmas eve, while others went to the church they usually attend. only times we’ve gone in the past three years have been on Christmas eve (and were among the very few who wore masks) … bittersweet.
those that could joined the rest of our family this morning for brunch and presents. also took photos, fed the birds outside , played “lava pit” (a new game made up by the four-year-old, in which we had to avoid a certain area on the living room rug) and with 100 little metal cars. also still looking for the 100th car (yet to be found, resulting in tears) …
… and tears for missing those not present, including my brother who had to work yesterday, and three of the little greats in my family and their siblings and parents were gone for being sick/hurt (fever, pink-eye and a fall against a table that led to a trip to the emergency room, sedation and a plastic surgeon repairing a split lip). more tears …
… also gratitude for my family, good times and the meaning of Christmas.
i don’t decorate much for Christmas (and not at all for other holidays). left to my own devices, i’d put away such decorations before the end of the year so i get what you’ve done with the tree. hope you and don have put up your feet and are now enjoying those new books!
hugs,
kathy
Christmas is always bittersweet for us. It’s peaceful and good, but both of us miss our parents and friends who have passed away. I miss my brother. We are very aware of their absence.
Nonetheless, we stay positive and celebrate – quietly.
Hope those that were ill are soon better!
In truth, I usually want to keep my decorations up through the New Year and beyond. But this year, we got the tree too early and it couldn’t last that long. And we’re fine about it. I’m relieved to have everything back in place. (Though I miss seeing the lights on the tree.)
Stay safe.
sometimes depression makes it tough for me (especially around the holidays) but i try to stay positive, too. there’s a lot of beauty in the world!
and i have always preferred a quiet and small celebration (of whatever) over rushing around and crowded schedules. haven’t been to a new year’s eve party in decades and won’t start that now.
thanks, claudia.
kathy
Increasingly, I prefer quiet and small, as well. And I’ve never been a New Year’s Eve party person!
xoxo
ps …
i love seeing photos of your home … so charming, cozy, comfortable. thanks for all you share!
kathy
xo
Well, maybe like a lot of people, I experienced bits/moments of Christmas I liked, and then others I did not. I was not appreciative of people in our vicinity who set off fireworks, and I mean for HOURS, during the large part of Christmas Eve evening/night; completely inappropriate in my opinion and, in our town, entirely illegal. To each his own I guess; however, if you like a QUIET and respectful Christmas holiday like I do, other than the sweet sounds of people greeting each other and maybe some Christmas music wafting out the door, these LOUD and intrusive fireworks just were NOT my scene. And of course they really upset our dog.
Then it was so hot (in the 80s) on Xmas Day that we had to run the central air conditioning for the first time in probably six weeks. We’d had the windows open for awhile, but then neighbors started up their outdoor grills from about noon-on, I think changing the menu at the last minute from turkey to burgers, I can’t breathe in that smoke due to asthma, so then we had to shut up the house again, with more a/c. (Many neighbors don’t have air conditioning in these old houses on the block, so I’m sure they didn’t want to fire up their kitchen ovens and heat the house up even more.)
The other thing really annoying is that we have a private airport about three miles from us; it’s for the rich folk and their fancy private planes in their fancy, tricked-out hangars. So, yes, they can afford to fuel up these airplanes (it is VERY expensive to do so, and they do it for FUN), some of which are ‘toys’ (vintage aircraft) and then they fly overhead, polluting the whole valley with their noise and antics, again for HOURS and I am not exaggerating when I say HOURS, with swoops and dive-bomb moves over my rooftop and, well, it’s just not how one (this one; me) envisions a Christmas Day. And I get no say-so over it; I just have to put up with it! I’ve been putting up with this for the whole of my life in this town and with that air strip. (This is a small, rural air strip with no tower and no traffic control; they endanger us!)
I told my husband this morning, “I can’t take a repeat of another Dec 24 and Dec 25 like this; next year, we need to remove ourselves from the locale; if you’re not gonna go visit your siblings out of state, then we’re…you and me…renting a motorhome and we’ll go over to the beach for three days.” We went by there this morning and it was fun to see the trailers and motorhomes lined up along the beach parkway, little Xmas trees in the windows of their rigs, and even Xmas trees alongside the outside of their parking area; I thought it was really cute, and their views were amazing: Pacific Ocean was magnificent today in Southern California with what’s called a king tide; absolutely huge waves which weren’t supposed to be over eight feet but my husband was sure he saw more than one ten-footer wave; of course lots of surfers and the weather was balmy in the low 70s. However, we’re settling in for possible rain, rest of the week.
But I was grateful to spend the holiday with my husband and dog; and, before the weekend, we’d touched bases with several friends and relatives, plus my husband played some just heartfelt (heart-tugging?) holiday music in the background on Christmas Day to drown out those darned private planes making so much noise, and the music of the carols soothed me. I feel like today-Monday was a good extension of the weekend, though, and today was really the day where I relaxed the most, but the beach does that for me. We talked to so many nice people (several travelers, on their way home to other states; stopping to watch the dramatic waves [I love that so many take their dogs with them!]) and we were gone for half the day today, visiting three different beaches, and it was also fun to see those huge waves crashing against the jetty at the marina (I love all that action!!).
Nice to think that so many local families could enjoy their day at the beach yesterday and today, if it’s what they chose; and there wasn’t a one of us, anybody with whom we spoke, that didn’t express our concern and regret for people in the rest of the U.S. who were, and are, enduring absolutely awful, killer weather with too, too much cold and ice and snow (and wind; I saw some unreal weather readings on the national TV news, like near-hurricane-force winds, and with all that cold, so inhospitable for people and I know it ruined a lot of people’s holiday plans).
I’m with you, Claudia; the tree on the front porch went down today; we left up the twinkly lights around the front door til New Year’s. I’ll take my (fake) indoor tree down tomorrow. Nice while it all lasts.
I got ‘way behind this year which made everything too busy right up to the last moment, so I’m already making notes on the calendar for 2023 Xmas of what to do differently in my time management!
What is the deal with fireworks? What possible connection to Christmas do they have? It used to be that fireworks happened on the Fourth of July. Period. That made them special. Now any holiday is an excuse to set them off. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that, Vicki. I think your idea of being at the beach on Christmas is a good one and I hope you can do that next year.
Stay safe!
Well Vicki gave me a chuckle even though I know it was not funny to her. We had a very similar Christmas Eve. I was hosting it but my daughter insisted on catering it so I would not have as much work. We have an Italian restaurant not far from us. She had everything ordered and pick up at 5:30. We just had a few family members over. I did not make any horsd’oeuvres (sp?) because I always make a lot and nobody eats them because they are ready to eat the meal. Well, as we waited for my daughter to get back with the food, everyone was getting hungry so I proceeded to put out what I had in the pantry…..nuts,
Dove chocolates, goldfish crackers, Swedish fish, York mints, cookies I had made and more. The longer we waited for our food the more we laughed about what was on my coffee table!! We ended up waiting 2 hours to get our dinner! My daughter was so upset but it was not her fault. The restaurant we ordered from was just overwhelmed and not enough help! My 8 year old grandson entertained us the whole time. He said “Nana, next time you cook!”
And of course, since it was 75 degrees, we had the door open. Fireworks going off during our dinner and scaring Gracie! We were still all thankful for what we have and just had a “different” kind of Christmas. Claudia, love that picture in your cottage. Stay warm!
Deb, you gave ME a chuckle.
What the heck is up with fireworks on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? New Year’s coming up, of course. But this is a new trend at Christmas? Wow, you had the fireworks, too. This surprises me!
Crazy isn’t it? Maybe we will see you at the beach next year in an RV!!
Enough with fireworks! They’re noisy, intrusive and they scare animals. I don’t get the fascination people have with them. Sorry that happened, Deb. I guess you’re going to be back to cooking next Christmas!
Stay safe.
You had a lovely Christmas, Claudia. We actually celebrated our Christmas today with my husband’s brother joining us. I hate to admit this but we haven’t opened our Christmas gifts yet. But anticipation is half the fun. I’m too tired tonight (entertaining is hard work) so we will have another Christmas tomorrow. Stay safe. Stay warm everybody. Hugs, Elaine
Lucky you, not to have opened your gifts yet! A delayed pleasure, Elaine.
Stay safe!
You will enjoy “Finishing the Hat.” I have that and the second volume and it’s fascinating, Sondheim’s commentary and then looking at the changes in the lyrics in the lyric sections, which are well worth reading too.
Your Christmas Eve and Day sound beautiful — the way it should be. “White Christmas” is my favorite — I’ve seen it twice this year already and will certainly watch one more time.
We had two Christmases. On Wednesday night we headed to Metro to pick up Rick’s mom, stopping for a lovely dinner in Ann Arbor on the way to get a little “us” time before the chaos kicked in. Then off to Kevin and Molly’s house for a few days. The kids were in school on Thursday so Rick, his mom and I explored his ancestors’ graves in various Detroit cemeteries, which was fun. I love a good cemetery. Then kid time. School was canceled Friday and the weather was (as you know) grim, so we just enjoyed kid time — decorating cookies with them, games and such. Our first Christmas (with them) was Christmas Eve morning and after breakfast we hit the road for home (very bad traveling but much better than the day before). Then second Christmas Eve at Rick’s and Christmas Day at my house. After getting Kitty to Rick’s brother’s yesterday we are just laying VERY low! It was good. But too much!
Happy In-Between Week, my friend. Onward!
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas, Jeanie! Now, it’s time to REST.
Stay safe!