... and going straight to Christmas! We don't do Thanksgiving decorations. Thanksgiving is more for food and family - and besides the fact that pumpkins can be used for Thanksgiving too (I like pumpkins!), turkeys are not that cute.
So today I took down what was still up for Halloween (bats, pumpkins, and holiday elves), and started putting up Santas, reindeer, stockings, and other Christmasy items.
We usually get our tree the day after Thanksgiving. We like the Douglas Fir or the Frasier Fir and used to get a 10ft live tree each year. Since we're retired and the kids aren't always around to help, we now get a 6ft one. We tried to go from a real tree to a an artificial one the first year of retirement, but it was a 'no go'... just didn't feel right (or smell right).
Besides, the cats (who were always 'inside only' cats), LOVED the real tree. They would climb up it, lie under it, play with the ornaments, etc. It was a real treat for them. Sometimes a mess for us when they took a whole string of lights down... but that was OK. We didn't mind.
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| Ghost in Christmas tree |
Not much else to say. Thanksgiving is this week, so food and family are on the agenda. Since I'm not cooking this year, we will buy some turkey to share with the ferals... and I will report more on Thanksgiving next week. But in the meantime, I do wish you all a
(You may have to click twice to get the video to come up...
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I decorated for Christmas quite early this year, a couple of weekends ago (I'm in Canada, Thanksgiving was in October). I used to wait until December 1st, then it was the first Sunday in Advent, now...LOL. I don't put out a lot, though; I donated most of my holiday decorations a few years ago. But it's nice and cosy to have the warm white mini-LED light strings around the living area, especially since it gets dark so early.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving; enjoy your Christmas decorating!
Thanks, Kim. Christmas is a cozy decorating time... it always looks so bare after the holidays when the tree and the decorations come down...
DeleteWe don't celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving here. And I do minimal decorating for Christmas. I so agree with you about the 'scent' of a real tree.
ReplyDeleteI so relate to that ginger cat (but fortunately always have lots of books around me).
I hope that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
EC, we love the scent of a real tree! And it's strange, since we get our tree the day after Thanksgiving and don't take it down until after New Years, we can always tell when the time is getting close as the tree gives off it's scent towards the end... even if the needles haven't fallen yet.
DeleteI love to see the possum plumping up. I think I'd name him/her "Lumpy" if a name was needed. And I did watch that series and enjoyed it very much. You are a good friend, Rian, and I truly love to see a post from you, like a message from a dear friend. Oh wait, you ARE! :-)
ReplyDeleteHe is getting to be a porky little fellow, DJan. We can call him Lumpy if you like. And I do consider you a dear friend also, DJan... and look forward to your posts and comments.
DeleteI watched From Scratch and enjoyed it very much although it was a tear jerker, especially at the end. But I don't mind that. I don't do much in the way of decorating for holidays, but I do like my Santa collection and my Snowflake Bentley pewter snowflakes to put out -- not until after Thanksgiving though! Happy Thanksgiving Day to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed "From Scratch", Olga. It was sad, but not overly so. There aren't many that I really enjoy... some, but not many. Putting out your Santa collection and your Snowflakes gets to be a tradition... and that's a good thing. It not only creates, but brings back memories.
DeleteI'm impressed your ferals only took down some ornaments. Minnie took down my whole tree so I had to give up on decorations. Thank you for the fireplace fix. I sure do miss the one I had in Florida. What a calming, comforting effect they have on a human.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the possum is bringing the whole family.
The inside cats ((guess they were feral babies when we took them in as kittens) used to take down the ornaments and occasionally a whole string of lights, but never the whole tree (our trees were big!). And yes, I love the fireplace. It does have a warm comforting effect on me. Sometimes we get more possums - but this little one has made himself at home.
DeleteI love the photo of Ghost in the Christmas tree! I used to tie the tree to the ceiling when there were several cats because they would strip the tree and even knock it over. I changed over to an artificial tree several years ago, and now I've gone to a smaller tree that I set up on a table in front of the window. Saku likes to lie underneath it but he leaves the ornaments be (mostly).
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mae, it's funny because we didn't see the cats playing with toys much during the day (unless we played with them). But they must have played at night as we'd find ornaments all over the house in the morning. The only thing we did to prevent breakage was put the old family 'glass ornaments' up high and the unbreakables down low... so the swatting at them from under the tree was OK.
DeleteRian I love your fireplace! And the pics I've seen of your kitchen, you have a lovely home. It's nice seeing that possum too, you sure have a way with critters! Hope your Thanksgiving is a loving & peaceful one.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dug. Our home is almost 40 years old... but it is comfortable. I'm into comfortable and cozy and tend to like the 'lived-in' look, so having cats and kids' toys and books about work for me. And I love my fireplace too. It helps keep this ol' lady's body warm.
DeleteSkipping Thanksgiving seems wise to me. But then, I'm no longer in charge.
ReplyDeleteWe're not skipping it entirely. I've simply passed the tradition of having it here every year on to the kids... And I imagine that your place will do a Thanksgiving dinner for all of you?
DeleteMy daughter has hosted for many years, but due to circumstances beyond control - it's me this year!
ReplyDeletePossums are precious and we love ours as they are supposed tokeep the tick population down. We will decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Not much. Just the tree and some mantles stuff and a wreathe for the door.
ReplyDeleteWe like our little possums too, Tabor.
DeleteI've taken down the pumpkins and replaced with Christmas nutcrackers and elves. That is one fat little possum, we have two that live in the woods, and visit daily to see what goodies we have left .
ReplyDeleteNothing more cozy that reading by a fireplace,,,,,enjoy sweet friend.
Hugs,
Jo
Yes, Christmas is now closing in... and will be here before we know it. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, Jo. Spent most of my day today reading or sleeping by the fireplace.
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