Thanks for all your kind words & well wishes for re-entry and the other situations around here… mostly first-world problems and, well, as my husband likes to remind me:

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT

 

He shared this photo with me the other day, snapped as he arrived home from the studio (he usually walks unless the weather is bad or he's on his way to/from someplace else). I love that glow from the Garden Room right over to & on the pergola. I want more! I strung up some fairy lights in the kitchen that I'd picked up on a whim, and I soon hope to be knitting a Starry Light (Rav) or four! Soaking it up for the next few weeks as the darkness continues to grow… counting the days until it starts going the other way again. I am soaking up the lightness/light, and continuing to hope… and breathe.

Wow. That's another NaBloPoMo wrap! Once upon a time, several years ago when many other friends were still blogging and some even NaBloPoMoing along with me, my friend Terry carried that NaBloPoMo spirit through an entire year! She hasn't posted in almost 6.5 years, but she still has a blog. I'm not sure I have that in me (though it's much easier to post a photo & a short post from my phone than I remembered — all my posts from the North Shore were done that way), but I do have more to share — I never posted about the opening of Rusty's "New Island" exhibit, which we attended the night before we left to go north, nor as much as I wanted to share about that trip and what we did (those posts were short).

Maybe I'll see you tomorrow…

 

Re-entry is exactly as described. It's been 10 days since I've been to work! I'm not really complaining, as I do like to be busy, but 10 days on my own terms…

I slept like crap last night. Woke to a message from Kate warning me that the stupid new variant may affect her travel (in the form of reinstated quarantine upon return), so that's up in the air and, as you might imagine, NOT MAKING ME HAPPY. I had a great idea but am having problems ordering it for Maddy & Viv. And Ali's been dealing with a not-fun situation(s) at work, plus one of her employees had emergency surgery the other day!

Yikes!!

Rusty & I are going to a movie tonight. I can't remember the last time I was in a theater.

BELFAST.

(I even found unused gift cards in the app — from who knows when? And I am going to have a beer!)

 

The holiday wreath/decor parade continues!

Yesterday, I replaced the wreath on the fence with the twig one that I'd purchased (and forgot about) for that location. The twig wreath is much more subtle, but also looks great against the weathered wood.

The pergola location allows me to enjoy the fresh wreath so much more!

Shortly after I did the switcheroo, it started to snow.

So pretty.

My friend Peg gave me some boughs that they'd cut on their property up north, along with some dogwood branches that she found on the curb. I love how they're kind of wild and crazy on the front porch… but I had to bring in my planter to thaw overnight before sinking the branches into the dirt!

I ran across a wreath that Junah made while we were camping, and it was the perfect addition to the back door for Thanksgiving! (I love those patterned leaves.)

Holy cats, only two days to go for NaBloPoMo!! I've been a terrible blog reader and comment responder, especially since vacation, but I hope to start catching up! Thanks for reading & hanging in with me!

 

Today.

How it started:

What happened next:

Intermission:

How it's going:

That's a wrap for tree lights this year! And, yes, it does seem like I do battle with the damn lights every flippin' year… some of them, anyway. I don't know what's with the lights on the top section — they're not new, but they're whiter & brighter! It all looks more balanced in real life.

This is in preparation for another sleepover with the kiddos next weekend, and they'll help with decorations. Tomorrow, we'll pull down the boxes and I'll sort the kid-/non-kid-friendly ornaments! And I just might leave it like that until Kate arrives and she/we can finish. (But maybe not.)

Last week, I'd read about a drop-in class at a local garden center to make a succulent pinecone arrangement, and was reminded this morning. I was 50/50 on it until I got all those dead lights off and decided I needed a break! The "drop-in" part was the best! There were only a few people there when I arrived at noon, and most of them I knew! My mom's neighbor, Julie, was there with two of her daughters, her son, and a few of (her six) grandchildren — and it was her birthday! They were nearly finished with their pinecones, but she invited me to sit down, and we spent a few minutes catching up. I'm very happy with how my project turned out, but the kids' were amazing!!!

 

Today was Wreath & Swag Day!

I already hung the wreath at home that I made for myself. I'm thinking of moving it to the pergola, where last year's wreath was hung, so a) I can enjoy it more, and b) hang the twig wreath on the fence that I bought specifically for that spot… and forgot about! What a dope.

There was some running around, getting a door hanger for Ann's, but wow…

…so worth it! I love how that turned out — just the smallest hint of red, and the color of that bow is perfect!

I also picked up an inexpensive fresh swag at the grocery store for the back porch.

The pinecone wreath that my sister made for me, has been on my front door for YEARS, but it was in really bad shape, having lost pinecones here and there over the years. Some I've saved, tucking them in if I could, and I've been able to fudge it until now… it's taken a couple of bad hits over the past few weeks, and I was contemplating trashing it.

Well, on one of our hikes during our trip to the North Shore, I spotted the exact types of pinecones that I needed, and Rusty offered to gather.

I got out my glue gun and fixed it right up! The new ones look… fresher! I'm sure it won't be long before they blend right in (and maybe you can't even tell).

I had to take off the bow & the star garland that I had wrapped around it — that garland was so old, there were hardly any stars left (and most of those fell off in the unwrapping). I think I'll leave it unadorned this year.

I really don't want to, but I think I'm going to get our tree up over the weekend and wrangle with the lights. The kiddos are going to sleep over next weekend and they'll help decorate (after I organize decorations into kid-suitable and not!).