Let the decorating begin!

 Hello Everyone,

It's that time of year when the bins and tubs full of Christmas joy come out of closets, and from under the cabin so the decorating can begin.

I've been turning my pie safe/cookbook holder into a Christmas Village every year.....for years. My Fitbit logged 15 flights of stairs just bringing the houses up the stairs and out of storage. 

Notice the time on the clock in both of the pictures.  The magic didn't take place in one day from 3 to 5pm.  I finished at 5pm the next day.  First, all of the cookbooks have to be moved and stashed away behind the couch in the great room.  I always get sidetracked because I stop and flip through some of the books.  Then I sit and read them, and make note of what I want to make for the Holidays.  So, tack on an extra hour or two just to move the books. Add another hour when I make a latte and sit and read, and start menu planning.  Can you tell I'm easily distracted?

My daughter gave me "Grandma's House" a few years ago.  This is one of my favorites.  This year I decided Grandma, and that would be me, needed to have a pink Cadillac in her driveway. Not really my style as I'm more of an off-road Grammy with mud and snow tires.

I'll bet the figurine of the ring around the Christmas tree is about 30 years old....maybe older.

Putting my Christmas Village on display every year always reminds me of the days when I used to play house.  I loved to play house, and I still do.  I love unwrapping the little people that were given to me by my mother years ago.  It brings back such precious, and happy memories.

Before we moved to the cabin, my granddaughters would help me put the village out.  In the beginning they needed a step ladder.

Then they grew up, and didn't need the ladder any longer.  Now they are in college and are too busy to help out.  Sigh.  I miss that tradition of our "Village time" together.  

I know you know what a mess you create while decorating.  I had boxes and bins all over the cabin.  To make matters worse, the new table we bought last month was delivered into the middle of the mess.  I'll take pictures of our "meals on wheels" table in another post.

So to make a long story short, the other night at 3:22am to be exact, Mazie went ballistic with barking.  I was convinced that every hound of the Baskerville's was in our great room since she was making such a clatter.  I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter....credit here to Clement Moore.  Well as I sprang not to spritely, I failed to remember the floor of the great room was littered with boxes and a new table in the middle of the room.  Did I turn on a light you say?  Well, no, because I wanted to see what was outside on the deck. My shins and toes have the bruises to show my stumbling through the room to get to the sliding door and porch light.  When, what to my wondering eyes should appear.....a terrified raccoon with eyes as big as saucers wondering what was going on inside the noisy cabin!

From now until Christmas, I'm going to try to post every day.  So, check back to see what I'm up to in the days before Christmas.  I'll be posting a few recipes from all of those cookbooks.  I'll be posting pictures of my decorations, and some of our traditions.  I may sneak in a post about quilting too!

Soon,

Lynn