Falalalala

I am that neighbour. I’m the one who is out in the middle of a snowstorm putting up her garland and bows. In November. I will judge your decorations if you ever get around to them. Slacker. They will likely not be real as mine are and I will feel superior. Never mind that my real boxwood were leftovers from my company party – they still count as better. I’m really happy with the way it turned out – looks very classic and festive. Now, all I have to do is finish raking the leaves and it will look like Christmas. Or I can wait until spring for that.

Why are those eco-lightbulbs so ugly looking? I should mention this to Al Gore.

Inside, I am pretty pleased as well. I only have one box of decorations that is filled with hand-me-downs and garage sale finds. But with these small bits I have managed to make it beautiful in here. It’s all about the bows this year – I put bows on everything. I considered putting some on the kitchen taps, but that seemed weird.

I have an old tree stand that I bargained to get for 25 cents at a garage sale. This is what I was relying on to support my Christmas tree. I went to Ikea for their famous $20 tree (with a rebate for the New Year) and spent 5 minutes pretending to really evaluate the needles and the trunk thickness before I just grabbed the one that was closest to my car and was the least dead.

I would just like to take a moment to praise my little Mazda hatchback. Not only did this tree fit in easily, it has also managed to tote a regulation size surfboard, 18 boxes of 8’ feathers (what sort of bird are they from??), 125 throw pillows, and 4 chandeliers. Remarkable.

Hoisting the tree from the car, through the house and into the sturdy stand was challenging and I’m not sure if the stand screws are meant to go right into the tree, but it seemed to work out. If you look from the back, it’s a little tilted, but who looks from the back?

I learned this weekend that the rule for Christmas tree lights is to have 100 lights for every foot of tree height plus 10% extra. So, I should have had about 660 lights. I only had 400 and I think it was ok. I went with a blue and green theme that started when I found these really beautiful ornaments at a bazaar – they’re such an unusual shade of green.

The navy ones I bought looked a little black – like Tim Burton’s Christmas tree. But, I like the effect.

Aren’t these Christmas cards perfect for me? I’m pretty sure they fashioned her after my Saturday afternoon errand routine. Even with the long strides and sunglasses!