New Post on Back Porch
But I doan. Or--I cain't.
Cain't put up our Christmas regalia yet--fer some reason, I need to wait until it be DECEMBER.
Which, in year when Thanksgivin' is early, buys me an extra week--ok, not really, but it feels that way--when thar's a whole week after Thanksgivn' afore haulin' the Christmas goodies out of the attic.
More n' more I'se rebellin' against commercial stuff--oh sure, we does treasure the goodies from past years-- I mean, I ain't puttin' a pile of manufactured goo-gaws around the house. To that end, Uncle combed the huntin' lease an' brung Aunty a heap of gorgeous coppery colored pine cones--an we's gonna use southern greens--magnolia, kumquat an' holly an such to lavish the season.
Iffin' y'all clevah -crafty folks has some ideas fer me--how to use what ya' have, use natural thangs--I'd be appreciative to learn yore thoughts.
As fer gifts. reckon it will be the same--not that ALL the gifts will be handmade or baked, but I'se totally over buyin' stuff jes' to fulfill an obligation. Iffin' it doan fit the person's personality, have some significance or is homemade from me to them, it ain't happenin'.
What about y'all? When does ya' begin to Deck yore halls? Who decks? Does ya have a deckin' party?
One more time I wanna thank each of ya fer visitin' the Porches this year--I reckon we's all rumniated this Thanksgivin' on how dear our blog folk be to us, but it doan hurt to mention it one more time durin' this Thankful Weekend.
Now, I need to get this lovelies in pots. An' think up an energetic Haiku!
23 comments:
Because Mr. Boxer and I are rarely in our house on Christmas, I stopped putting up a tree years ago. When we have the Island House for the Holidays (this year!) I put up a tree and fully decorate. BUT, not until the second weekend in December at the earliest. I am hoping for a backlash to the retailers pushing Christmas on us before we have a chance to take the Halloween pumpkins off the porch. So far, no one in my neighborhood has anything up and I'm grateful.
Hi Auntie! I'm with you and have been for a while. I hauled out some old ornaments today and rather than put up a tree, just arranged them in a bowl on the coffee table and scattered a few others around the house. We will put up some lights in the yard and that will be the extent of decorating. As for presents, small things this year with an emphasis on the Grandboy. I might have to go on a pine cone excursion around here!~ P.S. Would love to see pics of Boxie's Island House all dec'd out!
I cannot believe my eyes! Did you actually use the "moneygasm" word? You surely are very annoyed with the retailers hijacking Christmas!
Me too.
Truth is, I now dislike most all American stores since my sojourn in France. God knows everything was pricey. Too pricey in many cases. Even so, I loved the feel of the shops, the pride, knowledge and eagerness of most staff, loved the window art and in general did not feel as if I was getting sucked into mass markets of crap.
Our gift giving is usually personal and not commercial.
Here at the Pond, we rarely put our trees up before the 15th and often later as we keep our trees bright til Epiphany. Like you we decorate our home not with store bought goods but from nature. We have enough evergreens, hemlocks, pines,nandina, boxwoods, magnolias and holly bushes to make our own garlands and swags. Like every other Southern woman I know, I have a book on the classic Williamsburg decorations. This is the Deck Your Halls Bible of our culture :-) Every year I swear I will fetch home chicken wire, moss and foam to create life size angel topiaries to flank my front entry. So far it hasn't happened. I have a ginormous magnolia in my front yard so there would be plenty of material to make glossy green gowns with delicate holly sprigs scattered on the skirts .... sigh ...one year I will get this done.
PS
I love those "root beer" pansies.
S.B. and I have put up and decorated a Christmas tree every year since we've been together. It's one of the things we enjoy most about the holidays. Usually, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, because December is a busy month for him-work wise, and he's often gone for the first two to three weekends.
Fishy,
oh yes! Git them angels made--I need to see such. Wow--sounds glorious.
Moi!
Ya put up yore tree today?? Wow--pls post pics fer us'uns.
I bet'cha have little boots and stiletto ornaments, doan'cha?
I can't seem to ever get Christmas decorations up. When I have been with a woman, it gets done, usually by me and having something to do with someone else's foot and that being put down. I sort of suspect decorations are a woman's thing? So when things go up depends almost completely on a woman. As for me, the longer I don't have to do it the better. Therefore, by my part, I'm with you. If it is plainly obvious that our reasoning about our agreement isn't the same. *zzz*
Boxer-Babe!
How fabulous that this is yore year at the Island House. Please share pics wif' us'uns when ya git it decked fer Christmas.
We have never decorated afore December--an like the Boxers, rarely afore 10th. What always amazes me is how many folks doan realize that the 12 Days of Christmas is the 12 days AFTER --until the Epiphany. So, thas' why we wait to put the stuff up, so it will make it through til then.
I'se on yore page--merchants have utterly abandoned all pretense at acknowledging what the season is--gives Aunty a paroxysm--revolting. AM. OVER. IT.
Pam OKC!
I luv emphasis on GrandBoy! This will be a most special Christmas fer y'all. Best to concentrate on the miracle that this baby chile' is--we share that wonder wif' ya'.
We does put up trees. I love the smell of 'em. An' I hope ya does go foragin' fer pinecones--they add a special seasonal feel to the house.
Doom,
I s'pose thas' true of most fellas. Wif'out wimen or chillen' how much Christmas decoration would happen? An on point social observation.
I refuse to put up ANYTHING Christmas related till December!
Sadly, most of my neighbors have already "decked their halls".
I try and use natural elements, and I have a few gorgeous pine trees that help me with that, but I have to be careful; youngest has allergies. But they give me plenty of pinecones ... which I LOVE!
Normally I would bake a whole bunch, but surgery on the 14th has put a wrench in my plans! lol
It even forced me to *gah* SHOP EARLY! (NOT Black Friday ... i've been done for about 2 weeks)
Ah well .... next year! lol
Hey Blaze!!
Natural elements? Amen!!
Sorry to learn of the surgery--what WOULD ya have baked? An' ya could give me some lessons on how to git that shoppin' doen an dispatched early.
But don't take it wrong, Aunty. I love decorations and trees and such too. I... well... I'm a man. And this is one of our shames. *heads to the dog house*
Oh Doom!
No shame--no dawg house. Fellas jes' ain't usually into prettyfying thangs. Though, I has seen Uncle --wif' no promptin'--at least bring home some flowers an plop 'em in a vase.
Hey Auntie!
I started putting some knick knacks out on the 1st advent. The advents calendar is also hung. the tree will be decorated the 2nd or 3rd of advent. most items i have to put on the tree are handcrafted. the tree is mostly decorated by my sons. sometimes it's full of ornaments .. sometimes it's not .. :) depends on their mood.
Santy Claus and reindeer have been out and lit up for over 2 weeks across the street and a full set of those annoying "chasing lights" are in full chase next door, complete with 24/7 tree in living room.
No Christmas stuff till it turns December, then it comes out bit by bit.
We've always had live tree, my mother's birthday is the 18th of December, family tradition says tree gets all fancied up as part of birthday celebration. All 4 of us kids follow tree tradition still.
When I was a kid we decorated a tumble weed with colored popcorn and had a Christmas prairie chicken. Don't remember if I got a present but that's the one I remember.
Used to invite people over for Christmas. Hon made me cook buffalo wings or something. I make stuff pretty hot and the ones that survived won't come over to help any more.
Hon and I usually just give each other a hundred dollar bill and put it back in the bank.
I go help decorate the church, It's kind of a birthday present. I think it's the best idea I ever had. Then we go to relatives to eat.
Foamy!
Thas' the way--a gradual fillin' of the housewif Christmas. Advent is mah most favorite season.
I knowed yore tree would be mostly handmade--kid made goodies--meaningful tree.
Caroline!
"All four follow"--I know thas' right! GRANNY Cracker were a Christmas chile too--an' we have several family birthdays in December--so a similar process--fancied fer the birthday. But ...does ya have snow?
Curmudgy!!
Know ya have snow!! Yay! Broncos pulled it out.
Curmudgy, gracious, ya sound like Pappy Cracker who used to tell us'uns all he got fer Christmas be "an apple, an orange an' a handful of nuts". I reckon ya might put up a very fine tumbleweed in honor of yore memory. It hurts me somewhar deeper than the heart when I learn of folks wif' unhappy Christmases--hope this year is a grand one.
Well tie me to a pig and roll me in mud. Hey Auntie! I'm finer than frog hair split four ways! I,m just busier than a stump tail cow in fly time at Christmas. Sides, I'd gripe with a ham under each arm, that's why I'm the curmudgeon (some southern colloquialisms just for you)
Wow! I just looked around and noticed all the decorations were up. I am so clueless. Man I hope she never leaves me and takes all my money. (ha,ha) It would be weeks before I realized it. I better get her some Cinnabar for Christmas this year.
I think Curm just validated what Doom said. It is the women who decorate (or cause it to be done ha).
For my part, I like lights on snow. We usually get snow by the first if December. It is snowing now, and the lights I put up this past weekend while I had daylight to work in are reflecting prettily. The lights are not just for me - my next door neighbor never fails to call and thank me as soon as the lights light up that first night. Out on my corral fence they are very fun to see - a nice long run of them.
As far as the rest, we'll go cut a tree in the National Forest this weekend, maybe, but it won't go up quite yet. We just have to get it while the roads still allow us onto the mountain. Almost all the ornaments are either handmade or otherwise unique. Ours is the only tree I know that carries a porcelain warthog for Christmas, for example.
The tree is the big decoration. A couple other things go up here and there, and I always make sprays of Douglas-fir branches for outdoors. The extras of the sprays get shared around the neighborhood and given to friends.
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