Hall Decking and Other Fa-La-Las

Phew! It's been a busy couple of days at my home, "Waterhouse." A whirlwind of garland-hanging and lights-stringing and pine-tree-thawing, and tree-stand-tightening.

Also head-spinning.

But, I'm making a bit of headway, I think, as well. And you know what? The great thing about taking digital photos is the ability to crop out the messy parts. You folks will never, ever know how disgusting and disorganized my house actually is right now, and--

(Oops!)

Well, okay, but you probably wouldn't have guessed, at least. Anyway, here we are in the entryway, where the Sweetie Tree has been put up...


I do this one every year, with candies and fruits and, more recently, Shiny Brites that look like toys. It's a veritable Hansel and Gretel house o' goodies. And the fact most of the goodies are rubber, well, it keeps me on my diet.

Above it, I swapped out some whiteware vases for these glittery cardboard houses...


And below? The "Land of Misfit Toys" as I call it... a mish-mosh of various flocked ornaments from around the 60s/70s. There's a turquoise Santa, and Mrs. Claus, and some small, er, elves or Clauselettes or somethin'... Plus, Santa's poodle (you don't hear much about him, he hasn't gotten his own song), and a Charlie-in-the-Box, and some teddies and a couple of keeled over sprites and smug reindeer and... well, just everybody.


Then on the sideboard is the cardboard cathedral, and the lovely candlesticks my friend Josette gave me last year, and my blue Santa from Tuesday Morning...


Just another taller view here...


Now, we step into the diningroom, and I thought you all would enjoy seeing the pink mantle tree lit!...


Oh, it just does the ol' heart good to see warm inviting lights like this on a cold evening. Makes me want to hurry home from work!...


Then, this is the first year I've also put a small tree in the diningroom window. I've tucked it on a pedestal behind the fainting sofa. Not the optimum set-up, honestly, but it doesn't look too bad here...


I still have a few ornaments to put on that white tree, believe it or not. And now, you can see this tree lit, too!


Now, I did a teeny bit of decorating in the kitchen. Like trying to figure out a way to integrate my beloved Pyrex into the holiday scheme of things...


And this is up on top of the refrigerator. The bulbs on the tree are the ones from World War II, which I got at the Christian Laymen thrift store in Greensburg. I used an apron for the tree skirt, and added fruit and fake poinsettias under the cake plate dome...


And here in the livingroom? This was my thrifted Department 56 Big Ben! At $10, I simply couldn't pass it up. I think it looks rather happy here.


And last, here is our guest of honor, the blue spruce living room tree-- our friend who had to thaw out for a day to get the ice off its branches...


He's a very well-behaved tree, so far, too. Not like last year's tree which thought it might be fun to leeeeaaaaannn when I wasn't looking, and choose its own spot in the house-- I never knew exactly what I'd be coming home to with that fellow.

And down with the lights, please??...

Ahh!

Well, I'm afraid I must run, my friends. To borrow a quote from The Princess Bride, "There's much to do, and less time to do it in."

• If you didn't get a chance to journey with me to fetch our spruce of the blue up there, click here and check out Sunday's post.

And otherwise-- I hope to see you on Sunday, friends!