In an Octopus' Parlor

"I'd like to be...
Under the sea
In an octopus' parlor
On a tree..."

Okay, so maybe that's not quite how the lyrics go. But the humorous little aquatic themed Christmas tree I put together for my Dad did add a splash of festive color to the Pop's apartment at assisted living.


Since retirement, Dad has studied the sounds underwater creatures make. When you hear the recordings he's done with the hydrophone (underwater microphone/recorder), you'd be surprised how noisy it can be under the deep. Clicks, crackles, groans and boops are normal discourse down there.

So I thought Dad might enjoy a little bit of the tropics up here. Though he insists the fish typically don't wear earrings and carry handbags...

The ornaments came from Target, and as soon as I saw them I knew what I had to do.

Jaws might have turned out a bit different if the lead shark were wearing a hula skirt, hat and carrying a beach bag...
Still, this flamingo better look out if the underwater buffet isn't replenished by the cabana boys quickly enough.
I particularly couldn't resist choosing the crazy blue tree. I figure, if you're going to have an underwater Christmas, you might as well do it up right!

Anyway, that's all there is for today. I hope you'll join me on Wednesday for our next exciting blog post o' decorative and thrifty treasures.

Aloha!

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!

Oh, Christmas Tree-- Plus a Thrift Store Side Trip

I'd hoped to have some more decorating photos for you today, but I think I'll have to move that to Wednesday's post. Recent snowy, icy weather meant that the annual Christmas Tree Fetching trip brought a very lovely tree-- pre-decorated with a serious layer of ice. And since our little blue spruce buddy had to thaw out overnight in the kitchen, the guest of honor hasn't been trimmed yet. Nope, he's sitting in a bucket, dripping quietly and waiting for his moment of splendor.

That said, I thought you might enjoy journeying with me into our winter wonderland!


Blue skies and white snow made for some particularly splendiforous photos out the ol' car window. Don't mind the windshield streaks... it was a bit sloppy out, but lovely all the way...


Icy roads made the trip to the Christmas tree farm a bit slow going, but with the bright sun hitting the glistening trees, a longer trip meant more time to take photos...


Are those rays of sun, or streaks from the windshield wipers? Well, hard to say, but still pretty...


Every limb and fence and mailbox was absolutely covered in the white stuff...


Even an old fence seems more picturesque when covered in snow...


Same goes for this dead branchless tree...


The sky felt like it would go on forever...


And here, snow and clouds meet, bridged by an equally white barn...


But the Christmas Tree Capital of the World, Indiana County, wouldn't be right without its share of perched pines...


Here you can just see the orange hat and a bit of face peeping of my friend Scoobie's brother, who kindly did the honors in cutting down my tree...


He is a whiz, that kid, sawing through the blue spruce in no time. I get a bit spoiled with his help. Then when I am little brother-free and it comes to getting the tree into the treestand, it's usually a time of frustration and hilarity. Also some crying. :)


Now, a trip to get the tree doesn't just involve cutting a tree and shouting, "tim-berrrr!" Oh no. This is The Thrift Shop Romantic. So there has to be a bit of thrifting involved.

And TWO St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Stores were hit along the way. Let me show you what I found!...


Some fun vintage ornaments with little elves and Santas in them. Not to mention a nice box of glittered Shiny Brites...


Take a look at this nifty one with the cozy house painted on it in glitter. There's just something so wonderful about that patina...


I also found a really lovely doll, which I bought mainly because I could see writing a children's story with a little figure like this...


The name on the back of her neck is listed as "Shy Violet," and she's a "Kay's Clowns" doll. I haven't gotten to look her up yet, but I just really liked the way she was made. She's got the sort of face similar to the children in my early 1900s postcards.


Oh, and totally the opposite of snowcovered landscapes, I found this nicely-done painting at the thrift store. At just $3, I couldn't resist...


In other news this week, I won one of the giveaway prizes on Miz Smoochie's blog, Unabashed Repetition! I was so shocked and delighted-- gosh, until I started blogging I never really won anything. And Miz Smoochie sent me the following wonderful little Christmas scene...


It's sitting proudly on my mantle now, with the pink and green tree. Thanks so much, Miz Smoochie!

I also wanted to show you the thoughtful birthday/Christmas gift my dad sent me. Apparently the piece the other week on Carnival glass kind of got my dad interested in the stuff himself. And he came across this amazing green Carnival 1970s centerpiece bowl, from Indiana Glass...


Just look at the bottom of this and see the detail...


And you folks know me, old or new Carnival-- as long as it's iridescent, I love it. So thanks much, Dad, for thinking of me. You'll be seeing this on the table at Christmas dinner!

Well, that about wraps up today's post. Have yourself a cup of virtual hot chocolate and get warmed up.

And tell me-- how are you coming along this year in your Christmas decorating, if you celebrate? Almost done? Nowhere near done? I think having Thanksgiving so late, has made me a week or two behind, what do you think?

The Migratory Patterns of Indoor Pine Trees and Other Holiday Hub-bub

We know birds fly south for the winter. And some butterflies, too.

But there is an important migratory trend that scholars have not yet touched upon: the indoor self-relocation patterns of the standard Christmas pine tree. Today, I would like to examine--

Er... what's that?...

You think I've cracked under the strain of holiday preparations?

Well... okay, possibly.

But that also doesn't mean I'm wrong.

See, every year, my tree comes home from the farm...

My housemate helps me to somehow get this tree into the tree stand (crying and uttering oaths being tradition during this process, as we are but Wee Gals and the tree, it is Mighty)...

But eventually, all is secured and the pine looks lovely. And straight. And it's the guest of honor.

Yet gradually, over a period of a day... two days... three days... more... just enough to make me question whether I'm seeing things or not...

...I find this Fine Pine is now leaning far, far left from where it began, peering out the bay window into the neighbor's backyard like some needle-clad Peeping Tom. Or a feeble remake of "Day of the Triffids."

So it gets a talking-to. It gets rearranged and tightened back into its stand and...

In another day, it's doing its impression of the Leaning Tower of Pisa again.

It does this for about two weeks, until it finally resigns itself to its locale. Like a restless kid who eventually falls asleep in the car seat.

But every night, I find myself wondering whether I'm going to be awakened to a crash, as the tree, drunk on tapwater and curious to see what the neighbor's just taken out of the fridge for a midnight snack, hyperextends the bounds of blue spruce/tree stand interrelations. And over it goes.

Christmas at my house is about a certain amount of tree-induced paranoia.

But Christmas is also about manic decorating. So today, in addition to my tale of pine tree migratory habits, I wanted to share with you some of my latest pics.

I got these excellent ShinyBrite vintage Christmas ornaments at the Salvation Army for just $1.99!


I've put a few on my entryway tree, which is covered in fake candies, cookies and the kinds of ornaments I remember from my childhood...




I think of this little vignette under the Sweetie Tree as my Island of Misfit Toys. (All of these little flocked velvet folks thrifted for $0.99!)


Here are a couple of my chandeliers done up for the holidays... This one is in my livingroom, the second one in my diningroom.



And that about wraps it up for this week. If you haven't seen my second post of today, regarding a thrifty approach to the "BloggersUnite: Act of Kindness" you can see that by clicking here.

And otherwise, I hope to see you next week, when we'll talk about gifting by thrifting. I never thought I'd feel happy that half the people whom I gift don't read my blog. But this means I can safely share these nifty, thrifty gift finds with you all, and still keep the surprise intact!

Now I'm off to see if my Christmas tree has once again packed its bags for a more scenic locale in the livingroom. Wish me luck.