Christmas Music, Decorating and Thinking About Menus and Recipes!

I love a day where I get to stay home. As in not leave the house. At all.

This morning after we had our coffee and reading Louis Dean went outside to deal with the mountains of leaves that have fallen from our pecan and elm trees.

I put five Christmas CDs on - my favorite today was Enya's Christmas album -  and fixed a big glass of iced tea. It was time to start looking through my recipes.

The hardest part - and the most time consuming - of getting ready for the holidays is the decorating!

I am making headway in that area so now my mind is moving a little ahead of myself as I think about what I will be serving at the meals and parties and gatherings during the month.

Thanks to Louis Dean I have several POUNDS of freshly shelled pecans to add to some of the recipes! I saw him eating a big dish of what I THOUGHT was ice cream. It wasn't. It was a large bowl of the potato salad I had made for lunch! But the idea of the ice cream made me want some.

Vanilla yogurt, sliced banana, chocolate syrup and PECANS!

A winning combination!!!

I bought these peel and stick wall art pictures at Hobby Lobby yesterday for 66% off!

I think they add a little charm to the cabinet doors. No matter what I did - Lucy would not stay out of my pics!

I accomplished my goal of cleaning and decorating the dining room today!

I manage to do one room a day in addition to maintaining what I have already done.

I love my dining room! 

You can't tell by the photos but that's my Red Cardinal Tree.

Summer gifted me with cardinal ornaments one year and that got me started.

I use red balls, poinsettias, ice crystal branches and clear glass ornaments to round it all out.

The table is set and ready to go!

Guess who will be the very first guests to eat a meal at our Christmas table?

The quadruplets! They come to our house on Wednesday next week and I am already planning the meals. I am going to use my Christmas dishes but will keep the children's forks and sipper cups.

I am so happy to get this room DONE!!!

I did not load up this table so I may actually be able to use it as a dessert buffet table.

The den, foyer, porch, kitchen, utility room, and now DINING ROOM are all ready for entertaining.

Every room looks awful before I start the transformation!

The sewing room and gazebo are the last two major rooms left to do.

The guest room and Louis Dean's bathroom are much easier.

Out of respect for my dearly beloved and amazingly patient husband, I do NOT load up the bathroom

with tons of Snowmen, garland and so much other 'debris' that there's hardly room to turn around!!!

The first year or two of our marriage I decorated as usual.  Then Amber came over and took one look in there and said, "MOM!!! You have GOT to get all of that naughty word CRAP out.of.there.

I did. Now I decorate it 'tastefully.'

He told me this morning that I have a new 'hook' to hang some debris on in there.

The hook he hangs his overalls on simply couldn't handle it when he hung THREE pair on it! AND a heavy robe!

He fixed THAT!! It is now BOLTED through the DOOR!!!

So now I have a BOLT sticking out and, YES!!

I will definitely be hanging something on it! To cover it UP!!!