Sunday, December 12, 2021

The Tree is Up!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

My daughter put up the Christmas tree (a pre-lit artificial one that, nevertheless, sheds its needles just like a real tree would!) and decorated it, yesterday (Saturday)!  This is the first time she decorated this tree by herself (in previous years, I've been the one decorating it).  This year, my job was limited to vacuuming, before we moved the second sofa away from its usual position in front of the window to make room for the tree, after the sofa was moved to clean the area that used to be under the sofa, after the tree was set up to remove all the needles that dropped, and again, after the decorations were hung up because there were still more needles!  Did I mention that this tree dropped its needles just like a real tree?  Daughter claimed that putting up and decorating the tree was a workout!  LOL!  We didn't put the topper, yet, because it is in a bin that we haven't opened, yet.  

We took the opportunity to declutter 3 ornaments that were broken, which I decided not to try and hot glue back together!  

The reason why I didn't join in the decorating of the tree (which is also the reason why I am so behind with reading and commenting on blogs) is the blanket that I am crocheting for my friend!  You see, originally, the plan had been to visit my friend next weekend, which would have given me all of next week to finish the blanket.  But, yesterday morning, my friend's daughter texted asking if we could visit this coming Monday, instead!  Yikes!  I still had to crochet 5 more squares and then, sew them together and do a border around!  So, I spent the majority of the day, yesterday, crocheting!  I also thought of a couple of alternative gifts to give my friend, in case I couldn't finish the blanket!

Eventually, however, after some texting back and forth since my daughter has work on Monday and we would be able to visit only much later in the evening, it was decided that next weekend would be better, after all!  Whew!  Big sigh of relief, especially as I found out that the black yarn I was planning on using for the border would not be enough!  So, we put in an order for new yarn, to be picked up, this afternoon!  I didn't feel guilty about buying more yarn because I needed it for this specific project!  I bought two skeins of black for me and a skein of white for my daughter, as she had come to the end of her white yarn.

Daughter and I also put in an order for groceries, as well.  


Where is Dancer?


"Here I am!"

Today, Sunday, I put up a couple of Christmas decorations and ran the dishwasher.  

Later, daughter and I ran a few errands in the afternoon.  First, we went to the craft store to pick up the order of yarn - they had curbside pick up, which was very convenient.  Then, we stopped by a favorite Chinese fast food place (in the same shopping complex) which has a drive through to pick up some lunch. 

Then, we drove to another store (a department store) to return something that daughter had ordered online as it was the wrong size.  I stayed in the car, but, she had to go in to the store.  However, she received a $5 coupon to be redeemed in store only, valid from today until the 20th, just for going to the store in person!  I guess the stores are really wanting people to shop in person!  Daughter said the store was fairly crowded, but, that is to be expected on a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks before Christmas!  She wore her mask and was there for less than 10 minutes.

From there, we went to the grocery store (again, in the same shopping complex as the department store) to pick up the groceries.   We had to wait less than 10 minutes for the store clerk to bring the groceries to the car, but, she apologized for the wait and gave us a $10 discount!  Wow!  We are not complaining!  That discount paid for the deli pizza ($5) we had ordered as part of the groceries and the jar of almond butter ($4.79)!  I will do a post about the groceries, later.

Our errands took us all of one and a half hours!  We came home and had some of the Chinese food for brunch.  I thought I'll do this blog post before I get busy with crocheting the blanket!  I want to try and finish it by tomorrow!  

This weekend, I am grateful for:
- Daughter being home for the holidays, setting up the tree and decorating it
- Being able to order stuff online and pick up curbside
- Unexpected discounts and coupons
- A safe drive to the shops and back
- More time to finish my gifts!

This weekend's joys included seeing the Christmas tree up and decorated and crocheting!

How is your weekend coming along?  Do you decorate for Christmas?  If so, have you started?



22 comments:

  1. The tree looks beautiful! I'm glad you were able to keep the visit to its original date so you don't have to rush the blanket!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. Yes, I'm glad I don't have to rush the blanket! My hands tend to cramp when I knit or crochet for long periods of time!

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  2. Your tree looks gorgeous! How fortunate, too, that you still have enough time to finish the blanket. Seeing Dancer under the tree made me a little nostalgic for when we had our cats. They made themselves very much a part of all Christmas rituals.
    We had such gales in Ontario (but nothing to compare with the poor tornado victims in Kentucky). Our power went off at 9.30 pm Saturday night and DH put the generator on. Power was finally resumed around 5 pm today. I never feel very ambitious during an outage, so I "attended" a livestream Sunday service and played a favourite CD of carols, and watched some fascinating videos about Christmas customs in Victorian England, among other things.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. My daughter, ever self critical, says the decorations are lop-sided, not evenly distributed, etc., but, I think it looks perfectly fine! Cats and Christmas trees - they just seem to go together, don't they?

      Oh, those gales of wind sound scary! I'm sorry the power went out, but, such a blessing that you have the generator! Hope there was no damage from the winds. Sounds like you managed to have a nice day, relaxing, while the power was out. :)

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  3. Your tree looks beautiful, Bless, your daughter has done a great job with the decorating. I hope Dancer leaves it well alone, as he looks as though he's up to something :)
    Well done on completing the blanket in good time. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules. My daughter didn't think she did such a good job with the decorating, but, I assured her that it looked good to me. I've such a hodge-podge of decorations accumulated over the years that there really isn't a theme or anything! But, there are music note ornaments from the year my daughter started piano lessons, ballerinas from when she started dance classes, and some ornaments representing an anime series she liked, etc.

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  4. Your tree is beautiful and your cat appears to approve of the tree. Sadly we are not putting up our tree this year as we know for sure a young Tilly would be up to mischief with it :)

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Dancer loves to sleep under the tree! You are wise not to put up your tree this year with Tilly being such a playful puppy, still. Maybe next year?

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  5. Beautiful tree! I'm struggling to get some Handmade Presents finished in time. We had a lovely walk in the country lanes on Saturday, I picked Holly and ivy for my wreath - but its still outside in a bag waiting to be assembled

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    1. Thank you, Angela. Handmade gifts take longer to finish than we think, don't they? Every year, I say I will start early and I still find myself with too much to do closer to the big day! I hope you get the time to make your wreath. I know it will look lovely!

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  6. Your tree looks lovely & Dancer certainly adds to the vision. Kudos to your daughter's creative talent in decorating. I had thought that this year, just like Dancer, I would lie under the tree with a bow on, just to remind my family, I am a gift!! (lol).

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    1. Thank you, Mary-Lou. Dancer loves to lie under the tree and so far, he's the only present under the tree! :D You are definitely a gift and a blessing, not only to your family, but, to all of us who are fortunate enough to know you through your blog! I am not just saying it, I mean it.

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  7. Your tree looks lovely, well done to your daughter. Is Dancer inspecting her work or planning to get up to mischief?

    You must be relieved to have a bit more time to complete the blanket. I could imagine your panic so am glad that you can now take a bit more time to get it finished.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen; Dancer was inspecting and seems to have given it his seal of approval! He loves to sleep under it! He is not interested in the decorations and hasn't tried to eat the needles, so far, this year. He's getting old!

      Oh, I am so relieved to get a little extra time to finish the blanket! I did put together an alternative gift, if needed, but, things like lotions and pot holders don't compare with a blanket, I think. You might have heard of prayer shawls which are made while praying for someone; I thought a blanket would be better than a shawl.

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  8. Extra black yarn is very useful. Your Christmas tree looks spectacular! Sounds like you and your daughter are having fun together.

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. Yes, we are having fun together. :) I just love having her home!

      Extra black yarn will not go to waste! I might use any that will be leftover to make a pair of socks with some other yarn I have in my stash! :D Are you doing any knitting these days?

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  9. Pretty tree, and yes, even the artificial ones cannot seem to hold onto all their needles.

    It sounds like your run of shopping errands was very successful; that is a real blessing this time of year. I have done most of my shopping online, but hope to hit the shops one day this week just for a few fun stocking stuffers and mostly to soak up the festive air of the decorated stores.

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    1. Thank you, Susanne. :)

      Yes, it was a successful run of errands. I haven't really gone shopping in person, myself, and my daughter said she missed going into a store to browse. Have fun during your stocking stuffer shopping trip! :)

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  10. Whew! That is good that your get-together is now scheduled for a time that gives you a little more time for crocheting.
    I can't wait to see the blanket. Be careful not to injure your wrists with all the repetitive motion. Take breaks. ;)
    You got quite a bit done with all of your errands. Do you have everything you need now for Christmas gifts? I have all I need. I mail my sister a package for her and my niece as she is in another state. That arrived to her home this past weekend. I am done shopping for my husband. That was done mainly online.
    Now it's time to wrap lol

    - how nice to get the coupons you both got.

    Your tree looks beautiful. I really enjoy ours and I'm sure you love having yours all lit up and decorated.

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    1. I wouldn't have been able to finish the blanket in time if I had to visit earlier than planned! Thank you for the reminder to take breaks!
      I still need to order a couple of items to be shipped directly to two nieces who live in other states. I had originally planned to mail them some homemade gifts, but, I don't know if I can manage to do that, still. And, there might be one or two items to embroider! Well done on getting all your gifts ready!

      We are enjoying the tree and that includes Dancer, although he left evidence that artificial pine needles are not very digestible! Silly cat!

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  11. Not only does the tree look lovely but it's a great photo too. I despair of trying to get good Christmas tree shots.

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    1. I have to admit that my daughter took the photo for me! She has a better cell phone than I! I will pass on your comments to her. :)

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