Deck the Hodgepodge



Welcome to another edition of Joyce's Hodgepodge...

...where she asks the questions and well, you know the rest :)

This week's questions are about all things Christmas...almost anyway.

I was able to get my decorating done over the weekend and it's always such a relief!

Being able to sit and enjoy them while watching a good Christmas movie is something I really enjoy.

I told myself I was not going to decorate as much since we will be out of town...

...well, that didn't happen.

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I put up as much as I always do!

So,  here are this week's questions...

1. Let's talk holiday decorating. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall? (1=Scrooge and 10= Clark Griswold). What's your favorite corner-room-table-space to decorate? Is it done?

I am definitely not a Scrooge but I am a far cry from Clark Griswold...he went a little over the top if you ask me. I would probably put myself somewhere in the middle of those two...right around a 5...or maybe a 4. Remember, the more you put up, the more there is to take down...and if you feel like me, there is more joy in putting everything up...agreed? I do think that I have found a new favorite corner or table-space to decorate this year since I brought Sophie (my vintage Singer) in the house after sprucing up her cabinet.

 

2. Is there a nativity scene in your decorating somewhere? Post a picture or, if it's special to you in some way, tell us why. Or do both-it's Christmas!

Oh, I absolutely do. I call it Gracie's Nativity and you can read about it here and why it's so special. The past couple of years, I have not used the wooden stable as it has begun to fall apart. I tried something new last year and repeated it this year...until I come up with another idea. I arranged the characters on my hutch topped with a vintage lace table cloth (poofed up a bit) and stuck a string of white lights under it. I like the way the lights illuminate all of the figures, especially in a dimly lit room.

3.  Do you live in a social neighborhood? If so are you glad? If not do you wish you did?

I wouldn't call our neighborhood overly social. Our home is in a subdivision in a rural area but most of the houses are spaced a good distance apart due to the sizes of the lots...about an acre or more. There are a few families with young children but for the most part, the neighbors are in their 50's and 60's with maybe a few older folks. We are so spread out so this is just a guess since we don't know many of them except those who are right near our home. We are very close friends with a family who lives a block or so away at the entrance to the subdivision because we worship together and have known them as long as we have lived there. For many years, there was an annual neighborhood "pig-pickin'" that we soon discovered was basically one big drinking party and we didn't feel as if we fit in. We have enjoyed living in this quiet neighborhood for all of these years but we are looking forward to our future plans after retirement, God willing, of building our little farm house on Adam's meadow in Tennessee. I do hope to be quite social with the many animals who live in the petting zoo across the road and neighboring horses and cows :)

4.  As the saying goes, 'there's no time like the present'. How does that ring true in your life right now?

Especially during the busy holiday season, this should be my mantra. I think we all know that December is the shortest month of the year, even though it consists of 31 24-hour days, just like many others. I'm going to be honest here...I tend to be a procrastinator and I do my best work under pressure, but I wish I wasn't like that. Maybe one day I will get my act together and become as organized as I should be. Probably not though.

5. Do you dread Mondays? Why or why not?

I love my weekends but I also enjoy my job. I recently came across this on facebook and I borrowed it because this is pretty much the way I look at Mondays.

6.  Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis-which on the list is your favorite holiday plant? Are any of these on display in your home right now?

Poinsettias, without a doubt, are my favorite go-to Christmas plant. I have them in red, and white. I don't have Christmas Cactus at home but have three in my office and they are all in bloom as we speak. I don't remember ever having an Amaryllis.

7. Share a favorite quote from a Christmas movie.

I didn't even have to think twice about the answer to this question. "God bless us, every one" from my all-time favorite movie, "A Christmas Carol"...the 1984 remake with George C. Scott. My Christmas just isn't complete without watching it.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have a little over two weeks to get my shopping done. And as I sit here finishing up this post, a strand of lights on my Christmas tree flickered and finally went completely out! Oh my gosh, this happens every year! Pardon me while I go scream....AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!