Let The Work Begin!

We love our birds!!!  So fun to have them right outside the window.  : )

The house is chilly this morning, the sky is crystal clear and we're in for a very nice day (42 degrees for the high!) and that's why I've titled this post "let the work begin".   For us, Thanksgiving week is the beginning of the holidays and there is much work to be done - inside and out.

Because the weather is going to be mild (mild for us northerners) we will be spending a good part of the day putting some Christmas things up.  Some may think that it's too soon but there are a lot of people who have had their decorations up a couple of weeks ago already.  I used to think it was too soon but around here we really do have to use these warmers temps to do this kind of work.  My husband has spent TOO many Decembers in the freezing cold putting up lights and decorations so we know from the past that if we don't do it now, it's just too cold.

Some may think that we don't HAVE to decorate but it's fun for us to have a "Holiday House" so to speak.  It brings some brightness and fun to the neighborhood and gives the feeling of celebration.  We used to go all out - the whole house outlined in lights, the trees, the bushes, the fence, all the light-up decorations, etc., but this year we plan to keep it somewhat simpler (mostly because my husband is feeling his age and just can't do all the work anymore plus we got new gutters and gutter guards this year and it's difficult now to hang the lights).  But I have a plan in mind and hopefully we can get it all done today.  : )

And then as stated in my last post, the Thanksgiving preparations begin - putting the house in order as far as cleanliness, order, and party ready.  : )  I really do get a burst of energy and motivation in thinking about all of these things.

One thing about this time of year is how we can all "think forward" to the different times that we'll be having friends and family in our home and what that will look like.  What can you do to prepare now so you aren't stressed later?  How will you be entertaining?  Do you have enough chairs to accommodate?  Do you need to move things around (my favorite part - LOL) for people to sit and be comfortable?  Where will you put the tree?  How will you serve the food?  This is another favorite part for me.  I love thinking about all of these things.  Again, we have a small house so I have to make sure that we know what we're going to be doing.

Going through all your serving dishes, flatware, napkins, etc., now will mean that you are ready later.  One thing that I don't do until after the holidays are over is deep clean.  I know that sounds strange but I just clean as I normally would - dust, vacuum, mop floors, etc.  And the reason is that there is enough going on in the next month or so and that people will be coming in and out, the decorations are up and hard to clean around that just keeping up with the daily cleaning is enough for me!   And, really, for most of us who keep up with the daily cleaning won't have unpresentable houses anyway.  Your company is there to relax and have fun and eat good food - they aren't going to look around to see if you've deep-cleaned.  So, I'm encouraging you to relax as well.  Enjoy the wonderful people in your life and enjoy!  Because when January comes and all the decorations are put away - watch out!  Let the REAL cleaning begin!!!!!!  LOL  : )

And in keeping with the importance of learning and reading, I've been reading "Middlemarch" by George Eliot:

Love the old classics!

I've read Silas Marner, Adam Bede, and now this one by her and I'm enjoying this book very much.  Again, I encourage you to read.  Read these old classics because they make you think.  They have good morals and they increase your vocabulary!  Here are a few words that I've yet to look up:

*nullifidian

*hustings

*augury

*mendicant

*calumny

*sylph

*amanuensis

.............and those are just a few!  This was literature that high school students used to have to read a long time ago.  When I was in high school in the 70's we didn't even come close to having our minds stretched like this.  It's really sad when I think back to it.  All the things we WEREN'T taught.

I like to write quotes down too from the books that I read and here are two that I want to share before I end this post:

"We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinnertime; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to enquiries say, "Oh, nothing!"  Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts - not to hurt others."

"The Vincy's (a family in this book) had the readiness to enjoy, the rejection of all anxiety, and the belief in life as a merry lot, which made a house exceptional........"

It's the last quote that I encourage you - to make our homes exceptional - to enjoy the things we have, and the people that come in, to reject anxiety by keeping the worldly stuff out, and be merry!  

God bless you as you build up your home and take care of it.  Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me - I appreciate all of you!!!!  : )