601! And My Yule Tree

Wow, I just looked at my blog post listing and saw it said 600 posts on this blog! Hard to believe I could come up with that much to say over the past few years! I should have done something for the big event, but I don't think my readers are the kind who'd want to enter some contest or something. So, hey, send a congrats if you feel like it. It would warm my heart, which needs it, due to the fact that it is SNOWING outside. That's right. OK, more like SLEETING. Still, it was over 70 earlier today!

So, I was actually going to write about our lovely Yule, or Christmas, if you wish, tree. It is really different this year. We got a nice big tree thanks to generous Home Depot gift card wedding presents. It's a sort of strange tree, because its leaves have not opened up or anything. I guess it's uptight.

So, we can't find the ornaments, or the tree topper. Just a few of the things have showed up, so I decided to make things. We got bright new multicolored lights, which are a departure from the golden and purple ones I have favored in the past (I always have had slightly odd trees). Anyway, I found a bunch of the purple ball ornaments from last year, and covered them with the squares of cloth and tulle we'd used on our pansy favors from the wedding, tying them up with the left over curling ribbon. They look sort of quaint and rustic. I also (as seen in top picture) covered some shiny gold ornaments with just the red or gold tulle. They look nice, too. I added ribbon left over from the wedding, and Lee and the kids keep saying how nice the lights look shining off it. Not what I'd normally do, but it looks fine.

In this picture you also see an ornament sent to me by an email friend, which she made. It's a little glass container full of shiny beads, with beaded cord around it, and cute li'l shrinky dinks with nice sayings on them. It is really shiny. And sweet. She also sent an ornament made from felted sweaters and some llama roving. Very soft.


This picture shows the ornament we got at Yule Fest on Sunday. It's a Christmas spider, which is based on some German legend about a spider that spins a web that turns gold for Christmas. We thought it was a nice story and a really pretty spider, too. It's not very itsy bitsy. Below that is a fish ornament, which came from the set of bride's ornaments that Parker gave us for our wedding gift. We put the fertility bunny in the back, 'cause we really could do without any babies in the near future. Ho ho ho. All the ornaments are really cute, and each one symbolizes something about married life. I like the lovely rose and the big heart with the wedding rings on it the best. They are the only shiny ornaments I put on, at least so far.

So, here is what the tree looks like.

To me it is a little sparse, but I tend to over-decorate. Lee and the boys seem quite taken by it, so I will leave it like it is this year. Like Lee says, I need to try to make some new traditions for our new family and such. I'll have to. No kids with us this Christmas, so it WILL be different. We have a very happy lit-up redbud tree in the front yard (we are the only people on the street with colored lights, not to mention jumpy blinky ones).

I have a bit of a sad note. You may remember all the things that have been going wrong with my corgi, Gwynneth. She went blind two years ago, and a few months ago began having trouble with her back legs. Tonight she seems a lot worse. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep her. If she can't walk, she won't have any quality to her life, and that will make me sad--she is the first dog I've ever had from puppyhood to old age. A number of my friends have lost pets recently. It is never an easy time.