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A bit sheepishly

A lot of times on Wednesdays, I end up writing a sort of in-depth post about something. But for the last few weeks, it’s just been randomness.

Kristen and Chiquita.

And ummm….that’s the case again today. I do have other posts in the offing, but they’re not quite ready yet!

I de-Christmased my house

Yesterday I took my tree and the other Christmas decorations down and OOH I feel good.

living room couch

The Christmas tree was where that lamp is

I like Christmas decorations, but I also really, really love the feeling of having everything clean and tidy and back to normal.

To put things away, I had to go into the basement room that we call the boiler room, and my feet got SO dirty.

dirty feet.

The boiler needs to have a cleaning service, because it’s sending some sooty dust onto the floor in there and I clearly need to wear a pair of dedicated flip-flops when I enter, at least for now.

Sometimes Chiquita goes down there too and we can always tell because her feet get very dirty. 😉

My painted Christmas tree stand held up very well

My de-rusting and painting job did the trick because everything was still intact when I removed my tree yesterday. Yay!

Christmas tree stand.

In case you missed it, here’s the run-down of what I did to rescue my rusty 1997 tree stand.

I bought a tube of caulk and regretted it.

You know how I’m painting that bookshelf white? Well, whenever you paint something a light color, there are inevitably little gaps that become visible and need caulking.

gap in white bookshelf.

Sadly, my only tube of caulk had dried up.

So I went to Home Depot, got to the cash register, and discovered they don’t take Apple Pay (I forgot my wallet at home!)

I put the caulk back, and later that afternoon I went to a local hardware store, this time WITH my wallet, and got a squeeze tube of caulk, mainly because I thought it would be handy to have the resealable tip.

squeezable tube of caulk.

But man, I HATE this. It’s so annoying to have to squeeze the caulk out. A regular tube in a caulk gun is 10000000 times easier and I will never, ever buy this product again.

In short: this design is good for toothpaste. It is not good for caulk.

I will save the little cone tip, though, and try to use it on my next tube of regular caulk to keep it from drying out.

Chiquita is a very hairy cat

cat in cabinet.

I brushed her for a minute or two last night, and this is how much hair came off.

cat hair.

I have this inexpensive cat brush, and I really like it. It’s not as spiky as some I’ve tried before, and it obviously does a good job of removing her loose hair.

A cool shadow on my wall

Yesterday morning I was putting my shoes on and I noticed that the morning light was making an interesting shadow on my wall. It almost makes my little glass birds look like they are in a tree outside.

window reflection on wall.

Look at these cute mushrooms

I found these on a New Year’s Day hike that I went on.

tiny mushrooms.

It’s crazy how teeny-tiny they are!

tiny mushroom.

That’s the end of my randomness for today. And now I want to know:

Do you love the feeling of taking down Christmas decorations? Or do you feel a little sad/wistful when they’re gone for the year?

Also, did you take yours down yet?

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Anita Isaac

Saturday 6th of January 2024

i just love your blog. whatever you write i read. am so glad that you still have time for your blog. i celebrate chanukah and it is always a bit sad to put away the menorah and stop playing dreidel with my kids and chocolate.

Maryanne

Friday 5th of January 2024

For me, when itโ€™s over itโ€™s over! I have a daughter whose birthday is early in January. When she was little it was always a rush to switch the house from holiday to birthday decor. Especially if she had a birthday party. Maybe thatโ€™s when I started to enjoy the tidy look of things after the holidays.

Addy

Thursday 4th of January 2024

I am always ready for the Christmas decor to go down, but a little sad too. I put out some snowmen and winter decor until about March 1st which helps.

Barbara Shoemaker

Thursday 4th of January 2024

I definitely have a love/hate relationship with removing all the Christmas decorations. I love all the lights and color but also like the clean result of putting it all away. This year I will be having surgery next Monday and have pretty much decided to leave my tree up (minus all the ornaments except for the little silver stars) for weeks since my recovery will be slow. The lights will make the weeks of staying home very comforting! All the other Christmas stuff is down and getting put away today. And I am setting up lots of battery candles for more candlelight! Bring on winter!

Loraine

Thursday 4th of January 2024

I went on a cold walk yesterday and was struck by the beauty of winter. No snow here yet this season, which is wild, but the older I get, the harder it is to walk in ice and snow so I'm not sad about that.

I used to always take my tree down a few days after Christmas because I liked a fresh, clean start to the new year. But ever since the lockdowns, I have counted on the lights to cheerfully usher in the new year. Mine will stay up until this weekend.

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