"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

"everywhere you go."

At the gate:
On the deck:
In the corner by the door (not really, but it almost rhymed):
Rick has been a busy little elf this season. Before his mother arrived for an early Thanksgiving visit, he put lights on our gate and deck. While she was here we went shopping, and I picked up a new tree skirt. I've always used a white sheet, because the tree skirt my mother-in-law made for us is too small for the trees we cut, and none of the ones I've seen in stores were a good match for our house's colors and decor - until I saw the one above. It's not a "match," but it's not a "clash," either. I think it will work nicely.

On Friday Rick put lights along the eaves on the front of the house. The blue lights are on the dormer window of my office, which is the nook where I keep my neglected spinning wheel. At night they cast a blue glow inside as well as out.

I think Rick and Brian are going down the hill to cut a Christmas tree before dark. Rick says he's tired of the noble firs I love, so I told him to just go choose what he wants this time. He doesn't need me along, because it's not my choice this year. I might just let him and Brian decorate it by themselves, too; much less stressful that way.

If you are wondering where the zoo pictures are, none of them turned out well. The animals cooperated delightfully, but the light was low (read cloudy and misting) and flash was either not allowed or ineffective. I wish I could show you Samudra, the precious three-month old elephant calf, or the polar bear bouncing on his plastic barrel, or the bald eagle that flew to a perch very close to us, or the fat and ponderous black bears, but alas, I can't. We had a good time, though - along with a LOT of other people! Who knew so many would head out in wet weather on Turkey Day? The free admission was probably the big draw. I gathered that the zoo did that to thank its public for passing a bond measure to renovate several key exhibits.

That's it for now from . . .