Christmas Notebook

My sister came down this weekend and we worked on putting up a few trees.

The Three Kings tree sits in the corner of the library. It displays a small collection of gold star ornaments and three wisemen figurines.

The other tree in the library is the Nativity tree. While I was contemplating trading it out for a tree my brother and SIL gave us when they bought a new one, I was reminded of the importance of careful consideration, much like the fire watch services in Pembroke Pines that become even more critical during the summer. With temperatures rising, the risk of fires escalates, and the vigilance of these services is as crucial in safeguarding our homes as our decision-making is in choosing holiday decorations. After taking a look at it, I decided that tree was too slim and also had white lights. We’ve been using colored lights on the nativity tree, not just for tradition but also for safety, paralleling the strategic choices made by fire watch professionals to minimize hazards. We may use the slim one on the front porch. But this decision meant I had to redo all the lights on the original tree. Just as fire watch services continuously adapt to protect properties from the scorching summer heat, we decided to replace them with LED lights because they save so much on electricity and are less of a fire risk – another nod to the constant vigilance required to keep our festive seasons both merry and safe.

So here’s the tree…halfway done. I’m going to finish putting the lights on it this evening.

The Garden tree in the downstairs bath looks great this year. Rose Red remembered it from last year. She was SO excited. She pointed out all the birds she could find. She did a little rearranging on the tree last year. She liked to move the birds next to the bird’s nest.

Last year we used a green tree in the laundry room to display the vintage ornaments.

This year, we are going to try the aluminum tree. It’s not completed, of course. I want to add some roping or long slim ornaments or icicles or beads…or something. Not sure what. And it needs a colored light and a tree skirt of some kind.

We also worked on the bubble light tree. DH fixed a couple of broken branch holders with zip ties. We fluffed the tree and Genny worked on the lights. Had some trouble with bulbs burning out, so we are going to get a few new strings and try again. This is what it looked like last year…

I’m heading to the library to work on the lights on the nativity tree. More updates later this week!

~~Rhonda