Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The day after

Don't know about you all, but as soon as Christmas is over, I immediately take down the tree and the decorations in the house. The outside decorations will start coming down tomorrow and be finished sometime within the next two days.

I just can't handle having it all over, I think because I start missing a less crowded living room and the warmth of the sun and the light through the windows, all of which seem to be gone while Christmas is on.

December 26

My poor tree was starting to die and the needles were beginning to fall like raindrops, so that was the first thing I took care of this morning.

December 26

Once the tree was removed from the house, it was all hands on deck, packing away boxes of decorations, sweeping and vacuuming and mopping and rearranging.

I can't be the only one who gets the rearranging/reorganizing bug when I start pulling things down.

December 26

To be totally honest the one thing I usually miss the most is the beautiful lights in the living room when the tree was on, but that is an easy fix because we had an extra box of LED lights and so I've decided to hang them on my little artificial plant, and there they will stay all year long.

December 26

It gives the room such a warm feeling.

December 26

I gave everything a good clean, dusted everything in sight, swept some more, vacuumed some more and mopped and mopped and moved this, and that.

December 26

It might not be what other women enjoy, but I have to say that the moments I spend in my home giving it my personal touch, are some I so cherish. It's just a little gesture for my family, to give them a warm inviting home they can enjoy spending time in.

I also had to find the perfect spot for this beautiful framed stitchery that my husband's aunt Nita had given me for Christmas. It's so pretty and has so much meaning for me as a military wife.

December 26

I knew exactly where I wanted it to go. I have two display cases filled with mementos from my husband's almost 22 year military career, and above it was the chosen spot.

December 26

What do you think?

I personally happen to think that it was made for it :)

Along with my husband's mementos are also included many of my father in law's military items from his time in the Marine Corps. Not to mention the flag that was given to my mother in law at his funeral. So yes, the perfect spot.

December 26

Worked non stop, all day long....stopped to set the table and throw some burgers on the griddle with onions to fry for dinner

December 26

And after sitting down to dinner, I got the dishes done, the kitchen swept and mopped and enjoyed a warm shower.

I think now I'll settle into my favorite chair right next to the fairy lights and enjoy some TV with my family.

My feet are killing me and my lower back is twinging away, so it's best that I call it a day.

December 26




10 comments:

Susanne said...

What a treasured gift. I would say that's the perfect spot.

Our tree stays up until the 1st. But stuff like stockings gets put away tomorrow.

Elise said...

I love the photos around your house :) I agree- I like to begin to take down Christmas decorations very soon after Christmas. I wasn't that way as a kid, but now that I have my own place, I prefer to take them down. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Pamela said...

I have also been getting that feeling that things need to start getting put away from Christmas. So glad I'm not the only one. You have inspired me to tackle this feat. Everyone wants to help get it all out but no one is around when it needs to be put away.
Pamela

Suellen Roley said...

I only put up a Nativity scene and a wreath this year, and they may stay up til 2014! ROFL.

I will say this much though, have made a lot of progress on my bedroom. It was a disaster area because after all I spend most of my time trying to keep the rest of the house presentable because my roommate is impossibly messy and rarely cleans up after herself. But I needed all the dust, cat hair, me hair, and all the other stuff OUT of my bedroom immediately if not sooner. I was down on the floor actually combing the carpet because I thought the vacuum cleaner would just kick up more dust. Reorganized night stands and my sewing machine and and and LOL. Made the bed too and am still puttering around in there making it my retreat.

Mari said...

I took all our stuff down and cleaned and organized today too. It feels so good!
Love the picture from Curt's aunt, and the way it fits into that spot. Perfect!

Kristen @ Hope Abound said...

Oh I love that set up. I haven't done anything with my husband's military goodies. This is a great idea to work off of. Always enjoy your posts.

VerityGrace said...

A beautiful gift! So precious.

We've still got our decorations up, but then we put them up very near to Christmas. It's the lights I love the best too...I have rather too many! Lol. You can see on my blog, I did a little tour of my Christmas decorations of our tiny wee house. :) x

Angela said...

I was taking down the decorations yesterday too and the kids weren't real happy about it. But then I couldn't help but sweep and mop, my husband was like "what's got into you?" LOL. The house now looks empty without the tree...but oh so tidy now!

Unknown said...

My twin sister put up our tree this year. She's the one that puts my whole family in the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, she's left us to her station in Washington State. She's our sailor :)
So this year, we'll leave it up maybe until the 1st.
The momentos look wonderful !!!
With our little family in the making and our little home soon to be, I'm sure we'll have ours too from my marine husband. <3

Kathy Skinner (Kat) said...

What a beautiful gift the stitchery piece is! What a treasure for your family! And yes, I think you found the perfect spot for it--a place of honor for a gift of love.