Christmas Begins!

The stockings are hung...on the wall, because I have no fireplace, which is entirely and completely tragic at this time of year. Watching it on the tv is nice, but just not the same. For one, no lovely wood smell. Second, my crappy tv goes from loud to mute with very little in between...so instead of providing atmosphere it sounds like I'm being shot at every time the tv fire sparks and hits a pocket of air or sap.
We decorated the house today, although we're still not finished. That's mostly due to the wiring in this crazy place...gotta wonder why people make the choices they do when building houses. **ahem: money!
We have light sockets in bizarre, unconventional places, and some that don't work at all, so this will be a challenge in cord confusion (I mean, organization). But it all looks lovely! Soon, next weekend, we'll go and loot the hydro lines for a lovely Charlie Brown Christmas tree, which I'm entirely allowed to do because I downloaded a permit from the BC Forestry website. Yes, yes, I could go to a tree farm and do a u-cut, maybe go for a sleigh ride...Or I could drive out to the boonies and hack my way through feet of snow and snarled branches for the gimpiest tree ever, but appreciate it all the more!
It will truly be Christmas when the tree is up. In the meantime, I'm falling in love again with Bach's Christmas Oratorios and all my favourite Christmas oldies and Baroque/Classical masterpieces.
The Bailey Monster seems to like it too...I just hope she doesn't like it all enough to eat it. Last year she devoured some of our special tree decorations from Egypt (yes, from Egypt), just as she devoured our stuffed camel figurines the year before. What's with her and going for all the irreplaceble stuff? Oh, that, and puzzle pieces. Both puzzles I've purchased these last two years had to be thrown out, because she snuffles up anything she finds on the floor. Note to self: purchase felt puzzle pad.
The book is going great! I'm getting lots of writing done. In fact, I just might make it to 50,000 before the deadline! Not that I'll win any big awards, but I'll sure feel great.
Now, I think to cap off this fine snowy evening, I'll put on my first seasonal movie and snuggle with my pooch. Maybe start a puzzle...while she's not looking.