Things to do...but the lights are up and working outside!

Well, it's a damp and drizzly 36 degrees. Ah, November... 

And today, I have to remember to set up a winter tire appointment and an oil change. Too many miles have gone by since the oil got changed-- let's be honest, it was not on the top of my mind due to just about every other single thing. But yeah. Gotta do that. 

I got the outdoor lights up yesterday, and I think they came out really nice. The new ones that I wound around the crabapple tree were still blinking along this morning when I got up. It's funny how cheerful that looks, given the outer and inner landscape lately. I hope the weather clears enough for all of the solar arrays to charge today. I got smart for once; I zip-tied the arrays in the tree branches, so that if and when we get snow, they'll still get enough light. I've been a bit dense, and snow has covered up the arrays in the past years. This should work well. I did that with the lights in the back yard this summer, mainly so no one would either trip over the cords or cut through them (yeah, that's happened more than once). Next spring, I plan to put up all new lights-- the remaining few are getting old and weather-worn. 

Why do I put lights up year-round? Because it makes me happy, even if only for a few minutes. Because our back yard is DARK, and I like to see what's roaming around out there. But mostly, because it's pretty. And we all need something that cheers us.

I won't be putting up any more Christmassy things just yet-- the wreath will be purchased on the first Sunday of Advent from the mission group at church. I'll put up the creche and the myriad pieces we've collected over the years. I think we've just about built Bethlehem; at least, I think we have most of the residents. And sheep. Lots of sheep. This year, I ordered physical structure things. I have two pieces of fencing and a cooking fire. All those people, they need another fire to gather around. We started collecting Fontanini pieces when we got married. My dad built the manger, and my folks gave us the "starter set" of Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, and a Gloria angel. Every year since then, we've added at least one piece. So, like I said, we have a village. G would like to get more buildings (as would I), but they are pretty expensive, and I'm honestly running out of space on the table we usually set it up on. I'm starting to think we need to figure out a better set-up. But that's a project for ...next week.

How did November rocket by so quickly? 

Have a good day,

C