The House is Sleeping

You may know the phrase, "the lights are on, but nobody's home"...usually, it refers to someone who is "not so bright".
My husband chose to turn in early, and I love the house when it's this quiet...peaceful, not lonesome...although, I did find myself just sobbing this afternoon, listening to Elvis singing, "Blue Christmas"...my mother-in-law is coming, but once again, my son and his family won't be able to join us...just a bit of Christmas blues...but, I digress.

It's no wonder they set Christmas (for they really don't know the exact time of year...or so I've heard) to coincide with the darkness this time of year brings...we need light, and hope, and joy to bring us though the darkness, don't we? This is why I love the wreath in my bedroom...I snuggle down in my bed and enjoy the doves, passing the silver roping to one another...it comforts me.

So, I wander around the house with my camera, which can only pick up so much light, but I despise a strobe or flash, and would rather have the mystery of what isn't shown, as opposed to the glare of what is there... In the kitchen, I find the wonderful "Three Hens" ornament I've attached to our cake stand...My darling friend, Cam, sent it to me...I couldn't wait until Christmas to open it. She remembered I have a line of greeting cards I've named "Here A Chick" Greetings...I miss her so.

We (okay, my husband)moved our Ficus in from the porch, as the hard frosts have hit Texas...I have lit it, and the lights are the kind that fade in-and-out...I love it, even though it practically eats our small dining room.

My hand-painted glass, my wreath, and a lone Belschnickel (someday, I will know the proper spelling) adorn a sideboard that my husband put together from a kit I got at the Clearance Dock at JC Penny's - $50....

Miss Gussie Plushbottem Goodcat is snuggled in my bergere chair, that I got for $100, as it had literally fallen off the back of a truck...original price - $1,000....She seldom curls up in it, but tonight, everything feels warm and cozy.

I walk outside, and the neighborhood is unusually quiet, as we have dogs that love to bay at the moon (I don't have dogs, but the neighbors do, and they don't seem to mind the howling)...Tonight, I can hear the wind in the trees, and can appreciate my tiny, tinsel tree, peeking through the sidelight of our front door. It looks inviting..the only place I've used colored lights...

I don't go bazoo with the outside lights...just a few topiaries, lit, and a couple of pecan trees, wrapped in bee lights...There are too many inflatible santas, some even driving convertibles, adorning the neighborhood.....I have nothing against them, but am strictly a white light person myself.

And so, with that, and a wonderful cup of hot cocoa, I am unplugging all those lights, (except for the wreath in the bedroom, at least for awhile...and tucking in on a cold, winter's night...'night.