Ready for Christmas, almost!

Do you remember this? That sunny June day when I returned to find our new puppy had a taste for living room sofa. Well, after much procrastination over whether to have it fixed or purchase new living room furniture, we decided to have it restored.

The upholsters picked it up last Tuesday, made the repairs and had it back to us on Wednesday. They were able to save the cushions from which the material came for the repairs. So, if you're in the central Ohio area and need upholstery work, Begley Upholstering is the company to call.

On to the Christmas decorations now that I have a complete living room.

This is the nativity set that was handed down to me from my paternal grandmother. You can also see some of the nicely wrapped gifts. All of them are Christopher's, the others are up stairs under the family room tree.

Here's a look at our new gas fireplace and the real 9 ft tree. Let me tell you, it was no small feat in bringing it home. We recently traded in our Jeep Grand Cherokee for a Dodge Caliber. It would have been wise to wait until we brought the tree home to make the purchase.

After picking the tallest tree in the nursery we proceeded to the rear of the building to have it loaded. I won't go into details, but the movie Christmas Vacation came to mind as we drove home, slowly.



This is our fake, family room tree with the colored lights and homey decorations. Next year we're going to have only one tree. It's a bit to much work.

While we waited for the "fresh cut" on our tree, I spotted this lighted wreath above the check out counter. I really liked it, but not for $39.99. Once the cashier told us it was only $20 I loved it and took it home!

The lighted garland used to be around the family room ledge of our Cleveland house. I think it works well hanging from the banister.

All I have to do it arrange the furniture and put out a few more nik-naks and I'm finished. I'll post pictures of the other nativity sets with better decoration photos once the sun comes up and we get a little more natural light in the house.