FAMILY DAYS: lights

The tree is up.... but still naked.... Arg!  The lights don't work!  Thankfully, I made sure to test them all before stringing them onto the tree.... So, first thing this morning, I'll be rushing out to Canadian Tire for some new ones.

The lights we have are the old, not-so-energy-efficient kind.  While I love saving energy where I can, I am not a lover of the new LED lights.... I really don't like the harsh glow of them.  My mother assures me that they've come a long way since they were first introduced.... She tells me there are softer glowing LED's that look similar to my old ones.  Nevertheless, I am stuck buying these new, less desirable type regardless of whether I like them or not.... there are no longer any other options in lighting.

I know they'll grow on me.... and I also know that what it really comes down to is this.... my tree will be getting dressed by my little family while we listen to Christmas songs and drink eggnog.... and make more wonderful family memories.... The colour and glow of the lights is really an insignificant thing when you look at the bigger picture....

my birdhouse all dressed for the season

We'll be together, and that's what matters most.... I'm very thankful for that....

Have a fantastic Sunday everyone  ;)

JUST SAYIN'

Truer words were never spoken  :D

FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEO: tenderness

Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness

Love this song....

RANDOMNESS: admiration

While sharing family pizza night with a friend and his three children, my friend told me how he wanted to make something extra special for his children to honour their mothers memory.... He wants to make memory quilts for each of them, made from her clothing....

I've seen these quilts before, they've been around for years.... I'm just so moved with emotion that he wants to do this himself.  What a beautiful way to work through the loss of someone who meant the world to you.... and what an equally amazing thing to gift to your children - something you made with your own two hands that represents the love you have for your wife and the love you both have for your children....

The admiration I have for her since I've known her extends to every single one of her family members.... I can't say how I would react if I were in his shoes - I can only hope that I could be one tenth as strong....

Reluctance by Robert Frost

Out through the fields and the woods
And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view
And looked at the world and descended;
I have come by the highway home,
And lo, it is ended.

The leaves are all dead on the ground,
Save those that the oak is keeping
To ravel them one by one
And let them go scraping and creeping
Out over the crusted snow,
When others are sleeping.

And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,
No longer blown hither and thither;
The last lone aster is gone;
The flowers of the witch-hazel wither;
The heart is still aching to seek,
But the feet question 'Whither?'

Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?

Yielding with grace, and holding on to memories.... could never be treasonous. It's admirable, and what's needed to move forward....

BESTIES OF ETSY: gifts for men

 Shaving soap by Red Leaf Bath and Body, Etsy.

 Grey wool scarf by Andy VE Eirn, Etsy.

Dog tags by Sky Koltun, Etsy.

 Wooden barn board box by Paradise Hill Designs, Etsy.

 Wool men's hat by Woolibear, Etsy.