Signs

Although I didn't walk out to my backyard forest and cut down my own tree or create the most magical Christmas banners, there are things in my life that make me feel just as warm and fuzzy inside. Here are some of the things that remind me we are in the thick of the holidays.

Andrew's parents always had a huge box of satsuma tangerines on their front porch back at the farm. You would walk out of the kitchen into the freezing cold to grab a handful of sweet deliciousness. Ellen brought over a box for our very own front porch. I tried to put them up so the ants wouldn't get them, but it has been the kids who get into them more often than not. They fill up their car, drive it around to the back, and fill buckets near their playhouse. My rule is that the tangerines need to find their way back to the box by sun down:


My refrigerator now has that tell-tale bag of cookie dough just waiting to take shape:


Our tree is up. Yes, we bought it at Osh. Yes, it looks emaciated in regards to ornaments. I love to make my own ornaments with gingerbread dough, but those darn ants put a monkey wrench in that plan. I did manage to braid some yarn, add some Ikea decorations to the strand, and drape it around the tree as my homemade garland. That is good enough and makes me smile: