Have a look here for my Christmas House Tour Inside.
Christmas is a time for giving. We all know that. It's also, of course, a time for receiving. I myself have already received 2 burns, multiple scratches and a paper cut that is completely unimpressive for the amount of pain it is giving me. At least with a real gash or compound fracture you have something to show off. HEY look at this. Look at the bone sticking through my skin. It really hurts! That's the kind of thing that gets you sympathy, or if you're really lucky gagging from whoever you're showing it off too.
At best a paper cut gets a sideways glance and maybe a nodding of the head in acknowledgement.
Here is a list of the injuries and/or indignities I endured while putting up my outdoor Christmas decorations this year.
1. Cut the tip of my finger in a cedar pruning miscalculation.
2. Smashed my knee on a cast iron planter jumping down from the table my pizza oven sits on. It was the kind of pain where you immediately throw up in your throat then run inside to roll around on the ground.
3. My tripod fell apart in my hands. My brand new $300 tripod. Yup. The leg fell right off of it.
4. Decided to change all my outdoor lights from multi coloured to white. Decided since all the lights worked that would be a waste of money and I'd wait until a year they started acting up. Hung all the outdoor lights. They all acted up. Spent gross amount of time hanging out of windows and standing on railings wiggling bulb after bulb.
5. Cursed out loud at the lights acting up while a small child walked past. Small child looked at me alarmed. Pretended it was my hydrangea bush that was swearing. Stupid bush. Hydrangeas are well known for their short tempers.
6. Jumped off of porch railing after fixing lights in super-cool style only to land partly on porch swing and half wiping out and half keep myself upright. Because I'm super-cool. As all the neighbours observed.
Like with the inside, I simplified the outside. Fewer lights, fewer accessories and more cedar.
Please enjoy the efforts of my embarrassment.
Yes. That is indeed me in the middle of a blinding snowstorm (a few flurries) taking pictures outside. That was another thing I endured. Frozen hands. Which are nearly as annoying as the song.
The best accessory for anyone around Christmastime is snow. And piles and piles of wood.
Having an enormous amount of wood I took a bunch of pieces and fitted them into my square planters. All I had to do was add a few boughs of cedar and the planters look holiday perfect. Once I set them on fire they'll be even more eye grabbing.
I tried to coax the chickens out for a shot but they refused. I'm being polite. They did more than refuse, they squatted down, did a big poo, and then laughed at my paper cut.
Have a great weekend.
[shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="5342563"]
Linda Weber
LOVE the chopped wood in the urn. BRILLIANT!
Karen
Thanks Linda! It was one of my better ideas. Far better than jumping off of the pizza oven. ~ karen!
Joslynne
OMG! I have been reading your blog for this long…and I never knew you had a pond!! I'm shocked that I didn't know that…poor me! I feel so left out…I'll have to check all the archives!
Merry Christmas anyway and love the house - inside and out!
Thanks always!
Kim C.
So peaceful looking. Has a very cozy, inviting feel to it. Your chickens were smart not wanting to venture out of their safe house, what with all your falling and swearing and paper cutting goings on.
;-)
Feral Turtle
Awe I totally feel sorry for your paper cut.....poor girl...awe.....can I get you a cold cloth? Your neighbors still think you are cool, especially with all of your awesome decorating! I can see big contests in the neighborhood now.
Louise
Karen, I don't know if you really appreciate how much JOY your photos and blog bring us! Your photos are absolutely beautiful! Breathtaking! And your stories make me laugh and are a treat for me each day they come out. I relate to you in so many ways (your creativity, independence, etc.) yet am in awe of you! You really are remarkable!
OK, now that I've gushed all over you (but you really DO make my day!), I must tell you one of the reasons these particular photos bring me joy, aside from their beauty. It's that I don't have to put up with snow here in Southern California! It's beautiful, yes, but I can't imagine having to put on scarves and coats and boots and mittens just to get the mail. Or having to shovel it. Or driving in it - YIKES! OK, yes, we do have white stuff drifting across the road here in January, but it's cherry blossoms!
Karen
Ha! Cherry blossoms. Yes, there are those who love it and those who hate it. You acclimatize to it and I usually don't put my coat and boots and mittens on to get the mail, lol. And I actually really like shovelling snow. Just not for 3 or 4 snowstorms in a row. And it's not the snow on the driveway or sidewalks that's a pain it's when the huge snowplow goes by and plows your driveway in. That's an ass pain like no other. ~ karen!
Amber Elliott
Oh Karen, how your stories of bumps and bruises soothes me somehow. It's nice to know that there is someone else out there with dented shins and elbows from decor stunts. Especially the vomit and roll one - that's a classic Me! It does not mean that we are clumsy. No Sir. We take risks in the name of beauty.
Another decor triumph for your home! I enjoyed the pictures, thank you so much for sharing! :)
Rhonda Davis
Terrific outdoors display. Don't tell me you found all that snow at your local Dollarama? Really? It's natural, huh, not store-bought-fake-snow-in-a-spray-can snow? Well, I'll be darned. You mean you actually live with this amount of snow on the ground, the roads, your roof tops for several months in a row every year? Why don't you move? There are vast amounts of land where this kind of nuisance is minimal or non-existent. Regardless, this is a real Reindeer-poop-burning-in-the-smoldering-fire-place-embers kind of downer 'cuz that means you CHEATED and I have to take all the compliments, all the oohs and ahhs, all the admiration I was about to assail upon your broad little crafty shoulders and go find some old lady named Martha or something and heap the praise on her...rats! So sorry, but them are the rules. Catch ya next year!
Karen
Yup. Cheated. CHEATED! Suck it. ~ karen! :)
Catherine
So pretty! We so rarely get snow here in the South of England that I'm really envious. I'm sure it's a bind but to me it just looks beautiful. House looks lovely.
Grammy
Beautiful, the stacks of wood with cedar trim and snow frosting. Seriously beautiful. I don't like to be anywhere near snow, but your home makes it look so appealing.
And a good tripod is a thing of glory.
Cathy Reeves
First off, you have snow for Christmas. (But then you probably have it for Easter as well). And snow always sets the mood (unless you're the Easter Bunny). You Papercut isn't a surgical problem so I can't help. Dermabond sounds like it would work.
Wow your house looks terrific, always tasteful and understated. I'm jealous because I have a bum left-hand a bum foot ( the right one ) so no decorations and no snow.
Agnes
How on earth can a tripod cost $300?? And then it even has the nerve to fall apart.
Karen
I know. (I had no idea a tripod was that much either and to be honest I bought one of the cheaper ones) Worth every penny. Aside from the whole falling apart thing, lol. I fixed it. It's heavy, sturdy, goes twice as high as my other one, has levels on every leg and dial adjusters so you don't have to guess at whether your shots are straight (which is important when you're shooting straight on) and it has an arm that pops out horizontally to take overhead shots of food, etc. Kay I'm pretty sure you didn't care that much about tripods, heh. ~ karen!
Agnes
haha, I actually do care, more than you might think! That does sound like it's worth $3oo with all those features. I've been playing around with a GoPro (we have all the accessories) to make some little videos. I can appreciate the value of a good tri-pod that gets the shots you want (and not have the tri-pod legs IN the shot)! Mind sharing the model, even as one to avoid perhaps?
Karen
No problem … this is the head ($70) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Manfrotto+MA804RC2+804RC2+3-Way+Pan%2FTilt+Head+with+RC2+Quick+Release+%26+200PL+QR+Plate+&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search= and this is the legs ($208) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Manfrotto+MAMT055XPRO3+MT055XPRO3+Aluminum+Tripod&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search= Prices are in American dollars. I'd still recommend it. I have no idea how the leg fell off! Somehow a part got twisted around. ~ karen!
Karen
p.s. When I had my private lesson with Donna Griffith, (check out the shot on her home page. GORGEOUS!) the photographer who has shot my house for various magazines, we went through some of the things I needed and she did some research and decided based on my budget and needs this is the combo that would work for me. ~ karen!
Agnes
That is a great shot! A tripod is a great tool, no doubt about it. Maybe one day I will be able to justify a Manfrotto :) Thanks for sharing Karen.
Meg
Your photos have been really lovely for a while now, and they keep getting better.
I haven't lived in a land with snow for a while - but if your battery runs low outside: usually it's just cold. I used to put an extra battery inside my coat/clothes, near my chest so I could swap them out. you know, depending on how long you're outside taking photos! They perk right up when re-warmed!
Karen
Thanks Meg. :) I'm working at getting the photos a bit better each week. The battery thing drives me crazy especially with my cell phone! ~ karen!
Shauna
I've always marveled at how much paper cuts hurt, so your post prompted me to turn to Google. Apparently I'm not alone, because I only got as far as typing, "Why do paper…" before Google autofilled, "… cuts hurt so much?" and a zillion explanations popped up. So here ya go:
"Fingertips and hands have significantly more nociceptors (nerve fibers) per square millimeter than most of the rest of your body. This ends up making cuts on your fingertips feel significantly more painful than cuts elsewhere. Also, the edges of paper are very dull and flexible, so when the paper cuts your flesh, it does a lot of microscopic damage as it rips through your skin. This damage is also very shallow on the skin, which will further increase the pain because some of the most sensitive nerves in your skin, which have very low thresholds to trigger, are near the surface. Lastly, the paper cut, being a very shallow wound, will also tend to hurt longer because they won’t bleed much and sometimes not at all. This leaves the nerves open to the air and other irritants, so they will continue to be in an activated state for much longer than more significant cuts.
Recommended treatments are to put pressure on it so you'll feel the pressure instead of the pain, or to seal the wound with something like a liquid band-aid, super glue, honey, Vaseline or the like."
Valerie
Interesting addition to wood piles:
Choose a really cold night. Fill various coloured balloons with water. Tie tops tightly. Gently place water filled balloons on various wood piles.
Large christmas balls for the yard that last until the first thaw.
Teresa J
Love it! Great idea!! Thanks Valerie!
Leal
There's a song called Frozen Hands??
Your home looks wonderful, inside and out.
Tracie
So beautiful, Karen. I really, really, want to cuddle up on your porch swing with that blankie, and a hot, buttered rum. And a good book. That's Christmas right there.
Bernadette
Count me in, too. Hot buttered rum, a snuggie & fuzzy slippers with knee socks. And hot buttered rum...
Martin
Looks really nice having snow at Christmas. In Australia Christmas is swimming pools and wildfires but we still sing jingle bells and sit around with snow globes and pine trees covered in fake snow!
I hope the paper cut heals soon!!
Karen
I'd be O.K. with an Australian Christmas. :) At least once in this lifetime anyway. ~ karen!
Auntiepatch
But.....what about your fish??? Do they freeze? Do they become fish sticks?
Karen
They're fine. :) Fish go into a weird sort of semi-hibernation thing. As long as they have unfrozen water and oxygen (keep a hole on the top of the pond when it ices up) They're good to go next spring. ~ karen!
Valerie
Fix for your paper cut:
Wash then dry area well. Paint paper cut with clear nail polish. No more pain when the polish dries. (May hurt a titch when you first apply the polish.) By the time the nail polish sloughs off a few days later your cut is healed.
nancy
People come the ER for paper cuts. We gather around, pointing and laughing for a while. Then we apply Derma Bond which is pretty much expensive super glue.
Oh yeah, your house, it's LOVELY. I wish I could get some ideas for improving the sight of wet, decaying leaves such as the PNW offers, in my yard anyway.
Karen
Thanks Valerie, but I'd rather complain about it. ~ karen!
Paula
Your home looks so festive! I love the natural style of decorating. Well done.
Adrienne in Atlanta
Your place looks charming.
I'll have none of that weather this year or 2015, thank you.
Adrienne in Atlanta
I am never up this late to read your post...I always read it in the morning. This is kind of discombobulating. ;) I like it.
Karen
Fun! ~ karen!