Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[Breezy_Carol]

I have never been interested in the Disney ornaments, not sure why. We do have a very few Hallmark ones that plugged into the string of lights. Then things changed and I could no longer plug them in. Then, through the DIS I think, I found that Hallmark sold an adapter to plug them in and now they work. One is Santa's answering machine. And DS had one given to him that was Statler and Waldorf which he took with him. I started buying an ornament, not Hallmark but something she likes, each Christmas for DGD so she would have a collection to take when she is an adult. Now I'll have to start for DGS.

I'll be out of the office most of tomorrow afternoon at a meeting up near Breezy Carols neck of the woods.

Where ya going? Sounds like musical cars at your house. When both kids were back home after college and each had a car, every night we played musical cars. We all went out and pulled onto the street the came back in the driveway so the cars were in the order they would be leaving.

 

[easyas123]

I’ll be at the scenic Chesapeake city wwtp!

 

[AuntieMe3]

I love giving ornaments as gifts but I notice a lot of people have different themed trees every year and rarely put up the ornaments they are gifted.

I love my tree with all its eclectic ornaments, most from places we've visited or things that mean something to us. And I LOVE ornaments I've received as gifts.

I have one Hallmark ornament that was my grandparents. We inherited it since we lived with my grandparents at the time of their passing, but my siblings and I always joked about who it really belonged to(they each wanted it). Its a 2 sided scene ornament....almost like snow globe. One side has a little kid outside dressed for the snow looking in the window, at the other side...which is a little girl looking like she just decorated a tree looking out the window at the other side. Its soo cute.....I wish I had a picture to share...this year for sure I'll have to make sure I take a picture. One year for Christmas, I found 2 of the ornaments on Ebay and bought them each for my brother and sister so they could have one too but I still tease them I have the original.



So with all this ornament talk if you all don't mind, how about a Christmas in July QOTD:

If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

I LOVE Christmas, especially for the decorations. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my tree. When we were first married, hubby was in the military and we were poor. LOL We bought a small, cheap, fake tree our first christmas together, with cheap ornaments from the 99c store. Just within the last few years we started buying real trees, I prefer Noble firs. Every year, we buy an ornament to add to our collection. Now our tree is full of meaning ornaments for our family, its very eclectic....we have some of our daughters favorite characters from when she was a child, ornaments from places we've been, and favorites things of ours like sugar skulls for me, a mini beer bottle for hubby...etc. I have MANY, MANY, MANY multicolored lights including twinkle lights and a multi color star tree topper. No tree skirt for us because of our dogs, it would get too full of dog hair and I would have to wash it all the time when I did have one. I'm thinking this year I may find a round, vinyl tablecloth I could cut a hole in the center and make into my own tree skirt I could just sweep instead of having to vacuum and wash it. LOL We used to have multiple trees but we never spend time in the other room so I just stuck with the one for the family room. My daughter gets a small tabletop for her room and decorates it with tiny ornaments she finds.

I'm posting from my laptop but I think I'll edit after I post and switch to my phone so I can share a pic of my tree....I just LOVE it so much.

 

[Meriweather]

So with all this ornament talk if you all don't mind, how about a Christmas in July QOTD:

If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

9' fake tree.
Decorated in Disney ornaments, Hallmark ornaments (Disney, baking related, grandkids and other cute ones).
Minnie angel topper
The same every year.......sometimes not as many because it takes a long time for me to unwrap, and put up the ornaments.
The tree sits in the middle of the foyer as you enter the house. Decorated 360 degrees.
White lights.......prelit tree.
Tink tree skirt
Train around tree
One other tree......mini one in the kitchen. Sometimes it goes up and sometimes it doesn't.
This year, it won't. We aren't hosting and we will be at WDW until Dec. 13

 

[PollyannaMom]

Sounds like musical cars at your house. When both kids were back home after college and each had a car, every night we played musical cars. We all went out and pulled onto the street the came back in the driveway so the cars were in the order they would be leaving.

We sometimes do this too!

 

[lovemygoofy]

Happy Wednesday to all,

Man, my allergies/sinuses are bothering me. I'm drowning and feels like I'm in a bucket. I've felt like this for a few days. I guess it's the grass all dried out but who knows. I went to Costco this morning and picked up some items for good friend of mine in AR who sending her girls back to school. I picked up lots hand sanitizer and cleaners for the classrooms. I picked up a box of disposable masks to have in the car for just in case. I took a nap this afternoon and worked on my homework rest of the day.

Dinner was chicken tender salads with some fruit on the side.

Oh!! New niece name is Stella Grace! She's gorgeous of course and over 21 inches long and 8.4 lbs. My BIL said SIL pushed exactly 6 mins and was done. I was like yeah this number 4....

Soooo here is me being super SUPER petty....I can own it. Matt started his new job Monday. I was all excited to starting back to having some time in the house and my new routine and whatever else and Monday evening at end of the day he brings home all this equipement..to work from home...SIGH..SOOO Petty but I need him in an office. It's fine. We are blessed and just the way it is. I'm whining and it'll be okay. He said tonight his CEO said today that they will be working from home indefinitely now and possibly rotating teams into the office when needed. It's okay and it is what it is. We are blessed and healthy.

Make some fried green tomatoes with those green tomatoes! Use catfish fry coating and serve with some pimento cheese and bacon! Yumm!!

Hope everyone is doing well and having a great day.

Gratitudes:
Matt is liking his people at his job
SIL is healthy and new niece is beautiful
Easy dinner

 

[dazedx3]

Oh, I love Christmas. We always get a real tree, the biggest I can fit in our Living room. DH is not a big fan of the holiday but puts up with me, his idea is we should have a picture of a tree on a window shade, pull it down on the 24th and back up on the 26th. We have a wide variety of ornaments, antique and others. I like colored lights on the tree and white on other decor. We have a beautiful patchwork tree skirt that we had made over 30 years ago. All this talk, has me a bit excited about the upcoming holiday....hope Covid doesn't interfere too much!

Positives: We are really excited for next weekend, we are seeing our DD, SIL, and our almost 2 year old granddaughter for the first time since last Christmas, we were scheduled to get together right when the virus started but that was cancelled. Zoom just isn't the same. We are meeting them half way and spending the day at a park.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I love giving ornaments as gifts but I notice a lot of people have different themed trees every year and rarely put up the ornaments they are gifted.

I love my tree with all its eclectic ornaments, most from places we've visited or things that mean something to us. And I LOVE ornaments I've received as gifts.

I have one Hallmark ornament that was my grandparents. We inherited it since we lived with my grandparents at the time of their passing, but my siblings and I always joked about who it really belonged to(they each wanted it). Its a 2 sided scene ornament....almost like snow globe. One side has a little kid outside dressed for the snow looking in the window, at the other side...which is a little girl looking like she just decorated a tree looking out the window at the other side. Its soo cute.....I wish I had a picture to share...this year for sure I'll have to make sure I take a picture. One year for Christmas, I found 2 of the ornaments on Ebay and bought them each for my brother and sister so they could have one too but I still tease them I have the original.



So with all this ornament talk if you all don't mind, how about a Christmas in July QOTD:

If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

I LOVE Christmas, especially for the decorations. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my tree. When we were first married, hubby was in the military and we were poor. LOL We bought a small, cheap, fake tree our first christmas together, with cheap ornaments from the 99c store. Just within the last few years we started buying real trees, I prefer Noble firs. Every year, we buy an ornament to add to our collection. Now our tree is full of meaning ornaments for our family, its very eclectic....we have some of our daughters favorite characters from when she was a child, ornaments from places we've been, and favorites things of ours like sugar skulls for me, a mini beer bottle for hubby...etc. I have MANY, MANY, MANY multicolored lights including twinkle lights and a multi color star tree topper. No tree skirt for us because of our dogs, it would get too full of dog hair and I would have to wash it all the time when I did have one. I'm thinking this year I may find a round, vinyl tablecloth I could cut a hole in the center and make into my own tree skirt I could just sweep instead of having to vacuum and wash it. LOL We used to have multiple trees but we never spend time in the other room so I just stuck with the one for the family room. My daughter gets a small tabletop for her room and decorates it with tiny ornaments she finds.

I'm posting from my laptop but I think I'll edit after I post and switch to my phone so I can share a pic of my tree....I just LOVE it so much.

I love Christmas decorations. We had a Christmas wedding, simply because we were too poor to do anything "fancy" and that was when Matt could get leave so Christmas it was. I'm allergic to real trees. Major major hives. I have a 9ft fake tree in our family room with lots ornaments from our travels and special moments. Mine has an angel on top with beautiful lace tree skirt, and some big gorgeous flowers I put within the tree branches.
We had crappy little tree and barely ornaments when we first married and I still have some of those on the tree. I'm sentimental. I actually have couple ornaments on my tree from some DISers over the years too.

I have a 6ft tree upstairs with Matt ornaments (think Colts football, star wars, star trek and sprinkling army stuff) with lots multi colors on it.
I have a teeny tiny Charlie Brown tree that goes on the kitchen island with one ornament that makes the tree fall over with blue blanket and the Charlie Brown story.

We also have lots Nativity scenes around the house and I keep few out through the year because I think it should be more than once a year.

 

[lynxstch]

QOTD: Christmas In July--

While I do love Christmas, as I get older , I find it just too much work to do all the decorating we used to do. It's all left to me to do now , and I just can't do it all anymore. When we bought this house, almost 20 years ago, it was decorated from top to bottom, front to back, inside and outside. 6 foot tree with all white lights in the dining room. That one got all the Disney ornaments, most from Hallmark but a lot from trips to WDW and Disneyland. My very first Disney one was a Figment one, which always goes near the top of the tree. Then we had a 4 foot one with colored lights in the living room on a table. That one got different series each year. I have the entire set of Wizard of Oz Hallmark ones, Puppy Love, Kittens, Decades Thru the Years, houses, snowmen, etc. Then we had one smaller one in the middle of the dining room table, which got all angels. As the years went by, it got pared down to just the one 4 foot tree. The last couple of years, I have just put all of my snowmen ones on it, along with his few Minion ones. There is always a Grinch one on it, and my Figment one. I won't give up on those just yet. I sure hope Covid doesn't totally mess up the holidays for any of us this year.

 

[Nox]

Christmas in July... Speaking of ornaments, I collect Swarovski's annual Christmas ornament. Sadly I missed last year's, I may try to find it on a second-hand site. I have one for each year since 2003 (when my husband and I started dating, so one for every year we've been together.) I haven't been able to put them on a tree, because I have kitties. Kitties and expensive crystal ornaments do not mix.

I'm a bit sad because I had planned for brunch this Sunday - a local restaurant has been doing brunch boxes each Sunday that customers take to go. I was very excited for this week's menu... but they canceled it due to a possible infection exposure. They said they will do the same menu the following Sunday, so I'm keeping my order. Still a little bummed, have been wanting to do this for weeks and when I finally have the opportunity.... (story of my life, it seems.)

To cheer myself up, I've been looking at sparkly bikinis for when I eventually go back to fitness competitions, and kittens. Kittens always make me happy.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Love the Christmas Tree pictures, Auntie Me3. Thank you for sharing!

Tina, I am not able to open your pictures I appreciate your posting them, too! Love that you include a blue blanket! A few years ago for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, the Associate Pastor at my church opened her homily by sharing about Charlie Brown's tree and Linus' faith. I had given her as a gift (I knew she was a fan of this movie) a stuffed animal Linus that played a Christmas song. It was really sweet that she shared that with the congregation and also said I had given it to her. Thank you for having Nativity scenes up too! God Bless Stella Grace, what a pretty name. I once had a Stella preschooler in my class and another girl whose middle name was Grace

I have shared before that until 2014, I never knew small Christmas trees existed. I thought you either got full size or nothing. My new phone is expected to come on Friday! I promise to share Evergreen pictures soon after.

In normal times we celebrate Christmas in July every year at church! It's a time to be reminded that God's Miracle to us of Jesus needs to be celebrated daily. It's also when the Christmas Tree lot shares how it did the year before. All proceeds from the lot go to various children's ministries throughout the country. I will miss both the celebration and sadly most likely volunteering at the tree lot in December this year

I am so extra grateful today for this thread! I have felt disconnected from my church and know at least one or two others agree. Sure I absolutely appreciate all that goes into online Worship along with nightly epistles that senior Pastor takes time to write and a couple Zoom options (I do not Zoom, I know that is my choice). I just mean a lack of overall connection amongst congregants. I've shared some ideas that a number of friends were all for and one even gave me the gist of the idea that sadly were turned down as not needed when I shared them with one of the Pastors. This brings me to saying I have not forgotten my promise to share with all of you more about the lost stories and what I wanted your help with. Working on shortening/clarifying and will hopefully share tomorrow. I am thankful to be able to do so!

Other gratitude:

Thinking of the Miracle of Christmas! I will have to read my favorite Scripture from Luke later. I always get goosebumps and swelling of extra Thanksgiving in my heart to do so. Christmas music (as in O Holy Night or When Love Was Born) is my favorite type of music. I'll also have to read Santa's Favorite story the kids' book I mentioned not long ago on here.

A kind Ralph's customer service person by phone gave my Dad another $2 credit for a bag of Kroger Brand potato chips. We have been buying these chips for at least 6 or more months. Used to get Lay's but the last few bags of those were not appetizing! Greasy and oily inside the bag....too much salt, yuck not healthy either. Kroger brand was perfect plus cheaper. For the last two weeks the chips in bags we have opened (opened more due to condition of chips) have definitely not been up to par at all! Orangish burnt or brown, little pieces, not the usual quality at all! We told Kroger how we came to appreciate their product and disappointment so they gave the $2 credit. Any store brand is 100% satisfaction or money back. Any plain potato chip suggestions? I am not able to due kettle or wavy styles (TMJ) has to be regular and thinner. Do not care for sea salt or vinegar. I did once try Lay's lite chips and just did not care for them, not enough flavor. Thank you!

Another day of health of body, mind, spirit along with heart and extra time with my Dad. And in each day and always to also give praise and thanks to God!

 

[Meriweather]

surprised myself and still had a photo on this computer




since this house has no fireplace, DH built us a mantel......note the couple of HM photos that can be seen

 

[apirateslifeforme]

So this is going to be another long post...

So with all this ornament talk if you all don't mind, how about a Christmas in July QOTD:

If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

...because we are the "multiple tree" people

Out on the porch, the first room you'd walk into, in the window we have a small (3 ft., I think?) potted tree with color-changing fiber-optic lights. I have a set of mini ornaments that I hang on it as well, plus DH has some mini snowman "bell" ornaments for some of his favorite sports teams (like the Patriots, the "bell" part is shaped like a football) and Josh has one or two small ornaments with his name on them (like when you go to a Hallmark store and they have all those personalized ornaments that a lot of people use as gift tags? He has one or two of those).

As you proceed to the kitchen, on the half-wall between the rooms you'll see a pre-decorated 2 ft. potted tree - white lights, red poinsettias (fake), in a gold pot. On the kitchen island we have a red, gold, and green "cone ornament tree" (like one of these... ).

In one corner of the dining room, we have a 6 ft. skinny pencil tree. White lights (prelit), gold bead garland, small olive green and turquoise ornaments, gold glitter star, ivory velvet tree skirt. I like using "Scenticles" in this tree so the room smells festive.

Then in the living room, in one of the windows on a round end table, we have our 4 ft. "hodge podge" tree. We've had this tree for well over 20 years and it's getting a bit shabby. Smells like a basement, so I need Scenticles for it as well. Multi-colored lights and white bead garland. Disney tree skirt - red with green ruffle, with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy heads appliqued on it. Ornaments include some "granddaughter" ball-type ones that my grandparents gave me in the late 70s/early 80s, DH's vintage PEZ ornaments and more sports team stuff, a huge felt elf with Josh's photo in the face, a Tardis and Davros from Doctor Who, a Polish pottery ball (DH's) and train (Josh's), some of Josh's favorite characters...and the topper is a Weeping Angel from Doctor Who:

We have a Christmas train that goes around it on the floor, too. Josh loves it.


On the other side of the room, I have a wire ornament tree display with all of our "extra-special" ornaments...one of these:


On the table in the hallway, I have a mini stand with the Shutterfly ornaments I make every year since Josh was born. Each one has a birthday photo on one side (or in the case of his first year, my favorite photo from the hospital) and a Christmas photo on the other, and I just put "JOSHUA" with the year on it.

I had always wanted to get one of those cone ornament trees for Josh's room. Last year, I finally found the one I'd pictured in my mind - it has turquoise, green, white, and red ball ornaments all over it. Silver tinsel underneath.

DH has a Charlie Brown tree that he takes to work.

 

[Nox]

So with all this ornament talk if you all don't mind, how about a Christmas in July QOTD:

If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

I missed the question itself.

I only ever got to have a tree myself a single time, and it was real. Husband complained about the needle shedding. No theme, really, but I did do a color scheme of red, green, and gold. I like the traditional colors. Used a soft "warm" white lights. No skirt.

My mom used to always put up a tree, she has many antique and handmade ornaments. I don't think she'll put one up this year after the loss of my dad, though.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

All the Christmas stories and photos have really brightened up my afternoon and evening, thank you everyone for sharing.

Hug, Nox on the loss of your Dad.

Sweet Dreams to all! "See you" tomorrow!

 

[violina]

So with all this ornament talk if you all don't mind, how about a Christmas in July QOTD:

If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

I'm not a Christmas person -- more of a Halloween gal myself. However, my husband is very much a Christmas person so I can add to this. Lol.

We don't do Christmas in July, mostly because it's tough to handle with the pets. However, every year, around my birthday, we go to pick out a tree -- well, he does. He's very particular so it's very amusing to me to watch him select one. We used to be able to bring our dog so the two of them would go down the rows together as he was judging the trees. We aren't able to bring our dog, but it's still fun to see.

No theme, however there tends to be a lot of Disney ornaments along with hidden Star Trek ships in the tree (we tie gold ribbons around them to find them, however they are not super obvious). We don't change them up, however some ornaments won't make it to the tree, it just kinda depends on how he's feeling about how the tree looks. He picked out white lights and we have a very simple tree skirt. An aside, we keep his Christmas Village up year round along with his collection of Christmas tree candles.



2017, 2018, 2019

 

[PollyannaMom]

Petty but I need him in an office. It's fine. We are blessed and just the way it is. I'm whining and it'll be okay. He said tonight his CEO said today that they will be working from home indefinitely now and possibly rotating teams into the office when needed. It's okay and it is what it is. We are blessed and healthy.

I totally get it! DH’s home office is one end of the den, in the finished basement. I don’t know what I’d do if he was working on the main floor! It’s all pretty open, and I wouldn’t be able todo much of anything.

Can you believe it has been almost four months since our worlds have changed so drastically?

The time does seem to be going faster and faster.


If you celebrate, real or fake tree? How do you like decorate it? Theme or no theme? Does it change every year? Do you like colored or white lights? Multi or single color stands? Tree skirt or no skirt? Anybody have multiple trees?

Love Christmas trees! Real or fake depends on whether we’re traveling near Christmas or not. I figure there are advantages either way. Some years we even do two.

No specific theme usually, just a hodgepodge of special ornaments from over the years - trip souvenirs, ones made from photos, etc. Unpacking them is always a memory fest!

Our very first tree, though, was when we were young and living on a small budget. It had just popcorn strings, red bows, and candy canes! To this day, I hang an ornament with a close-up picture of one of those bows!

I like colored lights on the tree and white on the house the best, but I’m up for pretty much anything, and we do change up the tree sometimes.

I have a beautiful tree skirt DS’s Nana made for us. She is an excellent quilter, and I love it! Here is a pic from a few years ago:

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

...I could never understand how someone could commit and then not follow through...

I do exchanges on reddit almost every month. I've only been 'stiffed' on the no-credit exchanges (like postcards, Christmas cards, magnets, keychains); never on the credit exchanges. I've received a lot of awesome things over the last 5 years; the top two are a Dooney & Burke Denver Broncos bag, and a set of glasses/pitcher that are a beautiful sapphire blue. I think the 'worst' gift I've received is a Google thing (3D), mainly because I'm not into that, but the kiddos had fun with itfor a little while.





I missed a few days, so to recap: we were very busy over the weekend, with DGS#2. DD#2 went to Orlando Saturday, with one of her BFFs, to go to MK/Epcot/DTD. DS and I drove DGS down on Tuesday, and then drove right back home; DD took DGS to Universal for the rest of the day. They flew out of Orl to go see DD#1 for a week yesterday, then they'll head back to CA. When we dropped off DGS, we didn't go in the hotel, and we didn't get close to DD, since she had been out running around (although with masks on the whole time, but still...)

So yesterday was a recovery day for me; my back was killing me. Next time I have to drive any distance, I'll use the heated seats periodically, lol.

My SoIL#2 is still away at training, but I thought I'd show him off, since I never do. DGS#2 looks so much like him.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

And as those pics filled up the page, haha...

missed Qotd:
1. I do like getting in the water. I haven't been really able to, because of my psorasis, but the last few months, I've been fairly clear, so I risked getting in the pool with DGS while he was here. It was great. I'm nervous in the ocean, and I steer clear of lakes (brain eating amoebas, hello?). I'm not a great swimmer.

2. a trival pet peeve? I hate when people drag their fork over their teeth. That sound just grates my nerves.

3. Christmas in July? you betcha. I collect ornaments, even if I haven't put up a tree in...jeez, 6 years. DH didn't have the energy (nor did I, depression sucks) for a few years there, and then he had the transplant, and DS just doesn't care about it. I prefer a real tree, even if I'm having to take allergy meds for a month, lol. I alwasy decorate the whole house, if I can.

One of the ornaments I have received from the reddit exchange:

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

and one last one, since i am having trouble getting it to load:

dh and my tree skirt





We are still looking at the whole Japan thing. It's not feasible until December at the earliest (partly financial, partly court time, as the courts here are barely running, then he has to go with all the military overseas stuff) at the earliest. But we are still open to it. DS went ahead and got all signed up for online school here; he was able to get all his classes but 2 (as they don't offer ESL or digital art online where he has to go for online school), but he's taking guitar and criminal law instead, and he's good with that. He asked if his friends could hang out, and I told him that would be fine, and I was ok if he went out with them, as long as they wore masks and took other precautions. Reminded him he could hang at the pool with his friends without me there, as long as they could 'police' themselves and not act like teenagers, and he was good with that. We talked the whole time, on the way back from Orl, and he understands things a bit better now, and he opened up to me quite a bit.

Food has been pretty basic: fried fish, breakfast for dinner, burgers, and take out, as I was too exhausted to cook after doing the 6 hour round trip drive to Orlando and back. I took the 'back road' through Ocala National Forest there, but took the I-4/95 route back. I used 1/4 tank of gas down to Orl, and just over a third of a tank back...the construction on I-4 is still a PITA.