Keep it Simple Stupid

 Is anyone else battling garden fantasia?  This is the time of year when garden plans get out of hand.  I have two more companies to order seed from in order to prepare for my carefully thought out Plan.  However, I get ideas.  Now that I have decided to confine the vegetables to half of the garden, and plant pollinator friendly annuals in some of the remaining beds, I am fighting delusions of grandeur.

The Plan is to plant one bed in Zinnias, one bed in Sunflowers, and one bed in Dill and Parsley for the caterpillars.  Then I decided I would also plant one in Cosmos.  Simple.  All of those things are easy and low maintenance.  As long as I set it up properly and make sure these tall flowers are supported, I should be able to direct sow them, monitor moisture and forget about it.  Simple.

Then I start thinking that maybe I could add some special Nicotiana or Stock.  Or Calendula.  And maybe use up some leftover Snapdragon seeds.  And I keep having to tell myself - No.  No.  Nonono.  If I do that, I am going to start running into different germination requirements, and prestarting indoors.  And that will complicate my life.  And that is contrary to the goal of The Plan.  There would be a lot of variation in plant height and support requirements.  The finished look could be somewhat messy. Before you know it, simple sow and walk away resulting in tall, billowy masses of flowers will be out the window.

Floret Flowers

I did allow myself to over order on Dahlia tubers.  I had already planned to spend more time fussing over Dahlias.  I ordered a dozen new varieties of those so I can sort of cull through what I am overwintering and remove some varieties that aren't doing it for me anymore.  And I indulged in different Zinnia seeds.  In the past I have grown a lot of State Fair mix and lots and lots of short Profusion.  But honestly - the gold color that comes in State Fair mix, is one of my least favorite annual flowers ever,  And there are usually a lot of them.

State Fair Mix

This is the selection of varieties I chose for Zinnias.  They all come from Eden Brothers, and the seed packets are already here.  So I am done with zinnia ordering.  Probably. 

And rather than spend a small fortune on a dozen different Sunflower packets, which I have done before,  I chose a simple mix, also from Eden Brothers.

My main seed order always comes from Johnny's Select Seeds.  I have a $50 order sitting in my shopping cart which covers restock on veggie seeds, and the Dill and Parsley and Nasturtiums and Cosmos.  But they don't have my Seychelles pole beans in stock yet.  And I don't want to pay double shipping.  And Johnny's doesn't do backorders.  So either I have to wait until the projected date in January.  Or I could order the Seychelles from Botanical Interests and find some other thingsIdidn'tknowIneeded to fill out the order.  But- No,  Nonono.  Be patient.

Christmas is Right Around the Corner

Christmas is right around the corner and I am as ready as I will ever be.  Christmas gets more simple as you get older.  Or at least it has for us.  The house is decorated, the cookies are baked, the cards are sent, the goodies are bought and plans are made.  Over the years my decorating has wound way down.   I used to swath the entire house in big lighted garlands and trees.  I fully intended to put up one or two trees this year, but when it came down to it, the desire for all of that creative effort just wasn't there.  Especially because they take up so much room.

When I picture Christmas, it is dark, and quiet.  

There is the lustre of candlelight, soft music and wine.

I love to look at a decorated tree and squint, making the edges soften and blur.  

This year, although we do not have a traditional tree, we still ended up with a lot of little views to gaze peacefully upon.

This ^ is my Christmas tree.

It has brown (yes brown) and cream glass ornaments on it.

Its tucked away in the bedroom.

And I love it.

It holds a lifetime collection of the exquisite Reed and Barton gold and silver plate carousel horse ornaments.  And it rotates.  Like a carousel.  

Also in the bedroom

When I started compiling photos of all of my decorations this year, I realized that there was quite a lot after all.  Every room got a subtle touch of Christmas.

The bathroom shelf

I was going to say that when I used to decorate, I felt that I had to redecorate the whole house right down to the art on the walls and the towel.  Then I realized that I still do that.  Perhaps not as thoroughly as I once did.

Vintage Baker's Chocolate ads.

I admit that I left the greenery on the kitchen plate rack from last Christmas.

I did take down the orange slices and candles from July thru November.

Decorations do not have to look like a Hallmark commercial to bring out your holiday spirit.  Anyone who does not see squash, nuts, crows, and rosehips as a seasonal theme is too far removed from nature.

I used to use garland and wreaths on the breakfront pie safe.

Now I just rearrange to bring the choir boys front and center and add a couple of candles.

Some of my arrangements are repeats from years past.

But, if I can't create some new arrangement, my spirit fades.

Thus, the lighted Christmas tree forest that sits above my laptop.

Its important to greet any guests with a little holiday welcome.

This year I bought a bubble light candolier for my Hoosier and I'm getting a big kick out of it.  Its very retro.  It also reminds me of the days when our family Christmas decorating consisted of merely a tree, and one or two other little decorations like a nativity or a candleabra in the window and a table centerpiece.

The shelf over the living room sofa was the first place that inspiration struck this year.  I had found one of these Teleflora centerpiece sleighs at at thrift store years ago for $2.  While not a perfect replica, as far as cheap decorations go, these little sleighs are quite outstanding in realism and workmanship.  They look very much like an authentic, Albany style cutter.  I have used it each year as a candy dish.

Back in mid-November, we again visited the same thrift store, and there was a second one!  For $10 this time, but still cheaper than I can find online.  I snapped it up and immediately knew that I wanted to use them on this narrow shelf.  That left me with some creative thinking to do.  I knew I needed a flat background to cover up the summery wallpaper border so I sat in the midst of all my collections and thought about what I had that would work...  printer's tray?  muffin tin? serving plate?

Then my Currier and Ives prints above my computer caught my eye and I remembered that I had one last frame that my grandfather made.  I just needed the right seasonal print to go in it.  Currier and Ives published many lovely winter scenes and of course the ever popular sleighing scenes that we see so often, like the Road in Winter or Trotting Cracks on the Ice.  There are thousands of calendar prints available on line and these frames were made specifically for the calendar prints that were so popular up into the 1970s.  This year I chose the seldom seen Trotters on the Snow, but I can change this each year and give it a little update.  Plus, if I want to leave this frame as the centerpiece for the shelf I have nearly unlimited seasonal options to change out the picture.

So, that's how Christmas is going here.  We, like much of the country, are expecting a blizzard this weekend.  Tomorrow is supposed to start out rainy and windy, then drop to -2F by supper time and start to snow.  Wind could be as strong as 65 mph and between that and the ice, then heavy snow, power outages are expected.  Not exactly what people want to hear coming into a Christmas weekend.  We will be laying low.  The tractor is fueled, and we have plenty of food and of course, a whole house generator.  If worse comes to worst, we will hunker down and eat cheese all weekend.

Have Yourselves a Merry Little Christmas