Outside My Window ~ 11.25.2012

Outside my window..is a beautiful albeit chilly day.  We had blue skies, sunshine and very brisk temperatures today.  During my first dog walk at 7:45 this morning, it was 28°F….four hours later it was 39°F.  Fortunately the winds are calm, unlike yesterday.  I don’t believe it was this chilly, but it was cold….and windy. Our forecast high today was 47°F.  Tonight will be chilly once again at 33°F.  If you are to believe the forecast it looks as if Monday will be our warmest day at 58°F, the rest of the week will be much like today….easing into winter it appears.  I don’t mind a few good hard frosts to be honest….it was a warm winter last year and the mosquitoes were ferocious this past summer.   There is a chance for rain on  Tuesday….it looks to be our greatest chance for the next ten days.

I am thinking…I am so very sore.  I spent most of the day yesterday lifting myself in and lowering myself out of the attic while getting down Christmas decorations….the downfall of not having stairs up to the attic or a ladder tall enough to walk up into the access.  I feel like I have been hit by a train….twice.  All I can think about is the second day is always worse….I should have given myself an extra day to recuperate before going back to work.

I am glad…I had this extended time off but I can’t believe how fast the time went by.  Why oh why can’t time pass like that during the work week when I’m sitting in the office?  Why?  I’m also glad I got the exterior lights up on the house yesterday.  Why I picked the coldest day of the weekend thus far to do it, I will never know.

I am going…to have to strip my pre-lit Christmas tree of the lights.  :Groan:  I set the tree up last night, plugged in all the lights and flipped the switch….about half the lights are out.  I remember last year a few of the lights were out, but this year….so very many.  One would think   why not just go out and get another pre-lit tree ~ have you seen how expensive pre-lit Christmas trees are this year??  Or maybe they have been going up to unbelievable amounts and I just didn’t notice because mine was working fine.  If you want to get a tree that looks decent and will last longer than a year, they are freaking expensive!!  Back to my original problem, stripping the lights from the tree means I have to once again string lights on a tree….a task I have not undertaken for many years.  I’m not looking forward to it.

From my kitchen…which has seen a bit of baking today.  I made some homemade buttermilk biscuits for breakfast this morning and a loaf of bread this afternoon.  I decided I’m not paying the ridiculous prices they are charging for what the large manufacturer’s call bread.  The Fresh Market has some pretty tasty bread but again, cost is a determining factor and it can get pricey on a regular basis.  Solution is to make my own….and happily I’m getting quite good.  Now if only I could slice it consistently I would be happy.  Homemade buttermilk biscuits are another obsession of mine lately…I’m determined to make some tasty and fluffy biscuits.  Let’s just say it is still a work in progress but I’m improving each time.  I also realized I promised recipes last week and didn’t deliver.  Something I need to work on this week….stay tuned.

I am currently working on…photographs for some anxious folks.  Things didn’t work out like I had planned and I didn’t get as far along as I had hoped.  I also need to finish decorating the house and the Christmas tree.  It will be a busy week this week finishing all of that….I’m tired already.

I am hoping…that the aches and pains I’m feeling are all associated with my attic fun and not anything else.  I awoke this morning feeling great…later in the afternoon not so much.  Could be I was making myself sick thinking about those lights on the tree.

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….a Walking Dead commercial on television….the heater kick on {thankfully because it is damn chilly in this house this evening}.

A recap of last week…was an image of my Thanksgiving turkey last year.  I hope each and everyone of on you had a wonderful day, however you elected to celebrate.

Plans for the week include…working from home on Tuesday….finishing up post processing on the photographs….stripping and relighting a Christmas tree after which I can finally decorate….finishing touches on the house decorations.

One of life’t little pleasures…Christmas trees….Christmas lights…..I love this time of year, it brings back so many memories.

From my camera…a few shots I got with my point and shoot when I walked the dog way too early on Thanksgiving morning.  The first two are treated with textures.  These trees were some of the few that had any leaves left on them and they were amazing ~ so brilliant with reds and oranges.  Just beautiful.  The third is an antique look I was trying out.  And the final one, there is a sidewalk somewhere there beneath my feet ~ the amount of leaves laying around is amazing.  Lots of folks out raking them this past weekend.