Thank you, glad the albums are enjoyed. I never get enough of looking a pictures as you all know. :o) Let me know please, if the 6 sub-album links come up ok on our Photobucket album. They should, but since the PB people changed everything....and NOT for the better...things are a royal pain there now!!! I hate it but am stuck with it. If you don't see the links in the sidebar of the main (Xmas tree) page, I can post the individual ones for you here. Punk, I honestly don't know what I'm doing for Christmas. Last year I got rid of some things, and didn't do as much as I normally do. I was thinking this year will probably be the same. But a part of me keeps saying just to forget it and not decorate at all. :o( I'm still totally unable to get my decorating spirit back. Tho I do love having my Fall stuff out, I'm just sure how I feel about Christmas. I seem to go back and forth daily on it. It really stinks losing my joy and not knowing how to get it back. I keep hoping all the photos will inspire me. hugs, Karen

I agree with you, Oak. I did..do..love the cards that contain a letter with some photos to see like you mentioned. But I have always loved cards, silly cards or pretty cards. And just knowing someone took the time to pick out the card and write a few lines always has meant a lot to me. The cards with the name imprinted on them, and the photo cards seem to say "we're too busy for this". In fact, both my DD and my DDIL do the photo cards because they ARE extremely busy. I do understand that being the case these days. I just don't have to like it. LOL. Like Bleigh said, sometimes its physically hard to sit and do a stack of cards properly. Or at least the way I want to do them, with a short personal note and not just a signature. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even do my cards this year. I'd bought a box of them several weeks ago, and then with the decorating taking 3 wks and now Dad this week, the box just didn't even get opened. I sent a special one to my MIL in FL as we always do, and one to my very best friend in the world in OK. But looks like no one else is even getting a real card from me this year. I feel terrible about that. hugs, Karen I think a lot of folks have stopped sending them, maybe the economy? I've only gotten a few this year myself.

I look at the sidebar of home decor blogs to see the decorations they posted in November or December last year. Online home decor stores have some interesting and inspirational pics showing the decor they sell. Many sites show how their products can be used. Magazine sites often have slideshows of decorated homes. Here are a couple: http://www.countryhome.com/decorating/holidaydecorating/naturalbeauty_1.html http://www.homesandgardens.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=908 I like cottage decor so this is one of my inspirational sites. Just click on the December homes at the bottom of the page to see Christmas decor. Here is a link that might be useful: christmas cottage decor

my advice would be: go on the big site where people are selling vintage..and I'd start with Etsy. search there for vintage lights..mention flush mount/semi flush mount. even better type "mid century modern" when searching. I'll tell you why-this was a time of lower ceilings. So there were plenty of very nice lighting for lower ceilings. and it was mostly great quality too. hardly comparable to what it is out there now..in normal price range i mean look what they've got there. almost all my lights are from Etsy, Craigslist or EBay , and I have..well not that low but mostly standard ceilings except for the entry and the living room. when I was searching for the lights i understood very fast that my options in new are either too expensive or too bland. even though since then i saw more and more new central lights for standard ceilings appearing. it's like the manufacturers heard me lol yet still, if they're cheap the finish is not as great..they look nice but only from the distance, or on the picture in the internet. and if it's great-they stop being cheap lol so. i'd really check into vintage but if you'd rather not, for various reasons.. check Shopcandelabra-http://www.shopcandelabra.com/lighting/ceiling-flush-mounts/flush-mount they have several options that are more modern/rustic/industrial that you might like, along very traditional ones (they have semi flush mounts too..http://www.shopcandelabra.com/lighting/ceiling-flush-mounts/semi-flush) the choice is not bad, the pricing is over the range..given it's a very expensive store, generally speaking-i was pleasantly surprised recently to see there more options it won't be as great price/quality correlation as if in buying vintage. but it will may be faster and simpler and not bad. say i'd rather recommend them than West Elm that recently carries several flush mounts. check CB2 as well. didn't hear anything especially amazing about their quality but i saw them expanding their choices but make sure to read the return policy really well. restocking fees, etc. especially when it's free shipping)) you can find good deals in similar lights on Gilt.com and OneKingsLane. com..also, check the return policies-Gilt became really bad in it lately. On the other hand they often run additional promotions, coupons, etc. they have pages upon pages of lights. and collaborate with some well-known sellers from Etsy that make lights of their own rather than sell vintage. you can find them yourself on Etsy when looking for new lights-all sellers there are extremely polite and responsible, for 99,9% of the time, and are a pleasure to deal with. some new lights made in US and sold there are really cool. but then, as always, it won't be cheap. on the other hand, there is something real nice in supporting local smaller shops that are just starting out, rather than huge chains that are already doing quite well. that's a cool home..I wish you luck:) Have fun with it..it has a big potential