Your deck looks nice in the summer too with all your plants and pillows out. I'd say you got a little snow alright!!! Looks like a winter wonderland now! We got some snow today but now temperatures are back down and to cold to snow more. Punk

I usually don't do much holiday decorating beyond the tree, but this year I couldn't wait to get started. We're taking a DIY approach and it's more winter decorating than holiday. I was so inspired by the thread on holiday decorating in Colonial Williamsburg. We visited colonial Williamsburg last month, so it was fun to do something sort of in that style. It's something I've never seen here in the PNW. Here's the wreath I made: I have a big wooden pear on my table, so I just decorated around it. My kids helped me pick up the Giant Sequoia pine cones. My girls made paper snowflakes and we put them on all the front windows. I put a garland along the window sill and added some lights, with the idea that it would gently light the snowflakes at night. This is lit just by the bulbs on the garland: I started needle felting recently and I've made a few Christmas ornaments so far. Some of these will go on the tree and some will be given to friends and neighbors. I hope to make a lot more. This post was edited by TheRedHouse on Tue, Nov 26, 13 at 22:54

It's worth the money to buy good, large amaryllis bulbs. They are far more likely to re-bloom. My two favorite are Cherry Nymph and White Nymph. They are double blossoms, multiple ones per stem and multiple stems. I pay about $18 for one bulb and it will rebloom for several years if treated properly. It's a lot of bag for the buck.

It’s beautiful! Where does he store all those Christmas stuff during the year? Maybe he's like my friend who lives in a huge house w./really no big storage area - they store their Christmas trees and decor in a rental storage unit And I thought going up to attic and/or down to basement was a PITA to get my Christmas decor...