We are a week away from Christmas, more or less. It seems as though we've been on the road to Christmas since the middle of November, and as always, the weeks have flown by. Each week seems to be filled with things that have to be done, in addition to all of the work projects that have piled up. It's always like this right before Christmas and before summer vacation--the last minute rush to get things done. We put up our Christmas tree early this year--last week in fact--and I hope that it lasts until around January 6th when we take it down. We haven't gone over to an artificial tree yet, but we have talked about it; maybe in a few years. I bought LED outdoor string lights for the balcony, and they look very nice. I wish I could get a good night photo of them, but I don't seem to be able to--the photos end up too blurry. One of the nice things about LED lights is that they use very little electricity, so many people have decorated their balconies and homes with string lights. The end result is that there is more light in the darkness than usual. This is the dark time of the year in northern Europe, but it doesn't feel that way because so many people are using LED lights to light up the darkness.
It will be nice to have some time off for the Christmas holidays. I will catch up on my reading, sleeping, and baking. And I will try to take more photos during this season…….
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| Christmas tree in the courtyard |
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| our Christmas tree |
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the amaryllis has already bloomed
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