After leaving Bramwell and its beautifully decorated houses, I was feeling inspired to go home and decorate my own house. When we pulled into the driveway, what to my wondering eyes did appear? A rather haphazard assortment of outdoor lights, strung across the fence, the porch banister, and hanging from the porch roof. My husband had been busy while I was gone!

I am notoriously lousy at decorating for the holidays and my determination lasted for just under twenty-four hours. By the time we drove home on Sunday and I unpacked, I decided that the only thing that was going to deck my halls was the dust already settled in for a long winter’s nap.

When I realized there is less than two weeks before Christmas, I had a mini panic attack, overwhelmed enough to cry a few tears. The panic was brief and I spent the rest of the evening reading. I’ve always been able to avoid the real world by losing myself in a book and I see no reason to abandon that tactic during the Christmas season. Being just a few steps beyond normal, I should be able to get my act together next week sometime.