It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

 

1. What's one fun thing on your December calendar? Well, today is my neighborhood ladies’ lunch and I’m looking forward to that. We have our office party next Wednesday at lunch and the “girls” in the office are all getting together one night next week. We have some amazing church services we will attend.

2. Sherwin William's Color of the Year for 2024 is Upward, described as 'a hint of silver lining', 'a breezy blissful blue' (see sample here). Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year for 2024 is Blue Nova, where 'violet and blue come together in a sumptuous hue'. (see sample here) Valspar's Color of the Year for 2024 is Renew Blue, a balanced blue with a touch of grayed sea -green' (see sample here). 

Seems like the design world is keen on the color blue for the new year. Do you have a lot of blue in your home decor currently? What shade? Of the three colors listed which one's your favorite? Do you need to paint? How likely is it you'd select one of these shades for your home? Which one? 

I do not have a lot of blue in our home. Our walls are Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. Our artwork has some hints of blue. We DO have some blue check chairs! They are a darker blue. Of the three colors, I think I would go with Blue Nova – maybe in an office or library. I actually surprised myself by liking that one the most. We do not need to paint. Everything in our house is freshly painted. I don’t think I’ll be choosing one of those shades.

3. Do you struggle with 'the seasonal blues'? What are some things you do to try to beat the blues? I must admit that it is funny that this was the next question because I was thinking that blues and grays sometimes make me feel blue/gray. I do not like the shorter days. I need more sunlight. We have a service of Loss and Light on the shortest day of the year and I’m always excited to watch the periods of sunshine get longer beginning the very next day.

4. Blue jeans...love 'em or no? How many pair do you own? Are you married to a particular brand? I do wear them in the winter. In the summer I much prefer dresses, skorts, and shorts. I love some Target jeggings/jeans – I think they might be Ava and Viv. I also have a cute new pair from Talbots. I got them last year but only wore them once. They are similar to these but they are blue denim. I’m not married to a particular brand though I do love the way the Target ones fit.

5. In terms of holiday preparation (baking, shopping, wrapping, mailing, meal planning, etc) how far along are you? 1=haven't given it a second thought, 10=nothing left to do but wait.  My final is this week and then I’ll start preparations! I want to make cheese straws for the neighbors. Our kids have decided that we are only buying for the littles this year. Mark and I have mixed emotions about this. I can’t imagine having nothing left to do but wait! The only time I’ve ever had everything done by this time was the year I was pregnant with Laura and Glenn. They were due Christmas Day but were born in November. I had done almost all of my shopping before they were born. That was 37 years ago!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Mark tore his retina last Wednesday. He drove himself home from the farm (1 hour and 45 minutes) AFTER he finished what he was doing. He called his eye doctor and they were getting ready to close but waited on him. She thought it was a very bad tear with a flap hanging down (yuck). They referred him to a surgeon who did laser surgery on Thursday. He said the tear wasn't as bad as originally thought BUT the tear was near a blood vessel so there was lots of blood inside. His vision is still wonky - he said it is like looking through a dirty screen. Have any of you torn your retina? surgery?