Holidays Are Almost Over

The sun has returned to our corner of the world today.  Of course, we knew it was there all along, right?  But sometimes lately, I think we've all had our doubts.  I truly don't mind a few rainy (or snowy) days, especially this time of the year.  The rain makes things that much cozier inside and makes me want to fluff the nest a bit.  :)  But the amount of rain we've had in 2018 just boggles the mind.  It seems that the eastern United States and particularly the mid-Atlantic states have all had a sopping wet year in 2018, but thanks to two almost back-to-back hurricanes in the fall, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia really got slammed.  Decades-old rainfall records were broken.  Read here to find out more.   Yesterday seemed like one of the dreariest days of all.  I'm not sure why except that it rained non-stop all day, and the sky never brightened until near sunset.  Soooo, I turned the Christmas tree on in the morning, and left it on until bedtime.  I thought I'd enjoy it one more time before we take it down.  I also took some more pictures because I realized that I hadn't taken any in the living room or foyer with all the candles "burning."  Sorry guys; I said in the previous post that those were the last of the Christmas pictures.  😏      

       These are all battery candles, but I love the way they look.      

   Here's the tree from a different angle, and you can see the candles and lamp post burning on the piano.     

   I just took a few pictures in the kitchen.  These two pictures are not the best; you wouldn't believe how hard this corner is to photograph because of the lighting.  The shelf with the lamp is too bright and everything gets blasted out, and the shelf above it doesn't get any light.  I wanted you to see how I decorated the shelves this year.  I just removed a few of the dishes/trinkets that are normally here and added my Jim Shore Santas.  I was really pleased with the way they turned out.  I normally put these on the built-ins in the den, but I put our nutcrackers there this year.  I think the colorful Santas show up very well on the white shelves.    

   Here's a closer look.    

   I decorated the little kitchen tree again this year.   

   In this picture, you can see the candle in the window, as well as the carolers on the piano and the light from the lamp post making a pretty pattern on the wall.  It looks like the blue hour outside.   

     

   Looking straight into the foyer with the candles glowing there.   

  

   I chose this picture because you can see the tree lights reflected in the window and, in turn, the tree and window reflected in the mirror.    I do love the magic of Christmas and am sorry to see it go, but I usually find beauty in the winter months, too.  It's a peaceful time before the busy days of spring and summer roll around again.  What do you like best about this time of year? Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting me; I hope you have a wonderful weekend!