Merry Christmas and Welcome to my house – well more specifically, my office. We had a decorating contest at work so while it was not much, it was much, much more decorating than what I’ve done in the past 15 or so years.
Yes, even before Joe passed, I did not do a lot of decorating.Our attitude was no one came to see us so why decorate?
My Office
Here are the pictures of the decorations I used in my office. Most of them were stored in my office’s closet, which makes putting all this away easy.
Paternal Grandmother’s Christmas tree. I am not sure who made this for her. After she passed Dad and Step Mom had it out in New Mexico and added a string of mini-chili peppers to the tree.
A crocheted butterfly rests on the top of a shelf above my desk. I made this years and years ago, don’t have the desire to crochet anymore.
This stocking was done about 20 years ago, probably when Joe and I lived in our apartment.
Step Mother made Santa about 10 years ago. She was very good at sewing. She also made placemats that I used on my desk.
My former supervisor made this lamp for all her Team Leaders (of which I was one) about 15 years ago. I unscrew the top and can put different things in the Mason jar every season. The dried potpourri was from a Bath-of-the-Month club subscription Joe got me a few months before he passed away.
Maybe I will actually change it out this spring and put silk rose petals in it and change the lampshade.
This is Michaleen Moosey, (named after a character from the movie The Quiet Man.) Yes. that is my flute he’s getting ready to play. Joe and his friends were at a restaurant after golfing and a lady walked in with this moose. She got it at a local craft fair. I was going the next day and Joe told me to make sure I got one as he thought this was adorable. It was one of those times I questioned if I was really married to Joe or if some creature from outer space invaded his body.
Desk
I also covered my desk with a red vinyl tablecloth and added some fluffy, fake snow. No pictures of it. I deleted that after I sent it to my boss.
That’s All Folks
These pictures represent the bulk of the decorating I did in my office and house this year. Maybe I will do more next year – but most likely not.
Sunday is the end of the 52 Bible Verses for a Joy-Filled Year. After that, the next post will be Tuesday 12/26 when I do a 2017 year-end review.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas. Enjoy your time with family and friends.
Bio: Michele Kearns is the founder and HUG© (Hope Unites Globally) Award-Winner of JoyReturns. She shares her widowhood adventures hoping to encourage widows to move through grief and rebuild their lives. A graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor’s degree in communications, she’s used those skills while working as a call center team leader, facilitating a grief support group and helping small businesses with various writing and administrative assignments. Michele is a bookworm, lover of golden retrievers and an amateur photographer.
JoyReturns 
Merry Christmas!
Hope you and your family had a joy filled Christmas.