Winter White

 I don't typically decorate our outdoor trees for Christmas but I do love the look in the neighbourhood of various trees hung with shiny ornaments, so I decided to give it a go in our own garden.
 The tree I wanted to decorate is our Japanese Maple, and it is one of my favourites.  I cannot believe how much it has grown since we planted it as part of our "phase one" landscaping in 2009.  When the crew came back in 2014 to build the stone steps to the kitchen door they were having to work right up against the Japanese Maple, and I'm sure they thought I was insane because I kept telling them "whatever you do, protect that tree".
So, being sensitive about my tree, I chose lightweight ornaments and the ones I found are in shades of white with bronze bits.

 The tree doesn't have lights on it but it is illuminated by the outdoor light next to the kitchen door.  When we look out of the kitchen at night (well, anytime after 4:45 these days) the ornaments glow back at us.

 I think the frosty-looking pinecones are particularly charming!

We finally have our Christmas tree but it is yet to be decorated.  We took yesterday afternoon to rest instead of decorate, what a long week it was at the office for MrBP and of course Lil Rascal was tired from a "sleepless over" with her friends.
Last night we attended the retirement party of a friend who's just left his medical practice, it was so lovely and cozy.  There was catered Indian food with vegan options (it smelled so good), lots of yummy drinks and old friends.  We stayed out quite late (for us) so it's been a bit of a sleep-in this morning.
Today I'll be tucking in to bake up some muffins and cook a big pot of soup.  MrBP has to mark the final papers written by his grad students and Lil Rascal is working at her busgirl job today.
  At this point we might wait until tomorrow to doll up our tree, because guess who's coming home from school tomorrow afternoon: that's right Middle Rascal G!

Hope your Sunday is cozy and glowy.
xoxDani