Sunset, a nest... and Christmas of course

I walked outside the other night and this was just quietly happening:

Of course the true magnificence and the golden light never translates to a photograph.  But I can confirm that it was pretty magical out there.

It's been seriously windy this past week.  The sun has been shining (at long last), and I haven't lit the fire in a week!  But this wind, it's been pretty trying.

The other morning after an especially blustery night we found a nest in the backyard.  The eggs were smashed to smithereens so we took the nest to J's kindy.  She was very proud.

I don't think I've looked properly at a bird's nest since I was a child myself, and looking at this one I was pretty astonished at the skill involved in making it.  I'm almost certain that even with my opposable thumbs I could not possibly create such a sturdy and intricate structure.

In other news, the Christmas pageant has been and gone in my hometown of Adelaide and do you know what that means?

Yup!  Time for the Christmas tree and decorations to come out.  The girls and I had a very fun afternoon assembling the tree, and it was good exposure therapy for me to watch J hang 15 ornaments on one branch and not to rearrange them for her.

Unfortunately the girls now view the tree as a new and exciting play area which is taking me to the brink.  I'm pretty sure I've threatened to take it down least twice every day since we put it up.  Suddenly it seems like a very long time to Christmas.

That aside, it's been so rewarding finding spots around the place for all my beloved decorations to go, and creating little Christmassy vignettes.

These bells fell off the door last night with an almighty crash and jingle, shaving at least five years off my life.  Stupid command strips not doing their job.

But look at the Christmas tree in the late afternoon light!  See it glisten and shine.

Speaking of glisten and shine, I've ordered a large and hopefully quite gaudy Christmas village slash advent calendar from the US.  You may or may not recall the Bradford Exchange Disappointment of 2015, and I'm crossing my fingers that we don't have a similar experience this time.

By far the best thing about Christmas this year is that J is the perfect age to understand what it's about and to believe wholeheartedly in the magic.  She's written her first letter to Father Christmas (or Daddy North Pole as she keeps calling him and no I can't bring myself to correct her) asking for a Nemo ball we saw at the shop.  A ball.  She just really wants that Nemo ball.  I'm dying here people.  Can barely function with the cuteness.

Got your Christmas decorations up yet?  If not, why not?!