As we face below freezing temperatures here -- something that just doesn't normally happen in Portland, by the way -- I've spent a good part of the day WINTERIZING around here.
That mean figuring some way to protect (to some degree) the family room windows. Marilyn's 
mistressmarilyn sofa (where she often sleeps) is directly below them, so I needed to do something to try and warm things up.
In past years, I've put things on both the outside and inside of the windows. I've tried some things outside (I hope they work okay), and need to add to what little I've done inside. (This wasn't a day to focus on inside the house, mind you. The spigots (outdoor faucets for hoses) are covered, which was one of the most important things to get done -- we certainly don't want to be dealing with frozen pipes! (Which was a constant problem in Mom and Dad's old house, built just after the Civil War and insulated for shit. One year we were dealing with frozen pipes and a flooding basement on Christmas day -- in the area where we had a dirt floor, too.)
I put up a few (very few) Christmas lights in the front of the house. A string along the brick 'line,' some strings on the bushes (going for a 'snowy' effect) and then I put up our outdoor light-up tree. All white lights and pretty -- but nothing fancy. I also put up the large red berry wreath on our front door.
Here's our outside lights. You really can't
make out the wreath too well here -- but you
can see the full moon over the house!
Here's a close up of the lights...
Here's a close up of the wreath.
More later -- Marilyn's home and we're both starved, so it's time to eat!
