December 1: Headboard, or exercise barre? *

Brianna can't get enough of holding onto things and standing up!

And maybe dancing a bit, too. Standing is just so much fun! *

Here, mom, let me help with this laundry! *

She methodically takes handful after handful of stuff out of the basket and flings it to the side. Once she has it all out, she generally turns around to the piles and starts flinging them apart, too.

This shirt is hard to extract. It's tangled with other things.

Turning the basket on its side to make it easier to get the laundry out

Almost got it all!

Mittens, Brianna, and Ringo

Brianna and Ringo, with Mittens in the background (just out of reach of kicking feet!)

Best buddies

She's so cute :)

Brianna loves Ringo! *

December 3: Stock photo of my new freezer. It uses less than half the electricity the upright does, and it holds a good bit more food! *

The control panel. It tells you what the temperature is, so if the power goes out, you don't have to open it to see how it's doing. (There's a 9-V battery backup.) It also has a temperature alarm that goes off if the temp rises above a certain set point.

The freezer in the garage. The upright is next to it. I didn't unplug it when this one arrived, thinking that we'd need to wait a day or so for the new one to cool down, but it was ready in just a few hours!

Handy movable baskets

These dividers are one of my favorite parts. They're just *so* handy. I currently have divisions of steaks, roasts, miscellaneous other meats, homegrown produce, pizza and ice cream, and a miscellaneous bin, plus the things in the baskets -- and that still leaves plenty of space for the whole deer and 1/2 steer arriving this month!

Partially loaded freezer with room left for new meat on the way

December 5: Tree going up, and winter furniture rearrangement. 2 chairs angled on south wall. Notice the lovely snow and fog outside, too

The tree

Fireplace grouping. The recliner has a swivel base, and the rocker can be easily lifted and turned, to convert to a conversation area with the 2 chairs instead of the sofa.

Closer view of chairs. Ottomans can be scooted away from the chairs for additional impromptu seating. Still need to clear the table post-rearranging -- it has everything from both tables and the floor in this pic.

The kids let Ninwa outside to see the snow.

He wasn't really all that impressed.