Gone With the Wind

Can you imagine a fabulous wreath like this on my front door? Maybe different colors so it wouldn't clash with the burgandy on the door but it would look so lovely framed by the etched glass of my rectangular window. Or maybe an elaborate lawn display with some lighted snowmen, twiggy trees or angels like these:

I had a cute tree similar to this with little white lights on a wire frame. Not a lot of mass, I figured it should be able to withstand the wind...but NO! I cannot decorate outside because our decorations either blow away, blow over or bang into the house by force stronger than the big bad wolf ever dreamed of producing. I even tried the little tree on the back deck "protected" from the wind. I could still see it through my french door and it looked so wonderful. Well, it blew over several times and broke the little bulbs so then we had bent wire and shards of glass. This year the three men at my house got out and hung our Christmas lights. It was beautiful for about 3 days then the winds kicked up. Either the bulbs blew into the house with such force that it dashed the glass bulbs into pieces or the wires shook with such violence that they became unplugged from the other set which was plugged into the outlet. When our house has all it's lights on it's a festive gingerbread cottage. After all the work done we have no lights on the roof lines, top or front edge. We do have lights around the front bedroom windows and around the garage so at least we are balanced.

These things we should have known and understood before building in the wind tunnel. I love it here but our options are greatly reduced when it comes to decorating. The new mailbox looks wonderful with a small garland and white lights wrapped around it and has endured the wind. I used to put out holiday welcome mats but I got tired of retrieving them from the neighbors yard or finding them under snow in the spring in my backyard. So, lest you think us a pair of Scrooges realize our decor is dictated by a house that faces right into gale-force winds.

Landscaping is another issue....