A ranchwife's Christmas decor....

This is what I call a true Cowboy Christmas Tree.  You don't need a hatchet or saw to cut it down, and you don't need to tromp through the forest all day to find the perfect tree.  All you need to do is take a little walk on the prairie near a fence line and pick your favorite tumbleweed from among the many.  

One year when we were flat busted-broke and we were snowed-in-up-to-our-eyeballs, there was no Christmas tree to be had.  For some reason, I thought a tumbleweed looked something like a tree and I figured some white lights would make it look just right.  And that was our Christmas tree.  It worked beautifully.  The other day as Hubs and I were out feeding cows, there was a perfect tumbleweed caught in the fence, and I decided that I would take it home and it could be a Christmas tree somewhere.  Right now it's in the living room poked in an old white boot and perched on a backless, white chair.  It may eventually have to move over to another room when we get the Big Tree, but for now, it's basking in the limelight.  The tiny rice lights looks terrific on my Cowboy Christmas tree.  I might add a few white ornaments, but honestly, I like it simple with just lights.  That boot was not originally white.  I spray painted it.  Nobody was wearing that pair of boots anyway, so I thought, "Why not?"

This sweet, old Dazey Butter Churn belonged to my mother-in-love.  She gave it to me one year when the kids and I were reading through the Little House on the Prairie books.  Our Middle Child was determined to churn butter and when his grandma heard about it, she brought out this churn so we could take it for a spin.  It is about one gallon in capacity, and I cannot even imagine churning THAT much cream into butter at a whack.  Of course, you'd want some head room in the jar for sloshing about, but still!  I remember that we all took turns cranking the churn and  it took a long time before we had butter.  This Christmas season it's holding my favorite white glittered pine cone lights.  I tied some red calico onto the cord for a little extra color.  It sits on my kitchen counter making me happy.

Eldest Child dragged in this old, rusted hunk of barbed wire from the pasture some years ago and gave it to me.  How did he know I would love it?  It left it's former job of keeping cows out (or in) and has retired to hanging out as a  wreath-on-the door for several years now.  Sometimes I weave in dried grasses and pods and sometimes berries or evergreen.  

I'm still in the process of holiday decorating so there may be more fun things to share in the days to come.  I hope you are happily bringing out all those treasured Christmas things that have special memories of loved ones attached to them.  I'm so glad that God gave us memories.  What a gift!