Light hanging and wreath making

So. It's still cold here. Our low this morning was 11.1 degrees and tonight is supposed to get colder yet. Did my sweet, little, temperate state of Oregon get moved back east when I wasn't looking?

As I mentioned the other day, December 1st marks the beginning of holiday decorating for us and this doesn't just mean unpacking my Santa collection and playing my favorite holiday tunes. Yes, despite the serious chill around here, and in between breaking ice on animal waterers, stoking the fire in the fireplace, and trying to keep fingers and toes warm, some signs of the holidays are starting to appear outside, too.

External holiday lights are a must. Normally, they would go on the outside of the human house, but this year it was decided (by me and the goats) that the goathouse should be lit up. As I climbed the ladder to the goathouse roof, two furry heads popped out to help me:

Reggie appointed himself look-out goat:

I got these cool little plastic clips that slide under the shingles to hold the lights in place:

At one point, Reggie rested his little head on my boot:

Even once the looking-out portion of his job was finished, Reggie stayed here for the longest time. I think he thought he was serving an important purpose, but who knows for sure:

Yup, just standin' here:

Ta daaaaa....who knew it would be so difficult to take decent pictures of holiday lights at night in the dark:

Next, it was time to make my wreath. Yesterday turned out to be the PERFECT day to gather my supplies for my first-time wreath-making adventure.

I decided that, instead of using the wire wreath frames I had purchased from Michael's, I would use some of my grape vines:

I cut vines up to 10 feet long:

The trick with grape vine cutting is to spare the little tendrils that grab onto everything. These look very pretty left on the vine:

I gathered some holly:

I had found Douglas Fir (state tree of Oregon - FYI) branches a few days earlier, so now I was set. I brought everything inside and laid it out on the table:

Here's one of my grape vine wreath frames:

And here's my finished product:

I liked the look of the grape vine, so I left a portion of it visible at the top. It gives the wreath an asymmetrical look that I like:

Ready for company:

Roxy was a bit bored by the whole inside crafty thing and much prefers hanging out up at the barn: