Candy cane creamer in the pumpkin spice coffee

The Prude is living in limbo.

Thanksgiving was early this year.

Prude rules dictate no Christmas decorating till December.

But they also require that Thanksgiving decorations come down right after Thanksgiving.

Add the ‘chop your own Christmas tree from farms open only on weekends’ rule

and the Prude’s home is suspended between Thanksgiving and Christmas, between autumn and winter, between rusts and golds and pumpkin, and silver and white and candy cane.

It looks blah.

She should have imitated the float design below.

Toss Prude rules to the wind and leave all the Thanksgiving decorations up while

jamming the Christmas decorations on top of them.

Instead she has bare surfaces in her house and nothing to do with them till we get the Christmas tree on Saturday.

A quick consultation with the Prude’s Rules of Holiday and Seasonal Decorating reminds me that no new decorations shall be put up till all surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and polished.  

Is there a rule covering what kind of music to play during the inter-seasonal cleanup?

(Special thanks to my daughter-in-law Danielle who inspired the title by doing exactly that)

Too Cool for School?

Ex-elementary school teachers don't retire. They just, in lieu of switching out the bulletin boards for every new season, decorate their homes.

September in the House of Prude means decorating for the school year.
Since her boys are all graduated she doesn't go to quite the extent of grapevine wreaths with pencils and markers, but she does want to share some old faithful back-to-school tales.

This is an old school desk all painted and pretty–a gift from my folks and sister when I began homeschooling 17? 18? years ago. the adorable little boy in the frame is my husband. Yup. I robbed the cradle.

 This handsome guy is my dad, 5th grade teacher extraordinaire. I was blessed to have him for 5th and 6th grade at Kenosha Christian.

Molly, looking fine.

Samantha and Kit eyeing the apples

My middle boy calls this 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'

Actually it is my dad heading to teach school in South Holland, IL in the 1950's.

Demure Felicity eyeing the cute curly headed guy.

Poor Kit doesn't have a school outfit. She had to borrow Molly's. Good thing they are the same size.

Here is something nifty. My  'Down the River Road' reader from 1938 has a page closely replicated in an old 'Ideals' magazine fall issue from the late 50's. 

My girls will be enjoying their school finery for only a few more weeks before Teacher Prude switches everything out for the autumn pretties. Now if she can convince her husband to wear only rusts, browns and golds until Dec. 1...