I particularly love the touch of blue in it.
One of my dearest friends and my hiking companion virtually every weekend for a couple of years (we did about 1,500 miles together), got lost in a snowstorm & died in the Sierra Nevada mountains in 2005. It took a year to find/recover him. I was crushed, more than I can describe - the ‘sharp edges’ of losing him have dulled a lot, but the grief still lingers.
Anyway, he is in a Vet’s cemetery about 45 minutes away. He loved the outdoors, nature, lived a simple, frugal, unpretentious life. For the first 5 years or so, I made him a Christmas wreath every year .... red nandina berries, running cedar (our woods are loaded with it), cedar (especially with blue berries - lots of that, too), pine, maybe some cones .... they turned out really nice. I would get the forms/stand at AC Moore (which is now Michael’s). The first one was tough, but I got pretty good at making them. After NEEDING to go see/talk to him after he ‘came home’ for the first couple of years, I don’t need to go to the cemetery any more like I used to, but I think of him all the time.
From my experience, I can highly recommend making wreaths out of things you find in the yard/fields/nearby woods - beautiful, meaningful & satisfying. Also, we have a book showing the wreaths that decorate Williamsburg & instructions for making a basic wreath. These wreaths are made from naturals (no ‘fake’ anything in Colonial days!), including a lot of fruit - they’re gorgeous. There is one that is mostly pine cones & seed pods ... so beautiful - gave my niece the book for that wreath alone. I think she has on her property what it would take to make it.
For those not familiar with the Colonial Williamsburg decorations, you can scroll through & see many of them here:
https://www.qwant.com/?client=ext-firefox-sb&t=images&q=colonial+williamsburg+wreaths
I lost my BFF, Cathy, to cancer over a decade ago. You’re right about it not hurting as much, but the grief does linger. I ‘talk’ to her all the time, though. We laugh a lot. ;)
And you’d think I’d be sick to death of Christmas wreathes and bows and all that Holly Folly after selling thousands of Christmas Trees, Wreaths, miles of Garland and making at least 10,000 BOWS at the Garden Center, but strangely, I’m not!
Finishing up Christmas Decorating, today; still have the Mantle and the Dining Room Table to finish. I told Beau I’d have the house back in order by today.
I moved my tall porch planter to the kitchen window, covered it in evergreen boughs and red twig dogwood, put a plate in the middle and filled it with birdseed & peanuts. I’ve got Blue Jays right in my kitchen window and all kinds of finches and juncos and nuthatches. The cats are especially loving it. Cat TV, LOL!
First Christmas Party, tonight. I am so READY to Holly Jolly! :)
Wish I had your Bacon Socks to wear, LOL!