House Tour: Behind The Scenes

Many of you left such kind words when you visited the Old-Fashioned Farmhouse Christmas, and I am so happy that you enjoyed the tour! 

But I thought that you might want to take a peek at what went on behind the scenes. 

I must say that online house tours are perfect for procrastinators (like me). 

If it were a live tour, then I'd have to be ready at the appointed hour--house totally clean and organized, cookies already baked and artfully arranged, Ron and I dressed in our holiday best greeting you cheerfully at the front door. 

But for an online tour, the rules are different.  (Whew!)  You can move a bit of clutter out of camera range.  You don't have to bake at all.  You can take pictures while wearing your jammies.  And no one arrives at your house until you say so.  (If you're not ready when the hostess opens the Linky Party, you just don't link.) 

So on the day (yes, THE day...remember, I'm a procrastinator) of Melissa's Christmas Tour of Homes at The Inspired Room, I go into the living room to turn on my new pre-lit Christmas tree...and it wasn't pre-lit or any other kind of lit.  No. lights. at. all. 

I call Ron at work and tell him that today is the day of the house tour and what can I do with this tree that doesn't light.  For some reason, he doesn't think that I am weird, and calmly does some absentee trouble shooting.  I decide to turn the situation over to clear-headed Kati (who has had her own tour of her Christmas-y crafty bedroom ready to go for days), and she and Ron have several phone conferences.

Meanwhile, I snap pics all around, avoiding one certain dark-ish corner of the house.

Here is dear Kati, hard at work learning some mechanical and electrical skills...   

There were a few many bloopers, like this one with pajama-clad Bekah running into the room and some table clutter visible in the background...

...and this one where my lack of photography skill was "glaringly" obvious.

And then there was Pinky, who seemed to be everywhere.  (There is really just one Pinky.)

When I had finally finished taking pictures and went about the business of doing my hair, I cut a gash in my finger with a tube of  hair gel.  Really.  I couldn't make this up.

But at the end of the day, the tree was alight, the post was up, and my finger had (mostly) stopped bleeding. 

Surely next year I'll get ready earlier.  Right? 

(I think I hear the laughter of my loved ones...)