Carrie Garvin’s house stands out on South Madison Street in Calhoun City, but then it would stand out on any street.
Garvin keeps her house and yard covered in decorations that she’s collected from various sales.
“I like to decorate, especially for my grandchildren,” Garvin said. “They love it. I try to put different things out for whatever holiday is coming up.”
She has wind chimes of every variety, ceramic ducks, plastic frogs, glass ornaments, and most anything else that catches her eye hanging from tree branches, her front porch, nailed on the fence, and stuck on posts in the ground.
She attracted a lot of attention at Christmas when she had Christmas ornaments and lights intermingled in her always growing collection.
“I had lots of people stop by and say they liked it,” Garvin said.
Most of the items she decorates with she finds at yard sales or on clearance shelves in the area dollar stores.
“I’ll see something for 30 cents or so and think I can make something of that,” she said.
Garvin loves the items that hang from the trees or eave of the house, creating some movement, but if they’re not conducive to that, then she stakes them in the ground using whatever is available.
“I’ll use an old table leg or when I wear out a mop, I’ll save the handle and use it,” she said. “Just anything that’s good and sturdy.”
Trying to pick a favorite amongst such an eclectic collection is a challenge, but she said she would have to say the large number of wind chimes hanging along the front porch and her butterfly collection would rank at the top of her list.
“To tell the truth, I like it all,” she said as she leaned back in her front yard bench looking across the property. “I enjoy looking at it. I think it’s relaxing and my grandchildren love it, so that’s all that matters.”