“Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin – inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night.”
The snow is melting off the roofs and tree branches. The day is warm, in the 40’s. The breeze is slight and only moves small branches and dead leaves. The sky is cloudy, but the sun is strong behind the light grey clouds and gives out a hazy light. It will rain tonight.
My packages have been sent to Colorado. Today I’m going to decorate the house. The dining room is the only room festooned with Christmas though here and there are poinsettias. Their bright red flowers lend color everywhere they sit. I’ve decided to get a couple of small trees, one slightly bigger than the other. I’ll put them in the corner of the living room. This afternoon, before it starts to rain, I’ll head on out to pick my trees.
I’m making a list and checking it twice, but it is a list of the goodies I’m going to make and the ingredients I’ll need. Orange cookies top the list. They were my mother’s favorite and are my friend Clare’s favorite. Snickerdoodles are my friend Tony’s favorite. They’re on the list. My sister Sheila gets fudge. It is from a recipe my mother got from a friend years and years ago. It was my father’s favorite. He used to hide it under the couch. I’ll also choose a new cookie or two.
When I was a kid, everything about Christmas was magical, especially the Christmas tree. It was always in the corner of the living room and filled with as many lights as my father could untangle. The biggest ornaments were at the top to keep them safe from kids and a dog. The bottom branches were sometimes overfilled with ornaments as that was where my sisters could reach. To light the tree one of us had to crawl underneath the branches to plug in the cords. I remember sitting on the couch just looking at the beautiful tree. It was always a beautiful tree.
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December 13, 2019 at 3:37 pm
Yea Yea Yea, beautiful tree magical lights treasured ornaments….all very Hallmark
But lets cut to the chase….Tinsel
We were all commanded to decorate the tree with individual strands. A concept so silly that my attention span lasted about 5 minutes before I moved to …..CLUMPING
You could sit on your couch and admire a well clumped tree. Heavy groups of tinsel slung on to branches producing wondrous light from the ball of aluminium adorning one branch or maybe 2
December 13, 2019 at 4:28 pm
My Dear Hedley,
We all started out with good intentions, one piece of what we called icicles at a time. It didn’t take long for us to get bored, and, like you, we tossed clumps. My mother, patient at first, took the clumps and put one at a time on the boughs. She lost her patience and sent us away. We were thrilled.
We had to stop using them as we found the cats would eat them thus necessitating surgery. Even now, none of our trees have them.
December 13, 2019 at 6:20 pm
Hi Kat,
Why a Christmas tree? Does it have religious significance since there were no evergreen trees in Israel? Some Jewish families put up a Chanukah Bush which is a blue and white aluminum Christmas tree with decorations. The other dumb product is a Jewish version of “The Elf on The Shelf” called “The Mench on the Bench”. I don’t know to whom the Mench reports Jewish kids behavior. 🙁 I think that’s dumb and a stupid attempt to try to fit in with their Christian neighbors while demeaning the Chanukah holiday. During the Nazi era in Europe, the SS didn’t ask if you had a Chanukah Bush before marching you into a gas chamber.
Glad you got your gifts off today so they will make it to Colorado before Christmas.
Another beautiful day with a high temperature in the low 60s.
December 13, 2019 at 6:32 pm
Hi Bob,
Here is everything you wanted to know about the Christmas tree and a whole lot you probably don’t care about knowing.
https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/trees.shtml
I laughed at the title “The Mench on the Bench.” What does he look like? Is he wearing a blue coat? My niece had three boys, and they each have their own elf. Her youngest, Jamison, wears glasses and so does his elf.
They told me at the UPS store Wednesday but said they are slammed so more likely Friday. I just saw a news story about UPS not delivering packages though their on line tracking says the package is out for delivery. One guy said it had read the same for three days, and he still doesn’t have his package. I was determined to get it sent.
Today stayed in the mid-40’s. It started to rain in the late afternoon close to four. We could get as much as 2 inches.
December 13, 2019 at 6:49 pm
Here’s the website:
http://themenschonabench.com/shop/
Who knew there were so many choices. ‘Oy’
December 13, 2019 at 8:12 pm
I hope you found the perfect trees.
Well, Christmas decorations. No dead tree at my home as every year. One light chain is on my plants on the window sill. To be honest I hadn’t removed it last year and just rearranged it now. White lights only. I can’t find my light chain for the front window. I still have 10 more days to hang some straw stars onto my plants and to put the Christmas pyramid on the table. So far I’m right on decoration schedule 🙂
December 13, 2019 at 9:21 pm
Birgit,
I found the two trees I wanted. The taller is about 4 1/2 feet while the smaller one is 3. They are both really full. They’re in the dining room right now but they will soon grace my living room. Tomorrow is decorate the house and trees day. I replaced an outside set of white lights, and that was my final task.
I’m behind this year. My cards went out first which is unusual. My tree is last, also unusual. Baking is next b ut I am on schedule for that.
December 13, 2019 at 11:21 pm
I was transfixed by “orange cookies,” though still intrigued by the possibility of a new cookie or two. My curiosity is intellectual, of course.
December 13, 2019 at 11:43 pm
Rowen,
The orange cookies are drop cookies. Orange zest and juice are two of the ingredients. The frosting too has orange zest. I’ll let you know which new cookies I’ll be making. That should satisfy your intellectual curiosity.