”I love the smell of a real Christmas tree – also, my mum’s Christmas pudding with brandy sauce.”
The rain started last night and continues today. The weatherman says rain most of the afternoon possibly changing to snow in the late afternoon. It is cold, only 39°. I had a late start as I took Henry to the vet. He has red all around the sockets of his eyes. He had it three years ago, but it went away. This time it hasn’t. Henry isn’t bothered by it, and he lets me clean it so it doesn’t hurt. The vet checked a swab of the redness under the microscope. He thinks it is a seasonal allergy so I have to swab the areas with an ointment twice a day. Henry also got his rabies shot, a heart worm test and his nails trimmed. I’m still taken aback by the bill.
Remember I told you I thought I had mice in the cabinet? That has been confirmed. Yesterday, two small ones were in the trap. The peanut butter was gone. Now the mice are gone, let free. This morning I checked and lo and behold I had two more small ones. They are also free. I’ll reset the trap and put it back in the cabinet. I’m keeping a rolling count.
When I was a kid, I loved going down stairs in the morning this time of year. As soon as I got to the bottom stairs, I could smell the Christmas tree, the sweet pine that always triggers memories of Christmas. I used to love to lie under the tree and look up to see the branches and lights. As soon as it got dark in the late afternoon, we raced to be the one to turn on the tree lights. I remember there were plugs all attached to each other in a row and one plug to rule them all, sorry, one to hold all the other plugs. You had to crawl under the tree to plug in the lights. Those were the days of a whole string of lights going dark when one bulb died. I can still see my father testing each bulb. I always wondered if maybe there were two or even three dead bulbs. I never said that out loud. When it happened to me in my own house, I’d have an empty strand and test the bulbs one at a time.
I have a concert this afternoon. I’ve already filled my bag with a Christmas fascinator, jingle bells, squeeze toys and a couple of metal antique noisemakers. I’m ready.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
December 5, 2024 at 5:40 pm
Hi Kat,
Today was mostly sunny but cold with a high of 56°. But no windchill.
You are too nice. When it comes to varmints, I want them immediately dead as door nails. By trapping and releasing them, all you are doing is making them someone else’s problem.
Having never had a Christmas tree, I can’t relate to the sensation of the aroma nor the excitement of the lights. Chanukah is a very minor Jewish holiday, which commemorates the battle that was fought between the Assyrian king and the Maccabees in 164 BCE. When we were kids we had an electric menorah that we placed in the front window. It always looked lost among our neighbor’s large decorations and Christmas trees. My father’s favorite food was potato latkes. We didn’t know about Sufganiyot, jelly donuts. I would prefer them anytime. However, my grand parents were Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe and they knew potatoes and onions. I also don’t like the sour cream that my father ate them with. My mother would serve apple sauce to sweeten them up a bit.
When we were kids we would get one present per night for the eight nights. We quickly tired of spinning our dreidels, and usually went outside to play with the previous night’s toy. Some Jewish families would put up a Chanukah bush, but my father refused. This year Chanukah begins on Christmas Day. The after Christmas sales should be in full swing for Chanukah gifts. 🙂
December 6, 2024 at 1:46 am
Hi Bob,
Right now it is 34°. It will be the same all day. At least we didn’t get any snow. A cold bleeze blew in when I open the backdoor to call in the dogs. They don’t stay out long.
The mice will have to go a long way to find another house. I let them go in the conservation area, and there are no houses anywhere round there. I can’t do the killing and I can’t pull dead ones out of the trap. They will just have to contend with being wildlife. My brother always says that if someone on the cape says they have no mice, they haven’t looked hard enough.
If you have ever walked in a pine forest, that is what the house smells like. Your light rides are close to the same feeling you get with one lit in your living room. I remember on out light rides we’d see all the houses in a neighborhood with lights except for one or maybe two. My mother would say they must be Jewish.
I’m a fan of potato latkes. I used to make them for myself. I haven’t in a while. Now you’ve given me an idea. I could do with either the sour cream or apple sauce.
All the toys under the tree can get overwhelming. A few at a time would be better.