I came home from farm-sitting last night exhausted and weary, and also satisfied and encouraged after some good dog working and fun with friends. Mary's place, as usual, was immaculate (hahaha, not so much so after I had twelve dogs in her house!) and well kept, and it is always a nice place to stay. I took a swim in her big old garden tub - the kind you can sink all the way down in, and just had a ball. Friday night I had Julie and Chuck over for some of Becca's Fall Lamb and Apple stew - with corn muffins and some of Julie's fabulous yams, and it was really nice. We then watched Alasdair MacRae's shedding video - and I came away from that truly inspired!
At any rate, the point is that I got home from Mary's exhausted, and happy. After I unloaded the dogs and all of our stuff I wanted nothing more than to sit in my chair and mindlessly watch some football on TV. But for some reason I felt inspired... to put up my Christmas tree!
So I did. I drug it into the living room piece by piece (it's a 9' slim prelit tree) and put it up, and then went into the closets and drug out all of my decorations and ornaments. The living room now looks like Christmas... for the first time in three years. It appears, though, that I'm slightly vertically challenged even at 5'8", with a chair to stand on and all! I couldn't quite reach the top to put my angel topper on, so I settled for snaggging and bending a branch about 6" from the top and putting the topper bow I have on there. It looks fine from the front, but sort of ridiculous from the back. Anyway, Tall Tree (as my Stepmom refers to CR) has agreed that next time he's over he'll put the bow up there properly for me. Hah!
I promised my friend Paula that I would put my tree up this year - if nothing else then as a symbol of hope this year. This year I have a lot of things to celebrate hope for that I've not had in a while, and I'm truly thankful for it.
Unfortunately I can't post a picture of the tree - dang if I didn't put my memory card away somewhere for safe keeping (while I was working on my computer the other week) and now I can't remember where that place was. Wouldn't it have made too much sense to put the thing back in the camera??? At any rate, the decorations are burgundy, silver, gold, and crystal (I have quite a few crystal angel ornaments that were a gift from my Stepmom). I have a few Lennox china ornaments too. So the symbol of Hope is up this year. I'm hoping that ALL of us have a fruitful and good next year!
dog working updates to follow tomorrow...
8 comments:
YAY!! I'm so happy for you. I bet the tree is beautiful, and I hope your holiday is, as well.
((creepy internet hugs))
~PS
Oh, yeah. Pul-leese find your memory card...I want to see the tree. Your decorations sound lovely.
~PS
Yum, Lamb and Apple stew sounds good right now. I don't know why,but I just like meat + apples.
Merry Start of Christmas Season to you!
I love your story of getting the bow on the top of the tree. One year when we were stationed at Fort Bragg, my husband was deployed. I bought this huge arse tree - couldnt get the star on the top - then I had the brillant idea to tape the star to a yard stick. It worked...but I couldnt get the tape off (d'oh) so we hid the yard stick between the branches (still taped to the star).
PS, I plan to toss the office either tonight or tomorrow night. I looked in all of the places where I might have had it in my hand and inadvertantly laid it down... nope. I even looked in some weird places. *sigh*
Jen, it was fabulous! I can send you the recipe - I'll bet it would be just yum with beef, too.
BCxFour - OMG, that's freaking hysterical. Sounds exactly like something I'd do! Hey, you guys were at Ft Bragg? That's not far from me.
Seriously, the bow is bugging me. I was thinking (and here we are, having visions of my crazy plan to climb up on the grill to clean out my gutters, right?) maybe I could find a bucket or something to put in the chair.... Mom said last night, "Why didn't you just put your topper on before you put the top piece on the tree?". Well, wouldn't that be just too sensible??
Oh geez, what's it mean that i had the same thought as your mom? :-)
Yes ma'am we were at Fort Bragg, my husband was stationed there (Special Forces) he was active Army. I did my own time at Pope AFB (I was a USAF nurse). We lived near Southern Pines. I never wanted to leave - so when we changed duty stations to Ft Lewis in WA state I cried for a year. I am still in withdrawl missing the antiques in Cameron and all the potteries in Seagrove, I wont mention the food...or the weather, or the land, scenery, the beach... I could do without the tornado's and hurricanes though. *Sigh* then again I seem to have traded those that in for volcanos and earthquakes.
-Carolynn
Oh, I'm so depressed with all this holiday decorating...we aren't putting up anything this year with moving and all!
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