Holly House

Yesterday, about five minutes into CSI:NY, I jumped up and went to root in the closet for holiday decorations. Good thing we have TiVo. It was the opening scene of winter~wonderland, good cheer, twinkly lights, snow, and window decorations that prompted the latent desire to see what was what. I've been meaning to paw the front room's closet where my husband's three artificial trees reside. But I've not been feeling festive, and that puts a damper on things.

So when the whim whips me into action, I act on it. Even if that means pausing a show, throwing aside my latest project {a fuzzy neck warmer, a cowl sort of thing}, rousting the princess pearly pup from my shoulder, and stirring up a commotion. My husband came to see what I was doing and the look on his face was one of dismal dismay, but he indulged me, carrying boxes and bags into the living room.

He's good to me that way.

Then I went back to the room which held my ornaments and toted them out so that I could go thru them too. I never decorate with all of everything at one time. It's too chaotic and tacky. I unwrap everything, look at it, think about it, set some aside, rewrap, repack, and tidy things up and away.

I showed my husband some glass ornaments that my great grandparents and my grandparents had, the repacked them. Then I showed him some lace wreaths my mother made, a fragile star she made, and a couple angels made of various pasta pieces that her friend had made. One of which was crumbled and an arm was missing from the other. The arm, of course, was made of elbow~macaroni {what else would an arm be made of?}. I showed him some stars that I'd made years ago and a plaster tree that a dear friend painted. There were other ornaments that I didn't share this time, but reboxed for some future year.

All of that was put away, and left on the table were a dozen or so small stained glass ornaments that my family made and some floss needle work round ornaments that I'd made. He'd already strung some lights on the small{ish} tree and I set out a box of small glass balls. We decorated the tree and stood back to eyeball it. It looks full enough, but not too much so.

I spread a white sheet about the base, under the very small green and red furry skirt. And he topped it with a sparkly gold metal star that he'd had amongst his things. I set out a crocheted tree festooned with lots of lil miniature items that his first wife had made, and the bears that he and she and their children had painted. We hung the Santa faces that his eldest daughter and her mother had crocheted. Frosty sits in his wreath above the hall door and bells on ropes hang off the front door knob.

Over looking all this is an angel my husband's first wife had had. She had hundreds of dolls and this particular one is the only holiday decoration I leave out year~round. She's an angel in gold and red flowing robes, with golden hair, golden wings, and of course, a golden halo. She stands atop the corner of one of the china~cabinets that is near a sketched portrait of his first wife and their framed wedding certificate. Christmas was her very favorite holiday and her birthday is only just one day before Christmas Eve.

I know that things are very different. I didn't go all out on decorations. I didn't include manger scenes {I'm thinking that perhaps her youngest and oldest daughters might want them} and I didn't decorate outdoors. I am not she, and I wouldn't want to try to emulate her habits.

Last year, my husband and I went to my folks' place for the holidays. Since I hate to come back to decorations after the fact, we didn't unpack and place anything last year. This year, we will be home for the holidays. It's not much for some folks, but it's enough for us~~especially for our first time to decorate here at home. I wanted to blend some of his things from both his marriages, to honor his first wife, and to honor our own union.

I've never decorated this early before, usually opting to decorate my tree a few days before Christmas and then taking it down and packing everything up shortly after the New Year. I've never had an artificial tree before, and it is a bit different {not as full and big} but I like it; it suits us. Even tho the various presents have been wrapped for months now, we decided to wait til the weekend before Christmas to bring them out and set them under the tree.

I'm not sure how long I will feel festive, but for now, I'm alright. My husband is watching the SEC football game. My pupsicles are engaged in deep Zen meditation, doing their dead~dog impressions. And we're about to watch "The Tin Man"~~a four hour plus version of the Wizard of OZ. All's right in my world.

For now.