This morning I woke up to a text from the Aging Hippie in California telling me how desperate she feels about the political situation and how deeply worried she is about all our futures, and how bad she feels that she can do nothing about it.
I know exactly how she feels - I’ve told you often enough - but this is a rare week when I am not battling against the darkness, despite the rearmament and warmongering going on all over Europe, despite the desperation in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine, and in Sudan. If political leaders spent as much time and money on peace making and negotiating as they did on weapons, we’d all be a whole lot safer.
This week I feel OK, and so as well as responding more personally to the AH, I found myself scrolling through my screenshots of encouraging quotes and sent her a few.
Here are two for you.
The news here is that I have been dithering over whether or not to get a Christmas tree. I bought a small one with roots eight years ago and it’s been inside for Christmas every year since, growing taller in the garden in between, and having to be repotted twice because of its bulky roots. One Christmas I had to rush off to Colorado to help in a crisis, and Liz borrowed it.
This spring Dave insisted - against my wishes - on liberating it and planting it out in the back garden. So this year the question was whether to get a tree when it’s an OFF Christmas*, and when even the OFF Christmas family meal is happening somewhere else and not here. Then there was the question of whether or not to get a tree with roots, if we did buy one.
I was still dithering, when yesterday we went to the large local farm and country store to get some mouse poison. Poison is not our preferred deterrent, but the mouse in question is under the sitting room floor and is not only managing to take the bait from the humane mousetraps but also eating our insulation.
In the yard of the shop they had some beautiful Christmas trees, some with roots and some without, and I fell for a tall one without. Dave hates all things Christmassy as you know but he knows how I feel about Christmas trees.
Reader, we brought it home.
Dave erected it and stood back as I was taking this photo and said “It will go straight out that window afterwards! I shan’t be carrying it out like we usually do,” and I said “Don’t say it out loud, you’ll hurt it’s feelings.”
I shall decorate it tomorrow. Dave is out today, so I am free to do whatever I want all day without having to announce it first or say how long it will take or when I will be back. An empty quiet day at home is bliss, and the sky is clear and bright. I’m happy.
*in case you are new to the blog, you may not know what an OFF Christmas refers to. This will explain
http://www.suehepworth.com/2013/12/this-year-its-off-christmas.html
4 comments:
I cannot tell you the extent to which I agree with you that it all counts and it all matters and if all we can do is hold the line then that is the job. And re the mouse: we had one that moved in, ate through the cable that brings the internet, bit me in the night while I was sleeping, I actually woke to see it by my arm. That such a small thing can visit such horror!!
The tree is magnificent in its own right - looks very much at home.
Oh the joy of an empty, upbeat day to yourself. Thanks Sue!
Thea, x
Thank you, Marmee and Thea for your comments.
Though I have to say that the thought of a mouse biting me while I was asleep gives me the creeps.
That is a magnificent tree and an excellent heartwarming Christmas story. Just what is needed in these dark times
Thanks too for the helpful quotes.
Ann
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