Friday, Dec. 05, 2003 - 10:45 a.m.
Greetings,
It’s official. Winter has arrived. I know this because Thomas ordered hot chocolate this morning at PJs *and* he wore his new Izod winter jacket. It will be officially mid-winter when he hauls out his new Isotoner gloves, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?
I just finished my customary hot chai tea and so I am somewhat hyper at the moment, although not as bad as I would be if I’d drunk down a large Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. And I may yet do that today. There’s a whole 5 dollar bill sitting in the front pocket of my backpack doing nothing in particular.
The corporate Christmas tree is up and this year, thankfully, we haven’t been subjected to some godawful patriotic red white and blue theme like last year. This year’s theme seems to be burgundy and cream, which is tasteful, but on the tree are these very weird sleeves of fabric with lights inside. Sort of like if slinkies had skin. Or pastry tubes without the tapered ends. Let’s just agree to say that they are odd.
Last night before I went to Schminn Sixie, I stopped into Walgreen’s and bought $20 worth of Christmas garlands and lights for the living room, Study, and bedroom.
The living room will have a green garland strung with multi colored lights. My Study will have a silver garland strung with multi-colored lights and the bedroom a gold garland/multi-colored lights. Just imagine the lights winking and blinking along in a crazy Christmas way. Actually, I think I will keep them unblinking. I usually do. Oh, we’ll see when I put them up tomorrow during the Great Crescentwood Cleanathon/Holiday Decorating Event.
After Walgreen’s, I marched into Schpinn Quixie and did my normal shopping but somehow ended up with a little tiny baby blue pine tree (live) decorated with snowflakes and a rocking horse. I’ve named him George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart’s character in “It’s a Wonderful Life”) and he’ll get repotted after Christmas and can just keep growing and being my Christmas tree year after year until he gets too big and must be planted outside.
Hopefully this won’t happen for several years because I don’t think Thomas wants a blue pine tree in the backyard which means George will have to go to somebody else’s yard and after all those years, it will be a wrench to give him up, but I’ll pretend he’s going to Europe on the Grand Adventure the cinema George Bailey never got to go on, and maybe that will make it more bearable. Or something.
In the meantime, he’s just an ickle itty bitty thing no taller than from my elbow to my wrist. He’s got a lot of growing to do before he outgrows a big, huge container.
Who knows? Maybe someday when he’s 50 years old, he may be the Rockefeller Center tree. But I think if he’s still around in 50 years, he should just be allowed to stay firmly rooted in soil and live out his natural lifespan instead of being cut down and put on display for a month before becoming New Jersey landfill. But that’s just me. (Although I have to say, if George was given the choice, I bet he’d choose long life over short-term fame too.)
Once in the sixth grade we did some sort of class project about conservation and everyone in the class ended up with a baby pine tree. I don’t remember what kind of pine Happy April was (don’t ask why I named her that – it had something to do with it being spring and April is my birth month and I once had this tiny doll, and anyway I’m stopping now), but she was bigger than George. I planted her in my Grandma T’s backyard and she did well for about three years and then for some reason gave up the ghost. Growing a tree is harder than it looks, people.
John once gave me this globe shaped stress ball that I keep by my keyboard and toss around and squeeze when I’m bored or thinking. I just missed a toss and the world crashed to the floor and rolled into a corner. But I guess that’s better than being squeezed flat.
Tonight is Free Form Friday Caftan Night. There’s a chamomile scented bubble bath in my future tonight as well as a plateful of Hamburger Helper. And a caftan. Naturally.
I am thinking I will watch “Lake Placid” tonight, but I might be diverted by “The Night Strangler” which I still haven’t watched yet. I guess that will be a mystery until 9 or 10 tonight.
Meanwhile, I’ve got some work to attend to, so farewell for now.
Until next time,
Olrun
