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| The tree that is in my house is the small one, seen in the lower right hand quarter of this picture, just an arm's length off the path the leads to the water. The tree on the left hand quarter is not that common where I live -- a yew tree. |
So testing that thesis, I started with two plans.
One is to talk about candy until I have nothing else to say about it.
The second plan is to take advantage of a tree that needs to be cut, by bringing it inside and enjoying a fresh pine tree for the Christmas season.
Bonnie helped me get the tree inside the house and to the front room floor. In fact we measured the height of the ceiling and the length of the tree, and then she left for Salmon Arm.
David Wood was dropping me off from errands in town yesterday, I said, “If you have time, could you cut off the bottom 18 inches of my tree – it is too tall for my living room.”
“Can’t do that,” said David. “At your front door, I noticed the saw you borrowed from me to cut the tree, and I took the saw back home. I will bring it back in a couple of days and we will do the job.”
Tonight, David rang the doorbell. We measured again, ceiling to floor, and then he bent down to do the sawing.
“I don’t like to do this,” he said, “I am cutting off some beautiful branches.”
I am like David – everything looks beautiful to me, but I knew that leaving the tree laying horizontal across the floor for the whole season, wouldn’t work for me, either. I did find myself tucking a few decorations into it while it was prone – I just had the impulse to see how the decorations would look among the greenery once the tree was vertical.
David spent a long time adjusting the screws into the bole of the tree – still it was lop-sided, lilting gently forward. We tucked some of the branches between the spindles of the stair railing, but we could see that wasn’t a really satisfactory way of straightening the tree. So, with some kitchen twine, we tied the tree upright attaching the bole to the spindles of the railing.
I’ve tested a few decorations on it tonight, but am saving the real tree decorating for tomorrow. I told David that I am only going to put acrylic, dusted-with-gold nests on between the twigs on the tree and a lone white-owl in its branches.
As well, yesterday at the thrift store, I found a small end table made out of sticks. Thinking to tuck that alongside the tree, I am hoping to keep a simple country look to the tree.
“What about lights,” asked David.
“I am not putting lights on,” I replied.
“You are going to save a lot of time,” said David, continuing, “it is OK not to do lights if there are no children around.”
For some reason his comments brought flash backs of former family trees of my childhood decorated with lights. How long I would study the lights! I don’t think I ever got over the slim candle-like lights that had bubbles endless rising upward in them.
And the charm of watching the lights that would make a 360 degree turn of a small nativity scene or of children skating on a pond. Yes, to lights for children.
And also, yes to a simpler tree for me. A fresh one – grown just outside my door and repurposed since it was slated to be cut down anyway. And now part #1 of a Merry Christmas for One is done.
Arta
Bonnie helped me get the tree inside the house and to the front room floor. In fact we measured the height of the ceiling and the length of the tree, and then she left for Salmon Arm.
David Wood was dropping me off from errands in town yesterday, I said, “If you have time, could you cut off the bottom 18 inches of my tree – it is too tall for my living room.”
“Can’t do that,” said David. “At your front door, I noticed the saw you borrowed from me to cut the tree, and I took the saw back home. I will bring it back in a couple of days and we will do the job.”
Tonight, David rang the doorbell. We measured again, ceiling to floor, and then he bent down to do the sawing.
“I don’t like to do this,” he said, “I am cutting off some beautiful branches.”
I am like David – everything looks beautiful to me, but I knew that leaving the tree laying horizontal across the floor for the whole season, wouldn’t work for me, either. I did find myself tucking a few decorations into it while it was prone – I just had the impulse to see how the decorations would look among the greenery once the tree was vertical.
David spent a long time adjusting the screws into the bole of the tree – still it was lop-sided, lilting gently forward. We tucked some of the branches between the spindles of the stair railing, but we could see that wasn’t a really satisfactory way of straightening the tree. So, with some kitchen twine, we tied the tree upright attaching the bole to the spindles of the railing.
I’ve tested a few decorations on it tonight, but am saving the real tree decorating for tomorrow. I told David that I am only going to put acrylic, dusted-with-gold nests on between the twigs on the tree and a lone white-owl in its branches.
As well, yesterday at the thrift store, I found a small end table made out of sticks. Thinking to tuck that alongside the tree, I am hoping to keep a simple country look to the tree.
“What about lights,” asked David.
“I am not putting lights on,” I replied.
“You are going to save a lot of time,” said David, continuing, “it is OK not to do lights if there are no children around.”
For some reason his comments brought flash backs of former family trees of my childhood decorated with lights. How long I would study the lights! I don’t think I ever got over the slim candle-like lights that had bubbles endless rising upward in them.
And the charm of watching the lights that would make a 360 degree turn of a small nativity scene or of children skating on a pond. Yes, to lights for children.
And also, yes to a simpler tree for me. A fresh one – grown just outside my door and repurposed since it was slated to be cut down anyway. And now part #1 of a Merry Christmas for One is done.
Arta
I say put lights on the tree. Just do the work David. We had a real tree in Regina and the pine cones popped all through Christmas. It was really fun.
ReplyDeleteThe most that tree is going to get today is a good long drink of water. Sounds like "pine cones popping on the COVID Christmas tree" could be an imitation of a song I already know.
ReplyDeleteAnd no thanks to that extra music -- I will just stay with the traditional Benjamin Britain's "A Ceremony of Carols".