I have hesitated doing this blog, because I don't want to sound like I am bragging.On the other hand, if I say nothing,considering how Pro-Christmas I am, everyone will assume that things went badly, and think I might even be suffering from depression.Many people do, at this time of year, for some incomprehensible reason. But, I am not one of them.To begin with, Yon son and I decorated from stem to stern! We put a nice medium sized tree in the living room, with about 600 lights on it, as well as other do-dads, under which we piled beautifully wrapped packages to each other, and our family and friends. We put a humungous red bow on the front door, and a wreath on the back(Kitchen) door, and in the kitchen window next to the back door, we put another wreath with three hundred lights wrapped around it! All the lights blink and twinkle so merrily, you can't help but smile when you see them.Also, on top of the tree, we have a huge star, which changes color every few seconds, slowly merging from red to blue to purple and god only knows what colors! We also have another tiny tree in the kitchen with about 300 lights on it.Both the kitchen table and the dinning room table started out with simple candles and a nice centerpiece. We have a nativity scene on the dinning room table, and clustered around it are candles and all sorts of other pretty stuff, on a lovely lavender tablecloth.In the kitchen, we put a colorful toy soldier patterned cloth, with a basket of holly and flanked on either side by pink votive candles, and dusty rose place mats.(both tablecloths have weights at each of the four corners, so that if I should rub against the cloth with my chair as I go by, everything placed on the table won't go flying.) That was our decorating scheme, simple, yet festive for the occasion, and functional.That is the way it started out, but it certainly didn't stay that way.Yon son has this...fixation.He believes, that as soon as the season is officially opened, it is time to start shopping, and therein lies the problem.No, not the shopping. He's a great shopper. He picks wonderful, beautiful endearing presents for me, and others, but once he has them in his possession, he can't stand it.He barely gets them in the house, wrapped or not, and he wants to give them to me.It all started with the Harlequin.I have a small, exquisite harlequin mask hanging on my bedroom wall, he knows of which I am very fond. So, when one of his co-workers happened to bring a little harlequin music box to work one day, he made such a fuss over it, she finally gave it to him to give to me.I think some money changed hands, but he won't say.I was so pleased by this thing, with it's silly drunken list to one side of the white satin pillow upon which it rests, and all the ruffles and lace and gold and white satin pants and lace top and puffy sleeves, and a top-knot with a white feather for hair...I mean, how could I not be captivated by it, particularly since you wind it up,and it plays the theme from " love story", and the whole thing slowly goes around? I now know that he was shopping nearly every day to find me yet another harlequin music box, but bigger and better and more ornate, which also played the same tune.But, somewhere along the way, he lost sight of his original goal, and taking into account all the things I saw in the sale papers, little by little, the centers of both tables have filled up with " early Christmas presents". A lacquered copper bowl, shaped like a bucket, filled with scented pine cones and little jack-be-nimbles(so fragrant!) and just the right touch of glitter. A cute stuffed snowman, with arms full of packages.A bouquet of fresh cut flowers, with white mums, red and pink baby carnations, with pine sprigs and tons of baby's breath...and sans the ugly spotted lillies one usually can't avoid getting, if they purchase a handful of flowers at any upscale grocery store.It was my delight to spend a few moments arranging them in a vase, and he even hunted up a big white bow to put on the teal vase.Next came two poinsettias, one white, one red, in bloom( and still not fading), and two knit stockings, one each, of the kind that can't be overfilled...they just keep expanding downward! Then, of course, came candy, to fill the stockings and bowls with, a dizzying array that only begins with starlight mints and butterscotch disks, starburst fruit chews, and let's not forget the chocolate truffles! Then he brings home a nice sized black sequined bag, to replace my falling apart straw bag I used to use for my meds, which hung on the back handle of my wheelchair.On the left.The right is where I hang my purse. I hesitated to use it for that purpose, because I told him, it's too attractive to be used just for my medicine bag.It sat for three days, and then I switched all my meds into it, and threw that old straw horror on a back shelf.Just in case. Well, now with the tables all fairly well filled up, son decided it was time to decorate me.He brought me a new pink and gold and white and whatever else is bright, caftan.I love it, but I don't want to wear it every day.So, he goes out and finds me a nice top, also pink and gold and bright, but with a slightly different pattern. I love it too, but sometimes, you just want to relax and wear your old stuff, instead of worrying about spoiling the new things.So, my M.O. is to wear it one or two times,and then put it away for special occasions.Then he brings me bright pink feathered slippers! Now he's getting somewhere! I would wear those things to bed if I thought I wouldn't ruin them in doing so! However, there is a problem. Everywhere I go in the house, I seem to be leaving a trail of little pink wisps, so I threw my old white fuzzy slippers in the laundry as it was being lugged out the door one day, and I trade off, so I don't turn the whole house into a pink feathered nest before Christmas is over.Now apparently content that my body and tables are covered, son begins to bring me jewelry.Pink crystal earrings. Jingle-bell bracelets.Stop! I tell him. From now on, wrap it up and leave it under the tree! I want to have something to open Christmas morning! He agrees very nicely, then goes out and does precisely what he wants.The very next day he brought me another decoration, the mistletoe ball, which we hung on the pull cord for the ceiling fan in the kitchen, actually attaching it to the small blue crystal, which I have decided should be the only ornament on that cord, since two seems to turn into twenty at the drop of a hat...but what the heck...it's Christmas! Right? The next thing I know, I am saying again, now, no more.And in the next few moments, after I mention that I am going to take a bath, here he is, going into his room, and returning with a bottle of my favorite foaming moisturizing bath creme! I go, " Oh! Honey!..." But what could I say? Just.." I should scold you for this!" And after a minute..."Consider yourself scolded!"
Well, somehow we made it to Christmas, and lo, there were packages under the tree, and I gave him his boxed gift fragrance set, after shave and cologne, and a colorful shirt,and as a surprise for Christmas, his wife was home for once, and they exchanged their presents,and then, nothing would do but I had to open my gifts.1. an elegant small sequined bag with a beaded handle, satin lined, with each large round sequin hanging off a loop of jet beads! Wow.2. a freeze dried arrangement of red roses and wood fern, plum fern and queen Ann's lace and edelweiss, on a solid wood base, with a sealed glass dome over all, and atop the arrangement is a white angel statue.It is over a foot tall and very heavy, and it took both hands to pull it out of the gift bag.It was all I could do to get both hands around it! 3. A pink and white stuffed unicorn...with wings! So cute! Soft.Plush and cuddly. 4.Two pink crystal roses on a silver stem, with silver leaves, on a crystal base,about five inches tall.They match the pink earrings.5.a CD of Christmas favorites, most of them by the original artists, such as Der Bingel, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Autry. 6. DVDS of TROY, and Bewitched, the complete second season.7.VHS of the Divine secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.8+9. We gave ourselves a new computer game, REEL DEAL slots, bonus mania, which, even though he put in for and was denied Christmas eve off, he was told to go home, with his radio and his car,and we spent the evening together,which I figure counts as two presents, because it was actually what I wanted the most, a chance to spend time together, having fun.That brings us up to (ten) 10.The most Big, beautiful, ostentatious, fabulously rendered Harlequin music box I have ever seen. It is fully three times the size of the white one, and this one is purple satin, with black voile full ruffles complete with glittering gold dots all over the black see through ruffle and sleeves.It has porcelain face, hand painted, and the hands are also porcelain.It has the classic floppy three pointed hat and it is situated in a purple drum, lined with a gold rim,and when the music plays, not only does it drown out the other music box, but the figure moves. Not the drum. The figure twists and turns as though looking around for his love.
After we opened our gifts, we had carry-out ham, egg, and cheese croissants, that were warm and tender, and hot coffee, and tangerines which a customer had given yon son that morning, picked the night before off a tree in California.Then we had Church, and it was such a blessing!...I am not sure what anybody else was doing, but I was shouting glory for two hours! Then, after a nice long nap, we arose, baked two pumpkin pies, and stuffing, both homemade, which came out perfect. Roasted a Turkey breast, and sang as we peeled potatoes and heated up sweet potatoes, green beans and creamed corn, and dinner rolls, toasted the Lord and our provider with virgin egg nog, and feasted rather than ate.
In short...(TOO LATE!)...we had a stellar Christmas ! I hope yours was just as wonderful as ours was!
Oh, by the way,just because Christmas is over for everyone else,doesn't mean mine is. Yon son is still at it.Monday night, he brought me two little white fruit cakes, which I have discovered I really like, and then last night a lovely tea set with cups, a cookie jar, green tea and butter cookies.Tonight, it was one of those electric globes, where lightening flies from your fingers if you touch the face? It is also sound activated, so you get a light show with music, or even in response to your voice.It has occured to me to search his back or his shoulder to find the button I have to push to turn off the shop til you drop mode...but I have to admit, I haven't really looked.
Oh Yeah. I'm definately spoiled rotten. Ain't it awful?
OUI?
Posted by: Steel | December 30, 2005 at 01:18 AM