Tag: Holiday

Hello Twenty-Thirteen

We have a new cat named Stell–laaa. We thought she was a young cat but it turned out she’s a 7 year old used to making it on her own. Since she’s moved in she’s filled out to match her over-sized paws. I have to say, fattening a stray is a quick fix for leaving a mark.

I skipped the resolution exercise this year and went straight to the finish line. I’m pretty convinced that I’m as good as I’m gonna get and why not celebrate early and often?

I uploaded pictures to Picasa and made mediocre shots look like Avedon’s portraits. I sent an e-mail to someone I hadn’t connected with in years, bought some gold monogrammed stationary and rented a cabin in Minnesota for July. I made Stuffed Shells from the Pioneer Woman’s web site tonight even though it took an hour and a half and serves 8.

Oh sure, I have some complaints. Like the papery layers on onions and garlic, and cleaning the insides of trash cans, and stains on a silk blouse but all and all — it’s nice to sleep in, have dinner with friends and have my car start on a cold day.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good night.

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Deck the Halls

I didn’t unpack all my Christmas stuff this year since our holiday plans were uncertain. I just pulled out tubs closest to the front of shelves. I figured no lights, no fuss, no bother.

I did hang heirloom ornaments on a bare steel tree with bendable branches on the coffee table and I set up a collection of tabletop trees and draped an old-fashioned double strand of tinsel on the fireplace mantle. Then I propped up the Christmas stockings on the hearth.

I put my blown glass Santa tree topper in a red square vase with a spray of red berries, partridge feathers and bare twigs. I put my old-fashioned paper mache Santa Claus face on a stand on the piano along with a poinsettia wrapped bowl filled with brown wicker balls.

I positioned my 3 foot wood carved Santa by the console and put my snowball ornaments in martini glasses in the china closet and staggered my peppermint candles on the buffet.

Sig said, “Where are the monkeys — that always hold the stockings on the mantle? Where are the lights? Where is the tree?”

That’s when I realized that Christmas is really, really complicated.

Happy T-day

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Just before that first Thanksgiving dinner, a wise Native American woman was overheard to say,

Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave.

                       Dylan Brody

                                                                         Image from Awkward Family Photos