Mosaic Monday #59: Christmas Contentment

Greeting cards have all been sent
The Christmas rush is through
But I still have one wish to make
A special one to you
"Merry Christmas Darling", written by Frank Pooler/Richard Carpenter

Are you still in the grip of the "Christmas rush"?  Leading up to December 13, I was feeling that crush.  #1 Son was due to arrive that evening, and I had a long list of to-dos: housecleaning, finishing the tree skirt, completing hand-made gifts, tying up loose ends on my various volunteer projects, decorating the house.  Unexpectedly, I was called upon for an evening shift at the Sparrow's Nest; it became a win-win in that I was able to work on one of my hand-made gifts at the same time.

This runner was an early Christmas gift from my mother-in-law

Preparing to cut the tree

But since then, my days have brought delightful relaxation.

First up?  Cutting and decorating our tree.  As I reported in last year's post, we are blessed to have a wide variety of trees on our property.  Spousal Unit and I had pre-selected two candidates, and #1 Son had the privilege to make the final choice.  Isn't this spruce a beauty?

Heave-ho, boys!

Tree nears the house

Drip dry in the entry

Tree in the stand, warming by the fire

We bust a gut when Spousal Unit went to install the angel on top of the tree.   (I will admit that she climbed into the place of honor a little bit out of order.  Traditionally, she is the last decoration on the tree, but logistics with a 15-foot tree dictate a different approach.  We employ a 10-foot step ladder to populate the upper half of the tree, and if you place ornaments on the lower branches while moving that ladder in and out and around the spruce, you are bound to break some delicate decorations!!!)

Anyway … imagine if you will, Spousal Unit near the top step of said ladder, armed with a marshmallow skewer.

"Glad Mom is capturing me as I fall to my death," he says.  (Note: capturing, as in photography, not catching, as in falling.)

He stretches forward carefully and maneuvers the angel onto a branch that is pointing straight up to the ceiling.

"Glad you have life insurance," #1 Son says.

But is the angel straight?  No, she leans, somewhat to the side and somewhat forward, as if preparing to fall to earth.

"That may be as good as it gets," #1 Son offers helpfully.

Spousal Unit withdraws the skewer and pokes with futility at the cotton.

"Yep, you might want to cut your losses," #1 Son says from the safety of the floor.

And so she remains, a bit tilted.  But isn't that a suitable metaphor for the human condition?  None of us are perfect.  And what better time than Advent and Christmas to strive for improvement?  "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the Lord'" (John 1:23)

A couple of weeks ago, we were surprised and delighted to receive a medley of tree ornaments from a good friend.  Catering to our whims, he sent fishing-oriented decorations for Spousal Unit and moose-adorned baubles for me.

We have been debating about the size of the tree - taller than last year?  I dug through my archives, and hereby present a side-by-side comparison for you.  What do you think?

Left - 2018 tree                                                                 Right - 2019 tree

Did you notice the new tree skirt on the 2019 tree?!?  SO EXCITED to finally see it in place.  November 17 was the last post that showed progress on the skirt; at that time, it had three rows of burlap pleats.  The final skirt has 10 rows; I had planned to add three more, but at the time we were ready to put it under the tree, I realized it would be necessary to cut some slits in the remaining felt in order for the skirt to lie flat around the wooden structure that holds the spruce upright.  Boy, am I glad I didn't burn the midnight oil to attach those remaining rows!



Holidays are joyful
There's always something new
But ev'ryday's a holiday
When I'm near to you

Once the tree was complete, we turned our attention to other family traditions, such as board games, movie nights and baking cookies, often accompanied by Christmas music playing on our 52-year-old Magnavox stereo.  

I won Trivial Pursuit - 1980's version (but I am REALLY bad at trivia)

"Do we have any paperwork on the stereo?" queried Spousal Unit earlier this week.  For some time, he has been thinking we should replace the needle on this vintage Magnavox Astro-Sonic Radio Phonograph.  "If we have it, it would be in with the records on the storage side of the stereo," I responded.  And voila!  Look what we found!



It may not have helped with locating a new needle, but the paperwork was fascinating in its own right.  Mainly because there are not one but TWO receipts from Rike's Department store, dated four days apart.  I asked my Mom if she remembered a story about two stereos, but she said Dad handled all the purchasing at that time.  The receipts show two different model numbers, and the one with the later date was slightly more expensive - $414.44. To put that in perspective, the median household income in 1967 as $7,143 and an average house would set you back $24,600! Stated another way, $414 in 1967 money would be worth $3,000 today.  Wow!  Here is Marshmallow World by Johnny Mathis, a vintage song spun on that very stereo.

My friend wrote the following: This card reminded me of your

beautiful new Christmas tree skirt.  Awww!

As December 25 draws near, each day brings new Christmas cards, and an occasional holiday surprise such as a neighbor dropping off a plate of home-made cookies.  Yum!

The lights on my tree
I wish you could see
I wish it ev'ry day
Logs on the fire
Fill me with desire
To see you and to say

I am content.  The cat is on my lap, and a Frasier Fir candle is casting its pine scent into the air.  I sip a holiday highball, and my thoughts turn to our daughter, who will arrive Monday morning.  Our family foursome will be complete.  What could be more fulfilling than that?


I wish you Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, too

Mosaic Monday

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