"Do-less"

   Mom used to say "My get up and go, got up and went."  She used this term often when she was worn out from the day's work or if she just had "one of those days" where she felt lackadaisical. Another term she would use is "do less" as in,  "I feel so do-less." The term can quite literally be applied to the way I feel lately.  Even though, I love the holidays, I have no inclination to have it come, yet.  It seems as if the holidays "came early" this year.  I am not ready.  Nary a gift has been purchased.  Until today, nary a room has been decorated.  Also, nary a Christmas carol can be heard playing in the Little Bayou House.  I am the Grinch and Scrooge all rolled up in one.  Granted, it has been hard to get in the Christmas Spirit ever since the kids grew up and left the place.  It seems lonely.  What's the use in all the hullabaloo if no one is here to enjoy it.  

  As I said, until today, nary a decoration adorned the place.  I did kick myself in gear (somewhat) and "undecorated" the china cabinets.  It was time since Halloween was still residing there!  After removing the fall-themed items, a decision had to be made of what was to be displayed.  As I was puttering through stuff, I found some odd Christmas-themed plates and knew where I was going!  I love these plates!  There is not enough to call it a set and, in fact, there are two different types.  They are, however, by the same artist, Susan Winget. The work is unique and quirky enough to look right at home in the Little Bayou House!  Both of the types that I have are of a discontinued design and are considered "vintage" (not old...vintage).  I found these in thrift stores on occasion and decided to purchase any that I find.  I love them!  I could easily put out my few dishes and call it quits.  They would suffice as decorations.

  I am sure as I go along, the decorating will get easier and the Christmas Spirit will suddenly surface but at the moment, I am fully satisfied with a few happy dishes in the cabinet.  Perhaps tomorrow will find me decorating the entire Little Bayou House...I can only hope.  For now, however, my get up and go, got up and went.  

Not Feeling It...

  Once again, Christmastime is upon us and I am just not feeling it.  This has been a particularly hard couple of weeks for me so the exhaustion is fraying the nerves.  I want rest not the hustle and bustle of holidays.  Then again, this hustle and bustle will not last and I shall then wish it was here again.  The brain is never satisfied!  It is to be an unusually quiet holiday season around the Bayou, this year as, once again, Mark has to be away and the grandlittles cannot come from the island.  Son and I will putter about the place and hope that Darling Daughter can take off of work at the senior care center long enough to share at least Christmas Day with us.  The effort of decorating seems almost pointless but I am going through the motions.  Hopefully, my mood will brighten once I start poking bits of "Christmas" in every nook and cranny of the Little Bayou House.

  This morning, I spent my time putting ornaments on the tree.  The tree stands in the middle of the room so can be viewed from all sides.  This gives me the opportunity to sit and admire the beauty from different angles but, also, makes each misplaced light stand out like a sore thumb.  I have been rearranging lights and ornaments all day.  In fact, I think I have spent more time "fixing" the tree than actually decorating it.

  For the past ten years or so, the "theme" has been a country Christmas but, since "farmhouse" everything has caught on with a rage, I had to be a bit different.  The tree is now decorated with ornaments from "Christmases Past" which suits me fine.  I am old. Why not have old decorations?  In fact, it sort of suits the living room since the entire thing is filled with "old".  Old furniture, old clocks, old lamps, old me...we all fit.  

  By the time I complete the Little Bayou House's transformation to Christmas, my spirits will have lifted and things will be easier.  The peace of the season will settle around the Bayou and make the old brain thankful for what is here even though I shall miss what is not.  

A Nudge in the Right Direction

   Since it was a dreary, rainy day, I decided it was the perfect day to attempt that Christmas decorating that I have been neglecting.  Somebody has to do it and I guess that somebody is me.  So, I tried to get the lights working on the tree.  For being a "prelit" tree, it sure has a ton of unlit bulbs. To add to the frustration of finding so many burnt bulbs, the replacement bulbs were also nonworking.  The packet was still sealed but only three out of thirty bulbs were good.  Silly of me to expect those to work.  Mr. PJ helped tremendously by just being the sweet old dog his is.  When he noticed me getting ready to toss the whole tree out the back door, he gently nudged me as if to say "I will let you pet me to make things all better."  I did....it did and I was ready to accept fate and let the tree be semi-lit.  A half lit tree is better than no tree, right?

  Next I wrangled the never-ending strands of garland from the upstairs closet.  Garland is one of those things that looks so beautiful once it is in place but can really fight with you while you are trying to hang it.  Mine is currently decorating the floor of the living room.  The rain is at fault there.  My tall step ladder was out in the greenhouse and I was not going to run there to retrieve it.  Instead of hanging garland, I stood on a chair to reach the top cabinet where the Christmas dishes were stored.  At least now, the china cabinet looks festive!

  Mark has promised to take me shopping in the morning to do the entirety of our gift purchasing.  Yep.  One trip shopping is the way to go and I plan to start that journey at the lumber yard!  They open at 6am and have some of the most useful gifts around.  Lumber yards and building supply stores are some of the most overlooked markets for Christmas gifts and not just for men!  I buy tools for myself and my daughter!  Darling Daughter Elizabeth is just as happy receiving a new saw or drill as I am!  Once the shopping is complete (hopefully before noon), the decorating will commence in full force. I plan on knocking that out by midweek so I can get onto my favorite part of the holidays.  Baking!  

  Yesterday, I could have foregone the entire holidays and hibernated the next month away with nary a care.  Things changed.  This morning, I was prompted to adopt a new attitude.  Mr. PJ has a way of pushing me into a better mood.  He is enjoying all of the hustle and bustle of the decorating so I should do the same.  Each box, bag and mound (of garland) intrigues him.  Watching him explore has made me smile.  We will do ok, PJ.  Happiness is an old dog helping with decorating the house for the holidays.

Maybe Tomorrow...

  Ok, so this is not like me at all.  Usually by this time, I am excited for the holidays but this year is different.  While Christmastime is always a favorite, I am just not in the mood. Things are not decorated.  Gifts are not purchased.  I am not Christmasy.  I want to be but it just is not happening for some reason.  Son knows something is amiss so he came down to put up the tree.  That is as far as it got.  Nary an ornament adorns the branches.  Nary a garland flanks the windows or stair rails.  Nary a wreath hangs on the front door.  I am just not feeling it.  Maybe tomorrow...

  While I am not all cheer and joy, the Bayou around me seems to be doing its best to get me in the spirit of the season.  While out tromping the hillside with the old dog, a bright red splash in the green underbrush caught my eye.  A few small oak trees were mingled together with some bay trees and sassafras trees.  The leaves had started to change colors but instead of going to that orangey gold the recent frost turned them deep red.  Red and green...how convenient.  Christmas cheer...even the woods is more Christmasy than me!

  I promise things will change over then next few days.  The tree will receive at least a hint of decorations, garland will be draped over everything and gifts will be wrapped and under the tree.  I will put on my best smile, bake a ton of cookies and be all Christmasy.  Right now, however, I will wallow in my blahs and dream of what I should be doing.  It just occurred to me that I was this same way last year.  Perhaps I am going through a bit of "not having family nearby" blues.  Maybe tomorrow....

Lights....Stars and Hearts

  This evening as I was turning off the many Christmas lights that bedazzle the Little Bayou House, I stopped to marvel at the little tin stars that dangle beneath the mantle.  The three inch metal stars have been at the place for so long that I have forgotten just where I got them.  Probably, they were just a whim purchase many years ago when the kids were mere tykes.  Back then, I would squirrel away a few pennies to buy some cheap little pieces to please the children.  Over the years, those dime-store things have become quite collectible and are now worth a lot more than what I spent on them.  It does not matter. The point of buying the knickknacks was to bring wonder to the eyes of the kids.  Even though at that time Mark and I scrounged to make ends meet, I could not let that wonder die.  Kids need to be enthralled over things even if those things are homemade or inexpensive.  Not everything is about money.  It is about life and all of the wonderment that can be jammed into it.  It was my intention to make the kids' imaginations literally explode with excitement and curiosity. Christmas was a perfect time to do just that.  With money short at times, there had to be ways to dodge the razzle-dazzle and focus on the spirit behind the season.  

  This evening before flipping the switch on the star lights, a flood of memories came back to haunt the brain.  Memories of sitting by the fireside creating folded paper angels to bring to the hospital for the nurses there.  Memories of baking marathons to supply the entire neighborhood of elderly folks with cookies. Memories of singing carols while we looked at Christmas lights decorating the yards and houses of others.  Memories of placing Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve after hanging the stockings from the mantle.  Memories...memories of happy times.  And you know what?  It is those little things that my kids still talk about to this day even though they are all now adults.  Those things are their memories as well.

  When I took the photograph of the little stars, only one came out clear.  All of the "just in case" photos were slightly blurred to the point that the dots of light came out looking like little hearts.  That is what it is all about, folks.  That little heart that glows in us all.  The love shared with others is what it is all about. 

Come on, Christmas!

  A bit of Christmas came to the Bayou this afternoon.  Mark made a quick run to the corner store and, along with the things on the list, came home with two "Santa" hats.  These were supposedly for Darling Daughter and me to wear during the holiday season.  I do not wear hats...at least, I do not wear Santa hats.  I am not a cutesy person so that thing is better off used as a decoration.  Still, we had a brilliant idea!  Lets let the dog wear it!  Mr. PJ was thrilled....well, probably not thrilled or even remotely happy about it.  He was more likely just humoring us by tolerating the thing on his head. 

  Since my son, daughter-in-law and grandlittles are off on some faraway island and since they are the actual family belonging to the dog, it seemed to be a grand idea to take a photograph of the dog and send it to them.  He was having no part of this idea.  First off, he is not a fan of being photographed.  (I think the flash bothers him.)  Second, the hat thing was fast becoming a point of irritation.  So, Santa came to the rescue!  Santa (aka Hubby) donned the other hat, sat in a chair by the Christmas Tree and petted Mr. PJ.  This eased the angst a bit with the dog.  He was patient enough for me to get one picture...one.  There was no getting the "second, just-in-case" photograph. As soon as the camera clicked once, he was out of there!  The hat went flying,  Santa Mark started laughing and I had to be satisfied with what I got.  

  So, Come on, Christmas!  We are ready!  We have our hats, tree and Christmas dog all ready to go.  Christmas on the Bayou is in full swing.  Merry Christmas, folks!

A Favorite of Ornaments

I am still dillydallying around with the Christmas decorations.  Normally by this time, I would have the entire Little Bayou House bedecked with Christmas Cheer from top to bottom but since there will be just the three of us this year, I just cannot seem to get in the spirit of things.  The tree is up, the garland strung on the stair rails and a few knickknacks adorn the shelves but this is far from the norm.  I thought perhaps if I stop with the decorating and start baking, I would be happier. I hurried to finish up any small projects so the boxes could be stowed away in the closet.  Tomorrow will see me in the kitchen hopefully stirring up a few tasty treats as well as some Christmas Spirit.

I put a few last ornaments on our pared down tree.  According to my son, Michael, we did not need the ten thousand or so ornaments dangling from every limb of three trees.  This year, we have one tree with a minimal of doodads.  He refused to cart down at least half of my decorations which suited me just fine.  One of the final ornaments to be hung is perhaps one of my all time favorites.  Oh, I have plenty of favorites that people have given to me, made for me or bestowed upon me but this one is special.  The ornament is a tiny little ceramic school house with a cutout window.  Beaming at me through that window is the cutest little boy!  My oldest son's kindergarten teacher made each one of the students a little ornament to take home.  It was a gift for their parents.  Oh, how I love this little thing!  Now that my son, Mark, is grown and has a lovely wife and a darling little girl of his own, the ornament means even more.  Since I do not see him often, I cling to memories from the past.  I smiled when I picked up the ornament.  That adorable little gap-toothed grin.  Those sparkling, happy eyes.  That sweet child that stole my heart.  Yep, this is definitely a favorite!  I am sure glad this was in one of the boxes that Michael saw fit to tote downstairs!  My Christmas would not been nearly as happy!

The Angel of Smiles

I am a bit late with the Christmas decorations this year.  Not late by a lot of folk's standards but definitely late by mine!  I would put Christmas decorations up as soon as I took down the Halloween ones if I had my way.  This year, however, too many chores got in the way of even hauling the stuff down from upstairs.  The first annual Bayou Clue Hunt took up more of my time than I expected and put me several weeks behind schedule.  Still, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Little Bayou House!  Today, I unpacked a huge box of decorations and came across something that struck a memory.  A rather plump stuffed ragdoll of an angel was lifted from between the jumping jacks and nutcrackers.  This angel is nothing special to anyone else but carries a bit of special meaning to me.  You see, it is not everyday that you can rescue an angel!  That job is usually flip-flopped around to where the angel saves the mere human.  But I rescued this angel from a dire situation and I am quite sure she appreciates my efforts.

Long ago, I was in a department store just before Christmas.  This was back when my kids were small and I needed to do some Santa shopping.  While I was there, a group of kids that I am sure were not on Santa's "Good List" were being downright rowdy!  They were running through the aisle pulling items from shopper's carts, pushing through the crowds and screaming at the tops of their lungs.  The parents of these (not so) sweet darlings were oblivious to their brats'..er..kids'
 roughhousing.  I pushed my cart far from them but was soon accosted as I rounded the end of one aisle.  It was then that I saw that the kids had pulled down some of the store's decorations and were kicking them around on the floor.  Ugh!  I am quite sure that my kids would have met with some..umm..stern discipline long before their actions would have gotten so out of hand.  When they saw me, they scattered leaving a huge mess.  Amidst the broken ornaments, tangled garland and toppled trees was a sweet angel.  They had been kicking it as if it was a soccer ball.  Poor sweet thing!  I could not stand the idea that the angel was being so abused!  I picked her up and tried to shake the dust and grime from her.  Shards of glass Christmas balls were tangled in her hair and her wings were ripped from her back.  This would never do!  I put her in the shopping cart.  I was not in the mood to shop any more!  When I went to check out and pay for my items, the store manager walked up to me and apologized for the kids' actions.  She looked at the angel in the cart and asked if I wanted a different one.  When I declined and explained why I chose that angel, she reached over and put her in my bag.  "If you really want that angel, there will be no charge.  Just make sure she has a Merry Christmas."  I smiled and told her that I would definitely do that and that she just made my Christmas a bit merrier!

Now this angel is one of my favorite decorations.  She sits among the pine cones and holly berries with the broadest smile on her face.  You know, I do not recall that bright smile when I picked her up from the floor.  It almost seemed as if she was sad..very sad at that time. Merry Christmas, Little Angel!  I am glad that you came to live with us and be a reminder that we should be a bit nicer, a bit kinder to all.