 |
| The Tree is Up |
On Sunday, daughter and I unpacked the artificial Christmas tree and set it up in the family room. It is a pre-lit tree, but, there are sections of the tree that no longer light up. The tree was bought some twenty plus years ago, so, the fact that at least some of the lights are working is something worth celebrating. I have some additional strings of lights in a bin in the garage; I might look for them and put them on the tree before we do any decorating.
Before we brought the tree in, I vacuumed the family room and daughter pushed the second sofa to make room for the tree. The family room sofas are usually arranged at right angles to each other in an "L" shape. They are now facing each other, with the coffee table in the middle.
I did a load of laundry and changed the sofa dust sheets, on Sunday. Daughter and I also ordered some Christmas gifts for a friend of ours. We also ordered some chocolates to be offered at the almsgiving. It is traditional to offer a variety of sweets (at least five kinds) during an almsgiving. I now have four items for the plate of sweets and daughter has offered to make chai muffins as the fifth item,
Later in the evening, I made a few cards.
Daughter picked some of the Japanese herbs and greens, sauteed them and had them with a fried egg for her brunch. I made a sort of fried rice from various leftovers in the fridge for my brunch. We had assorted leftovers for dinner, We had grapes and tangerines for fruit.
On Sunday, I was grateful for:
- Another sunny and warm day
- Working appliances
- Making memories with my daughter
- Freshly picked greens from the garden
- Phone calls, emails, and texts from friends
Sunday's joyful activities included bringing in and setting up the Christmas tree and making cards.
Plans for Monday might include a visit to the dentist's; I need to call and confirm the appointment in the morning.
What are your plans for Monday?
I plan to put our tree up this week. Only half of lights are working on it. They stopped working after only 3 years. :(
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that only half the lights are working, June. Three years is not very long for the lights to last!
DeleteGlad you were able to get your tree up. I just have a little one now. I hope all goes well at the dentist today.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. A little tree is easier to manage, isn't it? The dental visit wiped me out for the rest of the day!
DeleteChai muffins sound delicious, can your daughter share the recipe with us, please?
ReplyDeleteI really like her chai muffins. She found a recipe for vegan Earl Grey tea cupcakes online and adapted it for chai tea, using 5 bags of chai tea instead of 4 bags of Earl Grey tea called for in the cupcake recipe. And they are muffins because she did not ice/frost them. :)
DeleteThe tree is a good shape and size, and in very good condition for its age. As you say, separate lights will be just as good, and with all the decorations in place, it will be beautiful. Decorating here won't happen till much nearer Christmas, but I have put my Christmas cards out on the table, ready for writing. I have not yet checked the list once, never mind twice! And I have started making a note of what I have got/will get for family. I hope I can get everything done with a minimum of stress. Trouble is, these days I end up doing a lot of other people's shopping too, which takes even more time, and can be even harder than doing my own!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lady Ella. The tree is sufficient for our needs. Daughter called it our "striped" tree because we have alternating band of lit and unlit areas. :D
DeleteI usually wait until a little closer to Christmas to decorate, but, daughter wanted the tree up early.
You are very busy with so many things going on. I, too, hope that you can get everything done with minimum stress. Can you order items like groceries and pick up rather than shop in person? Or, order gifts online and have them delivered? I find myself doing that, more and more.
Christmas trees always seem to involve some rearrangement of furniture, unless you live in a mansion! Your tree is lovely and has done well for 20 years. Some of our lights outside haven't lasted as long.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of your daughter's brunch. I remember having greens for breakfast in Jamaica when we stayed there.
Yes, especially since we've added more furniture since daughter moved back home, with the new sideboard and the storage unit for the crafts supplies. I think another round of decluttering will have to take place in the new year! But, the tree is holding up well, isn't it?
DeleteDaughter had a very nutritious brunch, didn't she? When I was growing up, breakfast often featured a type of porridge made with rice and greens.
Sounds like you and your daughter have been busy. That's amzing your lights have lasted that long on the tree. Look forward to seeing your tree once it's all done. Got mine up earlier this year than I've done before, as we were going to be traveling after Thanksgiving and I didn't want to have so much to do when we arrived back home. Did some knitting today and stayed in. A bit too cold for me to want to go out and about.
ReplyDeleteWe are keeping ourselves occupied, that's for sure. :) Yes, the tree has lasted us a long time. :)
DeleteSounds like you are well prepared for Christmas, getting the tree up early. Stay warm during this cold winter, Sandy.
You have a nice looking tree. It's amazing that it's over 20 years old! I put my tree up last week. It's only about two feet tall and simple, but it fits my small house. I am late this year at writing cards and finishing up gift shopping. Usually I am all done by now. Retirement has made me disorganized!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. Your little tree sounds very sweet. One would think that being retired gives us all the time we'd want, but, I, too, think that I was more efficient when I was working! :D
DeleteThe Christmas 🎄 tree is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. We are planning to decorate it this week. My daughter made another set of ornaments for it!
DeleteI really should get our tree up this week. I haven't done any decorating besides hanging up the advent stockings. I have written my cards, however.
ReplyDeleteI hope your appointment went smoothly. Xx
I hope you are able to get your tree up this week, Jules. I haven't done any decorating, either. Nor have I written my cards (still in the process of making them!)
DeleteThank you, Jules; the appointment went well and I spent the rest of the day sleeping it off!
I'm glad your tree is up. I enjoy having a Christmas tree. It's so beautiful at night with the lights on. Ours is also up and I really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you were able to add some lights to yours to fill in the areas that now need it.
Thank you, Debra. I think the extra lights are in the one bin that is too high up for me to reach, because I checked all the other bins and didn't find them! I'm waiting until M comes over this evening to ask him to take the bin down. We are not quite in the mood to celebrate Christmas this year with Dancer being gone, but, we'll do what we can to make it a special time and create new memories.
DeleteI'm glad your tree is up and you are enjoying it. :)