The Christmas Box

I'm STILL working on getting my Christmas decorating done. It has proven to be a much slower process than expected, and truly, than it really ought to be. In the process of decking the halls, I have found interruptions hampering the completion of the task at hand come from the usual daily aspects of life, errands, night shifts, and even, at times, lethargy. It is coming along though.

I think I have procrastinated some in getting the job done because I knew that, this year, I was going to retire a big old cardboard box that has stored ornaments and a couple of other random Christmas decorations over the years. I really hate to to retire it (READ: trash it), but I didn't realize the extent of my attachment to that old box until this evening as I was taking out the ornament boxes that have so neatly fit inside that box while waiting patiently to be opened up each year in anticipation of so many Christmas celebrations. I transferred the individual ornament boxes into new clear plastic containers that would keep the contents more protected, but that box...that box was more than just a storage container for out of season ornaments. It was (is, for the moment) also a repository for memories.

It holds memories of its past life hearkening back to the days when we were pretty broke, and our Christmas decorations could fit into a single box that also happened to be shared with random household goods from our linen closet, back when it was originally commissioned into service. In the course of time and many military moves, the box eventually came to be an "ornaments only" box, and it's contents safely traveled with us to new homes in new places that would be transformed into "home" for the Christmas holidays we spent there, anchoring our past with the present through the bits and pieces of our lives and happy memories of Christmases past that the ornaments in the box symbolized. It has symbolized the growing up of our children and the passing of pets who were loved and so much a part of our family too.

Emptying out that box in anticipation of its retirement proved to be a more emotionally difficult thing for me to do than I had expected. It was difficult enough that I had to stop and take photos and write about it before I could break it down. That task still awaits. Retiring the box - breaking it down, and hauling it out to the garage to await the next trash collection day isn't just about retiring an old, but in some ways, perhaps still serviceable box. No. For me, it is closing a chapter in my life. The Christmas box that followed us around for my husband's whole military career, and was with us for each Christmas as our children grew and as some have left home, has been a sort of friend and fixture who was always there, faithful, maybe taken for granted at times. I'm going to miss that box and the part of my life that will, in a sense, go away with the box. The memories, however... the memories I get to keep.

By the Way....

The halls STILL have not been completely decked.

There is PROGRESS though.

PROGRESS is good.

The Plight of the Snowman

GOODNESS it's COLD outside!!!! It's windy too! I had to go outside to try to resurrect our fallen snowman yard decoration, but to no avail. When I found him (the snowman), he had the appearance of one who had been shot in the back, execution-style, on my front lawn. It should not be!!! It is hard enough for snowmen to survive the hardships of their short existence without having to endure the indignity of being blown down and left cast down on the ground with the appearance of a suburban crime victim. Unable to put the snowman back together, his present state isn't much better. He is now laying on his side on my front porch. Tomorrow, I will once again attempt to given him life...at least for the Christmas season. He does not look nearly as charming laying on the front porch as he did standing and sparkling as he welcomed passersby and visitors from the front lawn. It IS most certainly an improvement to be laying on the porch than to look as if he were a crime victim sprawled out on the cold, frozen tundra though.

Girl vs. Ladder

Today I battled with one of those 22-foot multi-position extension ladders on a staircase. It was a hard fought battle, but since I emerged with only 2 slightly chipped fingernails, did not fall down the stairs with the ladder, did not fall off the ladder, AND accomplished my mission, I can confidently say that I emerged victorious in the battle with the ladder.

Brief Summary

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. We even managed to visit some craft fairs over the past couple of weeks! I kept thinking I'd do a post about Halloween at our house this year. Obviously, that entry has not been written, nor have the stunning accompanying photos been uploaded. I may still do it...as long as I get to writing the post before Thanksgiving! I thought I'd do a better job of blogging than I have thus far. There is always room for improvement.

Tonight was a good night even though I'm exhausted. Made Saucy Chicken Breasts with rice and a medley of steamed veggies with new potatoes, baby carrots, baby corn, broccoli florets, & red peppers (I know, I know, lots of starch with the rice & potatoes - what do you do when you tell your kid to pick out a veggie for dinner from the freezer & that's what he wanted though?). The hubster and I made a Gooey Pineapple Butter Cake tonight too. I haven't had any, but it sure looks and smells good.

The Rain Cometh...

Just checked the radar, and a ring of rain is shown as approaching. It looks something like "the blob," gradually approaching and overtaking white space on the map as it moves ever closer.

We didn't have the chicken stew and biscuits I'd planned to make last night. We went to "Plan B." I'm kind of glad. I think the chicken stew & buttermilk biscuits will somehow taste better on a cool stormy night.

Today I want to put the paint on the wall over the primer I put on it, yesterday, so I can get my dining room in order - finally! It's been a long time coming. The challenge is getting the line straight on the wall as I have an odd long wall that connects the dining room with a hallway to the kitchen, and I opted not to carry the dining room paint color all the way across the long wall because it is such a deep dark color [Eddie Bauer's Tannin (buy it at Lowes), but we call it "Eggplant" because it has a purplish hue, and after all, I don't like the color purple, so it's "Eggplant." Humor me.]. If it had been solely up to me, I probably would have done it, but the hubster thought it would be too dark for the hallway part of the wall. I am a little disappointed that the wall isn't as "clean" as I'd like it. Between the builder's lack of expertise and the painter's corrections and lapse in not putting the plain, sticks to everything, primer on the joint compound he put on the wall to make the corrections before he primed and painted the wall, the wall doesn't have as smooth a finish as I'd like. I did what I could to clean it up though. It'll do for now, but it'll look a LOT better when I get the paint on over the primer.