Fiftylandia: Merry Christmas!

I took a moment this morning and read my last post...and realized I was referring to the tragedy in Connecticut as happening in Sandy Hook. I should have said Newtown, apologies for the error. I was up really early and clearly the coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

It's another early morning. Seems I run contrary to the solar cycle...I don't need to sleep as much when the days are so short. Or, my body has decided to be a real asshole because I have no trouble wanting to sleep in when the alarm goes off. I don't have to work til after the first of the year, so of course my brain's in overdrive and wants me to GETUPNOW! at 5 in the morning.

Christmas Eve is finally here. Shopping is done, baking is (mostly) done, the house is (mostly) clean and laundry is in the dryer as I type. I still have some gift wrapping to do, but it shouldn't take long. I hope everyone else is organized and ready!

My husband and I were talking last night about Christmas's past. This is the first holiday in our new home, we bought this place and moved in May. We'd living in our other home for 10 years, and before that, I was in my historic downtown apartment for 7. Last year was the first year my parents were gone and I think I was still in shock from all that had happened. This year has been incredibly busy, we bought this house, had a kid graduate high school, we rented out our old house and have still be working on cleaning out my parent's house in Wisconsin. This is our year to begin new traditions and let go of some old. It's all good, just a little bittersweet.

Our new house is quite a bit larger than our old home with two fireplaces (its a two-sided fireplace) and mantles and bookshelves on the main floor. We have a big gathering space in our kitchen with a raised hearth fireplace, a cherry mantle and shelves. I have a large collection of Santas and they are displayed on that mantle. It was great fun decorating that mantle because it's bigger than my old one and the Santas all have some elbow room, no one is jostling for attention or the best spot to show off. We have two leather sofas around the fireplace and the kitchen adjoins this seating area. It's pretty much the hangout spot when people come to visit.

In our living room, on the other side of the fireplace wall, is the other mantle, which is more formal, painted white with travertine tile. That mantle and bookshelf area is a little more formal with my collection of Christmas bells and a silver serving bowl that has two big deer heads as antlers. The bells were gifts from my Mom, given to me over the years. We have two giant red poinsettias sitting on their side of the fireplace so that gives that are a nice pop of color.

Our tree is in the living room opposite the fireplace. Our furniture doesn't face the fireplace, it's turned to the opposite wall where we have a large three-panel bookshelf/entertainment center, which is festooned with real cedar boughs with lights across the top. The tree is in front of the right side of the bookshelf. We brought home 4 big tubs of ornaments from my parent's and I don't think there is a single branch on the tree that doesn't have an ornament hanging on it!

At our old home, our living room was in the lower level with a 20' ceiling, so we have a 10' tree. I could lean over the railing in the dining room to perch the Santa tree-topper on it! Well, our new house has 10' ceilings and this tree goes right to the very ceiling! It's been nice going to work and returning at night to find all the ornaments still in the same place on tree. Our three cats are all Martha Stewart wannabes and have a knack for knocking ornaments off the tree and rearranging our decorating. At our new house, the cats live downstairs and don't have access to our tree. Years ago, when I was in my old apartment, I would have a live tree and would set it up in the big bay window in the living room. Walking home from work, I'd admire my tree in the window. More than once I would come home and there would be no tree in the window, to find it sprawled-out like passed-out party reveler on my living room floor, ornaments still rolling, garland strewn about and my then two cats and the dog wearing tinsel with pine needles giving me guilty, but not contrite looks. I came home once to find the two cats and the dog sitting on the couch watching Dr. Phil, so that gives you some idea of what I was dealing with.

I couldn't decide what to do for garland, so I twisted Costo wired ribbon into corkscrews and tucked them in everywhere! Cheap, cute and gives the tree character. I'm sure the cats would approve!