Walnut Room this way

Walnut Room this way
Rio.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Calm of a Christmas without Drama

 I was delighted to be able to stay home (so far!) during the month of December.  It meant Christmas at home with just the three of us for the first time in years--first time our unique family of three has been together at the same place and time.  I am pretty low key about Christmas in recent years, but thinking about my sister and how much she loves the holiday season just made me happy to extend myself a bit more than I normally would.

I wanted a white tree for my red ornaments--ornaments bought 3 or 4 years ago and never taken out of the packages.  The only white tree I could find had multicolored lights on it, so it looked pink when lit...or as I put it, like a rainbow threw up on the tree.  The more I have looked at the substitution for which I settled, the more I like the bright aqua tree with not only red, but the touches of green, gold, and blue.  I turn on the tree lights, turn out all the others, and sit in the dining nook each night and just enjoy looking, thinking, feeling the calm and the restful peace of it.
 No mantle since moving to Mississippi, but the cup rack made a good substitute for hanging stockings...new stockings.  I don't even know where the red and white ones are, and I impulsively bought these the day I found the now deemed perfect aqua tree.  Rand and I had a pleasant and enjoyable day in Memphis Tuesday, doing the last of the shopping after getting the oil changed in my car for the trip to Texas after the first.  J and I will head down for a few days while this time, Rand takes over dog duties.
 Last night after a simple meal of chicken portobello, baked sweet potatoes, and green beans, we watched White Christmas.  It was a family tradition for years when I was growing up, and I loved the dancing and singing numbers and yearned to be Vera Ellen, who played the younger sister Judy.  One year, Rand and I drove to the theater in Eastland to watch it "on the big screen."  I have not seen it for years now.  One year at my folks' house, settled in the living room, I just announced the tradition had come to an end for me--that I thought I had seen White Christmas as many times as I needed to.

Turns out I was mistaken...I needed to see it at least one more time. 
 Even though she is not a blogger, today's "gift" goes to my sister, whose presence and stability and stamina and commitment allowed me to the opportunity to be home with Rand and J for this holiday.
The sun is shining, the sky is blue, so is the Christmas tree!  What more could you ask for?  Bread pudding?  Okay, that's coming up, too.

4 comments:

Beth said...

Beautiful! Merry Christmas from my rapidly blinking tree to your peaceful aqua tree!

Suzassippi said...

Thanks, Beth, and Merry Christmas to you, my sort-of Mississippi sister!

Gigi said...

Beautiful. I am thankful for your sis, too, even though I don't know her personally. :) I have hardly decorated the past several years since it's just Rich and me. We haven't had a tree since maybe the 2nd year I was in AK and I didn't think I really cared, but after reading this I wish I'd put a little more effort into the season. Something about the tree and the decorations makes it seem more homey and comforting to me.

Suzassippi said...

Well as you know, I have been Miss Bah Hum Bug for some while now, but slowly moving past in the last couple of years. This has been my most "all-out" year for quite a few, though, and I found myself thinking tonight that I will miss it now that it is past.