Home for the Holidays

Well, unfortunately, the predicted snowpocalypse missed us.  It got too warm, I guess, which is why I am sitting in my apartment in shorts and a t-shirt, sweltering.  In anticipation of Snowmageddon, the apartment staff cranked up the thermostat in the lobby directly below me before leaving to spend the holidays elsewhere. 

It's sleeting/snowing/raining outside, so I can't open my window, and it's night, so I have to have a light on to be able to write, and this makes things even warmer.

I just can't bring myself to turn the AC on during Christmas this far north in the Northern hemisphere.  There are some lines I just can't cross.

Don't worry.  I'm staying hydrated as I sweat and listen to Christmas carols.

I'm thinking of leaving the Christmas tree lights on again tonight since they didn't burn the place down last night (hooray, LED lights), and it was comforting to see them while I was doing my usual not-sleeping routine.  It's not every day you can turn over for the 57th time and see lovely blurry twinkling lights that are also still awake on Christmas Eve.  I'm sure lots of kids thinking about presents were on vigil with us, too.

Hope you had as great a Christmas as I did.  Aside from the excess heat, it was nice.  I was happy not to be working in RetailHades, not to have to talk to anyone (I made an exception for my family), not to have to think about looming economic crises for one day.

It was very nice to see my fully assembled Christmas tree, to get some exercise, to watch the snow, to read a bit, write a bit, think about poetry, eat soup, take a few pictures, listen to music, and actually relax for real.

Tomorrow, I'll get back to job applications, credit wrangling, cleaning, laundry, software installation, submitting for publication, and worry.  Today I wanted to be at peace, and I'm glad to say that things pretty much worked out that way, thanks be to God.

How did you spend your holidays this year?

How to keep your Christmas tree ornaments in one piece

When my parents came to visit in May, they thought it amusing that I still had my Christmas tree up.  I really meant to take it down; I just never quite got around to actually doing so.  It's still up.  Decorating for Christmas this year was a snap.

To defend my decision to leave it up year round from this time forth, I would like to point out that leaving your tree up year round when you are a calm, quiet person who lives alone is a great way to make sure your ornaments don't get damaged.  Dusty, maybe, but at least no favorite sparkly bit gets crushed in the packing and unpacking rituals.  You can also be sure the tree is exactly the way you want it (and exactly the way you remember it from last year).  So there.  :)

I will have to redo it this year, unfortunately, because the uber-cheap lights I bought ate batteries like they were going out of production and then just stopped working altogether.  I also have some nice tiny turquoise ornaments to add this year.  See?  I'm not totally lazy.






How do you decorate for the Christmas season?  And how early is too early for outside displays, in your opinion?