It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready. — Sarah Kay
Hello December,
How are you here already?! I mean, I swear it was just July! I know that I might have silently wished for a cool December breeze on one of the many hot July afternoons… but really, it was just a passing thought!
And I for sure was not ready for you to come roaring in like a much colder and incredibly windier version of a March Lion!
I asked all my kids for “lists” … or ideas… early in November. I am still list-less on all fronts so I think a bit of Nagging Mother needs to be released into the Text-World.
Also… of course I did not get all my bulbs in during the mild November days. I still have 50 varied hyacinths to plant. I am hoping for a bit of a warm up this week, but I think nature has other plans for me because our forecast is full of bitterly cold, well below freezing days. Sigh.
Franklin gets his final puppy shots this morning… and I am hoping to get his “snip” surgery scheduled for January. I have also reached the point of really hoping for him to be done having to go out in the middle of the night. Things I did not consider before beginning this Puppy Adventure: Steve’s unwillingness to get up *even on the weekends* with Franklin. I am feeling very depleted…
This December will be the first in my life that I have not put up the Christmas tree. But I really did not want another task to tackle by myself and I think that in this rambunctious stage of puppy life, putting a tree up is inviting disaster. However, we purchased two small birch trees for the mantle that I hope to get “spread out” and incorporated with the fairy lights before this week is over.
AND… the first day without a single digit windchill, I will take Frankie out with me to get the outside lights up!
The ONLY other things on my December list are to savor the joy of Gnome Knitting as Gnana’s story unfolds. And, perhaps more pressing, I do have a bit of “homework” to accomplish before Felix’s BuJo class on the 6th… I need to ask myself the following question: “What DID I do in January?!” The answer is what I need to “get myself started”… I am hoping for a bit of time this week to look back and think about it!
And that is about all the brain bandwidth I have for things I want to accomplish this month. What about you? What do you hope this month holds?
I will be back on Wednesday and I hope you will too!
Happy December. I totally agree the Autumn just vanished, mostly because it behaved like Winter most of the time I think.Good luck with the bulb planting. The squirrel who raided the apple tree then went onto digging up all my newly planted tulip bulbs, and then had the cheek to come back to the scene of his crime to see if I’d been daft enough to plant more.
My plan for December other than you know what and all that entails, is to finish some things so I can start January with new things!! Other than that I am going to a wreath workshop and a Christmas market in Stratford upon Avon, home of the Bard!
I have been busy making plans on how to put up the fake tree I bought a couple of years ago. I didn’t put it up last year and really missed seeing the decorations and lights, but it involves moving furniture. John doesn’t care much at all about Christmas or trees, so it will be up to me to figure out something. I would like to stay busy, focused, and content through December and into January, as much as possible.
You know, when Thanksgiving is so late, everything about the holidays just feels rushed. Just over 3 weeks till Christmas. How is that possible? We are paring back this year as well. I think we will get a little table-top tree and decorate it with some of our small ornaments. Much easier in our small house anyway. I do have a little bit of shopping to do, but hopefully that will be easy and quick.
I wonder if between the birches and enough twinkle lights, you may not miss the tree so much? Maybe some branches and greenery would feel good? I love decorating with anything that can just go in the compost pile instead of requiring wrapping up/boxing up. I think that’s why I seem to decorate less than I used to. I loathe UNdecorating! (To remedy that, last year I decided to store items in the same room where they’re used. This works because I don’t have tons of decorations… So, for example, my childhood nativity set gets stored in a cabinet in the living room–where Elsa sets it up on the piano. So much easier than schlepping to the attic!)
You could pot up your hyacinths.
I will say the same thing to you that I said to my sister-in-law yesterday (because having a puppy is very much like having a newborn): These days won’t last forever! The middle-of-the-night outings will end eventually. In the meantime, enjoy the good things about this puppy stage.
I think skipping the tree this year might be wise. More lights are always a good thing!
I’m sorry you aren’t getting support from Steve on those night time wake ups and I hope Franklin is able to make it through the night soon! It will all get done, it always does, and I hope you can enjoy the process, too.
Oh, it sounds so cold and windy for you! I hope that Franklin gets his potty business sorted out and you can get a good night of sleep soon. Life is so much harder without decent sleep!
And I think it’s a good idea to skip the tree this year. They are so much work on top of everything else! I’d do it if I could get away with it 🙂
Here’s to a festive Christmas season, with or without the usual trimmings, and good nights of sleep in the future!
Y’know . . . I didn’t put up a Christmas tree the year my mom died (2016). The kids weren’t at home anymore, Tom has always been ambivalent about decorating (except twinkle lights; he does like twinkle lights) . . . and it’s a lot of work. I thought I’d be sad, but I was LIBERATED! And I haven’t done a tree since. I do have a pre-lit birch tree (a Costco find) that I have out all winter long. Sometimes I decorate it with a few red and green balls . . . and sometimes I don’t. I also stopped shopping for Christmas for my kids and just give them each a check instead. Simplification all around, and everyone is happy! (There are so many ways to enjoy the holidays. . . ) Here’s to potty-training magic for Franklin! XO
I hope to be PRESENT for December. It gets so busy and I want to savor advent.