Taking Christmas down is never as much fun as the decorating. As I finished de-Christmasing the house this morning, I was struck by how empty everything looks. Granted, I still have to replace the "everyday" items that were moved to make room for the special Christmas things, but the festive atmosphere is indeed gone for another year. (The cat may argue; Xeda is eyeing the empty mantles greedily, perhaps with a plan to jump up there while there is room for her to roam. I'd better get things put back swiftly!)
Other decorations were displayed in familiar and unexpected places.
As I put away each ornament from the tree, I treasured memories of trips, life events, and old friends represented by the decorations that had adorned it.
Some ornaments took me back to my first Christmas without my parents, when I convinced my grandmother to let me bring in a tree and made all the ornaments myself. I still have the eggshell ornaments I made, and I still tie ribbons on the tree as a final touch.
Some of my still-favorite ornaments are those that I started collecting that same year.
Others are ornaments I've made over the years...
... or that were made and given to us by friends and our kids.
Then, there are the ornaments that I've brought back from our travels: Yellowstone and Grand Tetons;
Whistler, Niagara-on-the-Falls, and Victoria, B.C. in Canada; Hawaii and Arizona; The Dali Museum in St. Pete and the Newport Aquarium, are just a few of those memories captured here.
Until yesterday, the front of the house beheld our traditional decoration of greenery.
But the banisters, now bare, had a new look this year.
All that is gone, but the memories of the season live on.
Sarah was home for the holiday, and it was wonderful having everyone back together again. We held our annual cookie-baking marathon, resulting in seven varieties of cookies this year. Neighbors and friends received platters of these confections as gifts, and we managed to hang on to a few for ourselves. Even the crumbs are now gone...
Christmas morning was spent in its usual extended exchange of excess, I mean gifts, with a little something special for everyone.
That evening, Hillary, Patrick, and Ian Moldovan joined us for dinner. Don't think I got a single picture of our guests, or the food, but the table certainly looked nice!
Our menu this year: beef tenderloin, wild rice with cranberries, wrapped green beans, onion and mushroom casserole, Christmassy apple and grape congealed salad, rolls, and, for dessert, Hillary's impressive cranberry-orange bundt cake and Christmas cookies.
Today, however, the dishes are all put away, the decoration bins are in storage, the tree is by the curb awaiting recycling, and all that is left are needles on the floor waiting to be vacuumed. Ah, yes, and the memories.
