Back to Basics/Trimming the Tree

It's hard to pinpoint the moment a subliminal decision such as this is made, but the moment it is put into effect can be hard to forget.

We adopted this huge braided rug several years ago. Was it before Baby Boy was born? Could be. I can't remember for sure, but I do remember trains and toy cars driving round and round on the braid "roads". I remember when Baby Girl started scooting around on her belly on the wood floors that this rug would stop her in her tracks and she would gaze longingly at her big brother as he played with alphabet toys that she couldn't quite get to. I remember countless band sessions in that living room, with my musical friends circled round in perfect alignment with the circles on the rug (well, more oblong, but you get the point).

This rug lived in my In-Law's house for years before it came to us, and had weathered any number of feets. We don't know who had it before them, but it was rumored to have been hand-made by the Mother of it's former owner.

As the time drew near to rearrange and decorate for Christmas, the Farmboy and I had a few conversations about that rug and I confessed a growing desire for it to be evicted. I never loved the color scheme or picking out bits of glitter and splinters of wood that stubbornly refused to be vacuumed; I had been feeling a strong desire for something more simple and easy on the eye. I was surprised at how quickly he agreed. So when the day for trimming the tree arrived, we moved the furniture out, vacuumed the rug front and back, and I put it up on Facebook, offering it to my friends (and not expecting any takers). I'm happy to say that it has gone to another friendly home where it will hopefully host many more happy memories.

And now that it is gone... no regrets. How those lovely Douglas Fir floorboards glow! In their former life they were beams in a fishnet factory on the Oregon Coast. I like to think that this is their favorite season of life. Now that they are once again exposed, my house seems somehow warmer, bigger.

As for the tree trimming, not many pictures were taken, but it was accomplished with bare toes on smooth boards warmed by the fire.

The kids got their own live tree for the first time this year, set up on the upstairs landing. A place for colored lights (not allowed on the downstairs tree) and as many cartoon characters as they desire (also strictly NOT allowed in my living room).

And all was merry and bright.

Christmas Tree Day

Our own personal little patch of Christmas trees has grown so much in the ten years since we planted that every one of our friends and family that comes are now getting beautiful, full-sized trees if they want, and some are even big enough that they have to be cut a foot or two off of the ground to get them to fit under a standard ceiling height.

We always go out and choose our tree sometime around Thanksgiving, marking it with a tag so no one else takes it, but we wait until the first weekend in December to actually cut it and bring it in.

I suppose it isn't as exciting for the kids when we just walk up past the front yard instead of going to a tree farm somewhere. We head out in our sweat pants, double check to make sure the tree we tagged is indeed "the one", and the Farmboy cuts it down in one quick swoop of his chainsaw.

At this point, the kids turned around with their noses wrinkled because "Daddy's chainsaw stinks!" and were just about to head back in for some Minecraft.

I said something along the lines of, "Hey! Be excited! Daddy just cut our CHRISTMAS TREE!"

Goofballs. I wonder where they get it from.

After a few hours of drying on the front porch, I set my hands to lighting the tree, then promptly forgot my camera while the fun of digging into the ornament collection happened.

Fortunately, I had a couple of models willing to pretend they were hanging ornaments...

In the past, our decorating has pretty much only extended into the living room and kitchen area of the house, but this year, we decided to add a second tree to the front room where the TV lives. Now when we watch Christms movies or play video games there's an extra bit of festiveness there as well.

Now to start wrapping presents...

Lately

Sun Blaze :: New-Old Sampler :: Forage :: New-Old Pillows (made from antique kilim rugs) :: Cousins, all in a Row :: Summer Rain :: Seed :: First Fan Club :: Did I Break Child Labor Laws? :: After the Braid

Happiness is...

The new area rug purchased to replace the one we've walked on for 15 years.

Finding un-broken clay pigeons in the woods below the house.

The very first picture snapped in 2013... Blueberry smoothie drops perfectly fallen next to a tree needle.

Walking in the woods.

Memories of warm days filled with fun.

Four-wheeler rides with Daddy.

A fresh-dug potato that made me crave Goldfish crackers.

What brings you happiness today?

Our Tree

12/12/12... I feel like I should be posting something ground-breaking in significance. I have a friend whose son is turning 12 today... that's pretty significant.

But no... I have nothing. Just some pictures of our Christmas tree.

One morning, late last week, the Farmboy left for work with a promise that he would do his best to get home before dark so that we could cut down our tree in photo-graphable light.

The kids were waiting with much excitement when he pulled into the driveway... Santa hats on! Boots on! Festive happiness bubbling!

The tree had been chosen days before... last row, sixth one down from the kennel... tallest, fullest one in our collection.

But not so tall and full that the almost-seven-year-old couldn't help by carrying the top end.

I had my trusty camera out, but wasn't holding my breathe that I would be able to capture any of the moments with much clarity. But once again, my gem performed better than expected, and although blurry, drew in so much more light than I thought possible.

This is the second year now that we've cut a tree from our own little Christmas tree plot. Fat and full, but still a bit on the short side, we were still so proud to bring it into the house and bedeck its branches with sparkling bits of memories.

We made sure to hang those new Beaver ornaments far away from the trunk of the tree, just in case they decided they wanted a snack.

A Place to Call My Own

The room that used to look like this, and then later like this, now looks a little more like this:

Yes, my 4 year old still sleeps in her crib. Why not? Its cozy, still plenty big for her small body, and it easily contains the menagerie of stuffed friends that keep her company at night. But I digress.

The other upstairs room, which used to look like this:

Now looks like this:

Can you even stand how much better it is now? I can't. I keep going into my new office, my very own room, and fiddling with projects and tweaking the arrangements on my shelves, and generally being happy that I finally did it.

The bouquet of hydrangeas were at my wedding. I'm not usually one to decorate with dead flowers, but I just can't bring myself to throw these onto the compost pile. They were vibrant and fresh that day, and although their new-ness has faded, they have become more lovely with time. A good metaphor for our marriage.

I finally moved the kids into a room together (they love it, by the way), ignoring my un-founded fears that they would be sleep deprived and too crowded for comfort. I shared a smaller room with TWO siblings when I was that age, and it certainly didn't hurt me.

I do feel a little greedy, taking over an entire room for my office space, but it is my house, after all. Those little people are just borrowing space until they are grown up and ready to face the world. Might as well start teaching them to share and get along with each other first.

 

And having the space in which to be inspired and write and create and design and sew has been a very long time coming.

The other side of the room still needs some serious help. But for now I am content. No more setting the sewing machine up on my dining room table then putting everything away before dinner. Now it can stay plugged in and be at-the-ready continually.

And hopefully very soon, she will have a fancy printer as companion, and I won't have to make multiple trips to town each week to fill pattern orders.

This here is a little celebratory wallpaper for you to use if you like. Just click to enlarge, then right-click to save to your computer. For your personal use only, please.