Skip to main content

Christmas Preparations

 I was not really even planning to do any Christmas decorations at all this year, no big family dinner either.

Vermont's governor is urging people to not have big gatherings, just stick with your own household and my family is all onboard with precautions. He did ask that people make an effort to put up lights though -- "Vermont Lights the Way."

So I did put lights in the kitchen and around the sliding door that leads to my deck.

Then I decided to take a walk around Gardeners' Supply and I got a bit more into the spirit of things.

The aisles were widened and the traffic was one direction. It seemed  a little sparse but then maybe I have spoiled by the tours of nurseries Linda Reeder often treats us with.

Everyone wore masks. I really don't understand the angry resistance to masks. I made a flannel one, lined with silk. It was really quite cozy warm on a bitter windy day.




I really like succulents.

I could be at home in a desert.


In this area, I felt as though I had returned to Florida:

Orchids

Tropical plants


I bought a Norfolk Island Pine for my Christmas tree and decorated with tiny red bows.


And I bought a mini garland for the front door.

Don is asking about cookie baking -- forget about plants!  I gave that up because so many people gave me home baked cookies and I really don't like making them. I guess I will have to if I want some this year though.

Comments

  1. Good for you for finding a little Christmas spirit among the plants. Now to make at least one favorite cookie recipe. We are in charge of our own spirit this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We've put up our outdoor decorations, and have a string of lights on the mantle over the fireplace. But no tree this year.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It has been years since I have decorated for Christmas. My children have always celebrated in their own homes. Ron was never big on decorations but we always had special meal celebrations. When my mom was alive, we would have meals with her at the retirement home. Ron always cooked her a cow's tongue which she loved with horseradish. We enjoyed other people's decorations.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a beautiful spot to visit! I can imagine the smell of the fresh plants. Love your little tree and swag as well.

    Take care and stay well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice tree. I like it. I have not baked cookies in decades. Too easy to buy. Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The beauty of that little Norfolk, you can plant it later. Seeing the poinsettias makes me want one but I won't because of Minnie. It can be toxic to cats.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Patti, it would grow like crazy in Florida but it is a houseplant here in Vermont.

    Gigi, I am not fond of baking cookies, so much easier to bake a cake.

    Maebeme, yes, the smell is wonderful there. And I passed that COVID test!

    Annie, I like putting up decorations but I am always mindful of having to take them down, which is no where near as much fun!

    Margaret, Thanks. I bought an artificial tree after Mike died but it never felt right. I like this one because it is live and I can keep it for a houseplant.

    Tom, It does feel good to have a little bit of a festive touch.

    Linda, I am going to make some shortbread because that is what I like best.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love Norfolk pines! And they do well decorated... good to have a little festive spirit in the house.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your tree very attractive and nice size. I miss my home-baked cookies as better than those i buy, but t wont bake again this year which is good, ‘cause I’ll not be as tempted to eat so many.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That looks like a great outing for you. I know what you mean about Linda's garden shopping photos. LOL. And I know what you mean about baking. We're starting to get baked goods too. Sadly, I can't eat them so they're all for Art and mom.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My decorating was very limited, just the items the grandgirls like to see.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I appreciate readers' comments so much. You don't even always have to agree with me.

Popular posts from this blog

It's TIme

 It's been a while since I have posted anything and even my reading your posts is falling by the wayside. I am in Florida now. I have a yard where little attention was spent on landscaping for the past years so I am slowly and (somewhat) methodically addressing that. I also volunteer to work at the pollinator garden and the edible garden I helped install at the UU grounds and I took over the volunteer job of cleaning out the overgrown community garden by my neighborhood mailboxes. The neighbor who was doing that got sick and could no longer attend to it. It's a bigger job than I'd thought at first -- not only overgrown with weeds, but the plants that are wanted there are in life and death competition for each others' spaces. And two walks a day, morning and evening, so Levi can keep up with addiction to canine social media and a daily rousing came of stick or ball midday take up another chunk of my time. I have a weekly meditation group that I co-facilitate, and my own ...

Life Goes On

There is nothing like a visit from the grand children to remind one that life goes on.  I spent Friday night at my daughter's and then brought the kids back home with me.  I did not get to see so much of them this past summer and it was a birthday gift to my daughter (who just turned 40!) to have a couple of days to herself. She probably spent them in her son's room playing Lego StarWars.  Dane tried to teach me how to play this video game--a hopeless task if ever there was one.  "Concentrate, Grandma!  You have to concentrate!"  I do have a hard time with sustained concentration lately, but in this case I had no clue what it was that needed concentration.  He finally took the controls away from me (thank-you!). It's amazing how long he can amuse himself at my house being out side on a scooter or helping me in the yard, especially if it involves a hose.  Inside, they both sit and draw or craft for hours.  Just before bed, Dane did say, "N...

Eggplant

Mike and I considered ourselves soul mates, but we definitely were not culinary mates.  Mike liked what he liked and disliked what he disliked and he never changed his mind about things like that.  He did not eat mayonnaise.  He did not eat tomato sauce.  He did not eat cooked vegetables except for corn, peas and green beans.  He did not eat onions cooked or otherwise.  He did not eat casseroles ever since they were a combination of things he didn't eat anyway. I did not like mushrooms as a kid and eggplant just made me gag, but my tastes changed,  Foods I found disgusting as a child are now among my favorites--mushrooms, eggplant, avocados, asparagus, eggs, spinach, brussel sprouts, herbs and spices. I will admit that I never developed a taste for liver (nor do I want to). I made this Moussakka a while ago and ate it every day for a week.  I froze half of it but ended up thawing it out right away. It consists of sliced eggplant layered...