Friday, January 06, 2006

Something New

It's funny how a small change, something new, can produce a complete attitude adjustment.

These first few days of 2006 have been really cranky for me. I want all of the Christmas decorations to put themselves away. Guess what? Christmas is over! Our tree is still in the living room, the stockings are still hanging from their corners of the mantle, my Snow Village continues to evoke holiday cheer from small, now-darkened windows. Eric has yet to dismantle his ginormous inflatable, light-up waving Santa who stands on the front lawn in all of his jolly glory. On the way back from school today I overheard a mom say to her daughters, "Isn't Santa supposed to be back in the North Pole by now?" Yes! He is! Thanks for pointing that out!

Apparently taking down all of this Christmas stuff is something I'm supposed to do. Why can't I ever remember that when I'm putting it up? Oh well, how quickly we fall into the next trap. The thing that got me moving yesterday, the thing that got me to take down and throw out all of the crunchy once-fresh garland from the banister and elsewhere, was the thought of Valentine's Day. I'm such a sucker for a new decorating task! Although I feel I must explain that Valentine's Day has always been my favorite. It's not just about an expression of love to my one and only, but to my entire circle of family and friends. And even better than that is an infusion of some glorious, glittery red, purple, pink, and orange in the middle of a gloomy, rainy winter. Bring it on!

But before I could face all of that Christmas deconstruction, I did something easier and made my blog blue. Voila! Mood lifted! Happy New Year! Why can't it always be that easy?

7 comments:

Joanna said...

I like the look of your new blue blog! I have a hard time putting decorations away too. Apparently, so do my neighbors. All the houses on my street still have lights up.

Sasser said...

I had to leave a comment and say hello and Happy New Year! I LOVE the stuffed creatures, they are amazing! I know what you mean about taking the Christmas stuff down too, it is so much more fun putting everything up. I have had fun reading your blog...great stuff, adorable family, inspiring ideas for crafts...all fun!

beki said...

Well, I got my Christmas things down and packed away, but the boxes are still piled up in my foyer. I'm blaming my husband on that one.

I think I'll so some Valentine's decorating too, but I'm a little conflicted because Valentins's day and Mardi Gras are only 2 weeks apart. I want to decorate for both!

textile_fetish said...

I didn't even think about Valentine's Day. My anniversary is the week before.

You know, I took down all the decorations and even dragged out the tree (needles everywhere!!) one day when Bradley was off and had the kids out. It was like a cloud had lifted. It took me no more than an hour. Had I waited for the spouse, it would have taken at least a week and been for more stressful. I just found it so much more gratifying to do it this way and take all the credit.

Anonymous said...

You BLUE it!
Saturday night when "Panda, Go Panda" finished on the video, the screen went to that lovely blue that TVs introduce to cover up scribbly interference. Zoe said "color" and I said "blue". She then proceeded to say "blue" about twenty five times in a row. Kind of like Iggy saying "foot, foot, foot . . ." in Little Lulu.
Don't forget that February 14th is Oregon's birthday (147) as well as V.D.
Be sure and include some green in your decorations for our beautiful state.

Anonymous said...

This year Leo (my 5 year old son) took everything down two days after Christmas. When he came downstairs from the attic and saw the empty space where the tree had been, he wanted to put everything back again. Um, no. Bring on Valentine's Day! It's my favorite, too (that and Easter...).

Anonymous said...

Oh, I hear you. We just finally got ours down too. The relief is palpable. The hubby is not so detail-oriented as I, however. Everywhere I look there's one last candy cane, one missed wreath, one strand of lights, forgotten, alas.