My late husband, who died seven years ago today, loved poinsettias. In spite of my hints about how gorgeous the pink or multi-colored ones were, he would always bring home a traditional red one. Thus, I make sure to put a fake red one up at the cemetery this time of year.
This is one of my favorite photos of him, hugging our dog Chinook, who was such a huge and gentle Malamute. Toddler Ashley used to ride him!
It's not yet winter, although we've had some chilly weather(now warmer and rainy). I'm eagerly waiting for more cold days so that I can wear my new balaclava, a surprise gift from this friend. No worries, I know better than to wear it into a bank...
The tree is up, relatively stable in the stand, and decorated with our homemade or specially bought ornaments. I'm not a uniform ball/theme tree type of person. Nearly all of these decorations have a story, some of them happy and others poignant like the First Christmas baby shoe for Ashley that a Lamaze class friend made for me. She died in her mid-thirties of brain cancer. The sweet pictures of my girls when they were young. The ceramic pickle that a fellow pickle packer friend from Nalley's Fine Foods gave me. Patt's Coast Guard ornament. My University of Washington ball. I could go on...and on.
Mari enjoys the ornaments too, especially the ones that roll or jingle. Sigh.
My friend Eileen made me a special gift to honor my dear, but mischievous kitty. You can't tell, but this "Mari" is glaring right at my tree. ;)
Ashley, who is now feeling "GREAT" minus the nasty stent (whew!), sent me a photo of their tree with its one ornament, the one I sent her from Maui. She either got rid of or misplaced her decorations, so Mom to the rescue with a priority box full of unbreakable family "heirlooms." That means the usual mismatched, ragtag collection of ornaments that appear on my own tree. 'Tis the season to treasure what I've got: a loving family, close friends, and a demonic cat. I also have a wonderful boyfriend, who took me to this excellent film and then out to Italian dinner. I may not meet everyone's expectations for "holiday jolly," but I mostly meet my own standards for living my best life, occasional whining venting included :)
