Down Time

         
With the advent of a new year comes one of my least favorite chores: taking down the Christmas stuff. The house always seems so plain Jane once all the festoons are removed and the decor goes back to the not - quite - there - yet rustic/contemporary charm I'm trying to create here.  My environment is very important to me, always has been. I try to surround myself with loads of  fun yet aesthetically pleasing accoutrement in order to combat those feelings of boredom and staid complacence. Maybe I should have been a decorator. That's not to say that I think I'm so fabulous at it that people will want me to dictate their surroundings, but rather it sounds like a fun job for me. Especially after moving into this 1982 time capsule house. I've now grown quite fond of painting and sanding and hanging and redoing. In fact, my husband is in the other room repairing a sink poorly installed by the previous owners. A note to anyone who might be reading this: don't be an a-hole homeowner who can't admit they can't fix something and try to fix it anyway. Bad karma. But I digress...the Christmas decorations must come down today!
         

No matter how much I love them, no matter how much nicer I think the house, or as we affectionately refer to it, Little Blue, looks donned in it's gay apparel, I should move on. Christmas is gone again for another three hundred and some odd days. However the time marches on, as it were, and the holiday season gets closer and closer each time, despite the fact that it always seems to conclude faster and faster. Now it's time to hang up the Santa hat, go back to work, and wait for another reason to be merry. There's always the blooming and rebirth of Spring to look forward to, but let's not get into that again. There's Valentine's Day, which as much as I'm still gaga for my husband, we don't put too much stock into anymore. St. Patrick's Day? I do love beer, and green is my favorite color. I guess I could spin that old yarn about how everyday is a holiday and how every moment is precious, but seriously folks. Let's not delude ourselves for the sake of the kiddies and self-help gurus. There's no song called "Jingle All The Way To Wednesday" and trash day doesn't have a picturesquely jolly  and fur trimmed mascot who gives people stuff. Although come to think of it, maybe it should.