Friday, December 17, 2021

The View From Where I Sit

I started this post the day before yesterday and this was, indeed, my view looking out as I wrote to you.
 We no longer have a Christmas tree inside (long story), but we have usually had a tree put up outside bedecked in simple white lights...and the snows in Nod, well, they do the rest.  
It was not my intention to have the tree outdoors this year either (another similarly long story), but things were inadvertently not canceled and there it is...or was...until the night before last. 
Then came the Winds of Nod....and it is now no longer.

It seems like things have been so transient for me these days....Christmas trees, Christmas joy, minutes, hours, days themselves...motivation, inspiration, organized  thought.

Anyway...While I have no tree (indoor or outdoor at this point), I did manage to bring out some of my beloved decorations and have intended to do some Christmas-y posts for a while. 
But then the plan becomes as mecurial as the Spirit of Christmas Future.

No, I am not shopping; nor baking, not wrapping gifts (if one doesn't shop, there are no gifts to wrap, are there?) nor writing out cards.  And, heaven forbid, I am not cleaning, Lauren.

Yet it seems that I am paralyzed and stymied by indecision (surprises very few I am certain).  I have posted most all of my holiday decor previously over the years (and little of it changes) and while I realize there are new followers who may have not seen it before and long-time followers who don't recall each and every thing I have posted (and, if they do, they are gracious enough not to admit it or complain of its repetition), I had thought I might present it in a bit different format.  
But then the whirlwinds started - and I am not referring to the ones outside.  (Who heard of tornado watches/warnings in Nod in the middle of December??)
Should I do posts dedicated to Santas? Snowmen? Sleighs and sleds? Sleigh bells and jingle bells? Vintage Christmas?
Well, as I said: indecision set in.

So, here I am: staring at a darkness that used to be a beautifully lit tree and wonder what happened. (Not to the tree...I KNOW what happened to that.)  At the risk of letting the last week before Christmas slip through my hands, I am going to post something.  I will start with a (hopefully) brief catchup and perhaps be back tomorrow (ha!) with something more Christmas-y.

First...as you can see from the tree that is no more, we had more snow.  About 10-11" (it drifted horribly so difficult to be precise) fell last Friday into Saturday (on top of what was already on the ground).

{Under that snow are my back steps and watering cans on the steps}


Then the snows stopped and a few days later the skies turned pink (REALLY) pink - and the temperatures turned mild (REALLY mild).


Yeah, and that's when the winds raged.  
Let me tell you, one day of almost 50° mid-December really wasn't worth it.
Half the shingles on the garage were ripped off, my heavy washtub filled with frozen dirt tossed across the patio, trees snapped, metal garden stakes bent at a 45° angle, etc.
And I am thinking that pretty lit Christmas tree may just be in Vermont about now.
'Nuff said about that.

While indecision and overthinking takes up a great deal of time, I have made some progress on my (not-so-simple-for-me) Simple Santa rug.  Will it be finished before Christmas?
Ummm, no.

{"Simple Santa" design by Therese Shick}

And, for those following along on my "reads," this is what I am currently enjoying:


I posted about this author (Sarah Maine)'s debut novel, "The House Between Tides" previously and said I would be reading more of her.  I am enjoying this one very much also, although there are some incongruencies which should have been caught with careful editing (which I find distracting, but I'm picky like that) and a bit of predictability (then again, I haven't finished it yet so I may be surprised).

I hope this finds you all well and getting your merry on.

{PS...I am not sure how many of you can still hear the music on my blog.  I thought it had disappeared but someone mentioned it not too long ago. Maybe I should try to remember how to change it to Christmas?? Or maybe not.}




 

19 comments:

Saundra said...

Limbs snapped here but thankfully no trees were downed this time. I'm not baking or doing much decorating either, just a couple things I made and a couple Christmas rugs will do it for me since no one comes here anyway. I spend Christmas Day with my son, DIL and grandson. So why put it out and have it all to put back? Oh, and Lauren I didn't clean either, lol.

Lady Locust said...

I still hear your music. Ashokan Farewell is one of my favorite pieces. We will go get a tree tomorrow. I don't do a lot of decorating. We got only a skiff of snow, but we also had the Heat Dome this summer so are due for some sort of "normal" for a change. I do hope your Christmas is merry despite the vanishing tree. Ha! I just read Saundra's comment and since we're confessing, I'm supposed to be cleaning now but am on here instead (heehee shhhh)

Hootin Anni said...

Oh bah humbug about your beautiful tree! I hope who(m)ever found it in Vermont appreciates your gift!!
That Santa rug will be phenomenal!
And all that snow. I remember my younger days growing up in Colorado Rockies...that's why now we live in the South. 😉

acorn hollow said...

I am so sorry about your tree how sad. We cannot have a real tree as husband and daughter are allergic. I am sorry you are not feeling the spirit to decorate. I have cut way back but so happy to see what I have done each day when I get home from work. WE are in for some snow tomorrow it looks like you are way ahead of us. We are happy have a white Christmas mess or no mess.
I love your Santa doesn't matter if he is done in time. It matters that you are enjoying working on him.
Merry Christmas no matter how you keep it.
Cathy

oldgreymareprimitives said...

The winds blew here also and also brought as I said in today's post discombobulation... SO I just rattled on about fluff. Maybe it's the wind, rain, snows and floods that is blowing all this angst continually among us?
merry merry

Hill Top Post said...

Cranky Crow, this is a beautiful post! I love the snowy pictures, but am so sorry about the missing Christmas tree. I don't know what is going on this year with so many strong winds blowing all over the place. The Santa rug is a delight and doesn't have far to go.

Heritage Hall said...

Robin ~ So long as you have that magnificent chair-side photo, you
have not really lost that ethereal tree...great shot. That Santa rug
is so lovely and I'm rooting you through to its Christmas finish.
The enui and lack of incentive you have been feeling is the general
tone these days, particularly among some very creative souls..
Being pressured by the last year hasn't helped much....but you will
climb out of it and the sun will shine, the snow will melt and you
will back in stride.....rooting for you there also.

Saundra said...

I came back for a second helping of your blog post as I missed commenting on a couple things. No, I don't hear your music as I have before. PLUS, I love your Santa and now wrote down the name of the designer. You are doing a fabulous job hooking him; love his coat and the swirls in the background which makes it seem as tho the snow is whipping around him. Look'n good.

Prims By The Water said...

Well I have not wrapped presents in YEARS. Gift cards and money in Christmas cards is my choice nowadays....probably for the best anyway because although I love to decorate, I HATE wrapping and cannot fold paper into a nice package at all. So when my daughter asked me to wrap all of my grands presents, I hesitantly said ok. I did do it, but gave it my college try...and once again presents were wrapped but with crooked corners and some having tears and lines where I needed to add more paper in between. Thank God my grands will not judge me too bad. LOL So love your Santa hooked rug, and I am sure you will get some Christmas spirit before the day comes. We have had some crazy weather here too in Michigan. Yesterday it was 64 and once again windy. UGH Janice

susan hemann said...

I'm sorry to hear you are at sixes and sevens. And that beautiful tree!!
Truthfully, it has been hard to get the spirit here also. I decorated, then took everything down, and then put everything back up.
I tried to shut the world out for a few weeks but the world broke the door down. No need for details.

Anyway, wishing you comfort and peace.

JustGail said...

My vote, not that you were asking, is post your Christmas things. Every year, every other year, whenever you feel like "must post but what?". Not only new readers, but for regular readers with not so good memories on such things. Picking an area rather than by type of decoration seems easiest. Sometimes it's the combinations of items that I find interesting. I just give money, gift cards to DH, check to DS. No not as much fun opening them, but it saves my time, energy, temper, and money.

Sorry about the tree, and all the other damages up there. After the wind hit eastern Iowa, they were talking it was supposed to be diminishing winds, but I guess they weren't talking about land of Nod. And speaking of things that are broken - no, I don't hear the music.

The Santa rug is looking good - I like the way the snow is curling around his feet.

Shrimpton and Perfect said...

Your picture of the snowy tree is sensational. And thank goodness it's just watering cans buried in the snow on your steps and not Daleks, had me worried for a while. Thank you for your book recommendations, I enjoyed the house between two tides and will order beyond the wild river from my library. I do love going to bed at night with a cracking yarn.

Farm Girl said...

Oh my goodness, I had no idea you got that terrible wind. Your poor tree and all of the lights. I thought it looked lovely out your window with the lights and snows. I am glad you got a picture.
Well, I would love to see your decorations. They are always new to me.
I also really, really like that rug and I love your colors.
I am not familiar with that author, and editing errors drive me crazy too.
In spite of everything I do hope you have a very lovely Christmas.
Kim

SusieK said...

I think that all of the craziness of the last year and a half have made us all a little off this Christmas. We are either trying to make up for lost experiences or just out of sorts. I tried to do everything I missed out on last year only to lose my mojo and have gotten to the bah humbug stage. Praying that we all get the true meaning of Christmas back in our hearts and have a blessed holiday!

Dicky Bird said...

Honestly Robin, you can make even the most "unlucky" of circumstances sound inviting! I would have loved to catch a ride, along with your tree, to Vermont!

NMK said...

Oh my goodness the weather has been terrible ....I'm so sorry your pretty tree went for flyng lessons ...
Your Santa is beautiful !!!
I hope life improves in Nod ....we have all been thru enough of this Covid mess ....take care & I hope you have very nice , peaceful, relaxing Cmas ...

Rugs and Pugs said...

Simple Santa...I am loving him.
That was a beautiful view. So sad. Last week when we had horrific winds my neighbor's pine tree snapped about 10' off the ground and over the fence in to the former school yard. I have been going and "trimming" it. Truly fresh greens!

Rugs and Pugs said...

P.S. I haven't heard your music in years...but that is a good thing to my ears, sorry to say. It always startled the heck out of me!

Julia said...

We had some strong winds hereto in New Brunswick, Canada and I thought the roof would come off. Thankfully we didn't have any damage. Just small branches fell off our big maple tree.

That is a lot of snow. I hope that you have some snowshoes and can get some fresh air without sinking down to your knees.

What a sad thing to happen to your beautiful outdoor tree. I love the simple beauty of those little lights and the snow on the branches.

I hope that you can get compensated for the roof shingles. It seems if it's not one thing, lately, it's another.

Take care, stay safe and enjoy what you can, and leave the rest. I haven't cleaned, wrapped gifts either but I baked and only send a handful of cards this year. I think a lot of people are doing the same.
By the way, I can no longer hear the music either but it's no big deal. I'd rather read and take in your blog.

Hugs, Julia