December 30, 2013 by clumpaday

A Look Back At My Holiday Challenge

My older daughter offered the suggestion that I take a temporary break from my daily clump to reflect upon my holiday challenge. It was the “No-Sweat November for a Stress-Free December: Operation Enjoy Christmas Challenge.” (As my son pointed out, a title with the bombastic tone of a segment on The Colbert Report.)

In short, challenging myself to start on the Christmas to-do list earlier than usual helped me a great deal. But I was overly optimistic in my visions of a sugar-plum-laden December. I imagined visiting Longwood Gardens (pictured below) for all their festive holiday events. Didn’t happen once. Plays, shows, The Nutcracker Ballet? Nope.

I did manage a few small victories, which would have been unthinkable in previous years. I hosted a holiday get together for the neighborhood ladies. I snuck off to see It’s A Wonderful Life, in a theater, which was, indeed, wonderful. I took advantage of “Cyber Monday” and got some good deals with free shipping. I was finally able to order one gift that, for so many years, had eluded my grasp because I would always remember it too late: a plaque with a picture of my father-in-law and some inspiring words my husband wrote on the occasion of his death. For the first time ever (?) friends and family received our Christmas cards before Christmas.

I even had time to have a tee-shirt made for all our Christmas morning revelers. It was a design we fell in love with this summer in Portland, Maine. The tee-shirt maker, Ferdinand, made up the sizes I needed, just right for our musical gang.

But Christmas morning was, again, a time of bone-crushing exhaustion. In sad, cynical opposition to the heart-warming coda to How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the exhaustion came even with starting early … it came with wrapping presents in November … it came with getting the cards ordered and written before the 24th …

Yesterday my husband had me watch the season three finale of Louie, the dark comedy by the brilliant comedian, Louis C.K. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s a surreal depiction of a parent’s quest to provide the perfect Christmas, and the dreamlike aftermath.

Here is a clip, the doll scene, in which he releases a sob that I experienced viscerally.

And now, just like Louie, all I want to do is sleep.

December 29, 2013December 29, 2013 by clumpaday

Drowning in Paper

Clump #131: Clear second paper pile from bedroom closet.

Another pile bites the dust … or shakes it off in the recycling bag. I tried to glean as much as I could from the magazine on top, Real Simple (funny how yesterday’s pile had another issue of the same magazine on top), before tossing it out.

But amidst all the great tips, fashion, and recipes, the best part, for me, was this quote in the table of contents:

I love the length of the to-do list pictured above. My master Christmas list was in this clump of paper. I feel like playing taps on a bugle in honor of its service to me.

A gloomy, rainy, gray day here. Good for going through neglected newspapers and magazines and letting the tea kettle flow. Pretty sad that our guests are dropping away like leaves from the poinsettia.

There is a certain magic to a rainy day.

A reminder to take the rain with the sun.

Weather, like Christmas, is not perfectly managed.

December 28, 2013 by clumpaday

The Paper Trail

Clump # 130: Start clearing out paper piles in closet.

I, or really our house, fell victim to my chronic paper-shuffle-before-company-comes syndrome. Again. Before our Christmas festivities I moved the piles from the study to our bedroom closet … my anxiety closet. If I were to give tips for hopeless housekeepers, like myself, I would say: make sure a beautiful magazine cover is on top of your anxiety closet pile. So much more enjoyable to slip and stumble over orchids and smooth river stones, emblazoned with the words, “The Balanced Life.”

This project might take a few days of concerted effort. Here is a calendar for 2013. We left off in April. I recycled the pages and the plastic holder.

One spot of clearness. A tiny bit of balance restored.

Possibly because I had paper on the brain today, I was conscious of trees, specifically evergreens. This little sprout stole my heart. It seemed in need of protection, like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

And, below, a dress I passed by in a consignment store, giving new meaning to the phrase “all decked out.”

I had to go in, just to try for a better shot. Here’s the dress’s view of the street:

As I passed by trees in this more urban environment, I felt a sense of awe for their endurance, and again, protectiveness …

while at the same time plotting a virtual clear-cutting of the forest of paper in my closet.

December 28, 2013 by clumpaday

Winter Wonders

Clump #129: Assemble and wrap birthday presents.

Around here, present-giving doesn’t end after December 25th. My younger daughter’s birthday follows quickly on the heels of Christmas … our little Christmas angel. When I was pregnant and due around this time, many people told me all sorts of negative anecdotes about having a birthday on or near Christmas, but she has never seemed to suffer. Maybe because we have always celebrated her half-birthday in June with my husband’s side of the family.

This is a milestone year for us. We will no longer have teenagers in our immediate family. Our younger daughter made teenager-hood too enjoyable a stage, so I’m feeling unexpected sadness …

but our holiday house guests are helping to distract me from it. Here is a snippet of conversation from this morning as I cleared newspapers off of the table to set up for breakfast:

Putting the papers on the chair, below, I said, “Another clump is born.” My older daughter responded, “Welcome to the world little clump.” “Like an acorn growing into a mighty oak,” I replied. My older sister added, “Soon you will be blog-worthy!”

It was a good day to get the clumps out of my head by taking a walk with my husband and niece.

I have the annoying habit of needing to stop frequently to take photos, so it was good to have a nice niece along to keep my husband company while I caught up.

I was impressed by the green popping up through a dusting of snow.

Just when I think I won’t find any beauty in the dull-colored world of winter …

it’s as if Mother Nature dares me not to be swept away by lovely sights.

Beauty in the dead of winter, like sweetness in the fury of adolescence.

December 27, 2013December 27, 2013 by clumpaday

Tangible Gifts

Clump #128: Deliver son’s bag of gifts.

Two of my son’s friends were leaving today to visit my son in Norway, and if that wasn’t gift enough, they agreed to bring a bag of gifts to him from us, including homemade cookies and peanut brittle.

Speaking of Christmas gifting, my older sister put together one of my favorite gifts given to me this year: a compilation of photos I took for this blog, set on a foam core board. Somehow the sight of it makes this whole experience more real. So often it seems like I send these posts and photos out to vanish in the air, but this is something concrete. Not only does my work look real, my very life seems more real.

We all went to see the movie, Frozen, tonight, and everyone enjoyed it. It’s a story involving two sisters who are very different, and their unbreakable bond.

What a gift to have the support of such a sister.

December 25, 2013 by clumpaday

True Abundance

Clump #127: Pack up paper recycling.

Through the magic of Google Hangout, our son in Norway was able to join in the Christmas morning present-opening. The creators of The Jetsons predicted this kind of technology! He kept us laughing by adding visual effects like an arctic setting …

and this birthday-boy-with-an-eye-patch look. When a really good present was revealed, he would play a round of applause. At other times, the sound of a toilet flushing. It wasn’t as good as having him here in person, but it sure helped!

I was talking to a friend recently who compared the lead-up to Christmas to a wedding. So true. You work and work, shopping, planning, wrapping, wrapping, and more wrapping … and then in a quick blur, it’s all over. Here’s a photo of the aftermath, ready for the recycling truck we hope will be here tomorrow:

We all wish for abundance …

But to me, the real abundance we crave is found in the song Silent Night.

“Son of God, love’s pure light.”

December 24, 2013 by clumpaday

Fear Not

Clump #125: Christmas and party cleaning.

I hosted a get together for the ladies of our small neighborhood tonight. As I was making preparations, mostly cleaning, I was conscious of how my mind would ping-pong. Everywhere I looked I saw something else I should be doing. The finger prints on the refrigerator … the cat hair on the couch … the layer of peanut brittle dust on the floor … (below, my husband, the amazing peanut brittle-maker:)

I get pre-party anxiety. It’s more than just having a lot to do in a limited amount of time, not to mention my current cookie and peanut brittle diet. I was feeling frazzled and frenzied and knew it was really another f-word: fear. What am I afraid of? These are nice people coming over. Yes, they are superior housekeepers, but I don’t really think they’d drum me out for my substandard skills.

I tried to repeat to myself that my state of mind is the most important element of the party … the vibe that is either welcoming and fun or frantic and exhausted. It’s a party … not a test.

Everyone seemed to have a good time, and with help from my daughters, the food and decor were great. The invitation was for wine and bring-your-favorite hors d’oeuvres. We had received a bottle of champagne as a gift, so I used it in a recipe I found online, from Williams-Sonoma. Very easy: one ounce pomegranate juice, a half ounce Grand Marnier; add champagne to fill glass, and garnish with a few pomegranate seeds. Festive and delicious!

With all of these Christmas preparations, this line has kept running through my head, speaking to my condition: “And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

December 23, 2013December 23, 2013 by clumpaday

Light, Not Heat

Clump #124: Fill window boxes; make sandwiches.

The following is a cautionary tale. I’ve been thinking of my son quite a lot these days. He’s in Norway for a year and, especially now with his sisters home, there’s an empty space where he should be. Our Quaker Meeting’s annual candlelit Christmas music program was this evening, and he has always participated with the other members of our musical clan. On the night of last year’s program, getting everyone out the door on time was a major challenge. The accumulated stress of the holidays combined with the “Where is everyone?!!“-frustration caused me to lose my temper. And then I thought I overheard our son say that I was “ruining Christmas.”

We somehow managed to get everyone into the car and to the program. I waited until after the festivities to tell our son that his comment had really cut me to the core. He told me that what he had actually said was, [about our lateness] “It’s not going to ruin Christmas.” Afterward, he wrote me a wonderful letter saying that he would never say such a thing; that I do so much for everyone at Christmas, etc.

However … between the time I misheard the comment and the nice resolution, I really had to admit to myself that a case could be made for my ruining Christmas. Trying too hard for everything to be right can really backfire.

Here’s one thing that helps me let go: relying on a favorite recipe that I don’t even have to think about. These sandwiches have become my go-to as a contribution for the reception after the music. I used three packs of King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, cut open.

This is half of them. Slap mayo on one side, jellied cranberry sauce on the other. (I end up using the whole can.)

Add sliced turkey breast; a pound and a quarter. I’m a sandwich-making machine!

And then lettuce. (shot through rose-colored glasses?)

Pop them together, and they look like this:

I was told they were good. By the time I came for some, they were gone.

I was able to stick evergreens in our window boxes earlier today. Yesterday the soil was still frozen. I loved the name “Swag in a Bag,” from a local gardening club sale. The gardening ladies trim their trees, I get some inexpensive house decorations, and the club gets a little money. Win, win, win.

This is what one bag looked like with our little tree in the middle:

And with ribbon woven through the base, as the day darkened before 5:00:

But the good news is: we’re past the Winter Solstice! Hooray! Every day will be a little longer now.

And we can shed our own light, in the world and in our homes.

December 21, 2013 by clumpaday

Green Christmas

Clump #123: Put up pine rope for outside decoration.

The bad news is: I procrastinated buying and stringing up pine roping outside our house until today. The good news: at this late date it was forty percent off, not to mention that we’re suddenly experiencing springlike weather. I added some bright, shiny things to this wreath, otherwise it disappears on the black door.

Melting snow and a driveway with a bit of a drainage problem:

Speaking of melting snow, my younger daughter and I tried and failed to go to a sing-along version of the movie White Christmas today; it was sold out. Waaah. The movie is about characters who go to Vermont expecting a winter play land, but find a green landscape devoid of snow … and a little romance. Previously, when I wrote about the movie Holiday Inn, I learned that White Christmas was supposed to be kind of a remake of Holiday Inn, with the same male stars, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Apparently Fred Astaire passed on the role, so they offered it to Donald O’Connor, who got injured before filming. Funny to think that Danny Kaye was the third choice, and hard to imagine anyone else in the role.

Vera-Ellen (who played Judy) was anorexic before there was a name or cure for it. It’s a bit painful to see her minuscule waist, like a living Barbie doll. No one thought there was something wrong? Ironic that so much dialog in the film revolves around what and how much Betty (Rosemary Clooney) should eat, forcing her to say, “Why is everyone so concerned about my eating habits?”

As one of four sisters, this scene has special meaning for me. “Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters…”

Here are some mysteries that someone who has seen the movie a quadrillion times might ponder: 1) The coffee pot, back-stage, suddenly apparates in Judy’s hand after she just put it down. 2) Why in heaven’s name doesn’t Betty tell Bob (Bing Crosby) what’s bothering her? All she can come up with is “I mean that you shouldn’t mix fairy tales with liverwurst and buttermilk.” 3) At the finale, when snow finally falls at just the perfect moment, the candles on the General’s cake relight themselves after he had just blown them out. 4) And the big mystery for all time: Who ever thought up the line, delivered by the blonde bombshell (“Mutual, I’m Shuah”), “Well, I like that! Without so much as a kiss my foot or haave an apple!” …

Okay, maybe I didn’t really need to see White Christmas for the quadrillion-and-oneth time …

I’ll sing along on my own. “Snow … snow … snow … snow … snow … where did you goooo?”

December 21, 2013 by clumpaday

Ribbons in the Sky

Clump #122: Return book and wrap, wrap, wrap.

Today I returned a friend’s book that I had unearthed during the pantry-clean. I also gave her the gift of a book I knew she wanted. Karma righted?

She had a lovely tree set up. After putting on the lights, she had found it was so beautiful that she didn’t want to mar it with ornaments. So that’s how it will stay for the season.

For me it was on to wrapping, wrapping, wrapping. (Note: this is an activity usually conducted in the wee hours of Christmas morning.)

I did take a few moments to look up. Taking photos for this blog has made me more aware of the sky and its constant changes. I keep thinking that the people who work at The Sistine Chapel might not look up at the ceiling as much as the visitors after a while; it could become commonplace.

We have commonplace treasure overhead, too.

Clump A Day

postcards from the clogosphere

Tag / Photos