Showing posts with label decorations. Show all posts
The first day of Christmas is (nearly) over. And it has already been an exhausting festival of family and food. I have been eyeballing the clock for at least two hours, wondering when it's acceptable to fall asleep without the nasty side effect of being wide awake at 4:00am.
I've also managed to spend many of my lazing minutes brushing up on the ins and outs of operating my camera. And since my parents house seems so much more novel than mine, I'm directing my practice efforts on the many and varied Christmas tchotchkes.
Everything seems to have a past and a story. Some of them pre-date me, going back to my mom's grandmothers and great grandmothers. Others I remember my brothers and I gifting to my mom during our earlier childhood years. Grandma sewed our stockings, mom painted our names on them. Many of the ornaments on the tree were crafted with the very hands that type this. It's like delving through a memory bank.
seeing christmas past \12.23\
Full View
Labels:
christmas,
decorations,
lights
I've also managed to spend many of my lazing minutes brushing up on the ins and outs of operating my camera. And since my parents house seems so much more novel than mine, I'm directing my practice efforts on the many and varied Christmas tchotchkes.
Everything seems to have a past and a story. Some of them pre-date me, going back to my mom's grandmothers and great grandmothers. Others I remember my brothers and I gifting to my mom during our earlier childhood years. Grandma sewed our stockings, mom painted our names on them. Many of the ornaments on the tree were crafted with the very hands that type this. It's like delving through a memory bank.
It's not that I'm Scrooge, I just don't have quite as much holiday cheer as most people. Working in retail kind of turned me off holiday music. Unless it's *NSYNC - Home for Christmas; that stuff is pure magic. And I'm also a sucker for the ultimate Mariah holiday song. I won't even deign to name it, you're already hearing it in your head.
One of the lines that I draw is a Christmas tree. First of all, logistically, this studio apartment just isn't made for it. Then there's the hassle of getting it in and out of the building, cleaning up after it, decorating and undecorating. I'm tired just thinking about it. So I'll just enjoy the scent of other people's trees when I visit.
Instead I've figured out a purpose for the fireplace, which otherwise serves as a rather vestigial part of my apartment. (Thanks to the baseboard heat that never stops pumping - in fact, my window is open right now.) I've taken to calling this my Christmas vignette. A little $6 holiday celebration of red lights, ornaments, vases and a candle. Fifteen minutes a year to unpack, set up, take down, and put away annually.
I don't make Christmas cookies, but I love to eat them. I can't remember the last time I watched a traditional holiday movie, but I've seen most of Lifetime and ABC Family's repertoires. They're horrible and I love every second of it. I own zero ugly holiday sweaters or Santa hats. Everyone celebrates the holidays in their own way, this just happens to be my way.
I also really wanted to play with my camera's settings in a situation containing twinkle lights. As you can tell from the two similar, yet somehow distinctly different, photos that I've included today.
trail of light \12.08\
Full View
Labels:
christmas,
decorations,
lights
It's not that I'm Scrooge, I just don't have quite as much holiday cheer as most people. Working in retail kind of turned me off holiday music. Unless it's *NSYNC - Home for Christmas; that stuff is pure magic. And I'm also a sucker for the ultimate Mariah holiday song. I won't even deign to name it, you're already hearing it in your head.One of the lines that I draw is a Christmas tree. First of all, logistically, this studio apartment just isn't made for it. Then there's the hassle of getting it in and out of the building, cleaning up after it, decorating and undecorating. I'm tired just thinking about it. So I'll just enjoy the scent of other people's trees when I visit.
Instead I've figured out a purpose for the fireplace, which otherwise serves as a rather vestigial part of my apartment. (Thanks to the baseboard heat that never stops pumping - in fact, my window is open right now.) I've taken to calling this my Christmas vignette. A little $6 holiday celebration of red lights, ornaments, vases and a candle. Fifteen minutes a year to unpack, set up, take down, and put away annually.
I don't make Christmas cookies, but I love to eat them. I can't remember the last time I watched a traditional holiday movie, but I've seen most of Lifetime and ABC Family's repertoires. They're horrible and I love every second of it. I own zero ugly holiday sweaters or Santa hats. Everyone celebrates the holidays in their own way, this just happens to be my way.
I also really wanted to play with my camera's settings in a situation containing twinkle lights. As you can tell from the two similar, yet somehow distinctly different, photos that I've included today.
It's amazing how exhausting continuous days of mental exertion can be. Or simply shaving off three hours of sleep that you're accustomed to. It seems to fine tune all of my senses. Noises seem louder, sharper, more clamorous. Smells are too pungent, all-encompassing. Lights are too bright. Yet, everything tastes good.
All I could think about in my mental and physical exhaustion was the delicious comfort of carbohydrate-laden foods. My body was yearning for bread and pasta. So I indulged. I met head on with an act of winter hibernation survival. And I relished every ounce of those carbs, feeling guilty for none of it. Even topping off the night with a little Ghiradelli chocolate ice cream for good measure.
Now I'm happily full, sleepier than ever, and barely making it through this post with open eyes. I will dig deep for the effort required to transfer from my cozy state on the couch, only because my bed has so much more real estate and better pillows.
bulbs and baubles \12.07\
Full View
Labels:
christmas,
decorations
All I could think about in my mental and physical exhaustion was the delicious comfort of carbohydrate-laden foods. My body was yearning for bread and pasta. So I indulged. I met head on with an act of winter hibernation survival. And I relished every ounce of those carbs, feeling guilty for none of it. Even topping off the night with a little Ghiradelli chocolate ice cream for good measure.
Now I'm happily full, sleepier than ever, and barely making it through this post with open eyes. I will dig deep for the effort required to transfer from my cozy state on the couch, only because my bed has so much more real estate and better pillows.
Tomorrow marks the first day of a required cringe-worthy expense during my non-employment phase. Thus far I've watched my finances carefully, sticking within and even under my allotted monthly budget. Renewing my license plates was a bit irksome, especially since Illinois decided to jack up the prices some more. I've been dragging my feet on renewing my car's city sticker. Justifying that $85 is so difficult when I spent all of last year with the sticker sitting my glovebox instead of adhered to my windshield.
And it is only fitting that tomorrow's expense also revolves around my automobile. New brakes. Let's hope the tally stops at $150. In all fairness to the Grand Prix, after six years together this is only the second replacement that was needed (tires were last summer). Car ownership is expensive. Add in the monthly insurance payments, which are higher due to the mere fact that I reside in a high-risk city, and the gas prices...I start to have heart palpitations. Somehow, I can't quite conceive of life without my car though.
So, I'll work through the pain of swiping my credit card. I'll be thankful that new brakes mean I'm safer on the road. And I'll remind myself that at least I'm accruing travel points on my credit card for that purchase.
blooming baked goods \06.24\
Full View
Labels:
cupcakes,
decorations,
flowers
And it is only fitting that tomorrow's expense also revolves around my automobile. New brakes. Let's hope the tally stops at $150. In all fairness to the Grand Prix, after six years together this is only the second replacement that was needed (tires were last summer). Car ownership is expensive. Add in the monthly insurance payments, which are higher due to the mere fact that I reside in a high-risk city, and the gas prices...I start to have heart palpitations. Somehow, I can't quite conceive of life without my car though.
So, I'll work through the pain of swiping my credit card. I'll be thankful that new brakes mean I'm safer on the road. And I'll remind myself that at least I'm accruing travel points on my credit card for that purchase.