The other day my love and I went on a hike in the forest to gather boughs of holly and assorted branches and charmed things, then brought them home and spun a wreath for our front door and decorated our tree with the extra foliage. We hung branches the color of old pennies from the ceiling, and embellished them with ornaments. I embellished my angel with a halo of fireflies.
We rewarded our industry with a long cuddle (heated by two hot water bottles). Just lovely.
The photograph reminds me of my oldest daughter; how she used to sleep on her porch in Germany bundled in a dozen duvets and quilts, and catch fireflies in a mason jar…
A little aside: I sent our neighbor a Christmas card with my writing in the shape of a tree, but the tree came out lopsided (in the margin I explained that the tree had originally been symmetrical, but got squashed as we shoved it through their letter box, and I hope they appreciated our efforts, delivering a whole tree, etc). Their response was great – they sent us a card in verse – a Christmas poem saying they’ll be happy to ring in the new year with us, lopsided tree or not. Oh I love playful people.
