Lots of wine flowed and there was plenty of laughter, good food and one sulk.
I will deal with the sulk first. Carlos wanted to attach the tree in the den to every possible piece of wood in the room so that it would stay upright. (The tree weighed about 8 ounces, you understand.) Oma insisted that two guy wires made of fishing line would do and that any more would interfere with normal traffic in the room. Carlos said little but went into terrorist mode, and with scissors, fishing line, and pins hidden carefully under his clothing, managed to attach three more guy wires which of course had to be clipped by the ever-vigilant Oma. Carlos retreated to the dining room to sulk and make lovely little bell ornaments.
You can see more photos on Tamarak's site http://tamarakstable.blogspot.com
We began our afternoon by choosing and cutting our Charlie Brown trees. We had two saws and hedge clippers ... and likely could have managed with just the clippers. These were tiny trees.
We planted them in pots with stones from Nova Scotia which will be reclaimed after Christmas to become part of the non-holiday decor.
Then came the decision regarding placement of each tree.
We decided that the biggest and prettiest tree should be in the bathroom where there was more room to display it and where it would be seen most frequently. It had blue and white lights and angels and other delicate decorations plus lots of pink and silver tinsel.
The second nicest sits at the top of the stairs and is decorated with teddy bears and multi-coloured lights.
In my bedroom where Arrow and I will be sleeping with all the dogs is the Northern tree. It is decorated with red lights and ornaments from Norway and Mongolia plus one white maple leaf.
The den tree where four members of Mud Mama's family will sleep this Christmas was the most obstreperous tree of the lot. Its branches tend to be all higgledy piggledy. We used green and white lights on it and it too has teddy bears on and under it. And that is where Carlos' bells are hung.
Our potluck dinner was ham dressed with fruit, a rice dish, a garlicky green bean creation, and a spaghetti squash casserole with lots of other good veggies in it. For dessert we ate stollen and drank more wine.
Merry Christmas, everyone, and many thanks to my decorators. I couldn't have done it without you.
5 comments:
sounds so festive! multiple trees and lights
and world travel doo-hickies on them. AND
the den tree is a hoot.
But what is stollen?
Germans do not make a Christmas cake; they make a yeast bread filled with dried fruit and nuts and flavoured with nutmeg and cardamom. This first one started in the breadmaker was not as rich as my grandmother's, but my second one will be.
If you are out in the hills over Christmas to see friends, snow and lights, you are invited to come in and sample some.
Thanks!
Traditional .fruitcake to me is the devil's spawn...I never know what will stick in my teeth next. Too sweet and wettish, as well. But stollen sounds better...
maybe.
I like it better ... not nearly as sweet or damp. In fact it is quite dry ... but my grandmother made up for this with lots of melted butter and sugar. Some people put in a layer of almond paste.
Yikes! my least favorite paste.
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