I’ve been contributing to the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, a collaboration of a number of authors who write historical fiction set in England. Many talented authors have written some outstanding articles, and it’s an honor to be affiliated with the blog. I’m very pleased to announce that this week’s giveaway at the blog is HEYERWOOD: A Novel. Please visit and leave a comment for a chance to win! Here’s a link: http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/p/giveaways.html?spref=fb (Please copy and paste if you have difficulty clicking.) While you are there, be sure to read Maggi Andersen’s article The Lost Houses of England.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
The tree is up, and (if I say so myself) looks lovely. The mound of boxes has been weeded, and two enormous bags of trash put out to disappear. There is one small bag going to Goodwill as well. While I was not as ruthless as I had hoped, I did at least pare it down significantly, and have new sturdy boxes to pack things away at Epiphany. (The tree stays up for the 12 days of Christmas.)
The tin trunk is the last hurdle! I found the key last night. Who knows what mysterious treasures remain? My husband has not brought it down from the attic for several years now-it’s so heavy, and I can never remember what is in it so would tell him I didn’t need it. Do you think the lid will creak when I finally get it opened? More in the next installment!
‘Tis The Season…
I don’t rush into decorating for Christmas. For one thing, I want to enjoy Thanksgiving. It seems a shame to leap straight into shopping and decorating for Christmas before one has even had time to digest one’s dinner, never mind contemplate one’s blessings. Secondly, I like to leave my decorations up for the full 12 days of Christmas. I enjoy them more if I save them for the actual Christmas time.
This year, decorating is going to be a bit more leisurely. Now that almost all of the boxes are down from the attic, I’m going to go through them as I put up the decorations and get rid of the ones that I no longer use. As an unabashed sentimentalist (I even cry at commercials, sometimes!), I have a tendency to hold onto things that were gifts or have memories tied to people I love. At this point, I have ornaments going back to childhood. Some have got to go. I know that this will make decorating a bitter-sweet event this year, but it is time to purge.
Does everyone have boxes full of chipped, cracked, slightly crushed items that one just can’t bring oneself to throw away? I have held on to way too many items, because the occasion or the giver is a cherished memory. I’ve finally had time to realize that one doesn’t need the object to retain the essence. I’ve decided that this is the year that I need to put some of these worn-out items to rest. Will it be a clean sweep? Of course not! (I know myself too well to have unrealistic expectations in that department, although I know my husband is hoping-he’s the one who lugs everything up and down the attic steps!) However, I’ve already seen several items that aren’t hugely sentimental that will not make the cut, and I have hopes that this will begin a reorganization, which will continue when it’s time to take things down. I can’t keep everything; I have to set priorities and keep the best, and let the damaged or no-longer-valued items go. That way, I can really enjoy what I’ve kept and have room for new ones as they come.