Monday, December 8, 2008

As Advent progresses



I am trying to teach Veeka what the Advent wreath is all about and why it's not something you blow out like birthday candles. We do have a Christmas tree up - the first I have had in many years as now I live in a place where there is room.
Getting it into the house was quite the process. After church, I'd picked up a scotch pine and was yanking it out of my car when one of the neighbors leaned out her window and asked if I needed help. Standing there in my nice shoes and stockings and nice coat with this huge tree, I guess I looked forlorn. We hauled the thing into the house, then discovered that the hole I had drilled for the tree stand had gone in wrong, hence my tree leaned like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. So this neighbor sent over her husband who sawed away and hammered and loaned me THEIR old tree stand and finally got the protesting piece of shrubbery up with many needles now on the floor.
I am fine although I have started yet another round of physical therapy because of bad rotator cuff problems I now have from lifting You Know Who. So that is 3 mornings a week. And our little doll has discovered the art of making faces. Look at the two photos with this post carefully. The little minx made one of her faces in one.
Work is fine - am grateful I am not in one of the zillions of newspaper layoffs this month - Gannett, one of the chains, is dumping much of its labor force just before Christmas. Lovely timing.
Book sales are up to 8,721. We just have to offload the next 1,129 and it's 2nd printing time, folks. The publisher still says they are very happy with how the book is doing and they've got plans to put it out in paperback. And for you Seattleites, I've landed a spot on Dave Ross's talk show on Dec. 29 (KIRO) at 10 a.m. as of course I will be in the Emerald City at that point.

1 comment:

Faith said...

Your tree story sounds familiar to us from a few years ago. We always had this sentimental notion about real fir trees as opposed to artificial and for years, until our children were out of high school at least, we went out and cut our own, tied it to the car, got it off the top of the car at home, knocked the snow off, then went through the whole wrestling it into the house and into the tree stand and straightening it and vacuuming up needles and cleaning sap off our hands thing, etc. A few years ago, acknowledging the true reality of how much hard work it was and that we were getting older and ache-ier, we bought a good quality artificial. We gave up the romanticism for the reality, I guess. Your neighbors sound like lovely people. And it will be fun to have a tree for Veeka. We have ours up but not decorated yet. Trying to get that done.

Allison's tree is up on a table due to Lucy (18 months) this year and Beth and Chris have a big one that they are not going to put up due to Marcus (29 months)who is into everything and a real climbing monkey, like Veeka. They will come over to help us decorate ours so he has that experience, and next year he won't be two anymore.

Hope the PT clears up your shoulder and arm issues.

Tomorrow I enter my new world for the next 5-6 months.

Faith