Friday 29 November 2013

Decorating With Evergreens



   Looking at that van filled to overflowing with evergreen branches it seemed impossible to ever possibly use all of them.  I guess I could see if Mom and Dad would like some I remember thinking.  Oh how foolish I was.  I used every single scrap of evergreen and am planning another trip out today for more.  This time however the frigid winter weather has made it's presence known... with a vengeance!


     Incase you didn't read yesterday's post (and if you didn't shame on you), Christopher, Elly and I made our annual pilgrimage to the forested roads in our area.  We took an afternoon and enjoyed the quiet solitude of the nature that surrounds us.  We enjoyed the quiet but we also enjoyed all of the free greenery.  We filled the back of our mini-van to capacity, and then some.


    The day after our pilgrimage,  I set to decorating the house with those pilfered evergreens.  I had separated everything into huge like piles.  The front lawn was filled with generous piles.  I stood on the top front step purveying my plunder.  I then set to making mental lists of what I needed to do.  My first project was to decorate the front railing.  I set to making bunches to attach to the railings.  Ordinarily I use wire to attach my branches.  This year I broke with tradition and used zip ties.  I have decided that I love zip ties.  Zip ties make life easier.


    My next decorating task was to attempt a wreath.  I bought a wreath form this year.  I have never used a wreath form before.  I began to make my bundles, once again using my beloved zip ties.  After I had made my bunches I began to attach my bunches to the wreath form, once again using zip ties.  If you ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you that I have really poor spatial sense.  That was the case this time.  I had this big pile of bunches for my wreath, silly me thinking that there were tons... there were not.  When I had finished attaching those seeming tons of branches, I had only filled a quarter of the wreath form.  


    When I had finished I looked at my wreath admiringly.  I was quite pleased with myself.  I then tried to lift it, man was it heavy.  It turns out that half of the evergreens from the back of our overflowing van went to the making of that wreath.  I struggled up the step ladder to hang my masterpiece.  I am afraid of heights, so it was interesting.  I got to the top of the ladder, only to discover that the task at hand would not be quite as easy as I had thought.  I struggled to hang that monster wreath, and not to fall off the top of the ladder.  When I had finished I took a few steps back to admire my work.  It was then that I noticed the huge bald spot in the wreath.  I am still debating pretending that I don't see the bald spot, or taking it down to fix it.  Right now I am leaning towards pretending I see nothing.




     When I had finished my work, there was not a scrap of evergreen left.  My hands ached, but I felt satisfied (well other than the partially bald wreath).  I had finished before the snow fell, and the weather was still nice.  It has since snowed, and the snow looks all the more pretty on the evergreens.  Two days of my life spent outside in the fresh air, well spent.

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