O, Christmas Tree

The year I discovered this tiny cedar tree in the garden, I dug it up brought it indoors.

It has now been my Christmas tree for several years, coming indoors on a dolly after spending the year outdoors.

This shot with fauna is to show size:

I think this will be its last year in the living room. It has earned the right to be planted out back.

This volunteer redwood is waiting in the wings to come in.

As for planting the cedar, John, my gardener and literary advisor, says that when I plant just one more tree, he is going to have my place named “The Jean Urbanski Wilderness Area.” Sounds right to me. I generally take his gardening and reading advice.

So far, I take credit for five redwoods, one holly, one gingko, one bay, one katsura. Bushes include, five rhododendrons, one camellia, one nandina, twelve roses. I don’t know what to say about the wisteria that is taking over the world out there.

And there is a story about each one.

I had some friends over for lunch last week. We are a “covid pod.” My tai chi group. I looked at my living room before they arrived and realized that it looks like a little old lady’s living room, just as it should.

Everything in there has a story to tell. Recently, I’ve been adding all the things from Mother and Daddy’s house that Joannie has been sending. She is getting their house ready to sell.

Every thing has a story to tell.

I try not to . Subjecting visitors to the stories would be just a little too old-ladyish.

Christmases Past

I very much like to live in the present, but last night, Kate and I started remembering all the Christmases we have spent together. It was fun.

She recently remembered a few years when I gave her $100 cash and she walked to Burlingame Avenue to buy all the stocking stuffers for her sisters. Can you imagine doing that these days?

For some years, I had to go back to the December posts on this site to recall. For others, for some reason, there were no pictures, but plenty of delicious food memories.

One sweet memory worth immortalizing here is the very first Christmas I did not put up a tree in my living room and headed out very early one morning to drive to Kate’s.

Driving down, I made my traditional dog-friendly-overnight stop at the Motel 6 in Red Bluff.

Behind the motel, someone had tossed out a potted nandina bush. I rescued it. I saw it as a miracle: my Christmas tree.

When I got back to 1880, I planted it in the garden and every Christmastime since, I have brought a bit of it inside.

A memory of a Christmas past and a happy Christmas present to add to the list.