Of Decorated Christmas Trees and the Dickens Faire~~~~

Hello Darklings,

I hope all of you here in the Northern Half of the Equator are staying nice and warm and are doing your best to not drive on snow laiden roads.

We here have only encountered just small patches of Black Ice, but our mid-west and eastern states are having a difficult time of it. 

I didn't have a chance to post this weekend, we were busy---yes busy---having fun!

Friday evening I asked Coralline if she wanted to go to a near by tree lighting ceremoney but she said that she was having too much fun decorating our own trees and why couldn't we have our own tree lighting ceremony, well given how freezing cold it is out side we all agreed.   Sometimes a child can be wiser than adults.

We got the lights on all the trees and their tree toppers,  I don't have to say what hard work Doyle and Brian put in to mount the trees up in their stands.  As any one knows that's the Man's job, and not like that fellow in that commercial being chased by a bear.

And with Christmas music playing and candles lit in the fireplaces we started welcoming Christmas into the house,  I have a fresh wreath out on the front door with red, black, ribbons and gold flakes on it, I know black ribbons??  Why not?  Just a touch of Goth for the holiday season.

We managed to put a few ornaments on the tree in the Formal Parlour before it was too late in the evening, because Saturday we were going to the Dicken's Faire.

Marissa and her mother joined us as we all bundled into Doyles van, all 7 of us, yes besides Doyle, myself, Coralline, Sis and our guests, Brian joined us as well.  He felt a little out of place not having a semi-victorian costume to wear, but Doyle fixed him up with something and at the faire he bought the correct type of hat, once he saw what it was all about he just had to get into the "swing" of it, just like us. 

The sights and sounds just swirled around us, sometimes too much to take in all at once, so we made plans to attend again next weekend, when we arrived home late in the evening it was like we didn't want it to end.  So we remained in our Victorian clothes until it was time to retire, and Brian made an interesting proposal, that during the Christmas season why don't we, as a group go out dressed in Victorian attire, just to throw off the "normals"  espeically when we do our shopping.  And when I have my Christmas party, make the suggestion of Victorian style clothing suggested but not required.

I thought it would be a wonderful idea, perhaps make it a sort of tradition. Althought I'm sure my brother would be thrown a bit off by that, but I knew my sister-in-law would leap at it and maybe the boys would get into it.

We have plans to go to Dunsmuir House for their Holiday events and tours, one never knows what one will discover among the crafts there.   Yes this is the same Dunsmuir House as seen in "Burnt Offerings", "A View to a Kill", and "Partners in Crime" and other movies.  It has its own web site and it is so wonderfully Edwardian. 

Brian has become part of our little extended family, I think its because his family and ex-wife live so far away and the demands that his work makes of him, he is glad to have a job right now, and it seems that Sis's and my home have become his home in a way.  Oh he travels to his job, and he does work from Sis's home, but it is not unusual for him to come through the back way and yell out "Hey is anybody home?"  Of course he checks the driveway to see if the cars are there, but if the back door to the kitchen is locked well he knows not yet.  I know that may seem a bit too casual, but for as long as I remember we never locked the back door unless we were leaving the house or when we retired for the night.  And with the gates and fences it would make it hard for a casual burgler to try and gain entrance.   We delibrately put in squeeks in the gates anyway, its an audio tell-tale. 

And he is ofter at my house for dinner but he's very big in washing up the dishes.

Cousin Louise has been busy with her lawyer, although it may take time for her divorce she is making sure that things will go just the way she'd preferr.  I keep asking her if she plans on buying a car since right now she uses BART and Bus and she says she will but taking public transportation for now is just fine to get her to work, and there is a small deli/grocery store just down the street where she gets the basic things she needs.   She is settling in just fine in her new place and her friend has been helping her out.

I've had some people ask if Cousin Louise is the same Louise who was my temporary caregiver, no they are two different people, at one time Louise like Jackquiline was a very popular name.  Many young ladies when Jackie Kennedy was first Lady were named for her during her days in the White House.

My stove is working out just wonderfully,  I've had people ask me about the repairs from the fire, much of it was taken care of quickly, my Contractor being an old friend was more than willing to hold off asking for payment, and when you have a good friend like that you do want to make sure that they are paid as soon as possible and not put them in a financial bind.  There are only a few little things to be done but I'm going to wait until the warmer weather comes.

Getting back to decorating the Christmas Trees, well with Marissa's and Brian's help we were able to get them decorated very quickly on Sunday and get the house hold decorations up as well,   Dinner was buffet style with goodies from the Deli section from the grocery store and chicken wings and drum sticks, 2 kinds of pie, and a selection of salads, Marissa's parents joined us and we all sat around in the family parlor, its a good thing I have a number of wooden T.V. style trays, they were a help although Coralline and Marissa insisted on eating on the ground picnic style. 

And now with candles burning in the fire places with the scent of cinnamon and vanilla, I am going to tackle addressing Christmas cards.

There is something very old-fashioned and in ways very Gothic about Christmas Time, oh it is the season of merryment, but the Dickensian quality of the time feels just so right for an elder goth, a time of darkness trying to take over but light beating it back, of soaring gothic churches, stain glass windows, of candles, and night but not the night of Halloween but still when the winds come and roar, and the rain lash down, you still get the feeling of old Hern the Hunter and the wild hunt catching any unsuspecting traveler, of snow draping cemetery monuments softening their harsh lines, of silence and chillness to make one think and clear one's own thoughts and discover what is important in one's life.

Its of prepareing for the cold of January, and hoping to see the first buds trying to break the ground in February.   Yes, Christmas in its own way is very Gothic.

Later Darklings