Last night I did some holiday decorating. I strung lights in the window (normal, multi-coloured ones, replacing the white icicle ones that no longer lit. I can now close my curtains in the living room. I couldn't before because the string had caught on the mechanism. Here is a before and after shot of the tree, which is a Norfolk Virginia pine in a pot:
and decorated:
If you look carefully, you'll notice a few top branches removed, because I tried in vain to get my tree topper on it (so I hung it from the window--it's the star). I did tie the removed bits to my equal-armed reed cross that hangs on the door. The tree looked like Charlie Brown's tree with the topper on it, bent over (okay, it still does, a little bit). But it's a live tree that hopefully I'll be able to keep alive for a few years, as long as I remember to water it, because they like moist soil. That's two plants in the house right now--the other being a Christmas cactus I'm trying to get to bloom. My mom says the secret isn't so much dark and cool environment like you normally see but putting an apple slice with a bag over the plant to release ethene gas. I'll have to try it. It's kind of nice not to have cats so I can have plants without worrying about them being eaten.
(Just in case you're wondering, yes I am pagan, but so is the so-called Christmas tree. Ancient pagans in northern Europe brought in evergreens, after all. And in many cultures light is important at this time of the year to symbolise the return of the sun.)
Last night, in fact, was my night to give an offering to my Patroness. I put out two halves of a pomegranate, with spring water poured over it, then honey, then lavender petals sprinkled over that. I had taken a cleansing bath beforehand with sea salt in it. I do this every month at the time of my menstruation, and have for, oh, I don't know, maybe 15 years.
Okay, that's enough for now. It's time for notes!
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