Decorations Down

This weekend we de-decorated the house.  I enjoy having the festive things around the house, but I like a more spartan look better.  Not that I could really call our home spartan; Neal’s a collector, and I have a pile of books and fiber taking up space.  When I moved from a large apartment to a much smaller one, though, I learned how to pare down to the most necessary objects.  What did William Morris say?  "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or do not believe to be beautiful."  Slowly I’ve been taking my things out of storage.  Some are like old friends, welcomed back to my life and rich with memories.  Others, I wonder why I let them take up space, even storage space, in my life.  It feels good to find new homes for those things.

The artificial tree that I borrowed from my sister is on its way back to our parents’ house.  I’m appreciative of the loan, even though I didn’t like the looks of the tree.  By the way, that does not mean that the person loaning it to me displeased me, but rather that the tree wasn’t real, and that displeased me.  Is it the job or duty of siblings to please each other?  I never try, so maybe I’m a bad sibling.  I just strive to be myself.  If siblings don’t like it, as my neice would say, so sad, too bad.  But I’m just being cranky now, and there’s no need for that.

Tomorrow I go back on the treadmill.  Time to churn out a novel.