It's a dreary warmish (2C) day at the farmette. The weather can't decide whether to rain or snow.
News about higher death rates and further lockdowns from the pandemic in Britain and Europe, as well as here in Canada is truly depressing. But inside the farmette, there are a number of cheery things going on to lift the mood.
We trimmed the tree with decorations we have collected over 30 years. Upside-down Opus always gets pride of place near the top of the tree. I got him from my boss umpteen years ago when Bloom County was really popular and we enjoyed reading the comic every week.
The musical ball was bought from the Guelph palliative care facility Hospice Wellington for their "Tree of Remembrance" fundraising drive. I bought this one in memory of our dear friend Terry Glecoff, who died too young of pancreatic cancer. He absolutely loved music, loved playing the guitar, loved his family and loved life. Every time we put this on our tree, we think of Terry.
The blown glass bauble is from a local artisan who has a shop in Eugenia. We got it shortly after we moved up here when we went on one of the many artist tours that are available (pre- and hopefully post-pandemic) in Grey County. Infinite Glassworks is owned by Kate and Matthew Civiero and they are extremely talented at what they do. Kate was on call the day we arrived - I think it was the autumn tour - and she demonstrated her art with a wink and a smile.
We also have some hand-me-down antiques from donkey's years ago. As in our mothers' Christmas treasures. Not sure which one of us inherited this one, but it's definitely a 50 or 60-year-old throwback.
Of course, with five felines (three under the age of three) it was impossible to put our presents UNDER THE TREE. Because, you know, the temptation to play with the ribbons and tissue with pointy claws and sharp teeth is just too compelling. So, we have them piled up on the dining room table, like this.
Fortunately, they haven't figured out that a small jump would score a whole night's worth of merry-making mayhem. Yet.
This year, we also did a bit of a pile-on on the kitchen table with the cards we've received from friends and family in Toronto, Guelph and across the country. It's nice that our drop-leaf is big enough that we can dine at one end of it while admiring the lovely snail-mail offerings sitting at the other. I still like hard-copy cards, and we go old school by sending ours out every year, too.
So, there you have it. All set up at the farmette for a socially-distanced Christmas next Friday. We'll be hunkered down with the fur balls by the fire and Zooming with family. Here's wishing everyone a safe and joyful holiday. Until next week.