Beneath the Wraps

            We left to drive to Ashland about 3:30 yesterday.   It got very dark before we collected Jaime just before 5:30.   We stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way home.   Today we put up the tree and decorated. At 12:00 we left to go to the big city of Roseburg where we saw “Wonka” – I absolutely LOVED how a few of the songs from the original production (with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka) were incorporated into this production - along with the original Oompa Loompa appearance.  So many scenes reminded me of other movies: Les Miserables (except the girl was called Noodle rather than Cozette), a Whoville type scene,   La La Land or the Greatest Showman,  and at least two others I can’t remember as I write this post.   I think the thing I enjoyed most about it was hearing Jaime’s enjoyment. We then started to tackle the trees in the yard.   Our Mountain Goat was up for the challenge.   We decided that w...

  When I was younger I was a climber             I climbed on the furniture did my best to scale walls aimed for the tree tops Climbing was a part of me   I may not have been the fastest runner but I did enjoy running playing tag and let us not forget Climbing.   After my sister Kayla had come along we learned that she was a better climber We have at least one photograph of her between two walls of the door frame head near the ceiling Mom had returned home one day to find Kayla   sitting on the closet door I suppose that is not as scary as finding me on the roof            of the house across the street   My daughter Jenna loves to climb She used to climb on furniture                         D...

There were two trees and an ungroomed and ugly hedge in front of our house when we moved in. One was a sad looking pine tree and the other was a trash tree.   Both needed to come down in my opinion.   And actually so did the hedge, but we couldn’t afford it. The trash tree was the first to go.   It was either borrow a small amount of money to take it out, or pay the neighbors an outrageous sum down the road because the roots were pushing into her driveway. We cut the hedge each week and slowly got rid of some of it.   We had the remainder taken out after mom died.   Jenna loved the pine tree.   She’d often climb the ugly thing. She begged us to keep it always.   But after the last wind, Roland noticed that it was leaning, and the short roots were lifting up.   So now we are rid of that tree.   And Jenna is sad.   But it’s not as though we were planning on taki...

                                                            There have been                                          some really bitter cold days and                                          many that have felt like fall still.    Most trees are bare,  but I am floored by  the leaves that are still clinging on.   We’ve had some  really strong winds.   ...

Whereas autumn seemed to linger for several months last year, I believe that the cycle will be over all too quickly this year. I had heard the mountain trees had started turning in August.   But as for my view of Salt Lake City valley, the trees (or the majority of them anyway) did not start turning until last week.             There are still many green trees that haven’t handled the chill in the same way as those that are already starting to lose leaves.   What?   The ones that started turning last Monday are now shedding their leaves for the winter?                Toward the end of the week, I did notice more that were turning.   This morning I saw radiant beauty of yellow and orange golds, one tree that was undressing and still a wide variety of green.   I’d like to see them radiate color before the winter bring...

            I didn’t realize that Jenna viewed the crab apple tree as a friend.   A good friend at that.   True, it often did provide shade over her trampoline.   She also got bonked by tree branches when she jumped too high.   And she was always having to sweep debris off the tarp – mostly from crab apples and leaves.             There was a crab apple tree in the front yard of the house that I grew up in.   Beautiful pink blossoms filled the tree in spring.   Several of us spent hours climbing the trunk and branches.   I suppose it provided shade.   I didn’t dislike the tree, but I certainly didn’t love it. I never got why anyone would purposely plant a tree that produced such horrible fruit.   What is the point of crab apples anyway?  Thousands of cherry-sized “apples” covered our lawn.   I am guess...

          Jenna had made a gumdrop ornament in preschool one year.  We’ve had it for four or five Christmases now.  The neighbor asked if he could eat it.           “The candy is really old.  It probably doesn’t taste good.  And it may make you sick either way.”           He had invited himself to decorate or tree.  I thought that was presumptuous of him.  But it was dark.  I couldn’t see well.  Roland had gone into the other room.  And so I left Jenna and Trume to decorate (they actually were better at spreading out the ornaments than Ooki had been with his first tree ).           Before he returned home, I gave him a small tree that we had put in Jenna’s room last year.            I had confiscated...

          I have so many memories of Christmases – before Roland, after Roland, childhood, on and on and on.           This year we will be celebrating twelve years together.  Half of them with financial struggles and at least three with sub for Santa.           When I first moved in to our first house (Roland and the boys had already been living there for six months) it was September of 2001.  In December our family was targeted as the “twelve days of Christmas” recipients.  And that was fun and I felt very welcome to the area.           Our first tree was an artificial Charlie Brown – the kind that gets used in a window display as part of the winter scenery – but not necessarily Christmas.  It is what would be used in a window selling skis or snow blowers or something – an insignificant tree...

         New Years day (for me) has always been the day for taking down the tree – I am usually sad about seeing the holidays come to an end.  This season we put our tree up quite early.  Jenna insisted we put it up the day after Thanksgiving.  I don’t think I’ve ever decorated quite that early before.           It was a nice day.  The tree was in the shed.  Hauling it out would be no problem as there wasn’t any snow build up in the way of the doors or in the path I would trudge.  I was grateful for Jenna’s enthusiasm and brought in all the decorations for her to choose what and where they would go.           The first artificial tree I remember was in a box.  I don’t actually remember it on display.  It was one of those very old silver ones that came with a color wheel – folks could plug in the wheel of fou...