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December 29, 2008 :: Blue Christmas

I used to be a bit of a decorating nazi. There were rules. For a while, everything had to be shabby; flowers, toile and pastel, chippy paint. Then it had to be mid-century: Scandinavian angles and burnished wood. Oh, and then there was christmas. There had to be a real tree, it had to be decorated with matching silver-tone ornaments (or fully decked out with with all-vintage glass bulbs from the 50's), there was no tree flocking, no colored lights, no hanging of pre-made stockings, no tinsel hung from the moldings with care. Oh, that was then, before I realized that life (for me anyway) goes much smoother if I just don't fight the slow creep toward entropy that is constantly building speed in my wake. And with that revelation, I am so free. Now, I place things around the house whichever way seems right at the moment. I buy whatever calls to me from the pile of junk at the thrift store (believe me, stuff calls to me. It's how I ended up on an airplane a few months back with a 1956-version "Visible Man" model, which thoroughly freaked out the Indianapolis TSA employees). And at christmas, I ask Mr. Rainey what he wants to put on the tree.

This year, he wanted blue lights, some of my vintage ornaments, and every mis-matched, kitchy, country-cute tree trimming my grandmother has given me for the last decade. It was glorious.

Granted, I still maintained some control. You'll notice (if you can see anything...my little Casio point-and-shoot is on its last legs I think) that the tree is a vintage (reproduction) "tinsel-tree," and if you could see the base, you'd see that its awful metal-slab holder is disguised inside a perfect tin-and-paint 1945-ish christmas tree stand. The only thing missing is a color-wheel, and I'd have had one of those if I'd been able to visit my deceased grandmothers' house before trimming things up.

It's such a breakthrough for me. I only cringed a little when Blake insisted we use the holly-adorned "snow-boot" salt and pepper shakers and hung less than 1/3 of the most amazing, faded mid-century bulbs and bells. (The evan-williams spiked egg nog helped. A lot. )

Now, all I've got to do is prepare myself for the post-christmas decorating requests. He wants a gargoyle on the roof (that one I'm all over). And a big, comfy chair and ottoman in our living room (that one's a space issue. not sure). And concrete "lawn ornaments". (starting to roll eyes) And beer-neon signs (oh no... help) And an inflatable gorilla. (no kidding. he asked.)

As I said. Entropy.