Springish

[msconduct]

I've had my traditional Christmas tree up for all of July, ever since Matariki. It's been nice being able to see the lights at a time of year when it's generally darker. July is usually the most miserable month in Auckland, with rain, rain and more rain, and this year was no exception. So the tree was really cheering, which, of course, is why midwinter festivals exist in the first place. (For the summer solstice, I have another tree which is a white birch, and because I am an animal person not a Christmas person, I decorate it only with little forest animals. It still has lights, but they don't make as much of an impact in our summer December.)

But today is the first of August: strictly speaking that's the last month of winter, but stuck in the house as I am still avoiding New Zealand's raging BA.5 wave, I've been dreaming nonstop of swimming in the Pacific. So I am declaring August pre-Spring. That's got to make the swimming season arrive more quickly, right?

Seeing as it's pre-Spring, it was time to take the tree down and pack it away: never a fun task, although it was a lot easier this time than the last time I used it, as now I have LEDs. So much easier to deal with than bulbs, which were a nightmare, first to unwind from the tree, and then to wrestle back into their box. Still, I'm glad it's done. When I got down the decoration boxes, I discovered one lurking in the corner I'd forgotten about: a souvenir from a visit to Trump Tower. This was long before Trump was a politician, and I hasten to add that I only bought it ironically anyway, but seeing it this time made me reel back in horror. I could have just thrown it into the bin, but I didn't. I smashed it into a million pieces.

Comments

[dandylover1]

haha There are some advantages to being blind, I suppose. I never have to deal with putting up and taking down decorations, lights, etc. I bet that ornament would have been worth something, so you could have got some money for it.