This year I’ve had a hard time getting in the mood for Christmas. It feels as if the season started one month too early; all that storm and rain – though certainly welcome after the very spring-like November – do nothing to put me in the mood.
Despite this a look around blogland makes it clear Christmas isn’t far off. Lots of people have already decorated their spaces and even put up their trees! While I won’t have a tree of my own this year because I will be at my parent’s the whole time I managed to put up a wee bit of decoration.
My motivation to get myself into the Christmas cheer was greatly improved by these two relics of times long gone:
Yep, those are tapes! I bought the black one at a supermarket in my hometown circa 1988. The sleeve is long lost but I know the songs on it by heart. Side A starts with a cheesy version of ‘White Christmas’ and ends with “Silent night”. In between there’s ‘Winter wonderland’, ‘Rudolph’ and other equally corny renditions of so-called Christmas Classics. All with strings! Despite the kitsch I love this tape and I’m really glad it still works!
The second tape holds recordings from two choirs singing Christmas Carols – thankfully without strings. I bought this tape exactly ten years ago on a holiday in Edinburgh so it holds many happy memories of a lovely vacation as well.
A twig of Ilex on my windowsill…
…and Christmas lights in my window.
A few years ago I inherited a lot of old Christmas ornaments from my parents, most of them from the seventies and I’ve put a few of them on display. This is one of my favourites:
So, one more day of work before the weekend and tomorrow I’ll meet up with a friend at a Christmas market a few towns over and the forecast predicts weather fit for mulled wine and hats!
The missing needle 