As I rode the chairlift from the basement, I placed nutcrackers on the shelf next to the stairway. I was a little puzzled as to why I only had three of the four Wizard of Oz nutcrackers. The cowardly lion had apparently gone missing.
I continued to carry up ornaments, the table centerpiece, and various other decorations. I placed the centerpiece on the table and decided I needed to rest.
That evening, Harold called from the hall at the head of the stairs, “There’s a dead mouse on the floor.”
I rushed to see the “mouse” and told him, “That’s not a mouse, it’s a sprig off the dining table centerpiece.” OK, it was dark in the hallway, but really? I know he has trouble seeing, but the mouse would have had to be dead for a long time to turn green.
Later, we decided to begin by decorating the artificial tree that stands in the corner of the living room. Harold handed me the ornaments, and I placed them on the tree.
We leave lights on the “tree” year round and through the foliage, I sometimes miss ornaments. I found an ornament toward the back of the tree. “Oh, look, I said, here’s the Dalmatian angel I bought you when your dog died.”
I only brought up one fiber optic Christmas tree and it required no ornaments. I usually put up the silver Christmas tree that belonged to Harold’s mom and the small tree that was in Jim’s room at the nursing home.
Often, when I walked into Jim’s room, he would be gazing at the Christmas tree. I only put up a tree in Jim’s room and never went overboard with decorating. I’d learned my lesson the last time, I decorated when Jim lived at home. I was removing framed family photos from the shelves in the living room so I could put up Christmas decorations. I turned my back and Jim replaced the photos where they belonged. That’s when I realized that he didn’t want the familiar family photos replaced with the bright and shiny decorations.
I have so many nutcrackers that I haven’t been putting up all of them. Last Christmas I placed nutcrackers on the landing shelf on the west side of the house. I usually later replace them with snowmen and in February show off my elephant collection. Well, I have a hard time on those stairs because they don’t have a stairlift. About October, I thought I really should take down those nutcrackers…but since it was nearing the Christmas season again, I just left them.
I happened to think that maybe that’s where that cowardly lion was, but I looked them over and he wasn’t there. Another trip to the basement, and I found another group of nutcrackers. As I placed them on the shelf, I saw the mouse king. Hmmm, I thought I’d already placed him on the shelf. I took a closer look at the “mouse king” and discovered it was the missing Wizard of Oz lion. Guess Harold isn’t the only one that needs new glasses.
The house looks festive, without being overdone, and I enjoy being in the living room at night with the soft glow of the Christmas lights. When I walk by, I always touch the Angel Dog for luck. It may not work, but at least it doesn’t hurt anything.
Copyright © Dec 2023 by L.S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
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