The turning point in really feeling at home at the Curate's House last year was finding somewhere where the Christmas tree "worked". Our own house, being Georgian, with stone flagged floors, large fire places (and Georgian drafts and heating bills, but we don't talk about those) lent itself peculiarly well to long winter evenings by candlelight and came into its own at Christmas. It was thus quite a challenge to envisage settling into a comfortable, compact and practical modern house, with doors that fit, windows that come with double glazing, and positively no fireplace of any kind. We shoe-horned ourselves and our possessions in somehow (shedding SEVEN BOXES of books in the process, but still managing to move with more than our removers had ever encountered) but were quite apprehensive as Christmas approached. But, fortunately, the tree looked happy in the very first spot we tried,- and already we have "traditional" sites for assorted well-loved decorations. Isn't it strange how quickly these things are established when there are children, even teenagers, about. There was no debate at all this year. The tree "had" to come from the same supplier as last year, the candle-bridge was installed on the appropriate window ledge before I'd even noticed it had been unpacked, and the whole proceedings rolled onwards as if we'd lived here forever. Given the essentially nomadic nature of the clergy life, it's just as well...new traditions will beckon in 2 years or so, and there will have to be another hunt for the right place for the tree. Now, though, I'm not so worried.
Friday, December 30, 2005
A place for everything?
The turning point in really feeling at home at the Curate's House last year was finding somewhere where the Christmas tree "worked". Our own house, being Georgian, with stone flagged floors, large fire places (and Georgian drafts and heating bills, but we don't talk about those) lent itself peculiarly well to long winter evenings by candlelight and came into its own at Christmas. It was thus quite a challenge to envisage settling into a comfortable, compact and practical modern house, with doors that fit, windows that come with double glazing, and positively no fireplace of any kind. We shoe-horned ourselves and our possessions in somehow (shedding SEVEN BOXES of books in the process, but still managing to move with more than our removers had ever encountered) but were quite apprehensive as Christmas approached. But, fortunately, the tree looked happy in the very first spot we tried,- and already we have "traditional" sites for assorted well-loved decorations. Isn't it strange how quickly these things are established when there are children, even teenagers, about. There was no debate at all this year. The tree "had" to come from the same supplier as last year, the candle-bridge was installed on the appropriate window ledge before I'd even noticed it had been unpacked, and the whole proceedings rolled onwards as if we'd lived here forever. Given the essentially nomadic nature of the clergy life, it's just as well...new traditions will beckon in 2 years or so, and there will have to be another hunt for the right place for the tree. Now, though, I'm not so worried.
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4 comments:
When looking at houses to buy the question I always ask is "where would the Christmas tree go" - and no satisfactory answer has been known to mean no deal. Having not had that luxury with this year's rented house, I'm pleased to say that there is a perfect place for a small tree, and having left the family decorations behind enabled D to experiment on the basis of his assertion that Christmas trees should not be overdressed (he still thinks this one is, but is prepared to indulge his mother a little in the matter!)
Yay for Kathryn photos!
Funny how things become "traditional" so fast. For various reasons (even though I love real trees), we have an artificial tree, and now I've become attached to it as "our tree."
I'm glad you're enjoying your Christmas in the "Curate's house."
So you're saying that if we become ecclesiastical nomads, we will still find a place for all our Christmas things and it will seem normal?
Hmm.
That's the hope, Songbird...I guess it'll have to work that way, actually!
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