Merhaba,

   Mary, Rick, Randal and I walked to the Thursday market and then to the local government office to ask about the opening celebration of the new culture center.  We were mostly back to the marina when it started to rain so that gave us an excuse to stop for coffee and pastry.  When the rain stopped we continued on to the DVD store where we got 5 DVD’s so we can have movie night on the boat…starting tonight.  Randal is making spaghetti and Mary and Rick are bringing wine and some halvah.  It rained on and off during the afternoon so I painted and read and then wrote this email.

Ru

Holiday Elves

I’m calling us the “holiday elves” as this time of year there are lots of different holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and probably loads of others I don’t know enough to know.

Gwen had asked for volunteers and some of us answered that call for two reasons; it’s fun to do stuff and, “Gwen asked us to do it.”  I must admit that I did just about the least one could do and still be an “elf.”  But that’s okay because it all got done!

December Holidays according to Huffington Post.

Dec 8 – Bodhi Day   Buddhist

Dec 8-16 Hanukkah  Jewish

Dec 21 – Winter Solstice (Yule)  Pagan

Dec 25 – Christmas Day  Christian

Dec 26-Jan 1  Kwanzaa African-American Holiday

Elves Jane, Sue and Mary

Elf Mai decorating the tree.

It’s actually a live tree and after the holidays it will be replanted which is quite a nice thought.

Joanne and Mai admiring their work in progress.

Mary and I had started the untangling process and Sue is finishing it up.

Jane hanging the streamers: we did have fun!

Commentary:

When I returned to the boat after our hour of decorating, I was surprised when I looked in the mirror to see a 62 year old looking back at me.  I didn’t feel myself to be a different person who was decorating the marina library than I had been when I was painting scenery for a high school play, 45 years ago!   I remember my mother saying the same thing when she was 75: looking in a mirror and wondering who the “old lady” was looking back at her.  But there is one difference.

Maybe because I’m reading a “woman’s book” which deserves better than to be called chick lit as it’s fairly well written and deals with some interesting issues, like dying well and living well,  as opposed to “fixing the heroines romance problems.”  It’s called Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish.  That might not seem a title to link to a fun afternoon of decorating for the holidays; but the point of the book is how you live your life and make the most of it……including having fun!  And how important it is for women to have the company of other women.  But somewhere in the book someone must have said something about how when your older, you worry less about things.  For instance, if you were decorating the High School Gym, or painting scenery for the senior play, you would have had to worry about what anyone thought of your clothes; if you were having a bad hair day, whatever.   Well, none of us elves decorating the marina library worried about our clothes or cared (too much) if we were having a bad hair day.  Maybe, because more important things are now more important.  Or maybe because unimportant things have gotten to be less important.  Anyway, it’s a rainy afternoon so I have time to read and think and paint and write this email.