All That GLITTERs

Hi Folks:

We’re now closing in on the end of January so it’s a little late for this post. However, we didn’t want to put it off for another year, as we have so much for which to thank G.L.I.T.T.E.R. By now (almost?) all Christmas decorations have been taken down, artificial Christmas trees have been returned to storage and most live trees have been chipped for mulch. A few, although growing in number, are kept in pots as live trees and then planted out in the spring. And then there’s G.L.I.T.T.E.R. You see, G.L.I.T.T.E.R. is not only our Christmas tree, ‘she’ has been our tree for the past 12 Christmases. G.L.I.T.T.E.R. is a Norfolk Island pine tree. We brought G.L.I.T.T.E.R. home in 2009, and at the time she was barely a foot tall. From the floor, she’s now approaching 6 feet. We believe she’s got a couple of more years before we have to cut a hole in the ceiling… 🙂 Our first tree was F.R.E.D., then F.R.E.D.E.R.I.C.A., F.R.E.D.D.Y. and then F.R.E.I.D.R.I.C.H. You can read more about their varied history, here. We were away in 2013, but here are some images of G.L.I.T.T.E.R. over the years.


So, our thanks to G.L.I.T.T.E.R. for 12 Christmases together! We’ll look forward to celebrating with you again come December!

Hugs,
M&M

Photo of the Month – December

Hi Folks:

The subtitle for this post should be ‘The Evolution of G.L.I.T.T.E.R.’ She’s our Christmas tree and has been for the past six years. You can read more about GLITTER, FREIDRICH, FREDERICA, FREDDY and FRED here if you like: Being Green – Celebrating the Holidays.

GLITTER was a little sprout of a thing when we first brought her home, but she’s certainly spread her branches since then, as you can see here (NB: we were away for Christmas in 2013 and so GLITTER didn’t get decorated). That’s the same salt crystal lamp, so you can use it to gauge her growth. With her pot on the floor she comes up to about waist height on Mike, a little higher on Marcia. No need to cut a hole in the ceiling (yet), but she is heading in FRED’s direction. Continue Reading →

Being Green – Celebrating the Holidays

Hi Folks:

Been a little quiet in our corner of the ‘net lately for several reasons, but partly because of the holidays.  There are so many different traditions and celebrations this time of year it’s hard to count them all, from the Islamic New Year (a different calendar, but corresponding to Dec. 7 this year) to Kwanzaa to Hanukkah, Solstice, Saturnalia and Christmas.  I’m sure there are others.  Here in the northern hemisphere we’re coming up on the shortest day of the year, while our neighbours south of the equator will be celebrating their longest.  All in all, however, while it’s certainly possible to get caught up in the mad scramble for presents, holiday deadlines, office parties, too much traffic and too many people crowding into too many stores, I also see more people being kind, open, polite, generous and giving.  It’s something that was written very well in a story called ‘Patience Pants‘.  This time of year we are reminded that no matter where we live or how we live, we are all part of a larger brother/sisterhood of humans and beyond that to being a part of the intricate web of life on this little blue marble we all share. Continue Reading →