Peace on earth

My slightly pathetic attempt to decorate for Christmas

Yet another thing that I didn't think of in August when we packed our stuff into 1/2 container in sunny California, was that we would likely have to live without it through Christmas. This meant that I packed all my decorations, even the little golden Georg Jensen mistletoe that I got from my great aunt (who was always a role model for me, getting not only one of the first high school science degrees as a woman  in the 1920s but went on to have a successful career in the pharmaceutical business), and which I always hang up on my front door, where ever in the world I am. Instead I now have to improvise Christmas decoration and that on a budget (since we just spent all our money and a bit more on a new apartment). I bought a couple of pretty holiday pieces to hang up and they were lying on the kitchen table when Zoe was milling around. This lead me to the next moment where I heard myself saying firmly to her: "Zoe, be nice to the earth!" She was banging one of the ornaments into the table; the ornament happened to be a globe. I took it and let her help me string the ornaments on a metal hanger, another impromptu Christmassy device (okay, I saw that in a magazine). We tossed cinnamon sticks and silver hearts into the four-candle metal box that will be our 'advents wreath' and that will be the Christmas decoration of this year. The globe is now peacefully hanging in the window together with a star and other pretty things.