Covid Journal, Day 293: Small Changes at Home, Big Events in DC

34 and cloudy. Damp and dark all day, although no rain or snow.

I am listening right now to coverage of the events at the Capitol. What a sad and shameful day for this country. I support peaceful protests and the right of people to make their voices heard--if you recall, I took part in the Women's March in 2017, and have attended a few other rallies and protests in my lifetime. None were violent or destructive. Let's all hope our country gets through this day with no deaths. I have worried that as we got closer to the inauguration, this kind of unrest, and worse, would happen. 

Before the news broke about this protest, I was having a quiet day. How life can change in a few seconds. But I will leave my trust with the authorities in DC, and try to go back to my little life. Sometimes being buried up in the country is a very good thing.

So, what was I doing earlier in the day? Seems silly to write about it now, but here it is.

I pulled some suitcases out of my booth yesterday with this project in mind. I love the result.

I can use these suitcases to store decorations for the smaller holidays like Valentine's, St. Partick's Day, and Easter. Currently those decorations are stored in an area that requires a ladder to get them down, and as we get older we realize that we should try to find other storage options. This is one step in that direction.

As I listen to the radio--no TV here--I'm cooking turnip greens with the Christmas ham bone, and the house smells wonderful. Isn't it cool to be able to pick things from the garden this late in the year? I guess this is the first year we've been able to keep greens going this late in the season. We'll have the greens with baked potatoes and some grilled salmon, along with a green salad that will have a bit of garden lettuce in it. Simple things, simple things. They help keep us grounded and calm in such times.

We finally packed up the last of Christmas and Larry is taking it up to the building as I write. I thought I was finished packing it up, but every year it seems like there are little things here and there that I miss. And then there was all the things from the booth, that I brought home yesterday. So three totes and one more tree, and I can finally say I'm done "breaking up Christmas." Today is Old Christmas, as you might remember, and the "official" day to take down decorations. I was early this year for some reason, but those last pieces kept me within the boundaries of superstition, I think! There's more about this day, and Twelfth Night, which was last night.

I love this old illustration with the mistletoe over the couple in the center.

I did remember to pack away the mistletoe to be burned in next year's Winter Solstice fire, and kept a little inside the house for luck and to repel any malevolent spirits hanging around. 

Superstitious? Well, better safe than sorry, right? I will also keep some of the holly wood from the outside decorations, because it was believed to provide protection from fire and lightning and other dangers. Again, better safe...  I do love the old superstitions, and like adding them into our annual traditions.

Friends, be safe and try not to stress too much about today's events. All we can do, or at least most of us, is to continue to live our lives and be the kind of Americans that made this country. Good and sense will prevail in the end. We have to believe that. And pray that it will be so.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.