ABC Wednesday - T is For...

...Tinsel

Having got over my bah humbug!* attitude to the season, I'm now embracing it like a child and getting far too excited about the Christmas decorations. Sometimes I think I'll never grow up - I'm still looking forward to my birthday despite my looming half century next year. Nothing demonstrates my childishness more than my love of bright, shiny tinsel. However, I don't go mad and strew it everywhere. The picture shows my entire collection, used for strategic highlighting - the gold used to go around my PC at work, this year it'll be one of my accessories for our carol concert. I'll be wearing it like a gaudy feather boa along with some gold aspen cone earrings I bought back from our Colorado holiday a few years ago. The silver is a tinsel headdress used for last year's concert, this year it'll replace the ubiquitous paper hat which usually falls over one eye when I'm out to various Christmas dinners. The purple always adorns the Hi-Fi cabinet NAH made before we met. It has tiny purple Christmas trees on it.

One of my fellow allotmenteers used tinsel on his runner bean frames last year as bird scarers. It wasn't a storming success and he's still picking little bits of it out of the soil, though it did look rather jolly at the time. It's not the first time I've seen tinsel used as an outdoor decoration either. Five years ago we went to Oz for Christmas and New Year. Everywhere we went we saw tinsel strewn hedges outside people's properties, each owner trying to outdo the other with the length and size of each frond. Being a sunny, summery country at this time of year, I think it must be their equivalent of our neighbourhood outdoor light competition. Talking of which, have you seen (or heard) the singing Christmas lights for sale this year? :0

* = I saw some brilliant Christmas lights at B&Q on Saturday, spelling out this very phrase. I'm considering buying NAH some for his study, the one room of the house where decorations are banned.

ABC Wednesday is bought to you this week by the letter T and the ABC Wednesday blog. I expect there'll be some T for Trees this week, Christmas or otherwise. I very nearly posted about them instead of tinsel as it's National Tree Week, but you can read all about it here instead. I'll be telling you much more about it another time as I used to take part in it by organising tree planting weekends in Wales when I was at Earthwatch.

Comments

  1. Gail3 December 2008 at 00:34

    Dear VP, I fear you have to hear this story your T for tinsel has brought forth from my memory! My mother told me that when she and dad were first (and still married) he would take one piece of tinsel at a time and drape it just so on the tree. I see that as a metaphor for their troubled relationship! Tinsel when I was a kid was individual tin noodles and watching him draping it one piece at a time must have driven my mother nuts...she would rather throw it on the tree! Having shared that fascinating bit of family lore with you...Let me say, I love your tinsel and knowing you will be festooned with it during the holidays is a delightful image! gail

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leslie:3 December 2008 at 01:55

    So happy that you're all excited about the season. And don't worry about your birthday coming up - life just gets better and better. Take it from me! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe3 December 2008 at 08:36

    It is so good that you still feel young at heart! Would it be just dreadful if you didn't enjoy the Christmas decorations etc. I always say that it is the small/little things that are really important and it is important to take notice of them.
    (Oz ? stands for Australia?) Tyra xoxo
    Tyra I'm seriously thinking of building a tree house! I know I'm crazy :-)and loving it!

    THE GREENHOUSE IN TYRA'S GARDEN

    ReplyDelete
  4. emmat3 December 2008 at 09:00

    When roughly is your depressing birthday? Mine is at the end of March. Maybe we could organise a joint depressing birthday garden bloggers picnic

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jane Hards Photography3 December 2008 at 09:27

    The prettiest T and very festive.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Zoë3 December 2008 at 11:44

    50 isn't depressing! (says she with authority) 40 is supposedly were life begins!

    I have a love-hate relationship with Xmas decorations. We have a tree, I string the cards up in garlands across the chimney breast on ribbon, and I have some season flowers and plants. A wreath I make is on the front door and for the Christmas lunch table I do an appropriate arrangement too, and that is it. Bah humbug indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  7. mrsnesbitt3 December 2008 at 12:50

    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh I think I am getting an idea for our christmas cards!
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rose3 December 2008 at 14:26

    VP, I think you have some very imaginative uses for tinsel in mind. I'd love to see your tinsel boa or headdress! Don't worry about that big milestone coming up--I have an even bigger one several months away that seems much worse:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gary3 December 2008 at 15:45

    I go for the throw it on approach, which then has to be removed and put om.....properly! Best decoration is my advent calender full of chocolate.
    Gary

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous3 December 2008 at 16:51

    Your T-for-Tinsel is very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous3 December 2008 at 20:22

    I too get very excited about Christmas decorations - I went out to buy our tree today. For the first time for years I wasn't boring and had it delivered but brought it home in the car (any excise to take the roof down). When I was a little girl we always had the tree up ready for my birthday (seeing as we are the subject, and no the five o is nothing to worry about, just think of red wine) and I seem to have gone back to that over the last few years - erm, since I was 50 I think! any way happy Christmas, birthday and whatever else you choose to celebrate to all bloggers.

    My verification is hoosplut which has to say something about my post! x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amy3 December 2008 at 21:40

    It's good to be a child at heart! My grandfather had a young heart in an old body - I've never known anyone who enjoyed life so much.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bear Naked4 December 2008 at 02:20

    Bright and colourful photo and TERRIFIC TOPIC for The letter T on ABC Wednesday.

    Bear((( )))

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dragonstar4 December 2008 at 16:12

    One year eldest son turned up wearing a black & white santa hat labelled "Bah humbug" - I've wanted one for OH ever since! I like the idea of those lights!!!
    On behalf of the team, thanks for continuing to participate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. emmat4 December 2008 at 17:01

    i love the fact that tinsel is rapidly gaining in the top commenting stakes

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4 December 2008 at 18:32

    I still look forward to my birthday VP and you are a still mere youngster compared to me:) I have not spied a singing Christmas tree yet, but have come across a specimen with illuminated lilac leaves at a mere eight hundred pounds and a few pence !
    I am not sure whether I was more taken aback by the colour of the leaves or the price.

    ReplyDelete
  17. VP7 December 2008 at 14:09

    Hi ABCers - I'll hop on over to your place shortly.

    Gail - thanks for your family story. I think wearing it's TWTG though ;)

    Tyra - yes I'm glad to be giggly and excitable and enjoying life :) And yes, Oz is Australia - oops should have said so shouldn't it?

    Emma - mid March and a picnic is a fab idea :)

    Zoe - 50's the new 40! Well, that's my philosophy ;) Sounds lik eyou're going to be very busy over the next few weeks!

    Gary - oooooh chocolate - now you're talking!

    Nancy - thank you!

    Maggi - a very happy birthday next week! I mean to celebrate mine in some style and over a number of days if not weeks!

    Blossom - it most certainly is. I'll use your grandad as a role model if I may?

    Anna - I've just had to forcibly put my jaw back onto my face, it dropped that far!

    ReplyDelete

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