Christmas overload.

If there is such a thing as CDA (Christmas Decorating Anonymous) then I think I ought to join. I wonder what their 12-step program would be like.... On the first day of Christmas, you must kill the partridge in the pear tree and serve it for dinner. On the second day of Christmas, you must feed the two doves to giant turtles. And so on, and on...

Today was the opening of the Christmas rooms in the consignment shop. I went with our friend and neighbor J to see all the goodies, and there were hundreds of choices. We walked around the Christmas rooms so much that we had to sit down for a few minutes on the Santa-red sofa and love seat that was in the middle of the front room. We decided that it would be wonderful to be able to buy that red sofa just for Christmas, then store it away for the rest of the year.

The extra discount at the shop today was 20% off anything that was open or could be opened. J found a little blue cloisonne bell for her blue angel Christmas tree-- the bottom of the bell is open, so that qualified for the discount. I found a bright red tinsel table-top Christmas tree. I picked it up, put it down. Picked it up again, put it down again. Did I really need another tree for this house? But it's a red one. Not too big... not too small... just perfect. And very red. J and I sat on the red sofa to decide what color ornaments would look best on the red tree. I think we just wanted an excuse to sit on that comfy red sofa.

I also found a Santa, made of red velvet, with lace and buttons on the rim of his boots and beads on wires floating around the top of his hat. A very different, elegant sort of Santa. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) And, when I brought him to the front desk, the girl told me that Santa could qualify for the 20% discount because he had two eyes, which of course, could open. I looked at J and we decided not to argue that point, then J asked about the red Christmas tree-- its branches are open, she said. And out came the girl's red pen, to mark the tree down twenty percent.

Added to my treasures was a beautiful gold metal sleigh decorated with gold stars... perfect for holding the Christmas cards. Open sleigh-- 20% off. I also found a beautiful china serving plate in the shape of a Christmas tree. I don't usually like those, but the design on this one is very pretty-- and it's an open plate... another 20% off.

J found a little Christmas angel that she said she liked but wasn't completely sure about. She opened her hand for me to take a look at it-- and she told me to give her my honest opinion. One look at the little angel and I nearly laughed out loud--- it was one of my own angels that I had brought to the consignment shop last week. I brought it there because even though it was nicely made and very elegant, it didn't have a face. No eyes, no nose, no mouth-- just a blank oval underneath her halo. I told J all of that and we just laughed-- she said that's what was wrong with the poor angel-- no face. She put it back on the shelf, and we both hoped that someone who doesn't mind faceless angels would give it a home.

Everything I bought today has been added to the Christmas fantasy-land around the house. Santa is in a little chair in the dining room, and the little red tree is on top of the piano. At the shop, J and I thought that red and green ornaments would look pretty on that red tree, but the red ones faded into the tree, and there are so many shades of green ornaments that they looked too mismatched. I had a bunch of small gold ornaments-- vintage glass ones, and newer glass ornaments made to look vintage. The gold looks great against the red tree, and I even had a vintage gold topper for it. Still needs a few more gold ornaments, but I'm sure I will find more when I go through the boxes of ornaments when we decorate the big tree. The red tree is sitting in a red velvet box (also from the shop, also an "open" item)-- it looks perfect there on the piano, this bright red tree set into a red velvet box like a gift.

Everything is done, except the big tree. Who am I kidding.... nothing is ever done. There's always just one more Santa, one more tree, one more star.

And as of tomorrow... 35 more days till Christmas.