The angel on Sabine's family's Christmas tree in 1966 reminded me of the angel that was on my family's Christmas tree in 1966. My mother sent it to me after she and my father replaced it with something else at the top of the Christmas tree. That might have been in the 1970s. The angel didn't have a face. Instead she had a silver-colored globe ornament for a head, which I found vaguely disturbing. There was a halo above the faceless angel. It may have been last December that the head fell off. I thought of trying to reattach it, but something prompted me to attach an image of the Mona Lisa. For the first time ever when I opened my box of December things, I was happy to see that green angel from my childhood.
"Mona Lisa must have had the highway blues. You can tell by the way she smiles."
(Bob Dylan lyrics, from "Visions of Johanna," 1966)
You can see the decorations I put out this year for December as well as what is always there. Even though I don't call myself a Christian or anything else, during December I think about Mary and Joseph waiting for the Baby Jesus to be born. The ceramic figures were given to me by my mother. They were brought out during December in my childhood. I bring Baby Jesus out on Christmas morning. Two angels given to me by a friend in the last few years are there during December, too. There is sprig from a eucalyptus tree in a glass of water. That's new this year. See the little tree outside. It has been there for a year or two. The Principles of Uncertainty, by Maira Kalman. If you haven't read it, I recommend it. It is always there to the right of the elephant batik that came to me after my father died. My Christian father was drawn to that elephant from India. He traveled to India in the 1970s. The batik is always there, too, along with Gentle Wilderness: The Sierra Nevada. The lavender and orange and gold tapestry rug on the floor is new this year. My friend, Linda, gave it to me a few months ago. The woven blue rug comes from Vida nueva and was made by Zenaida Lazo. On the windowsill is a jar filled with beach glass and beach ceramic from a beach near Port Townsend, WA. It was a gift from a friend many years ago. On top of the jar is prism that channels a spectral light show on my walls when the sun shines. And everyone knows Oboe! It looks white outside because it is snowing this morning.
