I did it, you guys, I put up a tree!

Look closely, if you think you only see one cat. There are two.

I put up my fake tree and pretty much right away Muriel started climbing up the middle of it. I left it undecorated for about a day, but nothing really bad happened, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll decorate the rest of it. I decided not to put out any breakable or exceptional ornaments so they couldn’t break anything that would upset me. It has been a hoot, I tell you, a hoot.

I feel like everything is really festive right now! It’s actively snowing as I write, I have all sorts of decorations, I’m in the middle of writing/addressing Christmas Cards (if you want one, email me your address), and it’s just a good time. I’m brainstorming what kind of cookies to bake this year: I think I’ll make two kinds for Christmas, so I’m trying to settle on what those should be.  I’m thinking of doing jam-filled butter cookies and something chocolate-y. If you have alternate cookie suggestions let me know!

I am a little weird, as you know, and I realized that I’m not one of those musicians who hates Christmas music. I actually really enjoy it! I am not even playing as much of it this year as some years-last year I had a rehearsal for a gig that isn’t Christmas music, and one of my colleagues commented that she was relieved to play non-Christmas music for once, and it took me aback a little, because I love Christmas music. Now, I suppose maybe I’m forgetting things, or maybe I’m just hormonal, but that’s how I feel right now. I’ve only played one actual Christmas gig so far, so I’m certainly not overwhelmed by the music yet, and I always love this time of year!

I think another reason I’m feeling festive is that the end of the semester is so close, and this fall has been particularly hard. I finally got to have lunch with a friend I hadn’t been able to see for quite some time and it was really nice! I definitely haven’t been spending much time with friends and I miss it. I chat with my students and parents and colleagues, but it’s not the same when you’re on the clock, is it? I do value some of those relationships quite a lot too, and I know this time of our lives can be the busiest. All those people say that being busy for busy’s sake isn’t good, but what about just being busy because there is simply too much to do? This is why I’m happy to step back a little right now!

I’m looking forward to this weekend. Louie and I are going to see the Symphony play the Messiah (to a musician, this might sound insane, but Louie has never seen the Messiah that he can remember, and he thought it sounded like fun, and you know what, I probably haven’t seen it either!), and we are going to the Lafayette Square Tour of Homes on Sunday. I’ve also got a Viola Christmas event on Saturday organized by my friend Eliana, a student’s Senior Recital to attend, and a couple of gigs, one Christmas music, one not. It should be a good weekend!

Okay so in the comments, tell me your favorite holiday cookies/recipes! Email me if you want a holiday card