Ninth day of Christmas

Anne here and that's the tree from which I'll be picking some peaches any day now.

It's the 2nd of January, and I'm feeling very lazy. Christmas is over, the New Year has been ushered in, and many good and hopeful wishes exchanged. But it's the ninth day of Christmastide, and I'm watching the front door warily. Thankfully nobody has yet sent me large numbers of birds and people, but if eight lords a'leaping or nine gyrating ladies came knocking on my door, frankly, I just wouldn't answer.

It's a kind of an in-between time. My friends who are Orthodox/Eastern Catholic Christians are preparing for their Christmas Celebrations which will start on or around 6th January. Some start with a Christmas Eve gathering, and others have their big day on the 7th January.  (The 6th January was Christmas Day before 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the "Julian Calendar" (named after Julius Caesar who had made July his own special month) to make it more accurate.  The new calendar then became known as the Gregorian calendar. This caused a change that had many people feeling that somehow extra days had been "stolen" from them. (Thanks to Mike for pointing out the scrambled way I explained this the first time.) The Julian Calendar is still used in some parts of the Orthodox church. 

I used to envy my Greek, Macedonian and Ukranian school friends for having two lots of holidays. These days, I envy them less, as they go into a mad frenzy of baking and cooking in the lead-up to the big day. And this is usually in hot weather — the last two days here it was in the high 30'sC (around 100F) which is NOT good baking weather. (In the photo is a Ukranian friend's kitchen where she's making varenyky and that's only a small part of what she cooks up.)

I live in a city with a huge population of Greeks (the biggest Greek city outside of Greece) so we know all about Theofania on 6th January, and the Blessing of the Waters ceremony. It's a lot easier here for the young men to dive for the cross, as it's summer. When I saw it years ago in Greece, they had to break the ice before diving in. Brrr!

And then I have a couple of Chinese friends who are gearing up for Chinese New Year (the Lunar New Year) which this year starts on 1st February. There's a fair bit of preparation involved in that, too.

It's also the time of year people make resolutions, and most years I set about decluttering my house. For some reason, I attract clutter. I tell myself that each time I bring something into the house, I should take an equal-sized or greater thing out. But I don't.

I started with a bang in 2020 — and then, CoVid, and the boxes of Stuff I'd amassed stayed in my house, as the charity shops had closed, due to Lockdown. And when they finally reopened, they only wanted clothing — I guess a lot of people had spent their Lockdown time clearing out cupboards. And the same thing happened in 2021 and so far I've only managed to give away a small proportion of what needs to go. The hardest thing is getting rid of books, but I've run out of space, so it has to be done. Trouble is, even the libraries won't take donated books any more . . . But hope springs eternal, and I'll try again to clear some of my Stuff away this year.

In the meantime though, I'm feeling lazy, so today I might just curl up with a good book. What about you? How are you passing these post-Christmas, post-New Year days?

 

Comments

[Mary T]

January and February are always the hardest months for me to get through. Here in the Midwest it's cold and even worse it has too many overcast, gray days.

But I have my weapons to fight it. I look for things that make me laugh, books that are warm and cozy. Thank you romance novels - and you wonderful authors who write them. And sometime in February, my daffodils will start poking through the frozen earth, bringing the promise of Spring.

Those peaches look delicious!

[Karin]

I didn't realize there was such a large population of people of Greek descent in Australia. It must make for great restaurants.
I have also been slowly decluttering over the course of the pandemic. Some stuff I post on Freecycle, which is an online giveaway site. Some goes in the trash, some goes to a thrift shop. A few things, like old postcards, have turned out to be worth a small amount of money, so I sold them on eBay.
Anne, perhaps some assisted living or nursing homes would take some of your books?
For the hardest part has been trying to organize 20 years of photos!

[Mary M.]

For everyone whose resolution is decluttering, I have two favorites on Youtube: Clutterbug, which helps identify what organizing style works best for you, and (my all-time fave) Dana K White, aka aslobcomesclean. Dana's contribution is "the container system," in which a box, a shelf, a closet, a room, and a house each count as a container. When the container's full, it's one in/one out time, no exceptions. Dana also runs against the norm of "sort everything, then act" to "take each item immediately to where you'd look for it first" (and then come right back, don't get diverted)--a no-mess way to organize because you're not making more piles of stuff to deal with later.

I hope I'm listening to myself, 'cuz I dearly need to take Dana's advice to heart in 2022!

[Linda S]

Mary M., I love Dana White’s books. She is so honest, funny, and motivating. I also am determined to clean the clothes closets this month.
Anne, does Australia have Little Free Libraries? These are small but permanent boxes in neighborhoods where people can leave or take books for free. My chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has set up two. One is outside a church and the other near a government building. They can be various sizes, and they are usually raised off the ground on a pole.

[Vicki L]

Mary M, Those are interesting ideas...I'll have to contemplate them. I know people who do a modified version of the sort everything method. My friend sorts for 10 mins THEN puts away every pile she has just made before forgetting what was in the pile or getting discouraged by her piles. Then she starts sorting again.

All the different methods people use are fascinating actually.

[Vicki L]

There is a small push right now in putting little free libraries in Laundromats. They are a captive audience.....

State Parks in Georgia have Little Free Libraries as well. They are always looking for books to put in them.

VA centers look for books also. But they sometimes ask for particular genres. Romances not so much since generally vets used to be only men.

Senior centers might be interested...

Good luck to everyone who is working on decluttering however you do it. My motto is ALL progress counts. I especially repeat that to myself on the days where only 1 item goes out. It was more than nothing!

This weekend I gave myself permission to putz, read and do more fun things. I'll go back to decluttering, projects and chores next week.

[Anne Gracie]

Mary, to this day I remember my utter amazement when after a long and bitterly cold winter in Scotland, green shoots popped out of the snow, and a garden I was certain must be dead came to life again. I was 8 and I've never forgotten the wonder of it.
I blogged about it here: https://www.annegracie.com/in-scotland/

Enjoy reading your books — they're a huge comfort, aren't they?

[Anne Gracie]

Karin, yes, Melbourne used to be called the third largest Greek city in the world, after Athens and Thessalonika, and when I first went to Greece, I felt very much at home, even though my Greek is minimal.
I have taken some books to assisted living and care homes, thanks. And I was able to donate a pile of my foreign language translations to a German care home for their annual Christmas fate, but the last few years it's been vay difficult, as they fear infection, and don't accept donations.
I can imagine it's hard sorting through your photos. I have a few albums that are very precious to me, but the last years, when everything is digital . . . that's harder.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for those recommendations, Mary — I'll check them out. It's always good to have some fresh source of motivation. I'm actually reasonably organized, and everything that has a place is in its place — it's just that I don't have enough places for all the stuff I have, so I need to get rid of things. My biggest problem is not wanting things to be wasted — it's my mother in me — so I can't just throw them out. Taking stuff to the op-shop (charity shop — short for opportunity shop) was easy for me, but now that avenue has dried up. But I'll manage.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Linda -- yes, we do have little free libraries — I even blogged about it a few years ago https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2017/06/street-libraries.html
But since CoVid, a lot of them have closed or been taken down. Here in Australia we seem to be much more cautious about the possibility of spreading infection than a lot of places in the USA.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Vicki — I did the same yesterday — took the day off and spent it blissfully reading — but I'm back at work today, writing and decluttering. As I said to Linda above, a lot of the usual places where I could pass on books have stopped the practice because of CoVid. But I'm sure I'll sort something out eventually.

[Lori Meehan]

I was off so I didn’t do much except cleaning and dr appointments for my mom and myself.

[Kareni]

Perhaps you should build your own Little Free Library, Anne. Decorate it with hearts and stock it with all the books you wish to unload. With Valentine's Day around the corner, you'll likely do good business.

[Anne Gracie]

Lori, I hope you get a nice break soon. Though a good clean-up can be cathartic.

[Anne Gracie]

That's an idea, Kareni. I'll think about it. Thanks

[Cindy A]

That’s where I put my books, in the little free libraries we have around here. It’s fun to go by and see if they’ve been picked up.

[Constance]

Our local library has reopened on a limited basis but still isn’t taking donations for what had been its annual book sales. On the one hand, that’s not good as I usually drop off several boxes or bags. On the other hand, I won’t be attending the sales and adding to the number in the house! I have been catching up on magazines over the last few days and came across a terrific essay by the wonderful novelist Ann Patchett, in a March 2021 New Yorker, called “The Practice.” It’s the story of how helping to empty the house of a friend’s late father inspired her to begin decluttering her own house, and the ensuing experience. It made me smile, laugh out loud, and weep a bit, AND it has definitely inspired me to begin going through “stuff” - it’s well worth the read if you can find the essay, which is available online. Although I am not sure I will be able to limit myself to a dozen tea towels…. In the meantime, we will take down our Christmas tree today; while I would much prefer to leave it up until Jan 6 (“Old Christmas” in my family), our town will stop collecting trees on the 5th, in preparation for a giant bonfire on the beach on the 6th.

[Constance]

Just found the link to the essay: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/how-to-practice?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker

[Annette N]

I love your peaches. I thank you for this post. And the link to the downsizing article is just what I need.

I have been pretty good about eliminating on a regular basis. But, I am at a point where I really need to do much more.

Thanks again.

Hope everyone is well and safe and happy.

[Mike]

Anne,

I'm going to be a bit of a pedantic killjoy and question your history. As Julius Caesar died in 44 BC I'm doubtful that there was a Christmas day to be upset by his changes to the calendar. I've always assumed that Pope Gregory XIII was to blame for the current divergence in the dates of the celebrations (but I've never bothered to check if my assumption is true).

[Ute rozenbilds]

If you have a Lions Book Depot nearby, it is invaluable. They raise money for the Lions eye research.

[Anne Gracie]

Constance, thanks so much for mentioning that Ann Patchett article — I found it and read it and enjoyed it very much. I am a little the same, in that I tend to ascribe feelings to inanimate possessions. *g* And I agree, it's inspiring and will certainly help keep me motivated. And I have a stack of tea towels but really only ever use the top half a dozen, that get used and washed constantly. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/how-to-practice

If it helps, you could consider your Jan 5th to be old Christmas Day because it is actually the 6th in Australia. Our council collects Christmas trees, too, but chips them up and makes mulch out of them. I love a good bonfire, but here it's bushfire season.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks — I found it when I read your emailed comment. (Typepad emails the poster the comments.) It's a great article, and I really like her style, so I plan to read more of her work on line.

[Anne Gracie]

Annette, the peaches are an annual joy, especially warm off the tree. I think it's a good practice to declutter regularly, but I still need to do more — have a blitz, maybe. That Ann Patchett article Constance referred me to is very motivating.

[Anne Gracie]

You're right, Mike — there was no Christmas Day in Julius Caesar's time, and it was much later that the Julian Calendar was adjusted by the Pope. I obviously didn't explain it clearly enough. But it's quite true that after the change, many people were very grumpy, feeling that somehow some days had been stolen from them. Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I've fixed it now.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for that, Ute — I just looked them up, and the website said they are closed until further notice. But I'll certainly keep them in mind.

[Janice]

Books are *never* clutter -- well, good books never are :)

My strategy when the shelves overflow is to list them on Paperbackswap.com (I can use the credits to trade for other books - they have an enormous number of vintage regencies - or to feed the Trek reading habit of a young friend) or, if they're regencies, sell them in batches for a nominal amount on Ebay. That way I know they went into the hands of people who wanted them and didn't just get pulped for the paper. The Paperbackswap.com website makes it simple and easy to do and in a dozen years of using it I've only run into two nutters. Ebay also is easier these days.

Some go to Goodwill - I figure if they're buried in a bag of clothes they won't notice until it's too late. They seem to like trade paperbacks a lot. They have a little bookstore in their nearest shop and I used to find treasures in there - a dozen Georgette Heyer paperbacks in a lump, that sort of thing. (US residents only.)

My other method for dealing with Stuff is, like chocolate, don't let it in the door, or it will take over.

But one person's trash is another person's treasure :)

[Constance]

Jan 5th it shall be, Anne - and we’ll toast you when the tree comes down! In re teatowels, I decided many years ago that they made the best souvenirs as well as gifts to bring back from travels, but, like you, I use only a few of them - and complain because the drawer won’t open when they’re all nicely laundered! I also have hand embroidered ones from my grandmother, and I just don’t see getting rid of those.

I think you’ll very much enjoy Ann Patchett’s writing - and her bookstore in Nashville is a joy.