When the red, red thingy....

It's that time of the year again, tree decorating. Ugh.

The day starts off with me doing a death defying ascent into the garage roof space, no ropes, no artificial climbing aids, just a free style assault. Mrs DB offers to hold the bottom of the ladder but tells me if I fall she's not going to catch me. A broken limb might interfere with my Christmas but it would ruin hers she says. Well now I know where I stand - or fall.

Stage two is to lug boxes of baubles and broken glass down the precarious loft ladder and into the tree room - wherever it is this year. Thus follows a full day of listening to her huff, puff, sigh, ooh and aah as various tree drippings are applied and discarded.

We actually have more stock that B&Q but she tells me most of it isn't this year's colour. Bollocks! (If you'll excuse the strong language) What she really means is "I may have to look for something different". It's not like we have to outdo the neighbours or anything suburban, you can't even see our tree from the nearest house. No she just wants to play. I suppose it's a graduation from dolls to balls and other twinkling things.

It's her birthday today so I've had to do all she wishes. I've braved the heights, got the coal in, cooked breakfast, made lunch and I'll drive her to dinner tonight. I plan to join her if I'm asked. I've even talked to the grandkids and her mother. Some start to Christmas this is.

Oh, and the Blip is a tree ornament. There's been a bit of an ornithological theme in some Blippings this week so I'm maintaining the theme.


According to SayWhyDoI.com Why are robins on Christmas cards?

It's all inspired by the robins who used to deliver the Christmas cards in 19th century Britain.

In the 1800s, British postmen wore bright red uniforms. They wore red in honor of the crown since red is considered both a Royal color and an important color on the English flag. (Incidentally, this may also be one of the reasons why British post boxes were eventually standardized to be red). The postmen in their red-breasted coats resembled the much-loved British bird, the robin red-breast, earning Victorian postmen the nick-name: Robins.

Around Christmas time, people would eagerly await the Robins' delivery of Christmas cards from near and far. Some greeting card artists were inspired by this to illustrate their cards with the joyous delivery of letters, and instead of drawing a postman, one artist decided to draw the Robins' namesake, the robin birds, delivering letters in their little beaks. The trend caught on and survives to this day despite the fact that the postmen's red coat uniforms and the postmen's Robin nickname have long been retired to the history books.