A Box of Florida

This box arrived in the mail today! The fragrance in the house is heavenly.
 I always get a craving for citrus when the weather turns cold. The old Florida folk say that you need a cold snap to produce the sweetest fruit. One of my fondest childhood memories of Christmas is bundling up to go orange picking on a clear crisp December day. We'd go all the way to Lutz, which is practically in the center of town nowadays. We'd take "croaker" sacks and pick our way through the grove , then take a seat near a bonfire burning in a clearing and eat some of the oranges we'd  picked, throwing the peels into the fire. Ever since, the feeling of cool December air, the tangy scent of citrus and the sweet-smelling orange wood smoke would mean Christmas to me.
On the down side of the crisp Florida Christmas, it is almost traditional that there be a threat of freeze over the holidays. I seem o remember several Christmas dinners interrupted by all of the guests having to get up from the table, take said croaker sacks and pick the host's oranges before they froze. Good times.
Onto Christmas things. I think that this post is the closest I got to having any Christmas spirit. I've been looking at this scene for a few days now: the Christmas tree in its sarcophagus. It's annoying me with its presence, and I may just have to succumb to the season's non-negotiable social conventions.

I do happen to have a tip for you.

I don't think it will go away.

If you are like me and your enthusiasm is waning but you need to decorate anyway,
just get some centerpieces and throw them around. It's what I call "non-invasive" decorating. You don't have to do any major construction for the effect.


This looks like I might have actually decorated.