The Lent Tree

First, I must save this link to the Ultimate Caftan: http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/Chaos-and-Classicism/Madeleine-Vionnet-Caftan-1921.htm

Yes, I have a Lent Tree.  The week before Christmas I started saying I was ready for Lent.  Well, I still am, whatever it turns out to be.

Coincidentally I found some little foil medallions about 3/4 in. diameter that are some of the Stations of the Cross.  I have been hoping that I would come across a meditation on the Stations that I got at church with my Grandparents, back in the early 1980's.  The meditations made sense to  me, and were something one needed to think about.  They were probably Franciscan.  I am crossing my fingers I come across them.

But the Lent Tree came into my life when I stopped into a garden center to see if they had a Garden Rocker, which they didn't, but a man was trying to untangle a spiral iron tree, that was garlanded with purple salvia (artificial) and had a lovely purple ribbon on top.  I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise, and he was struggling, much like I am always doing, having something else in his other hand.  He couldn't find the price, and neither could I on the one just like it, and I grew very attached to it.  I was pushing a cart, which I do instead of using a cane, and put one on it as we both paraded off to find out how much the iron spiral tree was.

Other things became attached to me, some flowers he was hoping to use for his mail box.  It was the nature of the material.  When I freed myself, we put those on the cart, in a paper bag, where they could do no further harm.  A clerk went off to look for the price, and 15 minutes later, found that they weren't on the inventory and someone must have pulled them out of storage and she gave us a special skew so she wouldn't have to deal with them again, either of them. We laughed on the way to the check out cottage.  We explained that we didn't want to pay for the garland, only the tree, and needed to remove that.  We were told that the special price included all appurtenances.  Aha.  A Lent Tree.

At home I took the animals off my small Christmas tree, and elsewhere and put them on my tree.  These are made out of some woody material and I like them out an about.  But, the fixture is made to be pushed into soil, and has two circles of four prongs, so I have to get a 12 in pot.  One came to me, but it isn't deep enough.  It will do for the forced narcissus, if I can get that together.

Already I am having to do without music on YouTube because something has gone wrong with the way my computer interacts and my computer is no longer supported.  I have put out a question somewhere, but I don't know how to get back to find out if there is an answer.

I am doing without music in the car because the antenna wiring is messed up from cleaning out the tree debris from the back window area.  Unfortunately, I don't know if I have the fine motor control necessary to fix it myself, and I am over help from 'the people.'  It always costs me triple, never works, and I am supposed to be grateful.  I am, really, but I am also over it, and spent all my reserve savings for the rest of my life because no one would listen to me about the cigarette lighter not working when they went to replace the battery.  So that was three days of labor, and lost programming, and the cigarette lighter thing is still not fixed.  Etc., etc.
I felt so wonderful listening to my Otis Redding cd.  Now I just look at the case and blow him a kiss.

There will be more to this, but this is enough for right now.