Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The Hunt For Christmas Greenery & An Introduction To Our Newest Little (Furry) Friend

Hooray, it's finally here!  The desire to begin the task of decorating the house for the Christmas festivities, that is. By mid-December when most households have already hung their wreaths, draped their garlands, and bedecked their trees with cherished ornaments, we are just getting into the spirit.

As in most years, I turn my attentions first to the front door.  This year, I set out to make a classic boxwood wreath.  Unfortunately, my efforts were at once thwarted upon my arrival last Tuesday morning to the west coast's Mecca for everything floral related, the San Francisco Flower Market. Looking high and low, I was surprised to not have unearthed a single boxwood branch among the fragrant mounds of cedar, pine, and bay laurel available for sale.  Boxwood does not grow as abundantly in our area as in some other parts of the country.  This might explain why it was such an elusive breed of foliage to source.  Either that, or someone had already hauled it all away for their own decorating efforts. I did see rather a lot of fancy florists on the prowl, loading their carts with enough wreaths and foliage to decorate half the city and still have plenty left over to trim the Bay Bridge.

Just as I was about to give up on the boxwood idea, I espied a most luxuriant fresh boxwood wreath, though formed by another's hand.  Nevertheless, I was very happy to snap it up and take it home, promptly mounting it with pride upon our front door.  Mission accomplished!  I think it looks rather pretty, don't you?

Chronica Domus
Photo: Chronica Domus


In the quest to complete my greenery shopping, I suffered yet another minor setback.  The merchant who held an appealing stock of Christmas trees of varying shape and size was closed for the day.  On a previous market excursion, I had eyed a diminutive tree which I wanted to bring home and decorate. It was still for sale, but corralled with all the others behind bars which was of little help to me. Plan B was quickly hatched and a pleasant drive down the picture-perfect rugged coast to the seller's nursery in Half Moon Bay soon followed.

I know this may not seem like everyone's cup of tea when it comes to a suitable tree for the purpose of  decorating, but I just fell head over heels for this diminutive, lopsided, thirty inch tree.  Well, it's more of a sapling really.  Its gappy layered branches are just perfect for ornament hanging.

Chronica Domus
This is an Abies Magnifica, more commonly known as a Silver Tip tree, not Charlie Brown's tree.  It is seen here resting on a bench in our basement awaiting its decorations
Photo: Chronica Domus


This year, a new little helper has appeared in the wings, ready to assist me adorn the Christmas tree. His name is Norton and, surprisingly to us, he is a cat.  I write "surprisingly'' because I would have surely lost the wager, were I to have bet that we would take a cat into our household as a family pet. Sadly, both my husband and I are allergic to cats.  Although we both recall with much fondness memories of childhood feline pets, we've always opted to adopt dogs for our furry companions throughout our marriage.  This was certainly a new experience for us.

A month or so before our beloved dog Mavro died, we came across a kitten in a storm drain close to our house.  His meowing soon alerted us to his dire situation.  The little fellow was hungry, cold, and thirsty.  Over the intervening weeks, we slowly coaxed the kitten across the road and gained his trust. One day, he decided to follow me home and has remained here ever since.

May I introduce the newest member of our family, Norton.

Chronica Domus
"Hello, Norton is my name, being petted is my game"
Photo: Chronica Domus


Why Norton, I hear you ask?  Well, my husband and daughter named the kitten after the character Ed Norton of the American 1950's television sitcom The Honeymooners.  Ed famously worked in the sewers of New York, and as Norton the cat began life in a storm drain, they thought the name rather fitting.

Ed Norton as played by Art Carney 
Source: Pinterest


My daughter Patience is besotted with our new little charge and over the moon that her wildest wish has, at long last, been fulfilled. Patience has expressed her desire for a pet cat for as long as I can remember.  We are all still adjusting to life with a sneeze-inducing, formerly feral animal in our midst, but Norton shows us great affection and is more than happy to take up residence within our ranks.  We are, on the whole, very pleased to have him.

Now, please excuse me as I'm off to find the tissue box.


22 comments:

  1. Hello CD, Congratulations on acquiring your new pet. I hope that your family and Norton will have great fun together.

    When I read about the scarcity of boxwood, I thought it might have something to do with the boxwood blight, but I hadn't heard that it was very extensive in America. Did you ask the sellers at the flower market about it?
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim,

      I sometimes feel Norton acquired us! I've fed (and fixed) many feral cats over the years, and continue to do so, but never have I found one so young and willing to be domesticated. Norton has come a long way from his hissing days.

      I did not think to ask any of the sellers about the lack of boxwood but will on my next visit. I suspect its slow growth habit might have something to do with things. Or, I was simply unlucky with my timing.

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  2. First and foremost, Norton looks as though she objects to her photo appearing in social media. :-) Congratulations on the newest member of your family and how great that you rescued the poor kitten.
    Trader Joe's has boxwood wreaths but as I recall when I purchased one last year it didn't last as long as the evergreen wreaths. Maybe it's good that you started later and your wreath will stand up to the time between now and Christmas.
    Happy Holidays.
    Karen

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    1. Hello Karen,

      I think sweet little Norton was actually blinded by the light on the back stairwell when I snapped the candid photograph of him. I'll soon teach him to strike a pose or two, so let's see how he fares next time.

      The flower market vendor said the boxwood wreath will last through Christmas. So far, so good, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and will report back after the new year.

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  3. Norton is heaven...what a sweet dear boy! Cheers to you giving him a home. Wishing you and Norton many happy years together. Vitamin C is a great help to cat allergies. As for Christmas decorations, I just put wreath on my door in New York City...will not be dictated by retail sales.

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    1. Hello atdcom@aol.com,

      Well done to you for pacing yourself with your decorating efforts. The earliest tree I saw go up this year, if you can believe it, was right after Halloween. What has the world come to!

      Thank you for your encouragement with our newest family member. He really is a sweet boy and is extremely playful too. Shall stock up on vitamin c so thanks for the tip.

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  4. Oh Norton is adorable! I am very, very nervous about stray/ feral kittens though, after my experience about 6 years ago. We had a stray cat give birth to a litter of kittens underneath the decking in the house we were renting. I took pity on her (and them) and put out food for them. The kittens were adorable, but skittish and all sorts of different looks to them (some Siamese, some tabby cat). Well, we were moving, and being a responsible animal lover, I decided to take the kittens down to the local vet so that they could be rehoused. I picked one up... and it bit me with its sharp little fangs on the thumb. Off to the doctor for a tetanus shot, and one dead arm later I elected to trap them all in a dog carrier by tricking them in by food and then off to the vet they went. Never again will I attempt to pick up a cute little kitten with big china blue eyes.
    I love your wreath, and the tree looks picture perfect, even if you consider it lopsided. We can only get pinus radiata here, so they are not quite so perfect for ornament hanging. Far too bushy, but at least they have a delicious smell to them.

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    1. Oh my goodness, Heidi! Those animal bites can really be painful but not as painful as a tatanus shot. I had one about three years ago as I was due for one and could not believe how dead my arm felt for over a week, ouch!

      I'm sorry for your experience but pleased (and not surprised really) to learn that you are a responsible animal lover. I only wish there were more of us.

      Most of the trees available in the United States tend to be rather dense as compared to the trees I recall from England. Same are almost cone shaped. The Silver Tips we are lucky enough to find here in northern California grow at higher elevations and are long lasting. Some years, I've not even had to place them in water and they've made it right through into the new year.

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  5. Congratulations! A rescue kitty! Wonderful!
    Now here is my story! I was so allergic to cats that when I was a child I had to come home if I spent the night in a house that had EVER had a cat!
    Then; all of a sudden, quite like you, I HAD a cat! (my little daughter rescued)!
    You get over allergies when you have a cat. I just got over it!

    If you find it is taking too long, and too much sneezing; they have discovered that what actually makes one allergic is in the saliva of the cat. (not the dander,etc.) By having the cat bathed once a month.....they do not produce this particular ingredient in their saliva. (Do not do this yourself, I would suggest)
    A groomer bathing once a month is the emergency measure. But I would bet that your allergy symptoms will disappear!
    Good luck! And I am still hoping for another rescue dog! We have 3 dogs and one cat.....who really get along beautifully. (the cat tries to groom the dogs.....he misses having another cat) Oh dear. Another rescue coming on!

    I adore your blog. ADORE!!! It is so civilized!

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    1. Hello Penelope Bianchi,

      Thanks so much for your high praise of my little blog. You are too kind.

      We are slowly adjusting to life with Norton and he is very willing to learn how to get along with the other cats (feral/homeless) that I feed outside my house, and he also seemed to get along with our dearly departed dog Mavro. If we do get another dog, I have high hopes Norton will make a friendly effort to get along with it.

      I'm hopeful that our allergies might subside (my symptoms include a sore throat). I do adore cats and dogs so much that I'm willing to live with a little discomfort for the benefits.

      Shall report on how things are coming along periodically so do please stay tuned.

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  6. I will stay tuned. You cannot get rid of me. I delight in every post!!!

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  7. Not to drone on... near a cat I had a sore throat that actually started to close up!...eyes on fire, and a faucet nose.........I couldn't breathe, see or sleep. It is curable by getting a cat.
    By the way, my husband grew up in your neighborhood, I think. Corner of Vallejo and Buchanan? We just saw it on the way to the SF Antiques Show.....heavenly. Is that near you? I do not understand San Francisco.....growing up in Pasadena....but I love it so! Is it near you? ( It is a big lot)...American term...."back yard"!!!
    They lived there until 1955 or something. Ancient history! I adore San Francisco!!!

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    1. My husband's family go back five generations in the city, quite a rare thing in light of the fact that there are so many new people moving here - such a vibrant place. His grandparents' house is, alas, now gone. Ah well, the ever changing city I suppose.

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  8. I would suffer allergies to see Norton's cute little face too!!!

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    1. Glad to hear it, Naomi! He's certainly a pretty boy and shows us so much love already.

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  9. This is a lovely post. This may help - if you start when they are young, kittens/cats can be given a bath. And that is supposed to help immensely with keeping allergic reactions down. Don't tell Norton I suggested it though.

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    1. Hello Anonymous,

      Thank you so much for the tip. I'd not considered "training" Norton for a bath but shall start early. If it goes anything like his introduction to the inside world, it will be quite a hoot!

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  10. Truly you exemplify the values of Christmas by opening your home to this formerly needy fellow. Norton looks very content to make your home his home. My late father would have called your tree a Charlie Brown tree like the little tree Charlie brought home much to the ridicule of his friends. It, too, needed a home and Charlie felt a little love and attention would make it presentable. And indeed it turned into a lovely tree with lights and ornaments. Your tree will be lovely festooned with some of your vintage ornaments.
    KL Gaylin

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    1. Hello KL Gaylin,

      Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement with little Norton. He certainly got lucky, but on the other hand, we are all big suckers when it comes to helpless, and cute, animals.

      I hope the decoration of our little evergreen does not disappoint. I shall try my best to dress it up so that Charlie doesn't recognize it.

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  11. Norton is splendid and so is your petite Christmas tree! I'm besotted by Norton from your description of him and the picture. I always enjoy your blog and look forward to the next one. Sincerely, Elisabeth Carrel

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    1. Hello Elisabeth Carrel,

      Thanks so much for your praise of our newest charge Norton. He really is a sweetie and I look forward to many fun times together.

      It is so nice when I hear from my readership so I thank you for your comment. Do please drop by again.

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Please do leave a comment as I enjoy the dialogue with my readership, thank you.

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