The tree comes down today, per my grandmother's injunction that it must be out of the house before the New Year or bad luck will ensue.
I find that I'm both sorry to see it go--it's quite pretty-- and eager to move on to the less cluttered look for the New Year.
Dismantling the tree and putting away the ornaments will take most of the day--fortunately our New Year's Eve plans are pretty modest--a bottle of bubbly well before midnight and so to bed.
Tomorrow there will be collard greens and black-eyed peas, along with the pork marinated in mojo (garlic, orange juice, lemon juice, salt, and oregano) that is simmering in the slow cooker and perfuming the house right now.
I'm not sorry to say goodbye to 2023 and its heartbreaking humanitarian crises around the globe. May 2024 see some improvement.
