Some time in the middle of January I feel the urge to put away the holiday decorations. Twelfth night has come and gone, the ladies, lords, maids, musicians, birds, and pear tree have all been bestowed. I no longer wonder, as I did when I was a child, if the six geese were actually laying the five gold rings. And if so, what was up with that one slacker goose? I unpin, unhook, and gather Christmas things from all corners of the house, and spend a couple of days sorting them into tubs and boxes. Frassy helps.

Most of my candles are dripless, but surprises do happen. This one started out white with red stripes, but the result – well, in orange or black it would have been great for Halloween. Kind of creepy looking. The main, melty stub left wax behind when I pulled it out, plus there were all the drips at the bottom. My go-to candlestick recovery program worked perfectly: heat the oven to 200 degrees, put some paper towels on a sheet pan, lay the candlesticks down on the paper towels, put it in the oven until the wax melts onto the paper towels, take out, and when the candlesticks are cool enough to handle but still warm, rub them all over with a rag. 

As much as I love putting the Christmas decorations up, it’s equally cheerful for me when I take them down. As my regular, everyday teacups and dishtowels go back into place, I appreciate them all over again: hello, souvenirs from all the years that have fed into this new one; January’s second fresh start. But I think I’ll leave the lights up a little longer. I string them on the inside of the windows, and they connect me to the snowy yard even when I stay inside.

I did plan to fold up the Christmas quilt from the bed, but when I went upstairs Frassy was already there, exercising her inerrant cat sense of where I wanted to work next. She struck this pose as I came in, possibly because she knows I find it adorable, lessening the chance that I’d shoo her away.

She settled in for a nap, and I realized it meant I could pot up my bulbs without her, um, help. I like to save the amaryllis and paperwhites for after Christmas, to fill in the gap between the end of the holidays and the start of gardening. Seed catalogs have already begun to arrive, but I’m stacking them up on their own shelf. I want to be able to find them again, but I’m not done with January yet.