Love Thursday: Topping the Tree with Love

A few years ago, I found this plush, padded, bedazzled heart in a crafty kind of store and bought it, having no idea what I might do with it. The answer came the following year, when I had my first tree, mini as it is, and was without a top.

Fellow expat and blogger Delinissima wrote about the difficulty in finding a star to top the tree here in Italy. I don’t know why they’re anti-star either, but there aren’t a lot of choices out there.

So, I had to do some creative rigging up with twisty-ties, but I think the heart does the trick– along with reminding me that Christmas is a time to love and appreciate all that is right with my world. And yes, that’s our little Bonsai Garden/Christmas Village out of focus behind the tree.

I wish everyone a Happy Love Thursday and Happy Winter Solstice.

Now go out and enjoy the shortest day of the year!

9 Beans of Wisdom to “Love Thursday: Topping the Tree with Love”
  1. Annika
    12.21.2006

    after today, it will only get lighter again. No more talk of darkness…

  2. Delina
    12.21.2006

    In the end I got a star but it was so heavy it wouldn’t stay on and so I tied a bow on the top instead 😐 Your heart is great!

  3. Giulia
    12.21.2006

    That is a beautiful plush heart, Sogna! Looks great on the tree.
    My husband (having grown up in Italy, therefore obsessed with “the star”) always wanted to put one on top of our christmas trees in America. I never liked them and always topped the tree with an angel.
    Now that we are here (it’s our very first Xmas here), he has his star at the top but my angel is right there beneath it… I was only willing to compromise to a certain extent!

  4. sognatrice
    12.21.2006

    Giulia, it’s funny that your husband is into the star when I’ve had so much trouble finding one! I need to come up to Campania…Actually I’ve seen quite a few angels, but they’ve looked, well, cheap. May be something else I have to import 😉 And then there’s the spikey things Delina wrote about. Weird. Anyway, glad you reached a compromise for the tree!

  5. nikinpos
    12.21.2006

    I always put a fairy on the top of the tree, but I couldn’t tell you why!

  6. Shan
    12.22.2006

    That heart is so cute and it looks great on the tree. I love a Christmas tree with character.

    We always had an angel on our tree after my Dad died. We had a star before that. This year the smaller tree in our office has a $2 star I bought at WalMart that Abby thinks is the most beautiful thing in the world. The “official” tree in our living room has nothing on top of it since neither one of us could reach the top of the tree. In years past we’ve had angels and sometimes just a big ole bow.

  7. sognatrice
    12.23.2006

    Ooh, I want to see the fairy!

    Shan, I avoided the “reaching the top of the tree” issue by having the smallest tree ever set on a chair. Of course this would never fly if I had a child or two or even a cat, but, you know, it’s still spirit.

  8. 09.25.2008

    Nice heart for christmas tree!!

    http://www.lovephases.com/cl/go.php/blogsp/

    The Ultimate Love, Dating and Human Communication Skills Resource!!

    Thanks John!

  1. Pingback: Only In Maine
    [...] something heart shaped that isn’t usually heart shaped or thought to be heart shaped. Like a chris... onlyinmaine.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/459
Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake