Imposed cheerfulness
Like every morning, I turn on the radio first.
♫ All I want for Christmas is you ♫ from Mariah Carey is the first song I hear. Shit, already? The melancholy hits like a bomb. Gosh, three more weeks of imposed cheerfulness to go.
The past
Christmas used to be fun. When I was still part of a family. First as a child, later as a mother. Tree rigging, shopping for nice gifts, wrapping everything nicely in shiny paper. The scent of a real Christmas tree that welcomes you for three weeks when you come home.
It had to be a large one, from the floor to the ceiling. The room had to be redesigned and the cupboard under the stairs could not be used during those weeks. The cats left the Christmas tree in peace, as long as we didn’t hang any balls on the lower branches. My biggest challenge was cooking for sixteen mouths, but it was tasty and fun.
No ýou’ for me
♫ All I want for Christmas is Youuuuuu ♫
I have no “you” and I am no longer part of a family or couple.
And I feel that, especially around Christmas. Absence of loved ones.
Come on, I have things to do. No time to pay attention to Christmas melancholy. I still have three weeks for that. I am expecting my girlfriends for the somba * project.
The wood oven
The pipes, the corners, the hooks and the chains. It’s all been bought to install my wood oven. My Dutch “know everything better” girlfriend Maya has told me what to buy and what I have purchased. Elefteria, my Greek friend right from the start, agile and with great fine motor skills, has a concrete drill and comes to drill the tripes * for the hooks for me. Crosetta, Italian, has not seen my new place up here in the mountains yet so she’s coming too. The plan is that we install the wood oven in a more central place in the house, then make a meal in the oven and play cards.
Wood, a lot of wood
I have to hurry, I have a lot to do. I want to wash my hair and I have to get the pipes out of the car that is parked at the entrance to the village. Our village is like a labyrinth and the streets are so narrow that you can’t get in it with a car. My move has taken place with a small tractor. This morning, my landlord will also pass by to give me the key to the wood storage opposite my house. Fortunately, I can pay the timber stock in instalments because 350 euros in one go is too big an attack on my modest income. I hope the wood lasts me two winters.
As a Christmas gift, he brings me 5 litres of his homemade wine.
Circus monkeys
For a few hours, my girlfriends are standing on the table, on the wall in the kitchen, on chairs or on the small steps to get the construction in the air. More importantly, keep it in the air. Like a bunch of circus monkeys, they play antics to get the pipes in place. Everything crashes down twice. My second computer screen just came down in the process. The pipe does not fit in the corner piece, the drill bit is not the right size, there seems to be a pipe shortage, the pipe outside of the house should actually be replaced. I have forgotten the tape for sealing the connections.
She does know better
The steps are not high enough and Maya is the ‘lucky’ one since she is the tallest of the bunch. What the others don’t manage she has to step in. What I wanted, the construction across the room isn’t possible according to Maya, and it shows. As the day progresses we increasingly come to the conclusion that the construction must be provided with two corners and cannot run obliquely through the room.
Determination
Fortunately one of my neighbours has aluminium tape at home, my girlfriends are determined to fix it, and I let everything happen. I can’t climb and clamber myself and I don’t have much strength in my hands either. They have known me for years and know that I am clumsy and unusable. I make coffee, make sandwiches and encourage them.
Proud
When the fire, at last, is alight, no smoke is escaping anywhere and the food is in the oven, all four of us finally sit in peace at the kitchen table. We admit that we all had a desperate moment, but we did not want to give in. I say they can be very proud of their work. My screen is still working. The floor has been swept and mopped, the couch has been moved to a different place and I am enjoying the view of the room with the pipe construction.
Christmas
The plans for Christmas are discussed during the meal. Maya and I have plans to spend Christoúgenna* together by the fireplace that is also present as a heat source. Crosetta is not going “home” this year, and according to Maya, our common friends think it’s a good idea to ride up the mountain to celebrate Christmas at my place by the fireplace. We agree that everyone prepares some food and brings it along. More than one litre of the red krasi * has found its way into our stomachs. The rest I keep with the wood in the storage. For Christmas.
Girl power
The melancholic feeling of this morning has given way to a happy prospect. I feel blessed and I am very happy with and proud of my friends. Girl power!
η σόμπα – the wood stove
η τρύπα – the hole
το κρασί – the wine
Χριστούγεννα – Christmas