Beginners. Well, I can't believe that it is that time of year again. How sad. It is time to take down all of the Christmas decorations and to put them away in boxes. Usually, people do that a few days after Christmas, around the first week in January. But, I love decorations. Some of my friends laugh at me because we have five Christmas trees. Nearly everywhere you go in our house, you can find a tree. But now, even I realize* that it is time to put away the trees, the ornaments, the lights, and the extra bits and pieces that I have all over the house. Outside is different, though. The lights that I have put on the pine trees have to stay for a while. My reason, well, Winter is dark, and sometimes gloomy. So, why not have some pretty lights outside to make the neighborhood look cheerful throughout the Winter? For now, though, it is time to get out the packing boxes, fill them up, and put them in storage where they can sit quietly for another year. Grammar notes. Useful expressions: Though = however/ but. Very useful addition to a sentence. Inside/ outside, gloomy, storage, packing boxes. Realize = realise in British english. Advanced. The thought of putting away something beautiful and not seeing it for a whole year isn't really appealing to me, especially when the days are short and often gloomy. If I were a disciplined person who followed tradition, there would be no Christmas decorations in the house because they would have been put away straight after New Year's Day. What can I say? I have a penchant for anything that smacks of Noel. Yes it is true, once I kept the decorations up until April. Yes, it is also true that we have not one Christmas tree but five. And yes, once, when I was teaching High School, I kept a miniature Christmas tree up in my classroom until June....say no more; I obviously have a problem. Anyway, this year, one of my resolutions is to put my family's concerns about my sanity to rest, and get the decorations put away before February. I have scattered evidence of my new way of thinking all over the house: storage boxes. No, they are not filled yet, but their presence shows my willingness to get on with the job. Us addicts need to take baby steps. I will get there eventually. I'm sure that ninety nine percent of the stuff will be packed and stored away within a couple of weeks. The one percent? Um.....perhaps I'll indulge myself with a tiny trinket still in the house until, say, July...... Grammar notes. Subjunctive: If I were a disciplined person, I would have..... Exs: If I were President, I would improve education. If he was more considerate, he would probably have more friends. If they weren't so expensive, we could buy them for the children for Christmas. Vocabulary: trinket, eventually, addict, willingness, sanity, concern, miniature, concern, to appeal, penchant.

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