I came in early this morning to write my weekly column. Usually, I write a good portion of it Wednesday afternoon to avoid adding any more pressure to already anxiety-inducing deadline routine. I had every intention of getting a head start on the holiday-themed piece I’d be penning for today. But yesterday, I just couldn’t gear myself up for it.

The problem is, I’ve been having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. For someone who delights in the joy and cheer of the holidays as much as me, that’s a hard thing to admit.

Thinking perhaps the problem was a poorly decorated workspace – and we can’t have that, can we! – I made use of some of my pre-dawn time in the office to take down my outdated fall decor and replace it with something decidedly more festive. As a result, my corner of the newsroom is now resplendent in gold-edged red ribbon (which I’m proud to say is ill-gotten gain from a ‘Punching the Clock’ I did at the L.A. Najarian Ribbon Mill in my early days as an ES staffer).

The piece de resistance, though, is my Christmas clothesline – a string of elf-like garments (from knickers to outerwear) hanging by miniature wooden clothespins from a green cord. My mother gave it to me a couple of years ago, and it never fails to make me giggle with yule-time glee.