His name is Stanley the Snowman. Either that, or her name is Shirley the Snowman.
I am unsure. He/she comes with lights and a hat and a lovely red scarf, but nothing to indicate gender.
Whatever. Stanley-Shirley is lovely.
Stanley-Shirley is new to our home this year. This, on account of the deer that bit the dust.
Poor little things. There were two of them: a mother and son, or a father and daughter. Again, no idea. Let’s just say, a parent and child.
They lived in a box from January until early December, when the husband would wrestle them out of their box, place them upright, adjust their antlers and fiddle with their lights.
All of this took something of a toll on the deer, which sadly, never were named.
Two years ago, the baby — the baby, no less! — began to wobble. It fell on its side, its lights went out, and we placed it in the garbage.
Last year, the grieving mother (or father) began to show issues — and who could blame it? It, too, was listing. It, too, was hit with flickering lights.
The husband put it back in the box, but this time, with a note to himself. “Remaining deer is pretty much deceased,” it said. “Get something new in 2019.”
Enter Stanley-slash-Shirley.
We went to a big-box store.
“Holy smokes!” said the husband, looking wide-eyed at the displays. “Can you believe it? Blow-up Santas! Teams of elves! Snowmen with scarves!”
“I want the snowman,” I said. “It’s cute. And it’s on sale.”
Hello Stanley-Shirley.
We brought him/her home, opened the box and gingerly took out the contents. Stanley-Shirley required some assembly. There were wires involved. There was mesh. There was a bag of hooks and fasteners, designed, we assumed, to keep the snowman together.
The husband set to work. I went to the store.
When I returned, Stanley-Shirley was more or less together. Eventually, the husband wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve and announced the snowman was ready.
We placed the guy/gal in the garden and retreated to admire the property. Once again, it’s looking quite fine, and that’s all due to Stanley — or Shirl.
