Christmas is Put Away

Just a brief blog on this rainy day. I'm not complaining for 2 reasons: first, we need the rain so badly that I was told it would have to rain for weeks to make up the differential; and, second, I love a rainy day. It makes everything so pretty outside; however, I do prefer to stay indoors during cold, rainy days and Kendra says she really hates to get out in it, especially when she has to get 2 little children ready to go out and then get them to their pre-k class.

I think I have finally got all Christmas decorations put away. We were just before throwing out our artificial, pre-lighted tree because some of the lights were not burning when Kendra decided to examine it and see if she could find the problem. Of course, she did find it and now we have lights on the tree again. I'll tell you, she is great to have around, a real problem solver. She also paired my new cordless mouse with my computer today. That is a really nice thing to have! She says that I mess up my computer all the time and I'm sure that I do; however, I'm not the only one who plays on it. I guess Don needs to take part of the blame anyway. She is great at straightening out our messes though. Thanks, Keni.

Closing out the Year

Today has been a rough one for me because I decided to take down the Christmas decorations. There seem to be more now than when I put them up; what happened, I don't know. I did add a couple of new items but it shouldn't have taken so long to get everything put away. I have just now finished; however, I still have some non-Christmas decorations that I want to put out. I received a few new things as Christmas gifts and I need to decide where I want to put them. But, not tonight. I am too tired from climbing up and down the stairs about 8 times I think. The worst thing was cleaning up the needles from the stairs where I had wrapped live pine garland. I don't think I will try that again because when it dries out, it does leave a good many needles around. Actually, though, that job wasn't as bad as climbing the stairs, getting ornaments off the tree and wrapping them so they wouldn't break. I can't believe that I never got out to shop the after-Christmas sales so I suppose they are all over now.

We did have a wonderful Christmas and I miss my family coming and going. Kendra has been busy cleaning her own house that I haven't seen much of her since the big day. The children stopped by a few minutes today but only Livvy came in; Clay was busy driving his F150 truck. I believe that was money well spent.

Monday is New Year's Eve and we will have a few couples coming over for our annual get-together to close out the year. We enjoy sitting around and talking. At midnight, we will watch the ball drop on 2008, extend best wishes to everyone, and then have a light breakfast. We enjoy this time with our friends.

Looking for Bargains

I don't know about you but I am ready for something different to eat! Some of our friends went out for Barbecue sandwiches last night; they, too, wanted something different. Today, I am hankering for something other than turkey, ham, etc. I'm not sure what I want but know what I don't want. All those foods were delicious, but I believe after 3 days of that, it's time to change the menu. You probably feel the same way.

Last night, after leaving the funeral home, we rode around to see the Christmas lights. It seems that less and less folks are putting on the lights this year. This was the first time we had ridden around and looked. After completing our rounds, we both admitted that we only saw 3 places that really stood out as absolutely gorgeous. One was a lovely Williamsburg home with candles, wreaths, etc. Actually, it was the house itself that really added to the beauty of the scenery. We do very little outside other than lights on the shrubbery in front. We do decorate a lot inside since the children expect this. I didn't even put up my Dickens Village this year because the time slipped up on us, my daughter, who actually does the design, had sick children and a very busy schedule. I miss it a lot but glad that I don't have to take it down when we come back from Florida. When we don't get it up in November, we really don't have time to enjoy it before having to leave. Of course, our other family who stay here while we are gone enjoy the beauty of the village.

I haven't been shopping yet since Christmas so I haven't enjoyed the big sales. I do hope to go tomorrow though and see what I might find. I like to buy wrapping papers, etc. after the holiday when it is priced more reasonably. By the looks of the shelves before Christmas, though, I think there will be little from which to choose. I'm going to look for some bargains though.

Holding on to Christmas Memories

Where did the holiday go? I cannot believe that it has come and gone so quickly! Once again the house is empty and quiet except for the FOX News Channel that Don is watching right now. I had hoped to go and see what kind of bargains I might find in town, but it is so very cold outside; cold and rainy, a great day to just crash inside under a lap blanket. Unfortunately, we have to go by the local funeral home tonight to pay our respects to the brother of one of our camping friends. Ernest passed away sometime Saturday but wasn't found until Sunday afternoon. It is believed that he was getting ready to charcoal either lunch or dinner on Saturday. When he didn't show up for church Sunday morning, his friend went by to check on him and found him in his yard beside the picnic table. Our prayer is that he went quickly and easily, especially since he lived alone and was not found until at least a day later.

Everyone is tired after enjoying a wonderful Christmas celebration with family members and overstuffed from so much turkey, ham, and all the desserts! We won't need anything to eat again for some time; however, knowing us, we will be munching for several more days until the house is cleared of these temptations. Kendra and her family just went home to put the children down for a rest, if not a nap. Our son and his lady friend are heading to their homes an hour away. Ma and Pa are left alone with empty boxes, many bags of trash, a sad tree standing bare in the corner, and wonderful gifts to put in their resting places. We all received many great things: clothes of all kinds, pictures, sweets, shoes, jewelry, purses, gloves, gift cards, etc., etc., etc. But, most important of all, we received wonderful time with our children, our grandchildren, and phone time with our son who lives across the country 3,000 miles.

I hope your Christmas was as good as mine; if so, you are a very happy person today. The sad part is that they are all gone now; ah, but the memories of a wonderful 2007 Christmas season will live on in my heart. Do you have memories to hold onto?

The Day Has Arrived!

Now I can say Merry Christmas because the day has arrived. Santa has visited our house, left lots of goodies for our son (and a little for Don and me too!). Everyone is asleep but me and I guess I'm just too keyed up to go to bed yet. I'm a night owl anyway and always have been. Most of the others are morning people with the exception of a son, one grandson, and two granddaughters.

It seems that it was Christmas, 2006, just a month or so ago. I guess when you are going downhill (aging that is), everything picks up speed, at least that's the way it seems. Our son came in about 10:30 tonight (last night, that is) and met someone going down our driveway. He wondered who our company would have been at that hour on Christmas Eve. When I told him that we had no company, we decided to look out and there lay our Sunday newspaper! So many days, it arrives late or not at all so we were really surprised to find it here so soon.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas Day and that you were able to get everything done on time (that's a job for me; I only finished wrapping everything today). Have a safe and happy day with family and friends.

Merry Christmas, 2007!

This is a very busy week for me as I'm sure it is with everyone at this time. We had part of our family here over the weekend and we enjoyed sharing gifts and love with each other. Now, they are gone to their respective homes to celebrate with the "in-laws" today and tomorrow. Kendra and her family are at Mark's home tonight with his family and Don and I are alone. Actually, we have been alone all day which is a bit unusual for us. Because of a granddaughter's marriage into another family, they had to leave us. Our son is with his girlfriend's family today but will be arriving later tonight (at least one of our children will be here with us; I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't change next year, however, if he should get married next year). Kendra and her family will be here tomorrow though so we will once again enjoy opening gifts and watch the little grandchildren get so excited.

We had to keep Clay yesterday while Kendra took Livvy to the doctor and he was a real joy! He talked so much, very intelligently too, I might add. He is a dear!!

Have a Merry Christmas. May all of your family be blessed at this time of year and in the year to come.

Up with the Spirits; Down with the Pressure

I'm blogging tonight out of exhaustion I think. I have been busy all day, wrapping, doing my last minute shopping, having Christmas lunch with a good friend, and cleaning up the study so that some of our daughter's family can get in here to sleep tomorrow night. That's right; Christmas begins tomorrow at our home with 7 extra people spending the night here. They bring air mattresses for 3 of them because we just don't have enough beds for that many extra people. Marty says they are used to it and enjoy sleeping on them, in fact. We are ready for them I think. Now, I have to get up in the morning and start cooking our lunch since they prefer that to dinner. We plan on having honey-baked ham and all the trimmings (we're saving the turkey for Tuesday for the next crowd of 8 that will be coming in Monday night and Tuesday morning). We will have a big breakfast with fresh homemade sausage and country ham (those good foods that are so high in cholesterol!) Marty will leave immediately following lunch on Sunday because they have to hurry back for a get-together with their other family.

Everyone has been in shock over the holiday card that I received with the terrible "chewing out" I was given. Even my cardiologist was surprised about that. My blood pressure had really soared, maybe due to that dress-down. Anyway, I'm fine now, the pressure is coming down slowly, and I'm happy once again.

Respect Your Beliefs; Respect My Beliefs

Don just brought in our mail and there were 10 Christmas cards delivered today. I was so excited because I do love hearing from all my family and friends. When I opened them, I realized that I had 9 Christmas cards and 1 holiday card that was the most offensive card I have ever received. I am now trying to get over hurt feelings and just forget the incidence. One of our friends who lived in Panama when we did passed away about 2 years ago and he and Don had always sent Christmas cards. His wife is very different to say the least but I wanted to send her a card. This year, most of the cards I mailed was a Christmas letter including a little well wishes, a brief mention of each of our 4 children and our 8 grandchildren, nothing really deep (ie, marriage of our oldest granddaughter; military service of one grandson, etc. but nothing offensive to the reader). We had always sent Bill one of these letters and he always responded in kind. Not his wife, however. She sent a holiday card with a note that she was not related to me, was not interested in any of my family business, was offended because I closed with God bless everyone in '08 (She said I need not wear my religion on my sleeve, that she didn't want me unloading any of my beliefs or anything else on her). Then closed by saying, she was writing with her freedom of the pen (as if I didn't have that same freedom) then, she signed her name and stated that I wrote well and should publish in a magazine. Now, you may think this was all done out of sadness over her loss, but we have other information which I am not including here. I do feel sorry for her. The best thing she could have done was not to read the insert but just throw it away. I hope that you don't receive any such correspondence to put a damper on your Christmas. She is welcome to consider this a holiday; she is welcome to express her opinion; and, she is welcome to respond in any way she wishes (Kindness in doing so would be appreciated, however) . I respect her beliefs (now that I know them) but respect is due to all.

Hoop Cheese, Please!

An old friend (actually, he is not only an "old", as in friendship of 20 + years, but "old" as in 89 years) just stopped by for their annual Christmas visit. He and his wife always bring us some old-fashioned hoop cheese, a rarity to find today, except in some of the old country stores. He used to buy it at an old store about 6 miles out in the country but that has recently closed so he has been combing the country for more. This year, he was unable to locate the regular old hoop cheese and brought us mountain-made sharp cheese. I will miss the flavor of that delicious old cheese that my dad used to bring home for the family at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ah, things are always changing and this is just one more change that I don't like. Perhaps next year, I can go out searching for some and be fortunate enough to ask for "hoop cheese, please".

Don and I had a great anniversary dinner last night, just the two of us. I actually was able to keep him out after dark and see him enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations along the way. And, I will get the opportunity to keep him out again tomorrow night when my siblings are going to meet and enjoy a evening together. I'm looking forward to that since we only get together twice a year, in April at our reunion and for a Christmas dinner. Isn't the Christmas season wonderful, remembering Jesus first, then enjoying family and friends.

Forty Fine Years

Last night we had our Christmas Play/cantata. It went fairly well, considering the few times we were able to practice. The children did fine even though we had some trouble with one of the microphones and the ones running the audio equipment stumbled a few times. Our choir director has been very sick and we really didn't have time to pull much together. It was decided that we would only have a children's play but some of the adults were unhappy that we were not having an adult choir to sing. By this time, we had less than 4 weeks to pull something together. Under all those circumstances, it received passing marks. Several have said they thought it was very good; the main thing there was the message and that was delivered well by the young narrator. Many people were absent from the play, I suppose, due to illness. I know we had a few present who were very sick and probably would have rested better at home.

I went today and finished all my shopping I do believe (Yes, Charles, I finally decided on something for you that I hope you will like. It is much different from anything I would ever have thought about buying you, but I decided that's what I wanted to do). I am so proud! Now, this wrapping business is getting next to me but starting tomorrow, I am going to dig in. Today is our 40th wedding anniversary, so we are getting ready to go out to an expensive dinner (I picked the place so I should know). It's been a great 40 years with many exciting adventures and experiences, pleasant surprises, glorious welcome of our children, sad happenings along the way with loss of 3 of our parents, making new friends, viewing God's wonderful world, and so much more that I could never tell in a brief blog. Maybe I will try to relate a few, that I haven't already told, along the way.

Temps are Dropping

Temps are dropping, Fast! We have had record-breaking days here for about a week (up to 80!) but now it's already down to 39 degrees at 2:30 PM! Turn on the gas logs!

I keep waiting for the rain to fall on our very dry part of the world. It is so cold and damp but so far very little rain has actually touched down. Hopefully, we will have heavy rains tonight as the meteorologists have forecast. A foot of snow would really be welcome by me and most folks around here I know. Even though it is Christmas and many would hope for dry conditions when they are traveling, I still believe they would opt for the rains or snow if given a choice. Nevertheless, the Lord knows what He is doing and I know we will get the rain when he chooses. There have been a few prayer meetings held just to pray for rain so I'm told.

I'm supposed to go to a Christmas get-together tonight but if it does rain and it stays so damp, I may choose to stay at home. I dont want to take any undue chances for getting sick at this time of year; too much to do around here. I have been fairly successful wrapping gifts today. At least, I should have helped my average of 3 per day. That just will not get it if I'm going to be ready next week. You see, half of my family will be here a week from today to celebrate. If I'm not ready, I know some grandchildren who will be highly upset! Ok, I'm going...I'm going. Get the right size boxes (the worst part) and let's get with the program.

Gift Cards are OK by Me

Good news! I was able to meet my average number of gifts wrapped: 3! This is a joke! I must do better or I'm going to be in big trouble! I met my good friend with whom I used to work for a late lunch; then we enjoyed each other's company just talking until it was time to attend the retirement reception for another friend who is retiring. I was happy to once again, see many of my other retired friends, most of whom have retired since I have. Even the superintendent drove the 110 miles to attend this get-together. I was impressed!

Tomorrow, I must get serious with the gift-wrapping and taking final inventory of the presents. Hopefully, I only have about 4 more to buy, that is if I can only decide what to buy for these most difficult folks. I'm beginning to lean toward gift cards. I did hear today that the retailers are hoping more people will purchase the cards because they automatically make a lot more money on them, mainly because so many people just put them aside, lose them, or just never use them. That's money gone down the tube when that happens though. I would hope everyone would remember to use them and buy what they would like to have. So far, I have received 2 of them: one for Wally World; and, one for the Christian Bookstore nearby. I will definitely use both of them but I haven't had a chance yet. Also, I want to wait until after Christmas and get some bargains with the cards. I think those are really special gifts.

Making a Plan

Everyone seems so busy getting ready for the Christmas holidays. I just wish that Christ was still in Christmas as it was when I was a child. We never thought of it in any other way; now, it is a winter break for many but they still do the gift-giving thing I think. To each his or her own. I'm not being critical because we all have choices to make. My choice is to remember that the Christ child was born 2000 plus years ago even if it were not on December 25; that's the day many others and I choose to celebrate His birth.

We had our annual Honor Education Society/Sororiety Christmas Meeting/Auction tonight and that was a lot of fun as usual. I'm proud to say that my daughter is president of our county chapter and is doing a great job despite all of the other responsibilities she has now. She is anxious to be stepping down from this two-year job in May.

Tomorrow, another friend of mine is retiring from our office. Everyone there seems to be getting to that magic age and/or years of experience. I hope they enjoy their golden years as much as I am. There are just not enough hours in the day to do all that I would like. So far, I have been averaging about 3 presents a day being wrapped. Don says at this rate, I will be ready for Christmas next year!! Hmm...that sounds like a plan. It's for sure that I need to make a plan if I'm going to be ready this year.

The Scent of the Season

The weather in the Southeast has been unseasonably warm, too warm, in fact. It's difficult to wrap presents, put lights outside, or even think of Santa Claus coming soon. It is supposed to cool down by the weekend though, so maybe I can get more in a holiday mood. We had play practice with the children tonight and also choir practice. They performed very well, especially considering we have only had 3 practices now. We adults always get uptight but in the end the children always come through and make a hit with the audience. They are so cute that even if they do goof up, it will be okay. Perfection is not what we seek when working with children on adults. We are just trying to demonstrate the story of Jesus' birth through song and acting.

Tomorrow, I will mail my Christmas cards to family and friends. I was finally able to get them all ready today. Kendra brought me some pine garland to decorate the stairwell with. I wanted to make the house smell more like Christmas now that we use an artificial tree. The smell takes me back to my wonderful childhood days, days when we would hunt for our Christmas tree, cut and bring it home to enjoy. Mom always let us help decorate the tree but we never put the paper chains, etc on; she always used the colorful ornaments which we loved. Christmas was such an exciting time of year for a child. Dad would read the Christmas story, the highlight of the season. We never forgot why we celebrated. And, this year we will still remember why we have Christmas as we thank God for blessing us each and every day.

The scents of the season continue to live in my memory: pine, cedar, pumpkin pie and apple pie, collards (many people hate this scent but I happen to love it!), cinnamon, marshmallows melting in a cup of real, homemade hot chocolate, and so many more for you add to the list. Bring them all on!

"Wrapping" to the Tunes

I have been having trouble again just trying to blog. I tried to change my email address but if I do, then I am blocked from getting into my blog. If I'm off the air for more than 3 to 4 days and am not traveling, then most likely, I have been blocked again.

I'm still busy getting ready for Christmas. We have mailed 2 boxes to our family in California (I hope to hear soon that they have been received, all in one piece). I don't think snail mail is quite so destructive as it once was. When we lived out of the country, our packages from the states were usually crushed pretty badly and had often been opened. Not good! I have also finished wrapping gifts for my oldest daughter's family (but not for my daughter yet). I received a phone call today from a friend who wants to take me out to eat tomorrow for my Christmas present so I must stop and take care of wrapping for friends (I love "wrapping" to the tunes of Christmas). Another friend of mine will be coming into town on Friday and I plan to have a gift for her. She and I worked together for several years until I retired and she moved away. Now, we try to meet somewhere in between our homes once a month. Another friend is retiring from the office on Friday and we have been invited to her floating reception. Our plan is to meet and eat prior to the reception.

Tonight, we had our Baptist Women Christmas fellowship with the men in attendance (they love to eat with the ladies). We had an interesting program on Lottie Moon Missions Fund and on the problems in what used to be the Soviet Union. How fortunate and blessed we are to be living in America! So many of them have never even heard of the Christian faith.

Party Time Begins

We had our Sunday School class Christmas dinner/party tonight and I must say that I feel like the turkey that didn't escape the bullet! My sister and I went down to the church early this afternoon to decorate the tables, bake the potatoes, and set up the place for the party. We had ribeye steaks and all the necessary fixings. The fellowship was great as usual. After the meal, we played the gift game (I don't know what it's called but everyone brings a gift, we draw numbers and select a gift accordingly. Others can steal your gift if they prefer to do that instead of taking another unopened gift). My gift was 2 Hallmark Santa mugs, stacked to make a complete Santa; very cute. Some had their gifts taken from them, many just for fun when they thought that person would not like to relinquish theirs. It was a lot of fun no matter what. Now, we will have our Baptist Women's Christmas meeting with heavy snacks on Monday. The husbands are invited to attend with us on this occasion.

Aren't Children Fun!

I am having a time, a fun/funny time! I have been trying to get the presents wrapped to send to my son's family in California for weeks but different things have really slowed me down on that. Well, last night I was determined to wrap those gifts if it took me all night to do so (and it almost did!). My youngest daughter called at 6:00 and asked me what I was doing and I told her that I was wrapping presents. She then asked how many I had wrapped. When I said, "One", she cracked up! At this rate, she said I would never finish. I tell you, finding the right size boxes is the worst part. My children don't like bags because they want to unwrap everything separate, even if it is only a pair of socks, a wash cloth, or any other little item. It takes a lot of paper and tape but more time than anything else. Once I get started though, I enjoy the wrapping. I am one of the very organized wrappers who numbers each person's gift so that they will open the one big/important one last, not the socks. The children laugh at that but if I don't do that, they want to know why not; therefore, I keep on treating them like little children who don't know any better. And they really don't because they tell me they still believe. When they were small, I told them once they stopped believing (just as my dad told me), things would stop; well, they don't want to grow up! Aren't children fun, at any age!!

Need More Greens

I don't know about you but I'm having fun trying to get all my Christmas presents for everyone. There's only one problem: the green is about to run out. I have come to realize that everything is much more expensive this year. I had heard people say that but actually didn't think much about it until I started my own shopping. I need to find a way to cut back this year. The only thing I know to do is cut back on the number of gifts. I have threatened that over the years but this year I am afraid the threat will be a reality. I love to give everyone everything they want but that is just impossible this year.

I have been surprised that my little four-year-old grandchildren haven't really told me anything they want. Livvy did say that she wanted the dolls that she saw advertised on TV. She really isn't into dolls very much so I was surprised to hear her say that. Knowing her, she will be pleased with all of her gifts I'm sure, as will Clay. They are not the type to fuss over their gifts and show displeasure. Clay even likes to get shoes (I always give them new shoes on occasion and Clay always makes a big deal out of his). Just the other day when I went to pick him up at Pre-K, he was showing his new tennis shoes to one of his little friends in the class. The shoes have a little Jolly Roger on the back. (I think he's kin to his Uncle Tommy who also likes pirate things).

Back to shopping, my sisters and I are making another quick trip tomorrow to check out the new Wally World. We are also meeting our friend with whom we grew up (she's the same as a sister to us). We are looking forward to this outing.

Glad and Sad Within Seconds

This weekend has been filled with different chores for me. Our high school held its big reunion back in June and some of our graduates made a huge display of downtown. Everyone was so proud of it that once again it was set up (on 14 very long tables) and offered the public an opportunity to view it. Actually, to really study everything, one would spend at least 2 hours. I for one am very impressed with the many details included. I volunteered to man the exhibit yesterday for a few hours, during which time we had about 14 people to visit. I was disappointed in the small number. It will be available again tomorrow and next weekend as well. Unfortunately, the only place available to display it (that was large enough) was in the old mill. Now, that turned out to be a treat for me because I had never been inside the old mill. Many of my relatives had worked there before they passed on and before its closing. Someone has purchased the huge building and plans to renovate it. I am anxious to see that finished product though I don't know what he has in mind for it. Another mill located about an hour away has been remodeled and made into some very interesting apartments located on the fast-moving river. I think that would be a most exciting place to live. It is very impressive.

I spent very little time today getting ready for Christmas. I became very excited over a phone call I received but was let down very quickly. We had been trying to get an exchange week for a condo in beautiful Charleston. I received a call saying we were in luck, that a week had come open for us. Guess when! That's right, the weekend immediately before Christmas, when some of our children will be coming in for our celebration. It was so difficult to say no but between the two, of course I prefer my family any day! Perhaps something else will turn up soon.