And A Good Time Was Had By All

How and why is tomorrow the twelfth day of Christmas? Why does it have to go so quickly? Yes, I ask myself this every year, but I never have a good answer, because the answer that time goes on is just unsatisfactory in this case. 

But we've had a good time this Christmastime.

As expected, Santa came and brought the kitties a lot of good stuff!

Milo in particular was *very* excited.

It was hard to convince him to wait for the others.

One of the packages had catnip toys with silverine in them, which apparently made them even more irresistable than if they had only had catnip. Milo got things started, but Alfie helped out, and so soon the package was nearly unwrapped.

Once everything was opened, it was time to chill for a while. 

Alfie was particularly interested in one of the packages I opened that had a LOT of ribbon on it!

Esme split her time between watching us open things and looking at the squirrel on the chair right outside the window into the garden (if you look over her right shoulder, you can see the squirrel's butt).

Christmas Day was lovely, and all of us had a good time. We just enjoyed being together, and had treats, listened to music, and then later in the day headed upstairs to watch a couple of holiday shows we had recorded.

We have been enjoying the season so much, just being able to be together, but also having nothing really demanding to fill our time. We had a very quiet New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and if you ignore certain activities of certain people who think they are going to rule the world, you could say it was all perfect.

Two more wonderful things: on both Tuesdays before Christmas and before New Year's, there was only one kitty left to be adopted where I volunteer. They were each especially sweet, and I was sincerely hoping that they wouldnt have to spend Christmas Day and New Year's Day alone. Well, they each got adopted - one on Christmas Eve by a woman who stopped by when I was there on Tuesday and was in love with the one kitty left - and one on New Year's Eve - adopted by another volunteer, who had a cat who had died over the summer, and didn't want her other cat to keep being lonely. I have to tell you, those two adoptions just made my holiday season! And it also seemed like a wonderful way to end the year. 

I sincerely hope that your holiday season contained even just a few moments of joy and happiness. The world is on fire, so it's more important than ever to find good things wherever and whenever we can.

Current Situation

Hello all, I hope you are doing well, and if you are in the throes of cold weather, that you are managing to keep warm! When I went to my volunteer gig yesterday, one of the employees of the Petsmart who unlocked the door for me said, "You don't look like you are very cold at all." And I pointed out that I was very bundled up. He said, "Yeah, I don't like to do that." I didn't pursue it, but I do hope he at least realizes that is the reason he was cold ...

Anyhoo, I have already sent two packages of gifts on their way, and will have the last, larger box (for more people) on the way by tomorrow. It is apparently within my abilities to remember to buy birthday gifts for my nieces who all have December birthdays, and wrap them in other-than-Christmas-paper, but not within my abilities to remember to get cards to accompany the gifts. So today I will venture out to buy the cards, and then come home and finish the rest of the wrapping for things being mailed. 

Apropos of that, I saw this yesterday and thought it was worth sharing. Especially since it is 100% accurate and worth heeding.

Furniture Update: all of the new furniture we purchased has now been delivered and already enthusiastically used. Chair-palooza is forutnately winding down. The spare chair was moved to our bedroom by the two of us on this past Sunday, and we were both pleasantly surprised to note that it looked nicer there than we had even thought it would.

One of the giveaway chairs was claimed on Monday evening, and the woman collecting it seemed quite pleased with it. I have a taker for the other chair, who originally said that she would pick it up today. Which would have been so great. But then she messaged me and said would I mind if they waited until Saturday? Turns out they are moving into a new apartment on this coming Friday, and rather than move one extra thing, they determined it would make more sense to just pick it up after the fact. Which I completely agree with and understand.

Please note that, as I suspected, The Tim still brought up the boxes of decorations over the weekend, and yes, as predicted, it did cause me more anxiety. 

Me: Why did you bring those up when there is already so much stuff here?

Him: We have to bring them up anyway.

🙄

I forgot to tell you another part of Chair-palooza. In order to get the new couch, we needed to get the old chairs out of the way. So we carefully took them apart, and them took them downstairs in pieces (the doorway to the third floor is even skinnier than most of the other doorways in the house). For part of a day, they were also in the living room. I went online to the Sanitation Dept site to arrange for Bulk Pickup so we could be rid of them (they were in no condition to be usable by anyone else, and the place we bought new furniture doesn't have takeaway-the-old-stuff service). The earliest time it could be scheduled was December 23, so I went ahead and took that appointment. We figured in the meantime, we would just put all of the pieces out in the garden so they'd be out of the way, and then easily moveable out front when the time came. Except they didn't fit through the garden door, because of course (repeat along with me) it's not a standard size. 

So now we have 4 pieces of decrepit furniture sitting in the outdoor entryway to our house. I told The Tim all we needed was a stripped down car on cinder blocks to complete the tabelau. He said "tableau" was too fancy a word for it.😂

Finally, another exchange I thought you might enjoy. Background: We have quite a few holiday-themed dishes, glasses, mugs, etc. The Tim unpacks them every year and puts them away, which is fine with me because I have plenty of other things that are my resposibility. So on Monday evening, he started unpacking those, while I was upstairs working on something else. During dinner, he said he had left some things on the table for me to put away, because he wasn't sure where they belonged. I figured I knew the things he meant, and didn't give it another thought.

When I went to leave for my volunteer shift yesterday, I saw that a lot of the things he'd unpacked were on the table. I figured, no big deal, he'd worked all day and ran out of steam, I'd put things away when I got home. Then when I got home, I noticed that a few things looked like they were unpacked but not very clean. So I texted to ask him if things were washed or not. The response: "I'm leaving that up to you." 

So last night, I told him I'd washed things on the table and put them away, and said I thought he'd given me a weird answer to my text. And he said, "Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted to wash them now, or when you went to use them." 

Never, ever, ever, in the history of myself have I unpacked items to be used for food and beverages and put them away, thinking I'd wash them when I went to use them. I just decided to file the whole experience away and blame it on phases of the moon or something.

But seriously, WTF???

Again, just to reassure you, we are both still alive. Puzzled, but alive.

Oh Ye Of Little Faith

I was busy yesterday, putting away the Thanksgiving and fall decorations. And not to toot my own horn (spoiler alert: stay tuned for toot), but I had decided that instead of storing them in cardboard boxes in the basement, where they can get smelly and weird, I was going to invest in some plastic bins. Of course, I didn't measure or anything, since it was theoretical. That is, until I found myself someplace where they had said type of plastic bins on sale. So in keeping with living life dangerously, I just eyeballed it and bought two. 

They were a perfect fit. Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Then ... and ONLY then did I start even *thinking* about the Christmas stuff. And when I was reading everyone's blogs yesterday, Kim and Kim (but not Kym, just to be clear), mentioned that they were waiting for me to alert everyone to the start of the holiday season by showing a photo of a certain item that always welcomes the season. 

Oh ye of little faith - were you thinking I'd forgotten, or lost track of the item? Not at all! Rather, I wanted to clean up all of the Thanksgiving and fall stuff, before even pulling it out of the acid-free folder where it lives.

Here we go - this year, including a shot of how the famous cardboard wreath looks on (most of) the door - since usually you just get the close up of the wreath itself.

TA DA!!!!

 

When The Tim came home from work yesterday, he said, "I still can't believe that we have that! Some of the best 69 cents we ever spent!"

Indeed. ❤

*****

Thank you for the nice comments about our new chairs. Since we are also getting some more things this week, we have to hustle to move some furniture, get rid of some, etc., much sooner than we expected! 

So currently in our living room, there are: the new chairs, the little couch, the spare chair, another chair that matches the spare chair that is waiting to go up to our bedroom, and the two chairs formerly in our bedroom that are waiting to be picked up by people from the neighborhood Buy Nothing group on Facebook. As Tim pointed out, it looks like we are hosting a chair convention, LOL! But the giveaway chairs are being picked up tomorrow and Thursday, and we can actually take the spare chair to the bedroom any time, we just haven't gotten to it. But it will all happen by the end of the week because The Tim wants to go out and find a Christmas tree no later than the end of this coming weekend. And there's no way we could fit a Christmas tree - even one tied up - into the living room with the current chair-a-palooza situation!

*****

I don't have my volunteer gig this morning because all of the cats and kittens that were there have been adopted! Which is wonderful news, but I do miss having the chance to go and cuddle and play with all different kinds of kitties. But next week it will happen, I'm sure.

So today I'm gonna work on some things around the house, as well as do some knitting. I had planned to go out for some things today, but it is rainy and raw outside, so that is put off for now. I figure I'll use my time that I'm usually not here to knit, and then do some of the other stuff this afternoon. I'm one sleeve away from being finished with my cardigan! And a couple of weeks ago, I realized that the pair of Social Security Number slipper-type socks I'd knitter for The Tim years ago were full of holes (rather large ones at that!), so I'm knitting him a new pair for Christmas. I already have one completed, so I'm sure to have them to wrap up.

And then later tonight, we will drink a toast to my mom, whose birthday is today. Last night, I said to The Tim, "Wow, if my mom was still around, she would turn 107!" and he responded, "And she'd still have me looking for her cane." We had a good laugh about that, because near the end of her life when she used a cane, she was always "losing" it, and would tell him to find it for her, and 9 times out of 10 it was ... right to the side of wherever she was sitting. So he'd say, "Geraldine, once again, your cane is right here," and then they would have a huge laugh about it. Whereas, if I said something like that, she would have likely responded, "Well, you don't have to be such a smartass about it." 😂

And there you go. That's it for today. I hope yours goes well, and that you don't lose track of anything that is right beside you ... 

Festive Friday Photo

Yesterday morning first thing I walked up to the Trader Joe's near us for some specific things related to their Christmas product lines. It was a clear, sunny, cold day and so a pleasant trip back and forth. On my way home, when I got to the corner of the block before ours, I noticed these Christmas ornaments in the trees in front of one of the houses on the street. I know a lot of the photo is in shadow, but you can see them well enough to get the idea. I don't know if they recently put them up or if they have been there, and I've missed them, but I really like the whole idea. So festive, and I have to think that they make everyone smile when they see them.

Today's plans include baking, wrapping, and checking to make sure that I have everything I wanted to have for both The Tim and the kitties. If not, I still have a few days to get them. I know that I need to get some special food for the cats to have their "Christmas dinner" but that's pretty much a no-brainer and really easy to do. I feel pretty well set otherwise. Though I have to admit that I love to go out and walk around during these last few days leading up to Christmas Day, looking at decorations and enjoying the energy, so I'd be venturing out of the house regardless.

Do you have any weekend plans? We just have a few things to finish up around the house, and The Tim will probably wrap some of the gifts he has, since he'll be at work on both Monday and Tuesday for the regular hours. Sunday is supposed to be super cold, so that's gonna be a good day to be cozy inside with Christmastime things and feelings.

Whatever you are up to, I hope you can stay warm and enjoy your weekend. Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice for those of us in the northern hemisphere, so we'll see what this winter has in store for us. I am quite possibly the only person who hopes it will not be a wimpy winter - I'm sick of those! 

Take care, and I'll see you again soon.

Slightly Thrown Off But No Problem

Hello and yes I'm still here! No big issues, but you know how sometimes you get slightly off track and it's no big deal, but suddenly you are completely off track? Well that was me the past couple of days. Sadly, it was just a change in my routine and because I am such a creature of habit (and old), it just started a series of small dumb things that threw me for a bit of a loop. But now I'm back on track. At least for today. Or even for the next few hours ... 

If you follow me on Instagram, you already saw this photo, but I'm sharing it here anyway. On my way to my volunteer gig yesterday, I saw this house and I had to stop and take a picture!

Now I can truly appreciate the beauty of subtle and elegant Christmas decorations, I can. They really do look lovely and so quietly celebratory. But I have to admit that decorations that scream WE ARE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS make my heart happy! As I said on Instagram, my inner Clark Griswold rejoiced when I saw this.

My biggest worry is that I sure hope they have that inflatable anchored well on to the roof, because one strong wind, and that sucker could end up in New Jersey ... 

Anyway, over the weekend we finished our tree and decorations. So now I want to clean up everything so we look nice and shiny going forward to Christmas Day. I had planned to do part of it - a *really* small part - yesterday afternoon. I mean it's the easiest part of my cleaning routine, and takes less than half an hour. But due to the fact that I had an appt in the afternoon, I was completely thrown off from my usual routine (see: creature of habit, old), and could not face the effort of extra energy. So that will be the first thing I get out of the way today, and then the rest will follow. I will be thrilled once it is finished, and that is my motivation to do it all TODAY.

On Sunday afternoon, we were finishing up decorating the tree, and between the fact that it was noisy with opening boxes and things, and the fact that The Tim was also doing it and he is so LOUD, Esme escaped upstairs because it was all too much for her. She decided to hang out with other Christmas characters in the guest room.

I guess sometimes you just need some friends who know how to keep quiet. 💞

Winter Solstice 2023

Happy Winter Solstice!

One of my most favorite days. I know for some people it's their favorite day because it means the days will get longer, but for me it's the fact that it's the shortest amount of daylight all year. You know me - I love the darkness and the cold weather!

I don't mind telling you that I have been having a bit of a hard time lately. Mostly because of my own brain, to be honest (oh my brain - my best friend and worst enemy all at once!). Grumpy people are getting to me, and I usually don't let that happen, but there seem to be more people this year, and they seem to be grumpier. I am good at managing to keep the world and its problems in their own place, but it's really hard to tune out those surrounding you. 

BUT - today, on the Winter Solstice, I am going to pretend that all of those people do not exist. I'm meeting my friend Louise for lunch. I'm going to wrap a couple of gifts. I'm going to get ingredients to do some baking tomorrow. I'm going to set out the last of the Christmas things to go on the tree tonight. I'm going to take my time and enjoy the day with the kitties. Tonight, we'll have a good evening with The Tim, finishing the tree decorations, lighting some candles, and toasting the solstice!

Tomorrow - I'm going to dust around and clean things up so it looks as nice as it's likely to ever look around here. 😊 I'm going to clean up my nails and give myself a manicure. I'm going to wrap more gifts, and do the baking mentioned above. And of course, more cuddling with the kitties. Another nice evening with The Tim and the kit kats, and we are ready for the weekend!

And the whole time I'm at home doing things, guess what? Christmas music! 

I remember as a kid, whenever I would be in a bad mood/feeling grumpy, my mom would always say, "Well, that's fine, but let everyone else enjoy themselves even if you aren't. You have no business ruining someone else's day." 

So as of right now, I'm done with the grumps. And I've decided that since I don't absolutely *have* to be around grumpy people (I'm off work and so it's easier to avoid dealing with other humans in general), I'm going to make myself feel better. And I hope to use this as a lesson for next year and/or whenever I need it, to make a way to find my own happy and fun. Whenever I can remember to take myself and make it MY world instead of everyone else's, I do much better. 

So my wish for you this Winter Solstice is that you can do the same. Enjoy some light in the darkness, and make your own world the way you want it to be. It works.

Christmastime Friday Funny

This is one I've seen before, and may have even shared before, but it's a favorite. ❤ 

Today is going to be busy with a few things to pick up this a.m., and then I plan to wrap some gifts to send this afternoon. I like wrapping gifts - I get myself situated with the things I need, put on some holiday music or some Vlogmas podcasts, make myself a nice cup of tea, and I'm off!

This weekend our only specific plan is to decorate our tree. I have already put out 99% of the rest of our decorations (some are in boxes with ornaments), so that's all that's left. I'm guessing that The Tim may do some baking on Sunday while I'm at work, and I'm hoping to start my baking next week. Although I have it in my head for today or tomorrow to make some gingerbread muffins, so I may get a head start on that, we'll see. 

What about you? Anything exciting happening at your house? Whatever is or is not happening, I hope your weekend is a good one!

So Here's the Plan

It's that time of year when my regular to-do lists have a lot of extras added to them for the holidays. The good news today is that I've already accomplished a few things: I knitted for 30 minutes on a Christmas gift for The Tim, went to a dr appt, returned something I'd bought for his birthday that was the wrong size, exchanged something else for the right size, and picked up a package from the Amazon locker. I am one of those people who are just extremely happy when I can develop a route from one place to another that allows me to do multiple things.

I just finished my lunch, which was delicious. The little market near our house has "Sushi Wednesdays" when their prepared sushi is $5.00, so I stopped there after the Amazon locker because it is almost next door. It was pretty tasty, and now I'm giving myself a little break. Then I'm planning to spend an hour unpacking some Christmas decorations, which I'm sure I will have a lot of assistance doing. We got a tree this past Saturday, and right now it's still bare, but I want to try and get the rest of the non-tree decorating finished before the weekend so we can concentrate on that then. Needless to say, the tree in the stand has provided a lot of hilarity for the cats, what with ambushing, attacking, and batting the branches. Though Esme is still SHOCKED that such a thing would come into the house! 

Then I am going to make some potato-cheese soup to have for dinner with some fresh bread that The Tim baked yesterday. I love soup anytime, but on a cold day, it seems like an especially cozy meal. 

Tomorrow I'm meeting a couple of friends and former yarn store workers for a festive lunch. We wanted to get together before things got really crazy, since they both travel/have lots of guests during the holiday season. I'm looking forward to it since we haven't been able to get together since sometime in the summer. They are both a lot of fun, and always have stories that are fun to hear.

So that's what's happening around here, along with the usual things like cleaning up, doing laundry, etc. The nice thing is that since we don't have guests coming to stay or anything like that, I don't have to get things done right now at this minute, so it's all more doable and enjoyable for me.

I hope your week is going well, and that if you are busy with holiday preparations, you are able to enjoy yourself. Time for me to get moving! 😊

Happy December!

 

As the kids say, IFYKYK. 😊

A Lovely Christmas Day

Hello to all of you! I hope everyone who celebrated Christmas Day had a good one. Ours was lovely, and since we had no reason to go outside into the bitter cold, we just hunkered down and stayed cozy in the house.

I wanted to show you this decoration of ours. About ten years ago, my niece Liz and her husband Greg sent this to us for a Christmas gift. In theory, it's supposed to have a light inside and light up when the tree is turned on, but we've never gotten around to that. But we really love it, and every year, it is lovingly placed under the tree for all of our celebrations.

The kitties had a wonderful day, with their gifts and the boxes, wrapping, and ribbons from everyone's gifts. They got treats as well, and by late afternoon they were all passed out asleep. I'll share some of those pictures later, but suffice it to say that Santa treated them well, and clearly had them on the list of those who had been good all year.

The Tim and I are both back at work this week, which on the plus side is good because it means we have income, but on the minus side, I just think everyone should be able to have the week between Christmas and New Year's to enjoy. Sadly, I do not run the world. I mean, could we at least have been given Monday? Nope, not in this universe. We obviously both survived, but both reported a long boring day. 

Tomorrow morning I have an appt for a bone scan, bright and early. I'm hoping it goes as usual, so I can have plenty of time after to get to work. Usually it's not something that takes long, either wait time or for the actual appt, but you never know when will be the exception. At least tomorrow is my last day of work for the week, so my time is all my own after that. I'm looking forward to it.

I actually did a Christmas Eve cast-on this year. Late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, The Tim took a nap, so I decided to cast on a sock. I pulled out the Advent skein I bought from the Freckled Whimsy, and got started. I never have time to do a stripe-a-day during December leading to Christmas, because I'm busy with other stuff. But at least I have gotten these started while it's still Christmastime. 😊 Right now, I have the cuff and two stripes, but when I make a little bit more progress, I'll share a picture with all of you.

And that's the news from here. I hope you are enjoying a good week, regardless of any celebrations you may or may not observe. Take care, and I'll check in again soon.

Question: Is It "Popular Demand" When Only One Person Asks?

Answer: If you are me, the answer is Yes.

If you have read this blog for more than a minute, you likely have seen this photo every single year, one way or another:

This is the cardboard wreath that we bought the first year we were married, and which is always the first decoration for Christmas (taped to the door every December 1st) that gets pulled out and displayed. And every year I take a photo of it. So I have many photos of this cardboard wreath, on several different doors, depending on where we were living at the time.

This year, I thought, Well, everyone has seen it, probably ad nauseum, so although I took the photo, I didn't post it. But then in the comments from yesterday's post, Kim actually mentioned that she *needed* to see the wreath in order to really enjoy Christmas (OK, those weren't the exact words, but it was the meaning ... at least to me). 

So to Kim and any others who were missing this vital part of Christmastime, I hope this arrives in time for you to now enjoy the season. 😊

And for those who don't care, or are thinking "Ugh. AGAIN??" - maybe this will make you smile.

Busy At Work, Busy At Home

Well, as we get closer to both Hanukkah and Christmas, things at the yarn shop are really heating up - for instance, yesterday was Monday, which is generally a quiet day with maybe 10-12 customers throughout the day. Instead, the only chance I had to sit and think for even a minute was while I ate my lunch! It was crazy, and really has been since the week before Thanksgiving. But I would say the "fever pitch" level has arrived - you know the Oh-my-I-forgot-to-start-knitting-my-45-gifts, or the I-know-they-like-to-knit/crochet-so-I'll-buy-them-yarn people. I'm not complaining as it makes the days at work fly by, and it's keeping me employed, but it is getting pretty crazy.

Then of course there is all the stuff to do at home, which is going much more slowly than usual, since my evenings are both short (I don't get home until after 6pm, and by the time we eat dinner, clean up, etc., it's already about 8pm), and I'm usually too beat to do anything. So it's a slower process this year, which is fine, but in some ways a bit disappointing. But I know I'll get a lot done on my days off, so no worries that we'll all be ready. 😊

This past Saturday, I pulled out some of the Christmas decorations, and Alfie had his first encounter with the music box that has Santa and the reindeer going around as the music plays:

As you can see, he was *very* interested. But about two seconds later, a bird landed on the windowsill, so the whole music box experience was history ...

Also on Saturday was the Army-Navy football game here in Philadelphia. So we went out onto the deck to see the Navy planes flyover when the game started. (Which was of course very cool!) But we also saw this, which we found highly amusing:

Last spring, we had the trees in our garden pruned, and they cut off the top of a very tall, very large holly tree. Well, Saturday was a cool but very sunny day, and this squirrel apparently decided that the top of the cut off tree was a good spot for sunbathing! The Tim pointed out that most people have an angel on top of their tree this time of year, it figures we would have a squirrel ... 😄

Over the weekend, I mailed out the Christmas cards I'd prepared, which pleased me since last year I never got around to it. But something happened for the first time ever this year - I ended up not having enough cards to send! There were about 10 people left on my card list, but I was out of cards, which has never happened to us before. And stores nearby were pretty wiped out of any selection. So apologies to those who might usually get a card - I'll definitely scope things out after the holidays and prepare for next year.  

And that's all the news from us. I hope all of you are having a good Christmastime and holiday season, and any squirrels in your trees are also outside!

Letters to Santa

Dear Santa Claus - Hello, this is Pip.  I hope you are doing well, and that this year has been good to you.  Is the North Pole still in a pandemic?  I hope you will be careful on your trip, because I would hate for you to get sick with Covid-19, and also I would not want you to take it back to the North Pole with you.  But now that I think of it, you've gone through a lot of these things, haven't you, so you know how to stay safe.

My year has been pretty good.  My parents spent LOTS of time at home with us and even though for a few months they've been going back to work, they still spend evenings and weekends with us because they are very careful and don't go out places unless they have to.  We like it that they are home and that they are not sick, and I especially like it for cuddling but also because it gives me a chance to tell them even more than I usually do!  (I do love to talk, Santa - are any of the reindeer that way??)

Anyway, you probably are wondering what I might like for Christmas.  Well, a catnip toy is always a good choice, and it would be nice to get some treats.  We ran out of treats about a month ago (a MONTH AGO!!!), and our Ma keeps saying that we should just wait and see if you bring us some treats before we go and buy some.  I don't agree with that, and I have said so many times, but I don't think she is listening.  

Anyway, last summer my cousin Amanda gave us some Soups, I think they were from Friskies, and I LOVE THOSE.  My parents think they look like ... well, vomit, but they are wrong, they look like yumminess, and they are!  So if you think I have been extra good, one of those would be nice to eat on New Year's Day for dinner.

I guess this is a lot to ask for, and maybe some of these will be wrapped up from my parents, I guess you would know if that is the case.  So I'll leave it in your hands.  Please give my best to everyone at the North Pole, and I promise to be sleeping when you arrive!

Love always, Pip.

********

Dear Santa - Hi Santa!  It's Hamlet!  I love you!  I can't wait for you to come to our house!  I love Christmas!  I love you (I know I just said that but it's true)!!  

I love Christmas presents!  I hope you will bring me something fun, or even a treat!  I love it when I can chase a ball!  And I love it when my parents give me a treat!  My Ma bought me an Advent calendar, and every evening she opens one of the windows and there is a treat in there and it is yummy and it is so fun to see what it is, sometimes it is a gingerbread man, and sometimes it is a snowman, and sometimes it is a decoration, and every time it's a surprise and I eat it because it is so yummy and then I can't wait for the next day to open the next window, and what do you think the chances might be that maybe in these last couple of days one of the treats will look like a SQUIRREL??!!!  

I wish I could stay up to see you when you come to our house!  I would give you all kinds of kisses and cuddles and also I would kiss and cuddle the reindeer too!  I love you, Santa, so I promise to be asleep when you arrive, but please know I'm sending kisses and cuddles to you!

Merry Christmas Santa!  Don't forget about the animals who need some extra love and attention, maybe give them something special too!  I love you!

Love and sloppy kisses, Hamlet.

********

Hello Santa, I see that the others have already written their letters, so of course this is Milo the Koodle.  I have been very good this year (as far as Koodles go), and so I think I truly deserve something special.  Treats are always good.  I see that Pip has already told you about the lack of treats in our house for approximately one month.  I have tried to take legal action but it is difficult to do so when you can't use a telephone and are afraid to leave your house.  Plus, I've asked around and apparently there are no cats who are qualified attorneys, which when you think about it isn't really that surprising because cats have better ways to spend their time.  Anyway, please bring treats.

Also, I promise to try and be nicer to my parents because I know they do love me, but can you blame me sometimes for getting irritated with them (see treats problem, above)??  Maybe you could bring them a handbook on caring for your cat, because I'm thinking it could only help.

I hope you have a safe journey on Christmas Eve.  I will do my best to be asleep when you arrive, though if you could come either before 2 a.m. or after about 3:30 a.m. Philadelphia time, that would be best, because I do need to have my middle-of-the-night running and yowling session, and I'd hate for that to mean you skipped our house.

Thanks, Santa, and a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Lots of love, Milo the Koodle.

********

Note from me:  Dear Santa, Good luck!  😊

********

Have a good day, everyone, and an extra special wish for a happy Christmas Eve Eve to Kym and her sister!

Well ... Some Of Us Got Things Done!

Hello - I have to tell you that for a change, I am in a relatively good mood on this Monday.  It is the week leading up to Christmas Day, and we had a good and productive weekend.  And then when I got to work today, the woman who is the early morning security guard was telling me that her daughter was finally improving.  The daughter had surgery about a month ago - the kind that shrinks the stomach, you know something with "gastro" in it - because she was horribly overweight.  And she was not recovering well at all.  But apparently over the weekend, things started to look up, and she was improved every single day.  That made me so happy, because though I don't know the daughter, our security guard is such a great lady, and I had been feeling so bad on her behalf, because they were trying everything.  Good news like that is especially welcome on a Monday, right??

As I said, we had a good weekend, combining getting some things accomplished and then also just relaxing.  We finished all of our decorating, I finished all of the pre-Christmas Day cleaning, and some more baking was done.  The Tim made some pizzelles, and also some *incredible* cookies that were new to both of us.  I forget where he got the recipe, and the exact name, but they are chocolate chunks, cherries, and ginger and OMG are they amazing!  So rich, one is plenty (and that's saying a lot from me!).  

Of course, all of these activities required snoopervision from Hamlet and from the Koodle, so they took twice as long to accomplish.  Pip however, was apparently feeling quite taxed, and was unable to assist us because he was taking some much-needed rest.

You'll be relieved to hear that he is fine, and was also quite comfortable with this setup.

This week will be a sad one at work for me.  Our archivist's last day of work here is on Wednesday.  She is the one person in my dept that is bearable, and who knits as well.  She got a new job which will begin in January.  Which is great for her, because our terrible boss treats her only slightly better than he treats me.  So our dept of four people will now be only two, as the other person left in mid-November.  And even worse, the one person besides me who is left is the person who is the absolute worst.  Plus, she is the terrible boss' favorite in the world, and the two of them together is just more than anyone should have to bear.  Fortunately, she took this week as vacation, and since I'm taking next week off, I won't have to deal with her until January.  I'm not looking forward to it at all, but at least she isn't around right now.  I'll miss Jennifer, but she found a really wonderful sounding job that will even pay her considerably more, so I do hope for her that it works out.

That's all for the moment.  I hope your week goes well, and that if you are also counting down to Christmas Day, that it is enjoyable for you.

A Friday At Home

Yesterday afternoon, I decided that I was going to take a personal day today, because I just felt so tired and so sluggish.  I have been sleeping as well as I usually do - which isn't that great, but I've never been that good of a sleeper - but I was just feeling like I was dragging myself around the world.  I know that it has a lot to do with the stressful situation at work, which has amped up comsiderably in the past couple of weeks.  So on the spur of the moment I decided, since there was nothing that I specifically needed to be at work to do today.

Last night I just *had* to go to bed much earlier than I usually do, because I was just kind of sitting watching a show with The Tim, and missing most of what was happening, since I was dozing in and out.  

Well, I think my self-diagnosis (such as it is) was correct.  Because after going to bed really early, and then waking up this morning at 8:30 a.m., I feel So Much Better!  And I can't think of the last time I slept so late.  (Yes, 8:30 a.m. is late for me.  I realize that for a lot of people it is too early, but there you are.)

So today I plan to do as much or as little as I feel like doing.  I know that as soon as I go back to work on Monday, things will be extremely stressful again, and I'll start all over again, but that will be then.  In the meantime, I'm going to just go with my own flow.  

The only very specific plan I have for the weekend is getting my hair cut tomorrow, so the rest is just my time to decorate and do some baking (hopefully).  I found a new recipe for some sugar-type cookies that use cream cheese as one of the ingredients, so I want to try those.  I'll be sure to let you know if they are deemed successful.  

The Tim sent this to me yesterday, and I decided to share it with you.  I'm sure we've all heard of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, but did you know there is yet another one that's been discovered??

Here's hoping your weekend is free of bagpipes (unless you like them, in which case, go for it - the bagpipes, not the virus!), and that you can enjoy whatever you like about the holiday season, or even just simply a pleasant weekend.   Take care, and remember - if you are feeling too tired, get some REST!

Christmas Decorations At Work

I am always struck on this day to realize that the Pearl Harbor attack happened during Christmastime.  I mean, I know that war tactics ignore things like that, but ugh, you know?  So, it would have been 80 years ago today that put my parents' marriage into the frame.  My dad joined the Army after the attacks, and was going to be stationed in El Paso, Texas, so my parents wanted to get married ASAP.  The problem was, at that time, you couldn't get married during Advent in the Catholic Church.  Which is why my parents' 80th wedding anniversary will be on December 26. 💗

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my Christmas decorations at work.  It will probably not surprise you to know that I'm the only person in my department who puts up decorations for anything, but I really don't care.  Because I love holidays, and having decorations - even if it's just a cardboard something - make everything better, in my opinion.  So here's a little tour for you.

This is the top of one my file cabinet (not showing the electric teakettle off to the side, which is there all year, and only Christmas-y in that it boils water for holiday tea. 😉)

Here's the top of one set of bookcases:

Here are some holiday cards that I have kept the fronts of to decorate.  All of them are ones that I received at work, either from co-workers over the years, or companies that send cards (we don't get those anymore, so I'm glad I kept the couple of good ones!).

Here's the top of the other bookcase in my office:

And a little set of erasers that were in my Christmas stocking a couple of years ago - as if I would use them as erasers, LOL.  (Some call number label covers are in the background holding them up.)

But I have to say, that out of all of my office decorations, this one is the most special.  The Tim gave this to me years ago, and told me it was for work, so I would always be able to have Rudolph with me.

I just love it SO much.  In my current workspace, it lives to the right of my computer so I can see it all day.  It makes me smile no matter what else is going on - and as you know, there's often A LOT going on in my department!  

So there you go - now you can see that even on the worst days during Christmastime, I have some old friends to remind me that everything will be OK.

CHRISTMASTIME!!!

It all starts today in our house, albeit in a small way.  As you know if you have read this blog for a while, the first decoration that goes up is this cardboard wreath on the door (indoors, obviously).

This wreath is now approximately 43 years old, and though it has some wear and tear, we will likely put it up until it disintegrates.  We bought this wreath for our first apartment door when we lived in married student housing at Notre Dame.  I am guessing we spent about 79 cents on it, as that was the going price for most of the cardboard decorations at G.L. Perry, a "variety" store in South Bend, Indiana that has gone the way of so many little stores in so many towns.  We have a lot of "holiday decor" that originated there for times throughout the year.  😊

Now, you may say to yourself, why would we go out of our way to save this particular item, given all of the times we've moved, and the fact that over the years, we could certainly afford nicer decorations.  Well, I have a tendency - and have had it ever since I was a kid - to take really good care of things that I love, and among our various possessions, I really love Christmas decorations, so this has always been packed away with the same care that everything else has been.  But unlike the rest of the decorations, which live in containers in the basement, this lives in a large, acid-free folder stored upstairs where our stationery-type things live.  So it is easily grab-able on December 1st, and the rule is that Christmastime starts in our house officially when this goes up.

This morning as I took down a cardboard turkey decoration to put this one up, The Tim remarked, "Ah the official Changing of the Holidays."  

Sometimes 79 cents is worth more than you think.

In Which Some Serious Decorating Occurs

Eleven days before Christmas, and we are enjoying ourselves as well as getting things done.  All packages were mailed early last week, and we got our Christmas tree, which currently has the lights on it, but is waiting for the ornaments.  Over the weekend, I did a good clean of the second and third floors, so they would be ready for decorating.  The first floor will get cleaned once all of the boxes go back downstairs which will only happen once every single decoration and ornament has been unpacked and placed.  But since the first floor is the one that takes the longest, I'll only have that one to do and not the whole house waiting for a good clean.  Win-win!

Yesterday I did manage to get all of the non-tree decorations unpacked and not only was that a good feeling, but it meant getting to say hello to old friends I hadn't seen for about a year!  This one always makes me smile:

The Tim's late sister and her husband sent this to us one year, and it has just always amused me.  I don't know about you, but I really enjoy seeing things again every year and remembering who/what/where/when/how they joined our collection.  

I do have to say that as I was unpacking, I couldn't help but think of all of the people who are missing someone this year.  Not because they can't (or shouldn't) travel to see family and friends, but because of the immense loss of life that has happened.  I know that as Christmastime goes along, I feel the loss of my parents more than usual, and I can only imagine how it must feel for those this year, when most of the deaths could have been avoided, or even if not the virus, for people who couldn't visit with loved ones.  It made me cry to think about it, and even angrier that people in charge couldn't be bothered to care.  I am glad we have a vaccine, but there is truly no reason things should still be so bad.  OK, preaching to the choir, so I'll get off my soapbox and move forward.

I also wanted to show you days 7-12 of my yarny Advent calendar:

There's another charm in this group as well, that came with the yellow yarn in the lower right corner - it's a New York charm, in keeping with the "Elf" theme.  These yarns are so pretty and so soft.  I had to laugh, because someone I was following in Instagram who is sharing their Advent calendar from another dyer, said "Wow, this person really seems to love yellows," as the majority of what she has opened is varying shades or combos of yellow.  I looked at mine, and realized that the person I ordered from must be a fan of pink, for the same reasons.  I think every dyer must have certain things they gravitate towards, whether or not they are conscious of it on a regular basis.

*****

Today is a cold and rainy here in Philadelphia, so it's a good day for some baking.  I made sure I had all of the ingredients to make Seven-Layer Cookies, which we both really like.  Of course, there's also the benefit of making the house smell so good, right?  I'm sure we'll do more holiday stuff today and all week, and I - like almost all of my colleagues - are looking forward to our All-Staff meeting on Thursday. There are rumors that we may get some extra days off next week instead of just Christmas, and I really hope that's true.  Because even though people are working remotely anyway, I sincerely doubt much would be accomplished next week!  

That's about as exciting as life is around here.  To be honest, that's fine with me at this point.

Wishes for a good week for all of us!

Back to the Plain Life

Hello all!  I hope you had a good weekend, or at a minimum, not a bad one.  I spent the majority of my time during the days putting away our Christmas decorations.  There are still a few odds and ends, and some Christmas linens to be washed and put away, but basically it's taken care of and packed away safely until later this year.

Which means we are back to our plain life - no more festive trim, lights, etc.  Not that we live a minimalist lifestyle, but you know how it is - you take down the Christmas decorations and everything looks bare until you get used to it again.  :-)

I also finished two books that just had a few chapters left to read, and [finally] finished the first sock of my Rudolph and Clarice yarn:

The pattern I'm using is Vintage Fairy Lights, by Helen Stewart.  I love the way it turned out, and I wish I could get a good photo of the detail right below the cuff, but given my lack of real skill in photography I couldn't get a successful shot.  But you can see close-ups of other projects here.

This will be a HO (half-finished object) for a while.  As it turns out, I really didn't knit much at all during the Christmas break, so although this sock had been moving along before, it still took me until now to finish the first one.  So I've decided to go to another project for the time being, and save these to finish either during Christmas in July, or sometime in November or December later this year, when I'll find it more fun to be working on the second sock.  I  know I will definitely finish them, because a) I really love the pattern and yarn and want to wear them during Christmastime 2020, and b) I do not like to leave socks for any long period of time in a state of not being done.  

What will the next project be?  Well, I have a couple of things in mind, but I need to do some clearing out (mentally and in my craft stuff) before making a final decision.  In the meantime, I can add more squares to my Cozy Squares of Memory blanket, which deserves some love.

And that's it from me today.  Here's hoping this week will move itself along during the work day, and give us nice evenings to do whatever we like.  :-)

Happy Birthday to My Mom and Virtual Advent Tour 2019

Happy December!  Today would be my mother's 101st birthday, and though I wish she could be here to celebrate, I also cannot imagine her being that old!  I do miss her every day, but have so many good memories that I feel her with me.

Because her birthday was December 2, we never ever did any major decorating for Christmas until afterwards - though there were always some things that came out on December 1, because to quote my mother, "It's the first day of Christmastime, we're not going to ignore it altogether!"  Actually, I always liked doing it this way - you had the fun of getting started, but didn't have to have everything done right away.

The Tim and I still do that - well, I do it, I'm 99% sure he doesn't necessarily pay strict attention.  Though when he sees it, he always smiles and says, "Well, here we go!"  ;-)

Anyway, I have usually put away the fall and Thanksgiving decorations by the end of November.  And then, every single year like clockwork, December 1 means the displaying of the cardboard Christmas wreath on the inside of the front door:

(That's the peephole on the door in the middle there, in case you were wondering ...)

This wreath is probably one of the first, if not the very first, Christmas decorations we bought when we first got married.  Until last year, you could see the sticker on the back that said, "15 cents," which is a pretty good deal - then and now!  We put it on our *outside* door then, as we lived in a small apartment building where you came in through a main entrance and then walked up to each door.  It was our first apartment, in married student housing at the University of Notre Dame, where The Tim was in graduate school and I worked in the main library.  We had a really nice one-bedroom apartment with a little patio, and we were determined to decorate for Christmas, in spite of not having much money or much room!

And every year since then, this cardboard wreath is pulled out and put onto the front door on the first day of December - now on the inside, so the weather doesn't destroy it.  As you can see if you look closely, there are some spots where the cardboard has gotten a small fold, or started to separate from the color image a bit.  But that only makes it more valuable.  It's a reminder of our first Christmas together, our first apartment, and that you can have a very festive space for just a little bit of money.  Yes, we have quite a few more elegant or nicer things as part of our Christmas decor, but this is the one that started it all, and still does.  :-)

I think remembering your beginnings is important, not just in life, but whenever you are able to find something that still makes you smile after 40+ years.

This post is also part of sprite's Virtual Advent Tour for 2019 - check it out, and join us if you like - it's really lovely and a nice way to enjoy the season.

Have a good week, everyone!