Happy New Year!

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

My wish for you this year is that - no matter what terrible things happened before - that you look at 2013 as nothing but possibility.

Christmastime Pictures

This is a set of ceramic ornaments that our great-nieces and nephew in Tucson sent made and sent to us last year.   They are too heavy for the tree, or to hang on the windows as suncatchers, so this year it occurred to me to make a garland to hang on the wall - I love the way it turned out!  (Every once ins a while, I actually have a good idea ....)

Does anyone remember the Advent Calendar I was knitting?  I finished it last December, but we didn't hang it until this year.  This is the best picture I could get of it.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  Technically, each hat and mitten should have a number, 1-24, but I like it this way.

Christmas preparations wore out Pip ...

but he did want to be sure that you saw our tree.

Milo was annoyed that Rudolph was allowed to sit on the table 24/7, 

and he was not!

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Christmas Day itself was quite exciting.

Jetsam was ready from the get-go!

Dug was pleased with his gifts ...

maybe a little too much?

Milo and Pip had fun opening their gifts ... 

and Pip made sure that nothing was missed!

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We are still enjoying our Christmastime, and I hope that you are too!

Christmas Eve

Christmas is love with all the trimmings

 -- Anonymous

From our house to yours

Merry Christmas!

Pip Speaks! Holiday Tip #3 - Wrapping Presents

Hello, everyone - it's me - Pip - again.  I wanted to talk about wrapping presents today.  I don't know about you, but I LOVE to get presents!  Even before they are ever opened, I like to attack the paper, chew on the paper, or try to eat the bow!  My ma says this is not a good thing, and also not good for me, but I really don't understand how that could be the case.  It's just so FUN!

Anyway, I think that it's important to remember that a wrapped present is just something that adds to the mystery of what might be inside.  I don't understand why everyone thinks that presents need to be wrapped like they are more important than what is inside.  My ma likes to wrap presents, but she makes them look nice, and (as far as I know) doesn't try to impress anyone with making them "artistic."   But she said that she knows some people who cause themselves a lot of stress by trying to make every single package an amazing work of art.  I think that is silly.

At our house, we love to help with wrapping presents!  Lots of the time, we help by trying out the gift boxes, and trimming the wrapping paper.  It's also fun to attack the wrapping paper and/or the ribbons.  Lots of people say that if they had pets they would not let them in the same room while they were wrapping presents. I think that is just silly.  For instance, here are some pictures that my ma took last year when we were helping.

 Jetsam takes a look to see what help is needed

I hold down some wrapping paper so it doesn't wrinkle

 Jetsam makes sure everything is wrapped

Dug was helping, but then he got tired (he was just a visitor last Christmas!)

This year, Dug is our brother, and of course we have Milo and he likes to help too!  My ma gets mad at us, but then she'll say, "You know what?  You guys are all good - why get mad when you are just excited about Christmas too?"

I like it when she says that.  :-)

So if you still need to wrap any presents, remember that it's supposed to be fun too.  But it doesn't have to be so perfect that it belongs in an art museum.  Because, after all, it's for Christmas - which should only be fun.

That's all for now - have a fun weekend!

The Santa Question

Like most little kids, I was a firm believer in Santa Claus as a child.  Though I had my own take on it - for instance, I never for a minute thought those guys in department stores or Christmas parties were Santa, because a) they didn't look like him, and b) he didn't travel around until Christmas Eve.  Duh!  I also never wanted my picture with Santa, because, well - see above.

Once I started school, some kids believed in Santa and some didn't.  But after first grade, believing in Santa became something you kept to yourself if you didn't want to be teased.  In third grade, I was in what was called a "split class" - third and fourth graders in one classroom.  And I remember that some boy stated one day that Santa did not exist and anyone who thought so was a baby and stupid.  At which time Joanne Manfredi (a fourth grader) stood up and said that she believed in Santa, because he was "the spirit of Christmas."  Well, that stupid boy (because in third grade, all boys were of course, stupid) wasn't sure what to say, and besides Sister said something to the effect that we weren't going to discuss something like that, and that was the last word on that topic.

I guess at some point I realized that my parents bought most of the gifts I'd get for Christmas.  My parents certainly never said Santa didn't exist.  Ever.  I'm sure my sisters, who were older, told me plenty of times, if for no other reason to torture me!  However, this news did not in any way traumatize me, upset me, anger me, or any of the other things that others say happened when they found out that Santa wasn't real.  And even as a little kid, I was still very cynical (especially for someone my age).  As far as I was concerned, even if he didn't bring all of the presents, that did not mean he didn't really exist.  Having said that, because I was already considered a weirdo by other kids, I generally kept my mouth shut on the whole Santa issue.

Fast forward fifty-odd years, and I'm at a party with other people who begin to discuss the topic of Santa Claus.  The usual stories of heartbreak and/or anger when it was discovered that Santa was real, people had been lied to by their parents, etc. - I'm sure you've all been there.  Then everyone starts to talk about how wrong it is to tell children lies like that, blah, blah, blah.

I mentioned that I still believed in Santa Claus, but was pretty much blown off and ignored.  Which is fine (and not a new experience to me).  But the whole thing really bothered me, and I've finally figured out why.

Because I really *do* still believe in Santa Claus.  He does come to our house on Christmas Eve, and on occasion leaves a present.  But Santa is there.  He is around even if you can't see him or prove his existence.  He makes Christmas fun, and he is awesome.  If he doesn't bring you what was on your Christmas wish list, that doesn't mean he isn't real, either; at least in our house, you never got a lot of the specific things you requested (probably due to price), but there were always surprises, and you always got something.

I love Christmastime.  The songs, the gifts, Santa, reindeer, elves, ribbons, cookies, decorations - all of it.  It reminds me every year that no matter what else has happened, it's here and it's a special time.  And every year, my belief in Santa Claus gets stronger and stronger.

I am fully aware that Christmastime celebrates the birth of Jesus.  I do not believe it should be about nothing but RECEIVING, or comparing how much was spent on your gifts, or even having the best Christmas party.

But even during the saddest or hardest years of my life, Santa has been there at Christmas, reminding me that it's not all about me, or things, or money.  Reminding me that it's a time to reflect, but also enjoy.  And that whether or not I've remembered to be nice to people in the course of the year, that I have another fresh start given to me.

And that is why I still believe in Santa Claus.