Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas



Merry Christmas to all of you.

Yes the presents are wrapped, the food purchased, the cookies baked.
Most of all our daughter is here for 11 days, and our son and his girlfriend are nearby.
We've had three family/friend dinners here in the past week, and my extended family got together last evening at my sister's home.
So today and tomorrow, including the wonderful musical Christmas eve. service we are attending tonight, are more relaxing and fun days.
Less entertaining, and more hanging out, playing games, unwrapping gifts.

I have pictures ready to go of our fall project, before and afters of our wonderful finished covered porch, ready for sunset watching as soon as the weather warms up.

A Merry Christmas to all of you my internet friends and here is to a Happy New Year in case I don't get a chance to check in before then.

Talk to you soon.......

Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas will be here very soon



Christmas in Hong Kong several years ago. Please forgive me that I have no current picture as my camera is not working.





Somehow in all the mayhem and disorientation of how our life is taking shape, the week just flies by and I forget to post.
I do read blogs and try to comment, but in the daily minutia of life, I somehow go through the motions of homekeeping and lifekeeping. I look at the date and I can't believe how time is passing by.
But finally this weekend, prompted by our son wanting his ornaments I've kept for him the last 25 years, and wanting to borrow Christmas lights, I did go into the attic.
I retrieved the boxes and tried to sort through things. And slowly, much slower than I usually work, the simple decorations I've settled on have come together.
The tree is up, lights on it and decorated.
The candles are placed around the house, and a wreath is on the front door.
I made out my menus, and grocery lists for shopping.
I made out my to do lists for each day now through the 26th.
I also did some Christmas shopping, although it is very scaled back this year.
And what I purchased, I wrapped today.
I did not turn on the TV once, as the news and financial channels are getting to me and instead listened to NPR and a classical station.
So with the scents of the season burning, and the music playing, I started to realize that no matter if my heart isn't feeling this, I will plough through.

We have numerous family dinners, extended family Christmas events, as well as several other groups coming here for dinner.
So now that I have made my lists, I am feeling less frazzled.
Still hard to focus, and hard to feel jubilant, however, the show will go on, won't it.
like it or not.

We are putting off serious job hunting til after the first of Jan., as a few feeble attempts have turned up nothing, and that is due of course to the economic climate and Christmas and New Years events.

Monday, December 1, 2008

The stockings are hung...


I've been going through last year's Christmas pictures and found this one of the stockings hung on the mantle.
I thought maybe if I'd look through the pictures it would get me in the mood to actually get out the Christmas decorations and go through them and try to get myself ready for Christmas.
First I knew there was Thanksgiving and I don't do anything Christmas before Thanksgiving.
But try as I might this weekend, I have not been able to think about celebrating, let alone decorating.
I've tried many times in the past week to post something different, or exciting.
At least something on the theme of cooking, or domestic or "Christmasy."

I tried again to load my porch pictures on the computer, and this time my camera tells me the card is locked. Locked... what is this? It has never happened before.
So the porch, which was to have been done two weeks ago, is still not finished.
I've talked to the contractor and explained our situation and said we need this project finished.
We will see if this week he can finish it. I will show before and afters sometime.

For now I'm trying with all my might to get in the Christmas frame of mind, if not in the Christmas spirit.
I notice on a lot of blogs Christmas decorating and shopping and cooking inspiration is in full force.
For now, I am taking each day as I can, albeit not as we'd anticipated this holiday season to be.
Our daughter is coming for 10 days over Christmas, so I know that shortly I will kick myself and get started.