That's It, Folks!!

 Christmas is gone... for most people. 

For me, alone on Christmas Day, I just pretended it was not a holiday. It was just Thursday!! 

Our Christmas will be celebrated on Jan. 3rd. Shirley says she's sure she will feel up to it. She's getting better every day now.

So, I got up, said 'Merry Christmas' to myself. Fixed me some breakfast then I dragged out my watercolors. I figured painting was a good way to kill some time. 

Well, that's done!

Hmmmm.... it's not even 1 p.m. what shall I do with the rest of my day?

I turned on Netflix and started watching 'It's All Her Fault' and let me tell you... I was hooked. I sat there all afternoon, one segment after the other. You know they always leave a 'hanger' at the end of each one so Yes, I just kept watching and wondering who did it. Story was about a 5 year old boy who was kidnapped. And, just when you think you've got it all figured out, it takes off in another direction.

So, I'm sitting there on the edge of my seat, popping one chocolate truffle into my mouth after another. A friend gifted me those truffles. They are from Trader Joe's and oh, my... well, anyway, they were good company while I watched tv... until they were gone! 

So,  that's how my Christmas went and that was alright. Different,  a challenge maybe but we all need to shake up our mundane routine from time to time and Shirley's flue really did a bunch of shaking around here. 

It's just amazing how content you can be with the more simple things in life as you age. And, as old as I am.... I am pretty content. hehe. 

Christmas Eve

 On a good note:

Daughter Shirley is home from the hospital but is still very sick. She is the only child I have living near me and now that she is quarantined and doesn't feel up to visitors or should she be having any, this is the first Christmas I will ever spend alone in my entire life. Why don't you all come over and visit.... I'd love that. 

Christmas Cheer

 You girls are amazing! As I read the comments on my 'ice cube' post, I felt heard, understood, supported. It felt soooo good! Thank you all for that!

A quick note: dau. shirley is in the hospital with the flu. For goodness sakes, you all be careful and don't catch that awful stuff. Since our Christmas festivities are centered around Shirley's household and family we will not be waking up on Christmas morning to gifts and hot chocolate and family and fun. It will all be postponed until she is up to it. 

The other day (when she was well and perky) Shirley hosted our Christmas Cookie Decorating get-together downstairs. Last year we decorated gingerbread houses but this year it was cookies. It was fun. Some of the cookies looked like 'store bought'.... some looked like they were purchased at a junk yard. hehe. I was sort of proud of mine.

Do you see my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Cookie?

 I hope that each of you stay healthy and that you have the most fabulous Christmas ever! 

Christmas Present. Christmas Past.

 I decorate less and less as the years go on. That's ok. Leave it to the younger ones to expend all that energy to only have to take it down again in a couple/three weeks. 😁

But, on this Sunday morning I will share with you some of my this year decor.

But, in years past I went all out!! And, yes, I did have to take it all down after Christmas was over! 

So..... time to sit back and just enjoy my time and not work so hard to make it all happen. 

My Elf In The Snow

                                                                We Got Snow!!

The first of the year here at the Commons at Centerbrooke. It was beginning to stick late in the afternoon and by the time I went to bed we had a couple inches. 

While I lay slumbering in my bed, all cozy and warm.... my Elf On A Shelf got off his shelf and sneaked outside. He had a fabulous time in the snow! 

I'm gonna have to keep my eye on that fellow!! No telling what he'll get into next! 

Merry Christmas Eve

 

                    Hello and Merry Christmas Eve

We had our family get-together here in Virginia on Sunday. This year we had games after our lunch meal, which was wonderful. Brisket done by my grandson and the yummiest mashed potatoes I ever ate, green beans, deviled eggs etc. And, we topped it off with cheesecake. Not the traditional meal we have had at Christmas time but a great new way to do things.

The best game that we played was this one: Shirley and John rolled a commercial sized box of saran wrap into a big ball and put little prizes all inside the wrapping. We took turns unwrapping it ... before our gamekeeper rolled a double with dice. And, we wore kitchen mitts! So, that was fun. 

Shirley wanted a picture of all her grandchildren so they lined up on the couch. After their picture was made, I walked over and just piled in on top of them. That was fun! and unexpected.

Even their dog, Dusty got into the Christmas spirit. Here he is, outside... wishing someone would let him in.

Now, on to what else has been going on!

You know I had a root canal done a week and a half ago. It was adjacent to a bridge I had in my mouth. So, a couple days ago I felt that bridge start to wiggle just a bit. Hadn't had that feeling since I lost my teeth when I was six or seven.

I was having trouble sleeping Sunday night. Got up at 2:30, put my trash outside my door for early pick-up.

At 3 a.m. All of a sudden that bridge just falls right out of place and is lying on my tongue! 

Suppose I had been asleep!

Would I have swallowed it?

Anyway, I spent Monday afternoon getting that bridge glued back into place.

I swear. I think if I wasn't in the dentist office I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

Tomorrow (Christmas day) Shirley, John and I will drive over to the Eastern Shore to spend some time with Brittany's family. Lunch is 'make your own sub'. Totally different again. 

And, my one and only son was here for Thanksgiving so he elected to stay in Alabama for Christmas. Alone! That kills me. But, it was his choice. It is a long, hard trip and would especially be during the holiday. I have to look at it as perhaps saving him from a bad accident or something. 

My youngest daughter, Susan, and my youngest grandchild, Tighe, will be arriving the day after Christmas for a visit. Can't wait for that. Praying for safe travels for them! 

                                                                                              Merry Christmas, Everyone

Oh, the smell of gingerbread!

 Yesterday was fun.....

18 of us gathered in the community room and decorated gingerbread houses. Daughter Shirley headed up the event, made all the houses, bought candies for us to use, made the royal icing for decorating and then was our instructor and cheerleader. 

The new staff is doing an outstanding job making sure we are having a good time. Here they are with Shirley. 

I had decorated a gingerbread house once, probably 30 years ago and I was a bunch younger then! 

Here is the one I decorated yesterday.

We all had the best time. Every house was different and all of them were very well done. 

And, we were treated to some light refreshments! 

It certainly put me in the Christmas mood.

day # 6 of Blogmas

Taking Down The Christmas Tree

 You can't say that my family is 'normal'. Anytime Shirley collabrated with her Dad there was something funny, weird, outrageous going on. 

Take 1997. It's time to take down the Christmas tree so John (that's my son-in-law) opens up the window and he and my hubby, Elbert, cut the lower limbs off and toss them out the window.  

But.... I see a sparkle in Shirley's eye.... something's about to happen. And, this is what transpired. 

It was so funny and remains a favorite Christmas memory of mine to this day. 

Angels We Have Heard on High

 I'm sure we all have our favorite things that we drag out year after year before Christmas. I fell in love with my first paper mache angel and started to collect them. Everyone thought they'd help and I got a ton of angels of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Not really what I had in mind but I loved their thoughtfulness and effort. 

My first angel was bought at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. She had on a regal gown of purple and a wreath of holly in her hair. I wrote the date inside her gown and where I bought her. 

I soon added one with a lovely pink gown all draped paper-mache. She seemed to be in prayer. 

Then I got a very elegant one, she wore a dark green top with flowing white skirts. 

I got rid of most of the 'extra' angels (no place to store them in this apartment) but I did hang on to a few.

One I had crocheted, years and years ago. I have no idea how old she is. 

I couldn't get rid of my musical angel, either. She's a favorite. I often turn her on to play a sweet Christmas tune as she turns around and around. 

and then there was a fad going around where everyone was making little angel ornaments out of ribbon. I was pretty 'crafty' minded for several years so of course, I joined in. Here are a couple I still have. 

What's your favorite Christmas collection? 

The Christmas Party at the Commons

 My, my... what a party we had Friday night. 

70+ residents from the Commons gathered  crammed into our community room. It was decorated beautifully, I might add thanks to 3 or 4 of the residents. We pretty much have lost our staff's interest in helping us out with anything but that's another story. 

I've never seen so much food. People pitched in and bought and cooked and the woman in charge (Jean) got servers to come in and serve our buffet style dinner. We had turkey, ham and chicken (both fried and baked), sweet potatoes and white potatoes, gravy, cornbread dressing, green beans, lima beans, mac and cheese, deviled eggs, a fruit platter and enough desserts to feed an army. Oh, and of course, cranberry sauce. Can't leave that out... what's turkey and dressing without cranberry sauce.

We had door prizes. Santa can to visit along with Mrs. Claus and an elf or two. 

All that was lacking was the singing of some carols. But, it was great. 

 I hope you have a ton of fun at your holiday gatherings. 

Believing In Santa

I was just thinking about Christmas, about how it has changed over the years, how commercial it has gotten. It certainly has evolved (maybe not in such a good way) from my childhood.

I am a Depression kid. We had nothing. My Dad had died, we (my mom, sister and me) lived with my grandparents. And, yet, I had the most memorable Christmases ever! 

My aunt had no children, her children were her school students, so she had a tendency to 'take over' life like she took over her classroom. And, it's because of her I had the best memories of that time of my life.

She had a Santa Claus suit for her class room party so one of my uncles would dress in it on Christmas morning, all in secret. Aunt Lena would gather us all in my grandparents living room, all the aunts and uncles and any kids there (mostly just me and my sister). She'd say, 'let's sing Jingle Bells' and she'd start us off with 'Dashing through the snow...." By the time we got to the chorus she'd put her hand up and say,'Shhhh. I hear something'. and sure enough there'd be someone stomping up the steps, across the porch and the front door would swing open. 

                                      It was Santa!!!

He'd pass out a few presents from the bag he held. We didn't get much, maybe a coloring book, paper dolls, a dress or pair of pajamas but it was like magic to us kids.

This went on for a few years. I must have been six or seven by this time but I still BELIEVED. My uncle couldn't be with us that Christmas morning and I never noticed that my Mother had disappeared from the room. But, Santa came in that door just like always. 'He' was busy handing out presents when I noticed something strange. 

"Santa has on my Mama's shoes", I yelled. And, that was the beginning of the end of my BELIEVING. 

But, oh, what memories. 

A Different Kind of Christmas

 Well, it's about over and it was fun while it lasted. 

                 There were gifts to open

Shirley 'taking down' her youngest grandson. 

The proverbial figuring out how things are put together

After gift-opening instead of the usual meal, there was cookie making for Tuesday's trip over to my granddaughters who couldn't make it 'home' for Christmas Day. 

Michael and Shirley rolling up dough for the cookie balls.

And making 'dreams' which are dates wrapped in dough and baked. Yummy

       Sausage balls being prepared for baking.

A different kind of Christmas day but a good one, nonetheless.