24 Days Till Christmas

The first of December. So hard to believe. But we say that every year. Even when you start making preparations for the holidays far in advance of this month, December just sneaks right up behind you and says: "Boo!" ....Or maybe that should be: "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

The Christmas package came today from my sister, so of course I had to call her and tell her that it got here. And, of course, we both had to open something. So I picked something from my box, she picked something from hers, and wrapping paper hit the fan. So to speak. The first gift from my sister is a very pretty bar of scented soap in the shape of a white swan. I told her I would put it in the powder room, but not till after the Christmas party. She opened two Christmas-y packages from me... tea-light candles in the shapes of white snowflakes, and a 12-inch-high Christmas tree made from two pieces of glittery, starry green-foil cardboard. The two pieces fit together and you have an eight-sided tree. Hallmark magic! Our theme this year was stocking-stuffer gifts, although we'd both need pretty big stockings for some of these gifts to fit into. (Details, details.)

I'm finally feeling like this cold is on its way out. I went to the supermarket this morning. Finally, I have bananas and orange juice in the house again. And they had fresh cherries, so of course I had to buy those. Love fresh cherries. I also bought the fixings for lentil soup. When I got home from the store, I started a large pot of soup going and that's what I had for dinner. I'll be eating that soup from now till it's gone. And I hope it's gone by the end of next week, because I'll need the room in the fridge for the food for our Christmas party.

Some of the neighbors have put up their Christmas lights already. My husband took care of that one day last week when the sun was out and it was very warm. It turned cold a couple of nights ago. So cold that I haven't let AngelBoy and Rusty sleep on the screen-porch. They've been in the laundry room the past two nights.

I thought AngelBoy would give me a hard time about that, but I guess he realized how cold it was out there so he curled up on top of the washing machine and went to sleep. That's the arrangement in there-- AngelBoy gets the top of the washer, Rusty gets the top of the dryer. I've made it nice and comfy up there for them... they sleep on soft blankets, not on the metal tops of the appliances. (Heaven forbid.) And AngelBoy has a soft satin pillow that he's had since he was a baby... he actually sleeps with his head on it. Cute as a button, that cat, and he knows it.
Still cold outside tonight, even though this afternoon was fairly warm, so they won't be out on the porch tonight either.

Our Christmas tree is still waiting for the lights and ornaments. My husband has been busy with work these past few days, plus he's dealing with the cold/flu/whatever. Hopefully, he'll be able to finish with the lights by Saturday so I can do the ornaments. I've got lots of last-minute things to get done before the party, so I need to get the tree finished.

A little tip from the man who runs the Christmas tree tent, by the way. He told my husband and our friend D to just use hot tap water for the tree. No aspirins. No ginger ale or 7-Up or Sprite. Just plain old hot tap water. Not cold water. He said hot was best because it keeps the sap in the tree warm enough to rise in the trunk of the tree and keep it fresh. So that's what I've been giving the tree since they set it up in the living room. Hot, hot water. And it keeps on drinking it up and looking beautiful.

That's about the story today. Not much of a day. Nothing exciting going on. I'm just starting to feel good so I haven't pushed myself to do too much of anything. Just going to the supermarket was enough of a push for the day and I came straight home afterwards. I have a box of things in my car for the senior center but I didn't want to stop and take the chance of leaving my cold-germs there.

I'm reading "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham. I read it last year, but my sister and I are re-reading it. Being that I've been sick since Thanksgiving, I've already re-read about half a dozen of my Christmas books. They've made a movie of that book. Except they didn't name it "Skipping Christmas." I think the title is "Christmas With the Kranks." I would bet anything that John Grisham didn't want his book compared to that mess of a movie and insisted they change the title. I saw the previews. They turned a nice story into a Hollywood fiasco. So typical. Word of advice: read the book, forget the movie.

Anyway... I'm rambling on and on. Tomorrow is another day, Scarlett.