Picture this...

Taa-daaaaaaah.........

No, I did not become a computer wiz overnight..... my husband is the computer genius in this house and he posted that photo on my five Blog pages, plus my Pinterest page.  When I started my first Blog all those years ago (in 2004) I never thought of having my picture up here.

However, three thousand essays and stories later, not to mention millions of words... I figured what the heck... a lot of people in the US and other countries are following my Blogs and reading what I've been writing... maybe it's time to give a face to the name. So, for what it's worth... there's my happy face.

That photo was taken at one of our Halloween parties a couple of years ago.... hence the purple feathers on one of my favorite Halloween costume hats. When I'm not wearing that purple feathered hat, I put it on one of my vintage lady statues in the living room... so at least she (Victoria Scarlett) is decked out for the October holiday.  (Yes, all of my statues have names.)

My husband is now attempting to show me how to post my own photos on my Pinterest page. I was telling him that I was looking for different styles of place cards, and couldn't find any really nice ones that I would want to duplicate.  I've been making place cards for our dinner parties for years now, and I told my husband that I could probably post pictures of my own creations that other people would want to copy. "Ah ha," said he.... "Maybe it's time you learned how to use the digital camera and transfer the pictures to your computer."  Easy for him to say... he has a PhD in Computer Science. (And I can hear him now: "You don't need a degree to post a picture on the web.")

For those of us without such technical prowess with these blasted machines that I swear have minds of their own, it may be a while before I'm able to take the pictures (the easy part) and then hook up that little wire to the USB-thing so the pictures can magically go from the camera to my laptop... then I have to make a new folder, name the folder, get the photos into that folder, crop them and reduce them in size... and then decide whether or not to post them on my Blogs or my Pinterest page.

My husband just showed me all the steps not half an hour ago. My eyes glazed over after the wire-thing went into the USB-thing on the side of my laptop.

But.... there's my picture. Nice to meet you all, and thank you for reading.

De-Christmas-ing the house...

This little elf has been busy taking down the Christmas decorations. Everything came out of the storage closet a little bit at a time, and that's how it is all going back in...... a little at a time. I've put away all the little Christmas trees from the second floor, except the one that doesn't fit into the storage closet unless I take off all the ornaments and fold up the tree. Not going to happen. That particular tree is done all in pastels (including the tree itself). It's filled with Victorian ornaments, and it sits on a table in the corner of my dressing room.... it looks very nice in that room, and that's where the tree stays, all year long.

Most of the kitchen and breakfast room has been de-Christmased, as is the foyer and the TV room. I'm working on the living room and the dining room, which has the largest decorations and the biggest explosion of Christmas, so those rooms take the most time.

I've also been spending a lot of time with my Pinterest page... and having a blast. I've found all sorts of good ideas for next Christmas... new ways to display the Santas and angels and nutcrackers. And those old original shelves in our dining room--- next year those built-in shelves will be filled only with little trees and Santas... a Christmas village right there in the dining room. Such a project will involve taking down all the cups and saucers and my collection of Royal Family china plates... but I'm sure the Queen will forgive me. After all, it's Christmas!

Jingle bells... Christmas has come and gone... all too quickly, as always. I've already done some shopping for next Christmas, which will be here in a heart-beat, just wait and see. But for right now, it's time to put away this year's decorations,.. Valentine's Day is right around the corner. (Ooooh, something else to look for on Pinterest.)

Christmas Day, plus one.

And so goes another Christmas. We had a very nice Christmas Eve and Day... just the two of us for the Eve, and two friends for Christmas dinner (another friend got sick with a bad cold and still another had car problems and couldn't drive up from Houston)... so dinner for six turned into dinner for four.

The live (dead) tree in the dining room is no longer taking in water, but it hasn't started dropping needles and (luckily) hasn't been letting go of the ornaments.  We had the tree lit all day and night yesterday... its Swan Song of this Christmas season.

I started decorating the inside of the house for Christmas on November 2nd, the day after I took down the Halloween decorations.  The angels are still smiling, the Santas and elves look happy, the reindeer are still marching in their own parade. None of them know that little by little each day, they will be going back into their boxes and then back into the storage closet.

Because of the head cold I had the week before Christmas, I didn't take time to watch "It's A Wonderful Life," which is my favorite Christmas movie. No matter, though... I know the film by heart, along with most of the dialogue.... and I can see the characters in my mind, whether it's Christmas or not.  Marvelous lesson in that movie... everyone's life means something to someone else... without you being you, other people's lives would not be what they are. A powerful lesson, no matter what time of the year it happens to be.

I've recently un-earthed an interest in Pinterest.... I started browsing through a friend's page when I was trying to relax and do nothing while I was coughing and sneezing. (Doing nothing is the hardest accomplishment for me.) The more I looked through the boards on J's page, the more I wanted a Pinterest page of my own. And so it went.... cough, sneeze, Pin, repeat.... cough, sneeze, Pin, repeat.

So now, along with my five Blogs, I have a Pinterest page. And I'm considering asking my husband to help me post my picture on both my blog-site and my Pinterest page.  After all, I've got a lot of words, posts, stories, essays, opinions, and now Pins out there.... and there are days when I get tired of looking at a face-less picture on my blog page. Plus, now I have the standard red/white Pin staring up at me after all the searching I've done to add to my Pinterest boards.  So a photo may be forthcoming, as long as I can find one that I really like in the hundreds and hundreds of photos that my husband has stored in his computer.

I'm sure all of the malls and stores are crowded today, just as crowded as they were on the day before Christmas. I was never a Christmas-Eve shopper, and I never wanted to be a Day-After-Christmas shopper, either.  I tend to shop all year long for holiday and birthday gifts, and I've already bought gifts for next Christmas.  In my opinion, Christmas Eve is a day of anticipation for The Day, and the day after is like sitting on a cloud and sighing with satisfaction over another beautiful Christmas come and gone.

Christmas Eve afternoon.

A Christmas miracle: as I type, I am sitting at the little table in our breakfast room and my laptop isn't plugged into the wall. Who knew? Actually, I've known all along that this laptop had such capability, but I've never taken advantage of it, preferring to use this blessed machine at the desk in my sitting room.

But after being sick with a head cold for so many days, and being attached to this laptop for hours upon hours just because it was something to look at without it being a book that I couldn't concentrate on, I've become more brave with what this sometimes-infernal machine has to offer.

Such as Pinterest. (I repeat: Who knew?)  Well, my friend J knew about Pinterest a good long while ago, and I did browse through her Pinterest boards from time to time.... but finally, I "get it."  And once I got it, I found it very hard to step away from the computer and its zillions of Pinterest pins out there for the taking.

So that's what I've been doing in my recuperative hours when my mind was too muddled with cold germs to concentrate on my books. (I am so off schedule with my reading.)  I set up a Pinterest page for myself, and have been looking around at the seemingly countless (To infinity and beyond!) "pins" that are out there to be added to my "boards." (All these old words with new meanings!)

I have spent so much time in my sitting room this past week that my cat Sweet Pea has begun to cuddle up in my arms and not want to let me out of his sight. Hence, me and my laptop are at the breakfast room table and not up in my sitting room on the second floor. And where is Sweet Pea? All warm and cozy in his little pillow-bed by the heater, not even caring that I am right here with him, laptop and all. Cats: Sometimes you just can't please them.

But...... Christmas Eve is right here. My husband and I spent most of the last couple of days cooking.  My husband made his famous "Greek" stuffing with gyro meat, feta cheese and pistachios,  He also made two casserole dishes of his mashed potatoes (stuffing and potatoes ready to go into the oven for tomorrow's dinner).  I've made a pumpkin pie, fresh whipped cream, and my own famous salmon and crab cakes. I seem to make those for just about every Christmas, but they are delicious, and can be made ahead of time, and then just popped into the oven on Christmas Day. (I am all turkey-ed out from Thanksgiving, so cooking another bird was not an option.)

Before this evening is over, we'll have our Christmas Eve dinner.... we will open gifts tonight because tomorrow will be too busy with company... and before the stroke of midnight my eyes will puddle up with tears as I think of family members and friends who have "gone to the other side" (translation: passed away) and also friends and family members who have "taken sides" (translation: decided to stay away).

And so be it. "No matter what happens in this world, life goes on in a sensible way." The words of a remarkable woman named Audrey, whom I was lucky enough to have as my mother-in-law.

Merry Christmas to you all, no matter what side you're on or which side you've taken.  I'm thinking about you as I always do, and wishing for you a very happy Christmas.

Four days before Christmas...

...and you would think that the spirit of Christmas, of goodness and kindness, the spirit of humanity and tolerance and patience would be first and foremost in the hearts and minds of mankind.

Dream on, dream on.

To the citizens marching along the streets of New York:  Yes, your marching brings recognition to your cause, but it does not bring a solution.  Education and patience and tolerance will bring a solution. The marching brings bitterness, both to the ones who are marching and to those who are inconvenienced and vulnerable because of your protests.  The marching does not promote solidarity, it promises irreversible division. For example: Those who march do care. Those who do not march do not care. That is so not true.

To the citizens who have become haters of the police: Do not dispute the split-second decision-making of the men and women who wear a police uniform unless and until you have stood in their shoes and have walked the streets and have performed that job. And pardon me, but it's not merely a 'job,' it's a way of life. Once you put on that uniform and take that oath to serve and protect, that position not only becomes part of your life but it is your life. Twenty-four hours of every day. A police officer is "in" that uniform whether he or she is wearing it on an eight-hour tour of duty or the uniform is hanging in a closet on his or her day off. There is never a minute of a police officer's career when he or she is not "on the job," as the police call it.

To the mayor of NYC: I haven't lived in NY since 1993 but I still read mostly everything that happens within and around The City and I still have family up there in the boroughs whose lives are impacted by the decisions of whomever is living in Gracie Mansion.  It would serve your city well, Mr. Mayor, if you made peace with your police force. And making peace usually starts with an apology. And you, sir, owe an apology to every officer on your police force. Without them, your city would cease to be The City that all of New Yorkers (ex- and current) believe it to be.

It is four days before Christmas. At this time of the year, more so than any other, the hearts of people everywhere should be over-flowing with love. Be kind. Be nice. Be good. Be tolerant. Be patient. Be the sort of person that gives your family name a positive and loving legacy to all who come after you.

Cough, sneeze, sniffle, repeat.

Five days before Christmas. As I type, my husband is at the supermarket shopping for groceries. With the magic of cell phones, I can explain to him that our oldest cat doesn't like the chopped or grilled meats and fish offered by Fancy Feast... Mickey needs the 'classic' Fancy Feast, which sort of looks like baby food. "These cats are spoiled," said my husband over the phone. (As if anyone in this house is not spoiled?)

I've been fighting this cold since the day after our Christmas party last weekend.  I usually just ignore a cold and go on with my days and get as much done as possible. I'm not one to hide under the covers when I'm not feeling well, unless I have a fever which gives you no choice. No fever, so far. And if the Christmas gods are kind to me, this fever-less state will continue.

My husband told me this morning that I go overboard with the holidays, which gets me sick. Me? Overboard? I think not. I just try to make every holiday especially nice, and that goes double and triple for Christmas. And I start so early with Christmas.... shopping all year long, wrapping gifts in September, packing them up in mailing boxes in October, decorating the house the first week of November, and mailing the gifts out to family in late November. By the time everyone else starts thinking about Christmas, our house has already been decorated and I've already bought a few gifts for next Christmas.

But... here I am.... cough, sneeze, sniffle. Repeat.

And my husband has been in the supermarket for less than half an hour and has called me three times. He said he doesn't mind grocery shopping. "I hardly ever get to do this," he told me early this morning. "Give me a list and I'll get everything we need. And I can go back on Monday if you think of something else."

My husband is so spoiled. Every once in a while, I have to get sick just so he can enjoy the thrill of grocery shopping.

Got cookies?

Across-the-road neighbor and friend S invited the ladies on our road to come to her house this afternoon for a cookie-decorating party. Who knew there was such talent on this one little road?

It's easy to have 'talent' when one walks into S's kitchen and finds dozens and dozens of perfectly baked and shaped sugar cookies, along with bowls of white, red, green, blue, and yellow frosting, and all kinds of sugary doo-dads to put on top of the finished cookies.

We had stars and bells, snowflakes and Christmas trees, candy canes and gingerbread men, and round shapes that could be wreaths or tree ornaments. Plus there were platters of cheese and crackers, Oreo-based round truffle-cookies that ended up as little snowmen, and the most delicious date-nut swirl cookies. Wherever you looked in S's kitchen-- cookies! And wherever you looked in S's house-- Christmas!

Santas everywhere, snowmen everywhere else (a parade of snow people of all sizes), plus reindeer and holly and Christmas music playing all over the house, and we were all singing along.  What a great afternoon!  And such good ideas for Christmas decorations!  S had a little ladder by one of her Christmas trees... with little elves climbing up the ladder as if they weren't quite finished decorating the tree. (Well, guess who's going to be looking for a little ladder to perch her elves on?)

When I got home with my snowman-decorated plate of cookies from the afternoon at S's house, I showed my husband the result of my cookie-decorating. "Let's taste one," said he.  You want to eat these beautiful cookies?  Don't you think they're too pretty to eat?

Right before my eyes, a red and white striped candy cane just disappeared. Guess whose name is going on Santa's 'Naughty' list.....

The Christmas spirit is alive and well, and thriving, in this little corner of the Hill Country. What a great afternoon!

Christmas Party Night

We had our annual Christmas Party last night, and I have to say that it was the best one we've had since moving out here from Clear Lake.  After moving to this community, we quickly discovered that hosting parties wasn't exactly at the top of the country hit parade. Our first Christmas here, we didn't give a party, and both my husband and I truly missed our usual kick-off for the holiday.

With each passing December since, we've hosted our Clear Lake-turned-Hill Country Christmas party. I made a point not to change anything in my party-giving style, and everyone here, little by little, has not only warmed up to our parties but has grown to anticipate them. And last night's gathering was, by far, the most fun because we figured out a way to get everyone engaged in the company of their friends and neighbors.

We always played Charades after having a pot-luck dinner at our Clear Lake house..... but out here, Charades just doesn't cut it, which we learned one year at our Halloween party. So we reluctantly gave up on Charades and just concentrated on the pot-luck dinner, an explosion of appropriate decorations, and everyone left our house with a little goodie-bag, book, or party favor. For the past month, I'd been buying little party gifts and wrapping them up and putting them into two separate baskets--- one for the ladies, one for the men.

At one of our recent Waldorf Wednesday teas, the ladies decided to do a numbered grab-bag exchange with Christmas ornaments (which is this coming Wed.)....... I took that grab-bag idea and made up pretty numbered cards, planning to do the same with the Christmas party gifts. Everyone picked a number last night, and starting with #1, a gift was picked from either basket, and then #2 got to 'steal' the gift from #1 or choose another gift... and so on down through the numbers, with #1 having the option of 'stealing' any of the previously unwrapped gifts or keeping what he originally chose.

Well, I cannot tell you how many loud laughs and hand-clapping and ooohs and aaahs that simple little party-game brought into that crowd last night. Everyone gathered in the living room, so we were all together in one room rather than being split up between the dining room and the living room........ and everyone participated happily and it was just so much fun because everyone was connected in a way that I hadn't seen here before.

Before we were half-way through the gift-picking, nearly everyone was suggesting that they all bring a wrapped gift to add to the baskets for the next Christmas party. It's just amazing to me that a simple game brought so much joy to everyone all at once, and if that isn't the essence of Christmas, then I don't know what else could be.

"Have you been feeling well?"

Those were the words I heard on my phone yesterday when my Aunt Margie called me from Arizona.  She called to thank me for the Christmas card I sent her.... she said it was a very pretty card, but she noticed that it was store-bought, and not the usual hand-made card that I always send her. "Have you been feeling well? Is everything all right out there in the country?"

I just had to laugh.... I explained to my aunt that I was fine, everything here is fine... I just plain forgot to make Christmas cards this year.  I had made all of the invitations for our Halloween party, and after I put away my card-making supplies, I just didn't think about making my usual batch of Christmas cards.  Actually, I totally forgot about Christmas cards altogether..... and then last week, I got a card in the mail from friends on the east coast...... and that little bell went off in my head--- "You didn't make Christmas cards yet!"

So I just took out my supply of store-bought cards, wrote them out to the far-away friends we don't see for the holidays, and to my family who expect not gifts, but just cards... Aunt Margie being on that list of older family members who love receiving holiday cards.

I was actually flattered that Aunt Margie missed not getting a handmade card from me, and I've already taken care of that. I stayed up late last night making a card for her.... special paper with a 1940s design of little girl wearing a red velvet dress, to which I added a tiny red bow.... and then the inside of the card has a beautiful velvet Santa waving his Christmas list.  I mailed the card out to her this morning so she will be surprised, and pleased, to get the "real card" on Monday.

That's what Aunt Margie called my hand-made card creations.... "the real card, not just a store-bought card."  It's nice to know that my hand-made cards are appreciated.... and I've made a note on my Christmas card list to not send my Aunt Margie anything but a hand-made card from now on.

Santa's List.

A couple of years ago, my husband made a huge sign that he hung up along the side of the road going up towards the main highway. The wood sign, with red letters on a white background, is 'Santa's Naughty and Nice List.'   My husband built the sign and painted it, and I used red paint and a small brush to write all the names of the neighbors that live along our road.

Being that the sign was up near the main highway, we didn't get to see anyone's reaction to Santa's List, but we hoped that everyone enjoyed finding their names in either the naughty column or the nice one.  Hoping not to offend any of the neighbors that first year, we put just our own names on the naughty side, along with one other neighbor whom we knew would rather not be in the nice column. (When she found her name on the naughty side, she said "Everyone knows that being nice all the time is just too boring.")

This year, the sign is propped up on our back porch near the door... so everyone can look for their names as they arrive at our Christmas party. We also decided to re-do parts of the sign and remove the names of the few neighbors who prefer to be more private than neighborly. I took the white paint and just painted over those particular names. In their places, I added our friends who always come to our Christmas party even though they don't live on our road.  I even painted over some of the check-marks in the naughty and nice columns. A few of the neighbors who had been on the nice side will now find themselves in the naughty column.

Without a doubt, we do know which of the neighbors would smile at being taken out of the nice column and added to the naughty side.... so that's how we decided which names went where.  I had been about to paint over a particular couple's check-mark in the nice column to add them to the naughty side just for fun, and then my eye caught the name of their sweet little dog that I had printed next to their names.

Honestly... how could I possibly put Bella's name in the naughty column? This is the little Chihuahua that comes to our Waldorf Wednesday tea parties all dressed up in her Sunday-puppy best, complete with jeweled accessories. Bella on Santa's naughty list? I think not. (I also think that Bella should get extra treats from Santa for saving her people from being put into the naughty column.) Maybe the title of this post should have been "Saved by the Bella."

The Christmas Parade

On a day like today, I can honestly say that our town seems to be the equivalent of Mayberry or Bedford Falls. And there is not a thing wrong with that.

Along with friends from our road here, we drove into town for the annual Christmas parade and the lighting of the Christmas trees that stand in front of the court house.  The day was very warm, the evening was balmy, and it was just the perfect weather for watching the high school band, the floats, the groups of marching kids and adults..... and just being a part of practically the entire town standing along the sidewalks and enjoying Christmas. (Notice I didn't say 'holiday.'  In this town, it's Christmas all the way.)

There were big floats covered in lights, Nativity scenes with live sheep and calves, kids dressed up as Mary and Joseph, angels and shepherds. The high school band, the cheerleaders, the dance groups, the Boy Scouts, the karate classes, the local animal rescue organizations, all of the town's church groups.... everyone was in tonight's parade, waving to the crowds, tossing out candy to the kids.... it was just great. At the end of the parade, Santa was riding high on a fire engine, smiling and waving to the kids, and stopping along the way so everyone could take photos.

With the music and the colored lights, the stores trimmed up in Christmas decorations, the kids singing the Christmas carols and yelling out "Merry Christmas!"... the streets of this town were just dripping with magic and kindness and friendship and a sense of community. It was all just so nice, so very nice.

If I could wish one thing for the rest of the country at this time of the year.... I would wish for everyone a sense of this small-town innocence, acceptance, and tolerance that just soaks this community in a blanket of goodness that lasts all year long.

Be nice to one another. Be kind. Be tolerant. Be accepting. If only for the sake of your children and your grandchildren and the legacy of your family... just be nice.

Plum Pudding Day

Every December, my husband makes authentic British plum puddings to send to two of my cousins and one of his friends in New York. Yesterday, he mixed up the thick, fruit-filled batter, and today he steamed the puddings. All day long, the metal canisters were cooking in the big pot, and the entire first floor of the house smelled like a kitchen in Victorian London. (I have a good imagination for such things.)

As I type, three of the puddings are wrapped up in red cellophane and boxed up in Priority Mail packages, ready for their trip to NY. There is also a plum pudding wrapped up and ready for us to enjoy on Christmas Day. Every year, we say that this batch of plum pudding is the best ever, and that's exactly what we said when we tasted a bit of today's pudding.

We usually don't start on the plum puddings till after the big tree is decorated. However... the live Christmas tree is in the dining room and standing in water, naked from bottom to top, without one light or ornament on it. Tomorrow will be the day for that..... and I am determined that it will be finished, every last branch lighted and decorated, before my head hits the pillow tomorrow night.

And then my husband and I will look at the tree and say that this year's tree is positively the most beautiful tree ever. And it will be, because how can any Christmas tree not be beautiful?

I can still picture a very small Christmas tree in my tiny NY apartment years ago... a bit crooked and with bare spots here and there, but it was beautiful to me. I bought it just before Christmas Eve, one of the last trees left on the tree lot, and I carried it up the stairs to my three-room apartment.  I decorated it with hand-made and blown-glass ornaments, with a gold star and a silver moon taking center stage on the front of that sweet little tree. Most of those old ornaments have been broken along the years, but I still have the gold star and silver moon.

Every Christmas since 1993, I place the star and the moon on a special branch on our floor-to-ceiling Texas trees, and I remember that so-small and somewhat crooked tree in my little NY apartment,

How can any Christmas tree not be beautiful?  They're not only filled with ornaments, but decorated with memories.