Back into the closet...

I've been putting away the Christmas decorations, a little bit at a time, every day. Except on most days, "a little bit" turns into everything on the second floor, or everything in the dining room or living room or breakfast room, etc. And the question which always comes to mind during these days--- "Do you really need all of these Santa figurines?"

Well, yes I do... especially after seeing a picture on Pinterest the other day of a high staircase with a Santa in the corner of each step. Hmmm.... we have such a staircase, and the steps are certainly wide enough to have a Santa on each riser, giving us plenty of room to navigate the stairs without having to rush to the Emergency Room at the local hospital. ("And what have we here?"  -- "Oh, just a broken ankle... I tripped over a Santa on the main staircase, but it's fine... the Santa didn't get damaged.")

Our cold weather has gone elsewhere and now we have cloudy and not-so-cold, but it's still damp and the sun has also gone elsewhere. Those days and days of high 70s with lots of sun seem like a distant memory now. I want them back!

I went to the post office this morning to mail books that had sold on Half.com... and I brought Savannah with me. She likes to go for rides in the car now (always thinking she's going to the dog park) and I take her every chance I get, when it's practical and safe for her to wait in the car for me. Savannah is such a quiet dog in the car, watching everything and everyone but not barking at all. Gone are the days when we practically had to lift her up into the car because she was afraid to get into it.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve.... another quiet holiday here. Years and years ago, we used to drive into Houston for the New Year's Eve Symphony, followed by ballroom dancing on the stage.... all dressed up and someplace to go.  Then the Symphony Powers That Be stopped those celebrations.... and so we hosted a few New Year's Eve parties at our house in Clear Lake. When we didn't have an at-home party on New Year's, we would get a group of friends together and go to our favorite Italian restaurant in Friendswood... late dinner, party favors, special dinners and dessert... but even if we still lived in Clear Lake now, that particular restaurant isn't there anymore. Oh well.

Decades ago, I'd watch Guy Lombardo's Orchestra celebrating New Year's at NY's Waldorf Astoria Hotel... everyone all dressed up, ballgowns and diamonds and pearls for the ladies, tuxedos for the men.... and beautiful music for dancing. So many years ago, but I can see those television images as if it were yesterday. I repeat: Oh well.                                                                                                

On this New Year's Eve, we will be home watching Dick Clark's New Year's Eve without Dick Clark. We will watch the glittering ball dropping in NY's Time Square (at 11:00 Texas time) and then call it a night. Midnight on New Year's Eve in NYC is about as authentic a New Year's celebration as one can get. I don't even know what they do in downtown Houston now on New Year's Eve... and I know for certain that no one does anything at all for New Year's Eve in the downtown area of our little Hill Country town here.

I also know for certain that I get way too sappy on all the days between our big Christmas Party and New Year's Eve. I need to get away from this computer and go put more Christmas decorations back into the boxes and then bring them to the storage closet. Just who in the world put all these Christmas decorations all over this house in the first place?