Our Favorite Things

Christmas was very restrained this year, but we each got a few favorite things.

Mine: Red Rose Tea from my Evil Sister in Canada. I love Red Rose tea and you can't buy it here in MN.

Tom: Three heavy weight chamois shirts from Cabela's.

DS: a Genuine NFL Vikings team jersey with his own last name sewn on the back.

DD: New snow tires.

DD's BF: Who knows? (We gave him leather gloves and a flashlight.)

Free Food

I have too much food - so help yourself to my post holiday Buffet of Leftovers:

--Assorted Christmas Cookies.
--Assorted Cheeseballs and Cheese Varieties with Assorted Crackers.
--Lots of Chips, a Few Dips and Salsas.
--Turkey and Ham, choice of breads.
--Most of a Cheese and Egg Strata Thing.
--Caesar Salad
--Chocolates, mostly Dark Varieties.

But nobody can have my clementines. I love those things!

Random Pre-Holiday Thoughts

1. I love my tree this year! I say that every year - and every year I mean it.

2. We decided on fewer gifts this year so I have had more time to focus on the wrapping. I just love to make every package look beautiful and different. I pretty much stayed with the traditional red & green this year but with lots of sparklies on the packages. I like sparklies!

3. This year for the first time I managed to find my little sliding paper cutter on the same day I wanted to wrap most of the gifts. It works really slick! Especially when you need to cut a smooth line in a looong sheet of paper.

4. We will have a white Christmas. Again. I actually got to see a snow front move in today! When I got up it was snowing heavily on the north side of our house, while the south side was clear as a bell. The front kind of "froze" like that for about 5 minutes before it started to snow all around.

5. I am going to make my giant Santa head bread art thing this year. I'll try to remember to take a photo of it. I think it is brilliant.

6. Tom only has two days off - :( - The 24th and the 25th.)

7. I want to be in Hawaii. My DD and her family are there with my older sister, helping her get her house ready for sale. It's warm in Hawaii.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!

World Without End

Is better than your average 1014 page historical fiction novel. When Ken Follet nails one, he nails it.

In other news I am finally making the family's holiday cookies today. Reindeer Poop (a soft, sour cream based drop cookie) Chai Crescents and Thumbprints. I like cookies!

Internet Friends Are The Best

On a weekend when I was feeling kind of down I got whole little flurry of holiday cards from my imaginary friends. Thank you so much! They have been carefully hung where I can see them right from the 'puter.

I'll blog about the first thing that got me down later some time - not sure when. And maybe the other thing too. Not so sure about that.

Right now I want new snow. We had to shovel out the trailer, and that spread a bunch of ugly, brown-speckled snow around my driveway. I want pretty white stuff!

I Am In A Very Grinchy Place,

So Bah Humbug on everything.
And bugger all reindeer.

Oh Fer Pete's Sake,

A couple of days ago I bought 2 artificial poinsettias because they were practically giving them away and I thought they would brighten up a couple of dark corners. Today, I watered them. *sigh*

Also today I got my annual Xmas letter from the news boy. The first year we had him he included a self-addressed envelope with one paper, so we could conveniently tip him I guess. Then the next year he upped the ante to a small card with his addie info and a plaintive little note about how if you stick cash into the paper box sometimes it blows away and stuff. Now the news boy is all grown up and knows how to beg for money properly. We got this lovely little Xmas letter from him today, printed on fancy paper with red & green stockings across the top:

"Each year during the holiday season, I take great pleasure in setting aside time to send a heartfelt message to all my customers to thank you for your continued business. Delivering the newspaper from Blank to Blank, and Blank to the river is a real privilege. It is over 200 miles long (I see over 50 deer a night) but there is little doubt this area is the most beautiful area in the seven county metro."

Blah, blah, blah... "best wishes, Happy Holidays", and his name and address.

Isn't it nice when the children grow up and learn how to solicite money properly?