Christmas Here I Come

The new village is up. I bought yet another piece when I went out to buy boxes for wrapping presents. I couldn't resist it. A sweet little house on top of a mountain of snow surrounded by tiny colored lights and a little train that goes around the house. Well, it's supposed to go around the house. It gets stuck. I guess I'll have to return it. The village is up to 10 buildings and a small news stand. I'll hate myself when it's time to take it down and store it.

Other than that, I've been sick, so I haven't finished my Christmas shopping. Ha Ha, like I would have it done by now anyway.

Thanksgiving was great. My nine month old granddaughter, Katie, had a grand time for herself. It was fun watching her discover new things. She's crawling all over the place now and sure gets around the room fast. The kids all seem to like it here because we have so many "things" for them to touch and go after. I try to kid proof the best I can, but I can't put everything away. We don't have anywhere to put it all.

My friend Nancy and I have started an email story cirlce. We have written some holiday stories and emailed them to each other and now are sending them to our friends via email. We are inviting others to send their holiday memories and including them in our circle and sending them around too. It's fun. I may end up posting them on here so we can have an easier way of forwarding the stories. Adding them to emails is taking too long.

The Christmas rush is on. I hope I can slow down a bit and enjoy the fun part of it.

Happy holidays to you!

Found it!

The missing town has been found. This is going to be the best and biggest village I've done in a while. I'm adding a few pieces I haven't used in the past few years. Not sure where or how I'll fit them yet, but I'm going to try. I'll let you know how it turns out. Of course, the grandchildren will wreak havoc with it, I'm sure, but what is it all for anyway? (Photo is part of last year's village.)

A Safe Place

I know I'm not the only one who puts things away in "a safe place." Whenever I can't find something, my daughter tells me, "It's in a safe place." My husband says the same thing. They know me. Well, I've outdone myself this time. I started taking out the Christmas decorations yesterday and it seems I've lost the 5 main buildings of my village. Dick said, "You lost a whole village?" Well, not the whole village exactly. I can't find the church, theater, emporium, bake shop and hotel. I only use the 5 main pieces to this lovely village I bought at Costco a long time ago. It's all that fits on the bookcase. Last year, I bought a big piece and added it on a small extension I made. I found that one. (But, I thought I bought more than one?) I know I squished the 5 buildings into a big plastic storage bag and tucked it away so it would be "safe." But, where? I did find some people and trees and various small pieces. We live in a small condo. I don't have the room I used to and I like having the village, but just a small one now. I haven't got the time or energy to build a big city every year anymore. I'm happy with a small town. If it doesn't turn up in today's search, I will use the one building and cut it down to a vignette. We live in less than 1,000 square feet and don't have much storage space. How could I lose a small town?

Disney Trip Nov. 2007

Photobucket Album

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hello again. We're back from our Disney trip. We had a wonderful time and I have lots to blog about and some photos I will share with you. I just haven't had much time since I've been back. I will catch up soon. I promise.

In the meantime, I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

My Mother Said...

My mother always told me to count the change. Whenever she sent me to the store, she would say, "And count the change." I always made sure I did. I wasn't going home and getting blamed for someone else's mistake. Today, (whenever I pay with cash) I try to be cognizant of the amount of the sale, how much I give the cashier and how much I get back.

My mother's words came back to me when I stopped at the ATM on my way home from work. I withdrew more cash than usual because I'm going on vacation. When the money popped out of the little slot, I grabbed the $20 bills and began counting. When I realized what a bad idea it is to stand in the little ATM area where anyone can be watching and count cash, I quickly tucked the money in my wallet and hurried out the door, holding on to my pocketbook. On the way to the car, I thought about why I do that and what a bad idea it is. I guess it's because my mother taught me to "count my change."

'Tis the Season..........already?

I love the holiday season. The aroma of the turkey and stuffing filling the house and fresh (well used to be) baked pies, beautifully decorated Christmas trees (even the artificial ones that look so real), the TV specials, holiday movies and the lights. I love the lights. But, already?

For the past couple of weeks, I've been listening to people making comments about all the Christmas "stuff" being out in the stores. Every year we complain because retailers have the holiday decorations up too soon. Well, they do have to start early to get us to buy early. I'll go along with that, to a point. Last year, a lot of us lashed out (rightfully so) at malls, stores and businesses that started using the words "holiday tree." December 25th is Christmas and I don't want to call it anything else. My tree is a Christmas tree. I joined that bandwagon in a heartbeat. I, along with millions of other baby boomer woman who have a huge collective voice when it comes to buying power, refused to shop in such ridiculous stores. Take away my Christmas tree or my Easter bunny and I can get mean. We seemed to have won that battle.

Tonight, on my way home from work, I saw four houses on one street all decorated for Christmas. I couldn't believe my reaction to this since I am going to Disney World next week and can't wait to see the Christmas trees and lights and the fabulous display at MGM. If this were the day after Thanksgiving, I would have said, "Oh, how pretty." Instead, all I could say was, "Already?" As soon as Thanksgiving passes, I'm looking for the lights, but the first week in November, I'm just not ready yet.

I love the Thanksgiving season too. Lots of foliage, lovely fall colors, apple picking, families getting together, giving thanks for what we have. It's a short holiday that is getting shorter every year. I love the lights and can't wait to put our own out (even though we live in a condo and some humbugs complain about owners hanging "Christmas lights" on their balconies and will only allow white "holiday lights"). But, that's okay because my husband puts together a gorgeous display.

As we begin our "holiday" shopping, no matter what we call it, let's enjoy this time of year while we have it. When I come back from vacation, I'll post a couple of pictures of the Christmas trees at Disney World and the spectacular lights at MGM. By then, I should be ready to drive around and look at the lights here at home.

Serving Virtual Beverages

So many friends have been visiting. I wish I could offer you a cup of coffee or tea. Guess we'll have to settle for virtual beverages here, unless you grab a cup of whatever it is you like and sit for a while and browse. My friend Hannelore, from the Boomer Women Speak forums came by today and left a comment. Thank you, and please come back. I think this is growing.

Thank You For Stopping By

Thank you to those who have visited my new blog. Special thanks to those who have left such nice comments. Several of you have commented on the Cosmetics Anonymous post. It seems we can all relate to that one. I will post one of my Rehal World stories again shortly. I love writing about things people can read and relate to.

Phyllis, I put things under my bathroom sink that don't fit in the medicine/cosmetic cabinet too. I'm always buying baskets to keep stuff in. I think it's going to organize the hair dryers, curling irons, Costco size bottles of mouthwash and extra rolls of toilet tissue. It doesn't.

Charlene, thanks for the tip about the Vaseline. Imagine how many tubes and bottles it could take the place of?

Jo, If my cabinet looks like yours, it's because we shop together. :)

Technical Difficulties

More technical problems today. My picture disappeared for a while, but I think I have it back now. Some people are having a hard time reading the font. I don't know why it comes out bigger on some and tiny on other screens. Most of it has been fairly user friendly. This post is a test. I am going to try to make the font bigger and see what happens.

Work in progress

This is a work in progress. The last post doesn't have the "0 comments" so if you want to comment, please do so on another post. I haven't figured this out yet. Thanks.

Learning the Cyber Ropes

I'm finding this site fairly easy to work on, but the comments part is confusing. Thank you to Jane Carroll for commenting. I may have to play around with it a little more to get it right. I'll keep on trying. Photos upload easily. That's a good thing. I love adding photos.

I won't have much time for blogging today. The kids are all coming over (grandchildren too). My little Katie is 9 months old today.

Cosmetics Anonymous

Okay, so here's an example of a Rehal World story. I bought a new lipstick today. Elizabeth Grady - Rasberry. I seem to have this thing for lipsticks. I'm always on the hunt for the perfect color. I gave up trying to find one that stays on. I know better than that. Here is what baffles me.

Women spend millions of dollars a year on health and beauty aids. We buy foot scrubs, body rubs, facial peels, sunscreens and bath products. Our bathroom closets and vanities are full of shampoos, conditioners, hairsprays, scented soaps, bath oils, ointments and nail polishes. Is there anything more relaxing than a good long soak in a tub full of foaming bubbles?

The answer to that might be a day of beauty at a local spa where we could get a full body massage, a facial, manicure, pedicure, waxing and purchase a jar of their latest age-defying miracle cream that is guaranteed to make wrinkles vanish overnight.

In my medicine cabinet, I have a variety of lipsticks with matching liners, several glosses, powder blushes, cleansing milk, skin toner, my favorite moisturizer, foundations, eye shadows, make-up brushes, perfumes, body lotions, hand creams, mouthwash, dental floss, one hydrating mask, an electric toothbrush, cold remedies and a jar of Noxema.

With all these amazing products that promise to keep me young and vibrant, I should look gorgeous, feel soft, smell awesome and be wrinkle free. So why do I have fine lines at the corners of my eyes, hair growing where I don’t want it and dry skin? Why do I call it a medicine cabinet when the only thing in it that comes close to being classified as medicinal is a jar of Vicks Vapo Rub? I should call it my cosmetic cabinet. That would make more sense.

Women aren’t the only ones who indulge in such items. Inside my husband’s “medicine” cabinet I found shaving cream, after shave lotion, several colognes, deodorant, shampoo, hairspray, ear drops, sunblock, foot powder, ointment, bandages, Q-tips, Robitussin and my Susan Lucci skin care system. The vanity drawers are overflowing with items we both use such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, disposable razor blades, soaps, combs and brushes.

Medicines should not be kept in the bathroom. They should be stored in a cool dry place out of the reach of children, as stated on the bottles. I keep my medications in the kitchen. There isn’t any room in my medicine cabinet.

And so it blows...

Just to keep you informed about this hurricane turned nor'easter, I thought I would let you know I live on the east coast close to Boston. We live on a marina, so the water is literally at my back door. It's getting pretty nasty out there. Luckily, I was able to go out this morning and get my nails done. I do have my priorities. High tide should be about 4 p.m. I hope we don't lose our power. I added the rose because it's a pretty picture and we won't see roses again for a while now. ( I also wanted to see how hard it would be to add photos. It wasn't hard at all, so you will see more of them on this blog.)

Welcome

The first thing I want to do here is welcome you to my latest blog. I've tried several, as some of you know. Sometimes they aren't user friendly and I give up on them. The one I call "Fuzzy Pink Muse" is mostly my writing and book promotions. Here I would like to just write about whatever comes to me at the time. More journaling, I guess. I want to make it a place for people to visit and communicate back and forth when I figure all that out.

I'll add photos here and there if they upload easily enough. If not, it will be rather a plain blog.

I would like to talk about things that happen and make me think. I have been toying with the idea of a column of some kind called "The Rehal World." Sometimes, something seemingly ordinary happens, an idea springs from it and I write about it. I want to do that here in The Rehal World.

Let's hope it works.

Thanks for visiting. Come by often.