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!

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?

'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.