December 21st, 2021

This will be my last post before the Big Day!  As we get down to the wire on Holiday Preparations I know that we are all a little squeezed for time, me for writing, you for reading these blog posts of mine so I'm going to give us both a few days off.  Take one thing off of both of our plates.  Every little bit helps ;)

Today I'm offering up just a few bits and pieces of observations:

It's not looking very traditional Christmassy here today. I mean not even for Florida.  It's grey and gloomy and rainy and my phone has been pinging me "Severe Thunderstorm" Warnings for an hour or so.  Despite that, I hear the banging and clanging of workers across the street who are building a massive house.  I hope they know to stop if the lightening begins!  Yikes!  But whatever this Severe Storm brings us, at least it's not snow and ice! Eventually the sun will come back out and it will be normal Florida Christmas once again.

I was very amused at my grocery shopping trip on Monday.  Which surprised me because what I expected was lots and lots and LOTS of harried, stressed out shoppers, empty spots on the shelves and general craziness.  All  of which was there of course, but then I saw something that made me laugh out loud and suddenly all the rest of it was not a big deal at all.  Some adult sized human was walking around the store, very casually, as if he were an ordinary regular grocery shopper, in full on Spiderman Regalia.  Spiderman Shops at Publix!  LOLOLOLOL  It was awesome and exactly what we all needed.

I have been enjoying So Very Much all of the Christmas Cards that are showing up. And I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't that long ago that THEY (the mysterious omnipotent "they") predicted that paper cards were a thing of the past, dinosaurs.  People would now send only electronic cards. We would protect the environment, save the trees and the cost of postage.  I have nothing against trees, in fact I quite like them.  I have planted many a tree in my day and it is no secret that I like to save money.  But as clever as some E-Cards are and as convenient as it may be to just link your electronic address book to an ecard and hit send, saving both your hand from writing and the time necessary to put it all together, it's just not the same.   I do not poohpooh any ecard I get! I'm delighted that someone thought of us at Christmas time and thank you very much!  BUT a real 3-D card that I can hold in my hand, on hang on a tree or stand on the table or  make a craft with later is infinitely better.  Just my opinion mind you. But clearly others feel the same way because we have gotten so many lovely cards this year ;)

It was reinforced to me this year that, oddly, the more I bake, the less of it I eat.  I know, that sounds wrong, doesn't it?  Maybe it's the same reason that in many cases, people who work at ice cream, candy and cookie factories who allowed to eat as much as they desire, eventually lose the desire.  Perhaps it's true that you really can have too much of a good thing?    No, that just seems wrong.  And yet, in the past few weeks, much like all of you, I have made more cookies, pies, brownies, cakes and other goodies, than the rest of the year combined.  And I ate very little of it. In fact, I made some things that I didn't taste at all.  Not a nibble. Very Strange. It's as if I entered some bizarro world of opposites!  

One of the things I love about Christmas time is how personal it is to everyone.  There are as many different correct ways to celebrate this holiday as there are people on this planet.  And yet we find ways to merge traditions, to create new traditions, to embrace old traditions or mix it up.  I love talking to people about how they celebrate, hearing their ideas, their plans their Christmas History.  And what's more, I am not hearing any people argue that other people are celebrating Christmas wrong.  Other times of year, some folks are quick to point out presumed errors in how we think, dress, talk and act because there is so much variety, so many different ways to do everything and perhaps they are discomfitted by what they perceive as disorder.  Everyone must do everything the same way. (which is so silly)  But at Christmas Time we seem to embrace the disorder, we love the messy, we delight in the differences between us.  If only we could keep that attitude all year long.

And I think that's enough of that.  

So, I will end this post (and this week) by wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas or whatever holiday it is that you celebrate at this time of year.  I hope it's happy and funny and sweet.  I hope you cherish your old traditions and start some new ones.  I hope you eat good food and feel cozy with good friends and/or family.  Watch some Christmas movies, enjoy some Christmas Activities.  Exchange a gift or two. And love every moment because this moment will never come again.

Hugs all 'round