Shhh! It's Christmas Eve!

trains, M&Ms, cats, yeah, that's our tree all right!

Carla has been spending a lot of time looking out the back window which is the same window Kaline gazed out of looking for Santa Paws when she was a kitween. Carla didn’t get to watch for him in a nice warm house with a Christmas tree and pretty lights last year knowing that when it was time to sleep she’d be curling up under quilts in a bed with a Daddy and Mommy who loved her. The fact that she is not out in the snow alone makes this a special Christmas for her, but she and Kaline were chasing around by the tree and it really was playing just a little bit ago! Okay, maybe that gift is for David and me!

Here is our festive view from the dining room this Christmas Eve:


This view is why I prefer to keep the shades up at night during Christmas! Our tree and the neighbor across the street – It takes a village to raise the holiday cheer bar! It’s just such a gorgeous, warm view!

Tonight it ends up being just us at home. We were scheduled to go to the Motherland tonight when David got in from work to go to traditional fish fry at my cousin’s house and the back to Pop’s for coffee and gift exchange with my brother’s clan, but we got weather-scared out! We weren’t going to make it until after dinner anyway, which was okay, it’s the people not the food I go for. Fried fish in abundance usually leaves me looking for a snack because I haven’t eaten! I’ve never been a fan of fried fish, I just enjoy seeing my cousins and Uncle John, who I don't see that often. But the forecast at lunchtime said to expect freezing rain here about the time we were leaving until about 3 AM and starting up there just a little later. Well, we actually dodged that bullet in Ohio, but it sure is pink on the satellite in the Motherland right now! After pretty scary drive home last year, we weren’t going to disregard the forecast again. So, instead of fried fish, we had spaghetti and some nice time to spend with the cats who seem to know it’s a special night. They are playful, but peaceful at the same time. Even Baggle was playing with a mousie like he was a kitten!


We’ll be making arrangements to have dinner next week with my relatives that came in from San Marino. They’ll be in the States until just after the New Year and we have tentative plans for Saturday to meet Pop, Dave, Laura and Tori and Rina to have holiday dinner together and exchange gifts. I’m looking forward to that. I can’t tell you how much it hurt to hear that whine in Rina’s voice on the phone when I told her we couldn’t make it. No slight to my Brother or Sis, who I also don’t see often because they are in Indy with the girls too, but it just kills me not to get to see my Sweeties for Christmas! Fortunately the bad weather will be gone by the weekend and we’ll be able to see them. It’s also a bonus for me because I’ll pick up the last part of Dave and Laura’s gift Saturday morning!

I’m listening to the A Very Games Night Christmas 2009 CD that Sheri did for everyone again this year in my CD drive. David is using the outlet that usually powers the stereo for his computer so we can play games and sit together. I like his company even better than the good speakers! My picks that she put on this year’s CD were Away in a Manger by John Berry and Dru Hill’s This Christmas, which is playing now. David’s choice is the bawdiest tune on the album; Christmas Tree by Lady Gaga, the artist David calls his guilty pleasure.


I’m going to finish this blog entry off with a short, fun Meme I got from Kristine.


1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
• Acupuncture
• Some quiet time with David; no poker, no scrapbooking, no trains, just us.
• A new camera
• A case of Almondina
• Caribou Blend and Green Mountain Decaf French Roast K-Cups

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
• Grandma used to make sequined and embroidered felt calendars. I still have them in my cedar chest.

3. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
• I realize I risk sounding disingenuous here, but I really don’t remember a specific gift that was measurably better than any others, I always had abundant and wonderful Christmases as a kid. It was more a feeling that every Christmas was the best yet. I think that love for the holiday and the people I share it with was the best gift I received as a child and still give and receive as an adult.

4. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
• Treats, toy mice, more treats and Carla wants more paper balls.

5. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
• I’ll say later because sometimes he reads this blog!

6. What is your favorite holiday movie?
• It’s a Wonderful Life

7. Favorite holiday song?
• Away In a Manger (I really like John Berry’s version), All I Want For Christmas (is a New Year With You) by Toby Keith

8. Favorite holiday pastime?
• Baking and entertaining


Well, time to cut into our crostada and some ice cream with hot cocoa for dessert and wait for Santa and midnight so we can put the baby in the manger and welcome the true magic that is the spiritual part of Christmas into our home.

Whatever part of the holiday season you hold and celebrate, on what is a very holy night for me, I want to wish you all the very best of what this season holds for you!