Christmas Eve 2012

Gee Whiz, we have been running the roads since Friday, and I'm about pooped out. We have been eating and enjoying the visits with all the kids. We were in Dry Creek on Friday for a nice visit and meal. Saturday we went to Alexandria for another nice visit and party with the relatives there. Sunday we were in Baton Rouge for more eats and visiting. Somebody like me isn't going to be happy when the doctor puts me on the scales next week. And now we have the big day tomorrow. Oh well it's Christmas.

I'm sure glad the girls are all good cooks and I don't have to do too much in the kitchen any more. It was fun then, but its better now that I'm not responsible for all the food. Still have to get my hands messed up once in a while though, I still like to put things together, and I still get requests for dishes that are usually tradition on our Christmas table. But I like to sit back and watch this year.

I went out in my back yard this morning and cut some beautiful red berries off a bush and put then on my dining table and they look so fresh and pretty. That the good thing about living in the country, the natural growing bushes produce such beautiful things. We live in the pine forest so we have all kinds of natural decorations.

I'm looking forward tomorrow when the family comes for dinner. It's always a joy to watch the little ones play.

Merry Christmas everyone. May God Bless.

Christmas Shopping

Yesterday my daughter and I went Christmas shopping. We started out before noon and returned home five hours later. Today I feel a little excited that we got so much done in such a short time. The next big job was getting all these bags sorted out and get down to the wrappings. Lucky for me I found enough paper and ribbons to get it all done, but I forgot about the name tags, so that will have to be another trip. Oh well, I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow anyway, so that's not a big deal.I just hope that I did the right thing and got the little gifts that I could afford instead going hog wild. Christmas isn't meant to be a greedy time when you get all the things you have wanted all year long. It's Christ's Birthday, so I try to give from my heart. That's the lesson that I've learned through the ages.

My sister and I were talking about the Christmases we had when we were kids. We were happy to get a stocking full of fruits and candy. Makes me wonder what would be the reaction if my grandchildren would wake up to a stocking like that on Christmas morning. It's a different world.

My good friend who helps me keep my house clean brought me a nice box of home made cookies as a present. They are so good and I love her for it. Needless to say I don't need all the sweets, but I surely do like them. I like to bake them,too. Next week I'll try a little baking myself. Nothing is better than warm cookies and milk. It would be nice to have some right now.

My gifts are wrapped and the mess is cleaned up, now I can think about what to do next.

Remembering December 6, 1983

We were preparing for this day, had been for nine months. My daughter announced the good news to us as soon as she knew for sure about this event by telling me to start making Raggedy Ann Dolls. I had made those dolls for other grandchildren. We started planning a trip to Amsterdam to see this little one. It was an exciting time. This was our gift for Christmas that year.

We made arrangements to be off from work, and that wasn't easy. This was the Christmas season and the most important time of the year in the place where I worked. But they OKed my months leave anyway.

One the day we fly out of the airport it was snowing and the plane was late coming in. We sat and watched the snow come down and waited and waited. The plane arrived and we were on our way. The trip was uneventful and we were then in Amsterdam. My daughter and the proud daddy brought our little grandson to meet us at the airport. What a Christmas present? We got to enjoy our present for two weeks and then it was time to come home again. It was a special two weeks.

Yesterday was his Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! Hope you had a good day. Love you. MM

Another Good Day.

This warm weather makes me think spring. Even I know it is just the beginning of December, but I think the maker has gotten things mixed up a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love this nice warm weather and my check book does too. I hate the high heating bills, but what I hate most is the repair bill. I had one of those this past week. On the coldest morning and days we've had this year my heater went on strike. I got out of bed in a cold house and when I turned the heat on I had no heat. I just did what any little ole lady would do. I went to the closet and got a blanket, curled up in my lounger with a hot cup of coffee and watched a movie.

Lucky as I am, it turned out to be a pretty nice warm day. The service man came the next day and fixed the problem. And then it turned warm again. Thank goodness it isn't so warm that I must turn on the cool air again. I don't like to pay big heating and cooling bills.

I'm beginning to think Christmas. Today my daughter and I drove out to a Christmas tree farm. I was not in the market for a live tree, but I did want to get some good cane syrup to put in my gingerbread men. I like to make them for my little grandchildren or whomever likes gingerbread. They make cute tree decorations also. It's nice to have some edibles on the tree. I like to make them and love the aroma when they are baking. So good. I like to decorate my packages with them. I tie them in the bow. They are really cute. I'll keep you all posted about how they turn out.

Oh! By the way, I didn't get the syrup at the farm. Have you priced a little jar of cane syrup lately? Don't worry, I'll get some somewhere.

The Weather is Changing.

After spending a really good day with the family , I felt exhausted and went to bed. Before I went to bed I did the usual things. Locked the doors and turned the temperature in the house to it's usual cool for  good nights sleep. Surprise, It turned colder through the night and I awake cold and miserable. I got out of bed and reset the thermostat and went back to bed. At this point I couldn't go back to sleep. I got out of bed, made a pot of coffee and watched the sun come up.

Last night when it was bed time, I made sure I wouldn't have a repeat of the night before. I set the temperature the same as usual. I pulled out my cozy long sleeved warm gown, and then pulled out a warm blanket to put on my bed if I felt cold during the night. What a surprise? I didn't need the long sleeved gown nor the blanket. I slept with my arms over the covers. I used only the sheet to keep me comfy. That's the kind of weather we have in the southwestern part of my state.

You never know if the few drops of moisture that is on the door steps are from a shower we had before dawn. or if it moisture from the humidity. It was a little wet around here this morning. Now we can enjoy the sunshine.

Thanksgiving Is Over, But Still Feasting.

Two days after Thanksgiving Day and we are still eating. I've got to stop this. Today I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Nothing different from usual. Then lunch time came and I snacked on crackers and peanut butter and waited to eat with the family. Well, it was a big meal again. I had promised myself to eat lightly, but I didn't. We had the best macaroni  and cheese, creamed spinach and pork roast. Just couldn't say no, and the apple dumplings with ice cream were out of this world. I'll diet another time.

It has been a good holiday. I've enjoy the days with the family. It's always fun when there is a little one learning to grow up. They are learning so fast. I dropped a bowl on the tile floor and it broke in tiny pieces. The little one said very quickly "Memaw made a big mess".

We've been blessed with a beautiful day today. This was a cool cloudless day. So pretty. So much to be thankful for.

Back Yonder

Did you ever realize you didn't have hot water when you needed it most? Last night I had to clean up a big mess and realized I had no hot water. I just knew that I would have to get up this morning and go shopping for a new water heater. Mine is getting a little old and I thought it was giving out on me. I tried all the taps and still came out with cold water. I was beginning to look for my old kettle that I use to heat water on top of my stove. Thank goodness I didn't have to get down on my knees and dig it out of the cabinet where I put it many years ago. I'm not sure I even have one anymore.

My neighbor came over and we discussed what we would do, and then she discovered the switch to the water heater had been turned off. She turned the switch back on, we were'nt sure it would work. Bingo, I turned the hot water tap on and it worked. Who turned that switch off? Did I do it? And then I remember my sweet little granddaughters playing when they were here visiting. The little one was so proud that she had gotten tall enough to reach the light switches. They went all over turning switches on and off. This one didn't turned back on, but it is now, and I have hot water again.

When I was a little girl that age I didn't know what a light switch was. We didn't have electricity in our house. The water was pumped from the ground with a pump with a handle on it, and pumped the handle up and down to get water. We brought the water into the kitchen and heated it on the cook stove to have hot water.  Imagine what it was like at bath time.