I did, however, promise St. Patsy that I would update you all on a little item: the Tradition Of The Wheat continues. My sister Susan and her husband Paul discovered that the food for their boys' pet hamsters has a high volume of wheat in it. One night, they all sat down and spilled the box and began the painstaking task of picking out the wheat kernels. St. Patsy conveyed them safely to her place at my brother's and set them in their shallow bowl of water to sprout. The planting was successful, and each sibling will get a pot of wheat with a candle on Christmas Eve, thanks to Zach, Jacob, Susan, and Paul, and of course, Cleo and Hipster.
Certainly that does not count as a Christmas Miracle, but perhaps we can count it as a small Christmas Blessing.
I'm also counting the four days of temperatures in the forties and fifties (!!) as a Christmas Blessing. That streak means a smiley goodbye to our five inches of snow, the gutter icicles, and the icy spots on the deck, porch and driveway. What a spirit lifting sight the green grass is. How lovely to go out shopping in just a blazer and scarf. And, in a burst of Non-NEO Climatological Whimsy, we actually had a sunny day or two! I felt renewed.
In spite of the latest research by Science that my cats don't love me, and despite the fact that menopause is causing me to store all my wine in a spare tire around my waist all of a sudden, I am still counting small happies daily. It's not that difficult to do.
Have a lovely, calm-as-possible, happy Run-Up-To-Christmas. Take good care of yourselves and each other. And for my Readers who are not Christmas Celebraters, sit back and enjoy the show. As you know, it's always a good one. Let that be one of your little happies.
So happy to hear about your wheat! That's a lovely tradition. :)
ReplyDeleteToday is my last day of work until January 2nd. My gifts are wrapped, cards and packages mailed, and menu planned. I'm a planner, and like you, I don't let myself be pulled into too many things and thus overwhelmed, so I'm happy and relaxed. I know, I sound like I feel superior, but I don't. Just grateful that this is how it is for me.
It was ugly cold here for awhile, and I was dreading the utility bill. It came this morning, and whilst not cheerful, it wasn't as bad as I had feared. That's a happy indeed. Now they're saying 65 for a high on Christmas. Crazy, huh?
Yay for wheat! I think that's really cool...
ReplyDeleteHere's irony for you - we're heading to NC tomorrow & I looked at the temp this morning. It was 53 here & 34 there. What. the. heck. It's leveled out now - mid 50s in both places.
My question is: how do I manage to look festive in my wintery Christmas-type garments in 50-60 degree weather while hot flashing? Sigh. This may be the year to institute the Christmas tank top!
Hooray for wheat! And the awesome future memory of picking wheat kernels out of hamster food.
ReplyDeleteRecovering from major surgery on Monday, and cranky students with end-of-semester bad results since then (mostly other people's students). Glad that I can finally relax and plan a quiet little Christmas and catch up on all of your little Christmas happies. :-D
Joy to the world, the wheat has grown! I think it's fantastic you all will be getting some!
ReplyDeleteI just got finished wrapping my daughter's presents, and will move onto my son's tomorrow night after he is asleep.
My way of saving sanity during wrapping time is that gifts for children get properly wrapped, gifts for adults go right into a beautiful gift bag. This saves SO much time, and usually people are happy to get a gift bag that can be re-used. I mean, I know I am.
ReplyDeleteHi Nance,
I love your "You might also like"
feature and today as I was going back in time through various posts I saw one where I referred to myself and your other readers as your "Followers".
You made mention of it and seemed pleased that we were followers. I think that was dated 2008 and, because of selective diet and strenuous exercise - My Synchronized Swimming you know- I am still here "Following" you.
You are an interesting and talented writer and I enjoy reading your posts and , even though I may not comment every time, I do want you to know I am out here reading and reacting to what you have written.
I want to wish you and Rick and your sons a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year....
Nancy--What a lovely comment! I most certainly do still get a chuckle out of any sort of notion of anyone "following" me in any capacity. It seems impossible to me. But I am, as I have so often said, deeply appreciative of all of my Dear Readers, and have a special place in my heart for those who bother to comment. It's very satisfying to know that you read here and that you browse my archives, assisted sometimes by the LinkWithin widget. I have no control over what appears, but sometimes I click and read my past posts, too. I work hard over each post, so I'm glad to hear that my efforts are not in vain. Thank you for all the kind words and your holiday wishes. Know that I wish a warm-hearted holiday for you this year.
ReplyDeleteGina--I do love getting a nice,reusable gift bag and I hoard gift boxes, too. Almost no stores give them gratis anymore. How sad.
I could be a faster giftwrapper if it weren't for my obsession with matching the tag to the paper. I cannot help it, and it slows me down terribly.
Ortizzle--Oh, my dear! How is it that you did not tell me about this surgery? I'm emailing you tomorrow, and as soon as you feel up to it, I hope you can tell me all about it. I'm so sorry! Please feel better soon and do have a quiet, pleasant Christmas with Mr.O.
Bug--Oh,how I want so much to see The Christmas Tank Top, and no, I am not kidding. Will it be bedazzled? Lighted? Full of felt decorations like holly and reindeer antlers? Please please PLEASE tell me you're doing it. PLEASE! You would be my Christmas Hero.
j@jj--We are BASKING in the 50s here amidst rainshowers. It's madness, but I am not complaining. No, ma'am.
How fantastic that you are serenely anticipating your Holiday. It's wonderful. I'm pretty much the same--not quite as ready, but very much in control of my Zen. I feel like, hey, it's going to get done, it always does, and whatever doesn't, doesn't.
Last night, a house in our area literally blew up. There was a terrible explosion, and suddenly, the house just wasn't there anymore. It turns out that there was a gas leak; the house blew up and there was a huge fire as well. The explosion was so massive that the houses on either side of it had to be torn down as well,one of them immediately, debris was up in the trees, and several houses on the street behind it are having to have their structural integrity checked.
Pretty quickly, I decided that getting my house ready for a family party on Christmas Eve was pretty small potatoes compared to what happened there. Perspective, right?
Hi Nance! When I heard the address of the exploded house, my immediate reaction was going to look up your house number to make sure you weren't too close to the action. What a terrifying thing happened so close to home. Perspective is right!
ReplyDeleteMay the all the peace and joy of the season be yours. Happy holidays to you and all your family, as well as to all the other Dear Readers.
ReplyDeleteYour Devoted Follower (and Not Commenter as Often As I would Like),
Life at the Funny Farm
LaFF--Oh, thank you for the Lovely Wishes. I do enjoy hearing from you as often as you can get here. Thank you for your Devotion!
ReplyDeleteJ.--Hi there! I trust all the Celebraters there are giving it their best. Give all my love, and thanks for thinking of me.
Nance, regarding the explosion, GAH! The same thing happened here (meaning bay area, not my neighborhood or even city), and many homes were destroyed and people killed. Horrid.
ReplyDeleteIn our little condo complex, I awoke one night at 3am (technically morning, but I think of it as night) to see strange men going in and out of a neighbor's yard. Went out to the parking lot to see if there was some kind of identifying truck...it was a utility truck from our gas and electric company. So then we felt comfortable going into the neighbor's yard to see what was going on. They were digging up a huge hole in the yard...which could not wait until morning. The neighbor said that first, his plants in the area died. Then he smelled something like gas, and called. They came that night. Crazy.
So sorry for your neighbors...how horrid.