Weekend Plans: December, 2023

I thought folks might want to share any fun and seasonal events they are attending this month, really. Doesn't have to be on a weekend.

I am very much hoping to be well enough to attend Cirque Dreams Holidaze (inspite of that horrible pretend word) a production of Cirque du Soleil. I have never been to one of their productions, but my daughter in law loves them. She and my son bought me a ticket and plan to take me, if I can only get it together.

Today my friend is coming over to clean and help me (by help I mean she will do all the work, I will sit and advise) decorate. This was supposed to happen on Monday, but had to be postponed due to stupid health.

Well, I wouldn't have gotten the tree up this past week if my husband hadn't been on top of it. We did have a discussion about the tinsel garland that gets used to fill in some of the bare spots.

We have located both Christmas stockings and blanket; thus, we are prepared for the shifting of the solstice. (Not sure that's quite the correct phrasing but you know what I mean.) The spouse was very worried about locating the blanket last night at 10:33pm and I had to suggest that searching in the morning in the clear light of day would likely prove a better strategy. He knew I was right, but his brain -- once faced with an issue -- must solve it before he can rest. Sure enough we found it this morning...

Today is when many of the Christmas gifts arrive via mailman and delivery truck. I want to get some of the wrapping done this weekend.

Otherwise, I'm going to watch Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and probably the George C. Scott version as well. I love the music of the former, but the latter has always struck me as being one of the versions most true to the original. (There is one made in the '30's that bothers me because it has some relatively affluent middle-class and all-too-healthy-looking Cratchits. I mean, the dark circles around Tiny Tim's eyes are just too clearly make-up...)

Saturday night, we've got the regularly scheduled Zoom cocktail hour with friends scattered hither and yon in the Mid-Atlantic region, and then on Sunday, I have a book group.

After being gone since Tuesday am, hubby is coming home and we don't have any real plans. I have been working at the jewelry thing again after a long hiatus due to having my head in the wrong space and obsessions in other areas. Dumb. So my plan of attack is to recreate some of my successful pieces like these -



And a few others. As well as incorporating new designs and techniques. I'm low on some supplies so will have to put an order in, but have a lot of what I need already. A funny thing, while just poking around some wholesaler websites I noticed that a basic jeweler's bench I bought in 2019 or so has more than doubled in price! It's now $950 which is WAY higher than the price I paid. I think I had a bunch of polishing media plus a Fordham flexshaft in the same order and it came to less than the price of the bench alone. Phew. Dodged a bullet there. Anyway...I'll shut up. Just glad to be back at the bench with my hammers and torches. I even gave it a good clean and a reorganization that has helped with my head space a great deal.

I have no plans for Saturday daytime, which brings me great joy. Late afternoon I will go into town and pick up groceries, then go to ring the bells before the service of Nine Lessons and Carols at the church. Sunday evening is the same service at my own church and I will be singing. As I'll have choir in the morning too I'll go to my mum's in between and put her Christmas tree up. I posted almost all of my Christmas cards today, so that is one job out of the way at least.

>1 MrsLee: I hope you make it to the show. The only thing by Cirque I've seen is Love, the Beatles-themed show which I saw in Vegas. I chose that one because "at least I know the music will be good!" It was awesome.

>3 Bookmarque: Those are COOL!!

>5 Sakerfalcon: Thanks so much. A lot of what I do is quite minimalist and I love mixed metals. They are hand forged and I love the little tube rivet where the ear wire goes. Fussy to make, but the detail is so nice.

The only plan we have for this weekend is attending a stage performance of A Christmas Carol tonight. A friend who had tickets for it realised she was double booked and gave the tickets to us. I like having friends like that. Our gift for her arrived yesterday and I will wrap it at the weekend. It is the first six novels of Dublin Trilogy by Caimh McDonnell in paperback. A good friend deserves a good present.

>4 Sakerfalcon: That show in Las Vegas is where my son proposed to his girlfriend. They are the ones who are taking me Sunday night.

>7 pgmcc: You are a good friend. Great thank you.

>1 MrsLee: I always enjoy Cirque shows, even if I can't follow any kind of plot (assuming there even is one). The spectacle and the artistry and the athleticism always impress. We've only seen them in Vegas, but there's one in town over the holidays and I'm tempted to see if there are still tickets available.

I put my tree up on Tuesday, but have not had time to put lights on it and it only has one decoration, a pewter one that arrived in the mail yesterday from my stepmother. I'm finding the undecorated tree kind of restful LOL. I really will decorate it this afternoon or tonight, though.

My older son's partner messaged me today to ask what the Christmas plans were, and I haven't a clue. I've been frantically getting all my cards printed and mailed, finishing up my printmaking class, collecting all the things to go in the out-of-town parcels (including doing a bunch of baking) and getting them in the mail, and other things.

Today, I rushed through the main grocery shopping, and then went out to lunch with friends, which was lovely. Then I went to the Italian Centre Shop for panettone and cheese and stuff like that, and now I'm home. Saturday, I have an afternoon event, a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" building workshop, which I'm doing with a friend. It sounded like fun, although I don't really need one. I figure it can go to my mother-in-law.

The rest of the weekend will need to be dealing with the last of the Christmas cards (the ones that get hand-delivered in the neighbourhood), reading, baking, maybe some TV. And, of course, figuring out what we'll do about seeing family over the season.

I have just finished my 12 day working. We did bargaining over the weekend. Actually we met 5 days in a row. It was exhausting.

Now that break has started, I am looking forward to a weekend of resting. No plans for next week just yet. I am thinking I’m going to schedule a massage. I need it!

This will be me until the 24th.
(That's the ghost of Christmas Present in the corner.)

Next week my dad turns 100. After that, we'll be back here with both sons and the one's family. We've got tickets to go to Longwood Gardens in Christmas Eve, which we've done a couple of times before. After Christmas, we'll recover.

My friend did indeed come today and clean. We (she) managed to clean the crystal cabinet (corner piece with rounded glass in two doors, one above the other, mirrors in the two back panels). This is where I keep the lovely crystal serving dishes I have been gifted or inherited over the years. We wind lights up, over and around the crystal. This year, knowing that I will have a 2 1/2 year old grandson and a 9 month old kitten/cat in the house, I put my antique glass ornaments in there, and a special tree-top angel from my grandma, and a special silk ornament Mark's grandma made, into the cabinet. Beautiful and safe.
She also opened up a pre-lit tree my husband bought yesterday. Not his fault. He was sent on a mission (4' pre-lit tree, not hundreds of dollars), he sent me a photo for approval, only I couldn't see from the photo that the tree had been "flocked" (if that's what you call smearing globs of something between Styrofoam and cement on the branches), "sprinkled" with tiny clear plastic pellets, so that even though you purchased an artificial tree to save effort, you now have tiny little plastic pellets all over the house. It has odd pinecones poking straight out of the tips of the branches, and ugly red berries here and there. When the box was opened I groaned. Ugly as sin. My friend said it looks like an old lady tree. She isn't wrong. We took it out and did our best to fluff it, turned the lights on and it's still ugly as sin. I'm not sending it back though. Not going to put Mark through that. I will decorate it and call it my cancer tree. Mark says he loves it, but Mark hates Christmas trees and I'm sure is terrified of having to take it back and start over. Charlie Brown's tree is quite tasteful compared to this. Anyway, it's beginning to look a bit like Christmas here.

Other than driving to the airport on Saturday to pick up a friend returning home, I've got absolutely nothing planned. Still trying to figure out how to get my email working again (solid state drive on a 10-month-old laptop bit the dust and I have to reload everything; most of it is back now, but email is not cooperating.
Beyond that, I may just spend some time reading. Actually haven't done that in a long time.

More unpacking! More trips to the er, Resource Recovery Centre and other places for disposing of unwanted stuff. We have a couple of duvets/doonas/quilts that are too warm for Queensland, and you know what? None of the charities that I've polled wants them. I couldn't even honestly give them to a rough sleeper because they'd just be too hot.

>13 MrsLee: Oh my. Perhaps you will get used to it and actually come to appreciate it... My niece bought one that is like a Dr Seuss tree. It folds up like an umbrella, and then you just open it when you need it and plug it in. You can only tell it's unusual if you get really close to it. Artificial trees are easier, but there is always a price to pay. I had an 8 foot artificial tree for 20 years that looked amazing, but each individual branch had to be attached every freaking year. And all the bottom branches were bent out of shape from the decades of cats nesting in them. I miss how it looked, but I don't miss the effort. The one I have now looks just okay, but it's a lot easier to set up.

>15 haydninvienna: Anything an animal shelter could use? Or would it break your heart?
I have about 7-10 afghans that were knitted by my husband's grandma and a couple by myself. Having a hard time deciding what to do with them. My mother-in-law might do something horrible from beyond if I gave them to the homeless and they ended up in the mud or street as most of their things do around here. Amd I know she would kill me if I gave them to an animal shelter. I might ask at the women's shelter, but to my mind these don't keep one very warm, which is why I'm ready to let them go. Plus Nana used some pretty bizarre colors.

>16 clamairy: We used to have an artificial tree like that. I didn't mind the puzzle of putting it together. We got it because one of my sons was allergic to pine pollen. About eight years later I realized it was full of dust and losing as many needles as a fresh one, so we did fresh for a few years, then I started using a living tree. This would have been it's third year, finally starting to look like a tree, but it is an Italian pine, so has two kinds of needles, long and short, and the inner needles at the bottom are all dead. Not an attractive look.

>17 MrsLee: I love the idea of a live one, but I don't have the real estate in my living room to give up to a live one for the entire Winter. Not to mention that it's just me here, and I like a big tree, so getting it inside and out would be problematic.

>13 MrsLee: and >18 clamairy: We too have wrestled with the issue. I think at one point, we too looked at one of the so-called "flocked" kind but rejected it. Over the past decade we've moved back and forth between live and artificial, 6 feet vs 4 feet. But one of the things that struck me this year was that all the garlands seemed to be pre-decorated and come with LED lights. The prices were through the roof.

Looking back in time, when we lived in Bangkok, we had a silver aluminum tree which simply required that one have many, many colorful ornaments. (A white dove with an olive branch in her beak didn't stand out properly.) In New York, you could always find one that had been cut and brought into the city for varying prices. (I did draw the line to my husband bringing in one of the wreaths intended for a grave. He thought it would be just fine in the living room and that I was just being fussy.) Here in Pennsylvania, we've mixed up the Christmas decorations from year to year. (My husband finally got tired of having to crawl under the live "cut" tree in order to water it because the heating in the house dried it out so quickly.) We currently have a "short" tree sitting on a table with a lovely tree skirt all around it.

I'm the only one in the family who cares about having a tree (or indeed any seasonal decorations at all), so I please myself by getting a real tree.

I used to get trees at Ikea, because they were $25 (cheap!) AND they gave buyers a coupon for $25 off a purchase over $100 after the holidays. However, they stopped selling them a couple of years ago. This year, I got one at Home Depot, which was about $30 for a 5-6 foot tree, so the price was right. The trees are always a bit of a gamble because they're all bundled up, but mostly they're good enough for me.

Years ago, I got a beautiful green cast-iron tree stand at Lee Valley Tools, but it has only a small water reservoir and so requires an external reservoir. This was fine until we acquired Newt, who thinks knocking over the reservoir is FUN. I built a stand to keep the reservoir upright, but it wasn't good enough, so until I come up with a better design, I've got it covered with a plastic garbage pail, and the pail is tied to the side of a chair, and so far (fingers crossed) that defeats him. He bangs on the can, but hasn't been able to budge it yet.

I forgot something important that's happening on Sunday: the annual Christmas Bird Count. I am a "feeder watcher," which means I sit indoor with tea and a book and watch my outdoor feeders for a couple of hours and record the birds I see. Which reminds me, I'd better go out and make sure all the feeders are topped up.

>20 tardis: I enjoyed doing the bird count when we used to do it, but it was tempting to cheat. Seemed like the interesting (to me) birds came either before or after the time parameters.

>21 MrsLee: This is so true! One year, I watched for 3 hours and saw NOTHING. I've been watching for 2 hours now and I've seen 3 magpies, 1 downy woodpecker, and 1 (!!) house sparrow. When does one ever see only one house sparrow?

Usually my feeders are teeming with house finches, chickadees, and house sparrows. Blue jays, downy woodpeckers, white- and red-breasted nuthatches, and pileated woodpeckers visit often. Even pigeons. There are ravens nexting in the cellphone tower on the other side of the church across the street. Some years I get juncos, pine siskins, and/or redpolls. On bird count day? Zippo.

>22 tardis: Maybe the view it like a sobriety checkpoint. The word is passed around the flocks, "Stay clear of the free food today, they are counting! Next thing you know they will start charging us!"

Well, guess I am not going to Cirque du Soleil after all. My kids are still getting over their colds. I spoke with the Nurse Practitioner and she advised that even with an N95 mask worn properly, it was a bad idea for me to go into a crowd like that. Plus I cough more in the evenings and I'm sure the other audience members will appreciate not hearing that. Cancer sucks.

>23 MrsLee: Oh no! I'm so sorry ...

>23 MrsLee:
So disappointing. Sorry to hear that.

Well that is a bummer. Sorry you have to miss it, but if it's better for your treatment then that's the right choice.

Tonight we have a neighborhood get together at my friend Vicky's house across the street for some holiday cheer and gift exchange. I made each of the ladies a pendant and some earrings. Five of us women are collectively known as The Ladies of Gruening Lane and we hang out together a lot. Tiaras are worn, wine is consumed, hilarity ensues. We have a lot of fun either all together or in twos or threes, it really doesn't matter. Lately the husbands have decided to do something similar so instead of the LOGLs they're the GOGLs (Gents/Guys of Gruening Lane). So...the LOGLs are hanging at the house with a charcuterie board and a well-stocked bar, and the GOGLs are going out to eat somewhere. Later in the evening they'll come back and we'll continue. Not exactly the weekend, but when you're retired they don't mean quite so much.

>23 MrsLee: Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you had a nice evening with a good book and your kitties.

>26 Bookmarque: As a retired person I have one weekend a year. It lasts for 365 days, 366 on leap years.

Today we got a bus to the local shopping centre (Mall for some of you). My wife bought some jeans and I browsed a bookshop. I did not buy a book but was very interested in three:

- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- Grey Bees by Andrej Kurkow
- Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, a special 25th anniversary edition with an introduction by Tony Robinson

I had been looking for Death and the Penguin by Kurkow but they did not have it.

These books are likely to find their way into my possession at some time in the near future. For the moment I am being good and saving them for later gratification.

>28 pgmcc: I love Hogfather and the movie based on it is actually a pretty good adaptation. We watch the movie annually.

Some year my Christmas card is going to be a print of a collection of Christmas/Yule/Winter Solstice themed books. It will include Hogfather, Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, A Wish for Wings That Work by Berkeley Breathed, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, Dave Cooks the Turkey by Stuart McLean, and anything else I can come up with.

Another Christmas movie that I love is Bernard and the Genie, which is a charming little fable about Bernard Bottle, who has the worst day of his life (fired by his greedy boss, girlfriend dumps him and moves out taking most of the furniture, etc.). He's left sitting in the denuded flat, sadly rubbing the oil lamp that's just about the only thing left when... well, that would be spoilers. Part of what makes it, though, is the cast. Bernard is played by Alan Cumming, the ex-boss with venomous glee by Rowan Atkinson, the genie by Lenny Henry. It's a bit dated, and there are some in-jokes that only the British will get (who the heck is Melvyn Bragg, anyway?) but the story doesn't get old. Unfortunately it's very hard to get hold of. Long out of "print" on DVD. Might come up on some streaming service or other, but I've not looked.

>23 MrsLee: I know this is a disappointment. I'm so sorry the outing didn't come off as you'd planned.

>26 Bookmarque: Did you not see the Green Dragon general memo that all of the Pub women get to wear tiaras as they see fit?

>28 pgmcc: Why no book purchases? Did you forget and leave your wallet at home?

>29 tardis: I remember that book by Charlotte MacLeod!!

.

Well, this isn't a weekend plan thing, but I cannot believe the giant gonads on this fanfiction author. I'm so glad he lost.

https://deadline.com/2023/12/tolkien-estate-amazon-lord-of-the-rings-lawsuits-fe...

>31 clamairy: Agreed, I'm glad he lost.

After losing the last couple of weekends to the plague, we're trying to finish up our chores. Some of the outdoor decorations are up now, but I'm not done yet. Trish has done a great job with the decorations in the house. I put up a couple of small shelves for her today for a few small decorations and we got the main (there will be more than one) tree up tonight. We're getting there for decorating, but today about 8 cards arrived and we're way behind on those too!

Still trying to figure out what we're cooking this weekend, but I watched Rick Bayless make Mexican rice on youtube yesterday, now I have to try making it.

>32 Karlstar: More than one tree? Where do you put them? Inquiring minds and all that, but I seriously want to know.

I have had two pleasant meet-ups so far this week. Last evening I met up with my Albedo1 friends for dinner in an Italian restaurant. The meal was delicious and, as we say here, the craic was mighty*.

This morning I travelled to the Royal Dublin Society? for breakfast with former work colleagues. I left the company we all worked for in 1998. One of the group has been key in making our Christmas breakfast an annual event. He has always hosted and financed the breakfast, which is very decent of him.

After breakfast I headed into town and may have visited a couple of bookshops. I may even have bought a book for my wife. I may even have bought her The Hidden Language of Cats. Do not tell her as it is surprise for Christmas.



*We had a great time.

>31 clamairy: Best comment on that article: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." The fact that the judge made him pay the legal fees for both parties, and destroy all his own work? Ouch. I think the legal fee is rather standard in a civil case. Hopefully to dissuade people from filing utter bullshit claims like this.

Oh, I was exposed to RSV yesterday. Hoping it didn't catch me. I have no regrets about seeing my grandson. Didn't find out until the afternoon it was RSV, he doesn't seem sicker than any other cold he has had.

>33 jillmwo: There's one in my work office upstairs, one in the living room, and there is usually one in the front entryway. There's also a tree-ish thing already in the dining room, so I guess we're already at 3.

>35 MrsLee: oh no! I hope you don’t get it. Sending hugs.

I’ve been enjoying my break time. The other day I went and spent some gift cards. One was at a local indie bookstore. I bought two books: A Day of Fallen Roots and Starling House. I also had a gift card for a manicure so I had my nails done. I’ve also been crocheting quite a bit. A friend wanted a blanket for her mom. So lots of downtime. Much needed.

>35 MrsLee: Oh yikes. :o(

I have one 7 foot tree, and two small ones (24 inches) with lights and another that is 30 inches, and is made of white wooden planks (it's flat) that I have put lights on. I put away the small ones with the lights on them each year.

Re: the tree thing. Coming from a very large family living in an old 3-story house in northern New Jersey, my folks always needed a larger-than-most tree every year to, 1) fill up a section of the living room that had almost no other purpose, and 2) be wide enough for all the presents for at least ten people. Somehow, I was always the one chosen by my father to accompany him on the tree selection. I wrote a stream-of-conscious story about one such occasion here on LT many years ago.

Just found it. https://www.librarything.com/topic/51264#919927 -- from 2008. if you have the time to kill. (I've completely forgotten how to create links!) There are actually two of my stories in that thread (Funny Christmas Stories); the other is post #36. Also several others by others worth rereading.

Having a degree in Forestry and having lived in the Adirondacks for a few years, I'm pretty good at judging trees. My first wife (ThiMs) and I always got a "live" tree.
Post-divorce and having met and married MrsHouseLibrary, I'm pretty sure it was her bipolar condition that kicked in here, Karrell was even more fanatical about getting a "live" tree as soon as humanly possible. I always made sure we didn't get one until at least mid-December because I knew that early-bought trees drop all their needles when it's time to get rid of them. And really, at that point, I was not at all into spending large amounts of money on trees, nor the idea of decorating them. It always seemed that my job was to string the lights (no assistance from her), and she would over-apply the ornaments (with me having to hand them to her.)

In 2016, with her in remission from correctional cancer, and still having a huge out-of-pocket medical debt, I put my foot down when she wanted to pay over $200 for a less-than-attractive Douglas Fir. That was the year I bought an artificial tree - on sale, for about $150. It came in three sections, pre-lit, all UI had to do was take it out of the box, bend out the "branches" and plug each section to the previous. I know it bothered her that there was no pine scent from it, and that it wasn't real. Regardless, she enjoyed placing all the ornaments on it. Getting it back into that box a month later was a real challenge, but somehow I managed.
In 2017, the day after Thanksgiving, I dragged the container (cardboard box) out of the front hall closet, took out the tree, and set it (the tree, not the container) up - before Karrell was even out of bed -- one of the very few times she woke up in the morning not still holding my hand in hers. Eventually, she found her way into the living room and found the tree already lit. It was then that she decided that she really liked the tree and was glad we didn't have to go out to hunt for one. Sadly, it was maybe two weeks later that her cancer returned.
In 2018, Karrell died in early November. After her memorial, I posted an ad for the tree in Craig's List. It was gone in three days. My Festivus Pole - a pencil in a (clean) can of brown beans - is a wonderful low-maintenance alternative, plus I have lots of room in my hall closet again.

>39 WholeHouseLibrary: My MIL was fanatic about her tree. They always had as big a tree as would fit in their house. My FIL would anchor it to the walls and ceiling, then tightly wrap EVERY branch with lights. After that, he used fishing line to brace each branch against the load of ornaments it was about to receive. I don't think I have ever seen a tree as pretty as theirs was. When they decided to "retire" from fuss, my MIL bought a ceramic, musical merry-go-round for the table and that was the tree the last few years of their life.

So far no RSV symptoms and my daughter decided she would risk it and didn't cancel her trip. Expecting her tomorrow, but I think we will have to video phone our grandson on Christmas.

>39 WholeHouseLibrary: Our tree is artificial and already strung with lights. So much easier! This year I was working the weekend it went up. It was so nice to come home from a long day to a lit up tree in the living room. We actually no longer put decorations on it because of the cats. The youngest cat is calming down some so maybe next year we can try ornaments again. :)

>40 MrsLee: Glad you are holding steady.

Today I am going to a place a little ways away that has kangaroos and wallabies. We will get to pet them! I’m pretty excited. I have no idea how long it has been here in Central Oregon, but it’s probably the closest I’ll ever come to visiting Australia. And then tonight The Husband will be taking me out for my birthday dinner. That’s the plan. It’ll probably end up being a birthday lunch tomorrow. He’s usually super tired on Friday nights. :)

>41 catzteach: The very happiest of birthdays, Cindy! Enjoy the animals and the dinner.

>41 catzteach: What Clam said!

>41 catzteach: Happy Birthday! Maybe you should go to the Outback restaurant for dinner (I know it's too late for that, unless you're having a birthday lunch today).

>41 catzteach:. Happy Birthday!! Whether it was dinner last night or lunch this afternoon, enjoy a real celebration to commemorate the day!!

Yesterday, the solstice, was our 38th anniversary so we went out to a dinner theatre. The buffet was (as always) awesome, and the show, a retrospective of Canadian popular music, was a lot of fun. The performers did creditable imitations of a wide variety of performers, from Stompin' Tom and Anne Murray to Justin Bieber and Alanis Morissette. Before the show and during intermission, they played recordings of Canadian music that wasn't in the show, and at one point I even recognized the themes to some old Canadian TV shows: The Beachcombers (1972-1990) and The Forest Rangers (1963-65). Apparently, I'm old. Wow.

>46 tardis: Congratulations! Sounds like a lovely way to celebrate.

>41 catzteach: Happy Birthday! I hope the dinner/lunch is enjoyable. Have a great celebration.

>46 tardis:
Happy Anniversary.

The concert sounds great. I am glad the buffet was awesome.

>46 tardis: Happy anniversary! I'm glad to hear you celebrated in style!

>41 catzteach: and >46 tardis: Happy birthday and Happy anniversary! You both sound like you had wonderful celebrations

Boxing Day is a "Do Nothing But Read" Day for me, and here's my bookpile:

I'm not going to get through more than 2 or three of these, probably, but this is what I've got to choose from.

Kraken Bake? Love the title. And it sounds like a fun story!

>52 tardis: Ooh, enjoy!

>53 catzteach: I agree with you. tardis, it looks like you have a wonderful haul there to choose from!!

>52 tardis: Looks like a book for every mood. Enjoy.

>53 catzteach: Kraken Bake is fun. I first read it years ago, but finally acquired a copy for myself. It's the second in a series, following Food for the Gods.

>57 tardis: Oh, I was wondering what the first book was called. Now I’ll have to look to see if the library has it. :D Sadly, the library doesn’t have it. Guess I’ll just have to get it for my Kindle.

Gotta admire a stack with two Krakens in it.

I finished 2.5 books in my DNBR day, which was lovely. I'll probably knock off a couple more before year end, especially since Paladin's Faith just arrived and I've been looking forward to it.

Starting the 27th, I embarked on another annual ritual: Start The New Year With A Clean House. This began when the kids were small, we entertained more, and I had time during the Christmas break from work. Now I do it for my own benefit. We are having people over for dinner tonight, but it's my kids, older son's partner, and my brother, and his kid, so I wouldn't ordinarily go overboard with the cleaning :) So far, I've done the front hall, living room, library and dining room. The kitchen got a superficial wipe-down but the deep cleaning will be another day, as will the stairs, halls, and bedrooms. My husband will do the bathrooms and some of the other stuff. I haven't decided about the basement.

Don't wanna disturb the bodies, huh?

>60 tardis: Having watched the TV series, "Ghosts" I would think twice before cleaning the basement too. That's where all the cholera victim ghosts were.

My son his wife and their new baby are coming to visit this weekend. Sadly, my health is such at the moment that the best I will be able to do is visit or watch from my chair or bed. That's not how I'm used to hosting. My DIL (who is also a nurse) insisted that she wanted to come so she could clean and cook for me. I think the table has turned for me in life; I am not the one in charge anymore. It is a strange feeling to be passing the baton, to not be the one who takes care of others. I knew the day would come, I didn't expect it to be this soon, though.

How lucky am I that I have a daughter, two DILs and 2 sons to pick up that baton?

You are lucky that they are ready and happy to take over. My friend and neighbor is of a similar temperament around hosting and helping so when she had some surgeries and setbacks, she felt bad about not being able to do for herself and others. So I asked her if she liked doing that - helping people and doing nice things for them. She said yes and so I reminded her that others do too, and by grumbling and doing things for herself when she shouldn't she was denying them that lovely glow you get from being good to others. So spread the glow by being on the receiving end - it's just as valid and is only a turn of the wheel. You are valued and loved for yourself, not your service.

>62 MrsLee: I hope you have a wonderful time with them, and take the sage advice from >63 Bookmarque:.

My friend/college roommate/bridesmaid is coming to visit in just an hour or so. Haven't seen her since our last class reunion about 8 years ago. We now live in the same state, but on opposite sides.

Tomorrow I will begin the process of taking down all the Christmas stuff. I put up 5 trees this year, so that may take a while. One was Harry Potter, another Seuss, Winnie-the-Pooh, Beatrix Potter. The biggest one is everything else...all are book related. My latest inventory spreadsheet makes it 326 ornaments. Which is ridiculous, but yesterday I went to Hallmark for their half-price sale and snagged 6 more.

Mr. Retired has decided to (finally) work on a project in the kitchen. He is building pull-out drawers and shelves in a tall cabinet. Looking forward to having the better use of the space, but right now every baking pan, casserole dish, bottles of liquor, etc. is now on every available space in the kitchen. My job is to give advice on "the look" that I want, and to stay out of his way. :)

>62 MrsLee:
As >64 clamairy: said, do what >63 Bookmarque: said.

Enjoy their visit and wallow in their love.

>63 Bookmarque:, >64 clamairy: & >66 pgmcc: Thank you. :) I will most certainly accept the help with a thankful heart, but it doesn't mean I don't regret the loss of better times when I could make my son's favorite dishes, and special treats. It is a poignant looking back for me, and a wondering if things will ever be any better than this. Sorry. Facing my future at the moment is not exactly uplifting, which is why I try not to talk about it too much. Until I know this crap they are putting me through is actually working and worth the sickness I'm experiencing, it's difficult to accept. If the only way to live longer is to be sick the rest of my days, and still die the same in the end, I'm not sure I'm going to do that. I may decide to at least feel well even if it shortens my time.

I saw this quote the other day and I'm sharing it because it's important to me that people know I'm not fishing for sympathy, etc.

"Sometimes you need to talk about something, not get sympathy or help, but to kill its power by allowing the truth of things to hit the air."

Karen Salmonson (I changed Karen's words by removing two "just" inserts because I overuse that word and am aware that it removes power from sentences.)

>65 theretiredlibrarian: What a wonderful project! That is my one dissatisfaction with my kitchen. I very much wish I had pull out drawers instead of lower cabinets.

MrsLee Let me chime in as well in recommending what >66 pgmcc: and >64 clamairy: have said about the wisdom of >63 Bookmarque:. Your gratitude and enjoyment of their caring will make it all the more meaningful to them.

>65 theretiredlibrarian: I put up 5 trees this year, so that may take a while. One was Harry Potter, another Seuss, Winnie-the-Pooh, Beatrix Potter. The biggest one is everything else...all are book related. My latest inventory spreadsheet makes it 326 ornaments.. I'm going to share the story of your 326 ornaments with my husband. It's not ridiculous if it enhances the holiday for you. I think it's lovely.

I think that's a very wise position/attitude, MrsL, even though it's filled with sadness and loss. The idea of quality of life versus quantity is a quagmire and full of emotion and contradictions. When it comes my time, I hope I can make the right decision for me and I hope you can do the same and that your family will be at peace with it.

>67 MrsLee: Talk as much as you need to. We are here to listen.

>67 MrsLee: Thank you. I will try to keep it in my own thread though. It means the world to me to have a place to vent without hurting my family. They understand, but it hurts nonetheless. I hope that if I am honest, it might help someone else dealing with a shitty hand to cope or identify or something.

ETA: It's raining cats and dogs and water here. Much needed, and adding snow to the mountains. Only it might mean my sin can't get over them tomorrow.

it's hard to get over sin.

agree, vent away. *hugs*

>71 MrsLee:. Stop worrying. If sin wants to get over the mountains, the devil will be sure it does... (Hugs)

>72 MrAndrew: & >73 jillmwo: Bwahahaha! I had to read what I typed several times before I realized what you were talking about. I'm leaving it as is, but of course I was referring to my son, who is NOT my sin, but my delight.

*snerk* I wish it were hard for my sin to get over the mountains, but it always seems to manage.

>67 MrsLee: As others have said, we're hear to listen and lend support.

I agree with others, vent away. It’s one of the things I appreciate about the Pub. Life is messy and we Dragoneers are here for each other. I think of you often and am continuing to send you good vibes.

The weather here is crazy nice. We have very little snow in the mountains. I hope your son makes it over safely.

Son and family are on the way (sin is already here), they will arrive after dark to a hot lasagna in the oven, roasted vegetables and a charcuterie board.

>77 MrsLee:
That sounds like a nice meal. Enjoy your sin.

So, you folks are saying that George Harrison really meant 'Here Comes the Sin'? That song makes so much more sense now.

>79 Karlstar: LOL

*warbling* "Here comes the s_n. doo-doo-doo-doo"

Just fill in the blank!

I hope there won't be too much sin involved - our friends down the road have built their new house on what was just a weekend property and are going to host a bash on NYD - very informal - for all the rest of us on the street which is all of 6 people without our snowbirds. Football and food and friends. It will be fun and best of all, no driving necessary. Can be as tipsy as we like.

I'm so behind reading the threads here - I have been busy, and when home in the evenings I am knitting and watching TV, not reading much. I have to get boxed sets of shows from the library, as I have no cable or satellite, and not enough bandwidth to stream much. So I binge for a bit, then might not watch again for months. Hope all here have a lovely New Year's Eve, and that 2024 will be an excellent year.

>83 NorthernStar:
Have a great and happy New Year.

>84 pgmcc: you too, although you must be well into 2024 by now!

>85 NorthernStar: It is 06:46 hrs on 1st January as I type this. 2024 is going ok so far. Cold, but that is to be expected.