The Magic of Christmas

The magic of Christmas is everywhere. The tree comes down after over eleven months in the attic, we plug it in, and the lights come on. Really - no fiddling with plugs and wires and tiny bulbs. It just comes on, which sounds like magic to me.
Getting our treasures out for another season of joy.
Saying hello to the Raggedys again. They look good for being 35 years old, don't they?
The fun we have playing the piano (very badly) and singing Christmas carols together.

The best magic of all - the birth of Jesus.

Wishing you and yours joy during this magical season.

Some fun reading

My sister in law, Judy, lent me these books to read six months ago. The reason it has taken me so long to read them, is that I have to keep stopping so I can try the recipes. Each book has about a dozen tasty recipes. Mmmmm.

A mixed review

Party time!
We managed to transform our waiting room into a party room for the evening.

Mary Ann decorated the amazingly beautiful tree. Wow!
Larry is such a great date!
Things got a little out of control during the gift exchange. You'd think people that have worked together 10 hours a day for ten years or more could get through an evening without drowning out the entertainment with their chatter, but it wasn't so. One nice gal didn't hear her number called, and never got a gift to open. There were four left at the end, so random people opened them. Afterward I realized Maxine hadn't opened one, so I went home and made her a tree to hang on her wall. We had been talking about how we hadn't started our decorating yet, and when would we find the time. I gave it to her at work today. She especially likes the mouse! (I do too.)

Stage Fright

Does your mouth ever open up and words pop out that you WISH you could take back, but they're out there for all the world to take note of?

At a meeting at work a couple of weeks ago my mouth allowed the words, "That would be fun." to slip out. Somehow those words put me in charge of the gift exchange at the party this Friday evening.

And now I'm afraid. Afraid they won't like it. Afraid no one will participate. Afraid I'll just want to go home after working ten long hours, and not want to go to the party at all.

Here's the deal. Everyone is to bring a wrapped, unmarked gift, and take a number from a darling decorated oatmeal box. This bedecked oatmeal box will be on a similarly bedecked card table, wearing a charming red plaid tablecloth with white eyelet around the hem.

Person #1 selects a gift and opens it for all to see.

Person #2 does the same, and can decide if he wants to keep what he opened, or trade with #1.

Each subsequent person can trade with anyone who has an opened gift in hand.

The last person to open a gift can trade with anyone at all.

These are not supposed to be new gifts. Something you had, or found, or made, or as a last resort bought for less than $10. This charming ceramic lettuce bowl was supposed to go to the church rummage sale, but was too perfect for this to give up. (Thank you, Betty. I LOVE this bowl and hope I end up with it.)

I'm taking several gifts in case someone forgets to bring one. It was fun to forage around the house for likely candidates.

What do you think? Is my stage fright justified?

How did you meet?

See these nice looking guys? Larry is on the left, and David is on the right. You've all heard me talk about how thankful I am for my family, but have you heard how Larry and I met, back in 1978?

We lived in the same apartment complex at the time, and had a nodding aquaintance, as we both left for work around the same time each morning. One lovely June morning I went out to my car as usual, to leave for work. This handsome young man nodded "good morning," and then did a double take. "Did you know you have a flat tire?" he asked.

It was on the passenger side, and I had no idea. "Here, I'll change it for you," he said. It turned out to be a much bigger project than he anticipated. It was an unusual make of car (International Harvester) and required an odd size of lug wrench, which he had to borrow from someone. After he was finished I said, "I'd like to do something for you in return. I sew, is there anything you need to have mended?" A few days later he gave me his jeans to patch, and the rest, as they say, is history. Two years later we got married, and have been enjoying each others company ever since.

How did you meet your spouse or best friend? I'd love to hear about it!

Giving Thanks

It's that wonderful time of year. We spend several days cleaning, cooking, and preparing, all in honor of Thanksgiving. I was cleaning my desk and getting a little bogged down, surrounded with bits and pieces of paper I didn't want to throw away, but didn't really have a place for. Larry said, "Put it in a box, store it in the porch, and get it out again next year and see if you still want it." Now THAT is very good advice; I followed it immediately.

I took a similar approach with my sewing area. No time to do it properly, so I bundled it all into a box to make decisions about some other time. :>}

I like the way he thinks!

One thing leads to another.

I happened to mention to Larry that it would be nice to have another pegboard in the kitchen. I came home from work, and it's the first thing I saw. What a guy!

We're having a goofy gift exchange at work at the Christmas party, which is early this year, in just two weeks. This is my contribution. :>}