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As you can see by the time at the end of this post, it's after 3:00 am! We went to bed at 11:15pm. I did fall asleep, but woke for a bathroom call. Walked into the kitchen, looked at the clock - 12:30. 12:30! Went back to bed. After much tossing and turning, and feeling rested and awake, I decided to get up. No sense laying there, wishing for sleep. That never happens.
So, to the wheel. Plying for 1 1/2 hours. Oh, yes. And coffee. Turned the pot on. And the radio - low. More wood in the stove. Then a computer game for an hour. And here I am.
I'm pretty sure I mentioned this before in a blog, but my mother had the same trouble sleeping. But hers was all the time. Thank goodness this only happens to me once in a while. A few times a month. And that's enough.
For about the last 10 years of her life, my mother would get up every morning at 3:00am. She went to bed around 10:30pm. She never knew why, nor could she do anything that would change the time she woke up. She would put the coffee on, turn on the TV and then cat nap for the rest of the morning. Sometimes my dad would get up with her, but he went back to bed about 7:00am until a more reasonable time to get up.
In between, things that had to be done were. But there was always the nap in the afternoon. Me too. There are very few days that I don't take a nap.
But the problem here is that I have things I want to do during the day. Preferably in the morning hours. There's a lot of spinning and knitting to be done. Housework, laundry, grocery shopping and other errands also. And this "up all night" throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing.
I don't know why this happens. I go to bed tired; fall into a deep sleep. But an hour or so later - Bam!! Eyes wide open! BH sleeps. He can fall asleep in seconds. And sleeps very soundly. That's kind of a good thing. I have time to myself. But, geezzz, couldn't it be during regular daytime hours??!!!
Maybe it has something to do with the past weekend. There were a few very late nights, a lot going on during the days, and I have been tired and worn out since the end of all the commotion. Not felt really rested.
Ok. I'm getting tired now. I think I'll put some more wood in the stove and climb into the recliner. If I go to sleep now, I can be up at 7:00. And that will suffice for hours of intended chores to be done. But not all that I had hoped to accomplish today. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. And maybe there'll be regular sleeping hours tonight. Good night, y'all.
Grandson with ipod docker. Yes, it's the Justin Bieber look......unfortunately.
This is Lammi, son-who-used-to-live-with-us's 4 yr. old bunny. I love her! She is so much fun. She must be looking for her presents! Oh, she doesn't really have red eyes! Sorry about that.
Daughter received a plaque made by other son's fiance. We all received "heart-made" gifts. She does beautiful work.
Lammi's "dad".....he doesn't have pierced ears; it's an ornament made by future DIL. I wish I had taken a picture of both him and BH with their "ear fobs"!!
BH received a gift card.....talking to.....someone........
Future DIL received hand-thrown pottery pieces from us. Ehhh, not thrown by me....
Son received a box of sauces, wood chips, sauce injector and oven safe mitts. This guy loves his BBQ!!!!
Then there's our tree. The first real tree in 4 years. I love it!!
Lastly, a picture of the deck all "decked" out for Christmas!!!
Where am I, you say?? Well, of course, I was the photographer!! Funny.....nobody said....."here, Ma, let me take a picture of you".........hmmmmmm. Nor did I get a picture of son who got here on Saturday, opening gifts on Christmas Eve. Why?? I don't know.....I think I was catatonic by that time. My bad.
See, that's Santa saying "good-bye" for this year. Back to the North Pole; back to work. As most of us are, whether for monetary gain or just life in general.
Today the last of our house guests are going home. Son and daughter. I started cleaning out the fridge last night after supper. Leftovers. Again. More tonight. Last night I'm laying in bed thinking if I should start undressing the house Wednesday. The better side of my brain is telling me to wait till the weekend. But my heart is telling me to wait till after January 6th.
My mother never took the tree down till then. January 6th. The Epiphany; Little Christmas. Also, it was her birthday. I think she really wanted to keep the glitz till after her birthday.
Anywho, with the passing years, it seems better to get things back to normal as quick as possible, whilst also showing respect for the season. So methinks next weekend it is. A day before or a day after New Year's. Leaning toward the day after. Because I don't think my energy level will be up to it until then.
Last night we just sat around watching the "idiot box". By 10:30, I called it a day. Isn't it funny how you can have loads of energy, buzzing around doing this and that, people commenting on how "you do too much! Where are you getting this energy from?!"...........and then you crash!! You can't function. Can barely get out of the recliner for the bathroom, or get another cup of coffee. Hence, the need for the bathroom. It's a never-ending vicious cycle. Don't care what meal time it is, everyone fend for themself.
Yes, Christmas is over. It's time for all good family to go home. Time to lollygag around the house. Taking numerous naps throughout the day. Eating PB and J sandwiches for supper. Because you can't bear to look at the stove anymore or wash one more load of dishes.
You want quiet time. Alone time. Stay in pajamas all day time. Bring out the wheel time. Pick up the needles and the ufo time. Your crave it; you dream it.
There's a hitch in this last day. There are a couple of things that need to be returned or exchanged at the stores. Omg. Do I have the energy and want to spend an extra couple of hours doing this? Or do I wait till next weekend? Can we get this done without taking house guests with us? Will it be quick and painless? Maybe all the people did their exchanges, returns yesterday. And the stores will be nearly empty today. And they will have the articles I need to exchange sitting right there in the front aisle as you walk through the door --- and they'll be in the size I need.
Geeezzzz, I need more rest. I'm obviously getting delirious.
Merry Christmas to you all! May you have a happy, blessed day with family and loved ones. Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus.
Well, it's Christmas morning. All the family is still asleep. It's been a busy couple of days here and more to come over the next few days.
Son and fiance came up Friday afternoon; grandson was dropped off by his mom earlier in the day; we picked up daughter in the morning; and son with bunny came in about 8:30pm. He missed dinner, but at least he made it here. Which some years doesn't happen.
Dinner turned out great - rolled, boneless roast pork loin with sauerkraut; roasted potatoes; green beans with bacon bits and parmesan; glazed carrots with almonds; stuffing; applesauce and pumpernickel bread. Yum Yum!! Dessert was Baklava, Cannolis and Christmas cookies.
Lots of yakking through the night; off to bed about 2:00am!! Yesterday morning, up at 5:00am!; we did some more yakking over coffee and cookies and then got to the serious business of opening gifts. Son and fiance had to leave in the afternoon for home; grandson was picked up by mom to head to the Cities for her family celebration.
BH left at 2:30 to pick up other son. Dinner last night - lasagna, salad, Italian bread. More of the same desserts. More gifts opened. All the gifts, as a matter of fact. I wanted to save some for this morning but was out-voted!! We all received beautiful things and everyone was thrilled with what they got.
Son and bunny left for home at 11:30pm, much to my disappointment. He was originally going to stay until this afternoon, but forgot his medication. He didn't want to go another night without it. And I understood that this would have repercussions for him. So I packed him up with some food and goodies, lots of hugs and kisses, and off they went. Off to bed at 1:00am.
I wake up this morning(7:00am) thinking "1 more day and it's over; we're by ourselves again; peace and quiet". Then it occurs to me........wait a minute......this isn't Monday!!!! It's Sunday! Christmas Day!! We still have a whole day to get through. Phone calls ---- lots of phone calls coming and going; lots of yakking, lots of eating, pots and pots of coffee; another dinner to be put together (leftovers, for sure!) and most likely, another late, late night. Geezz. I'm just about worn out. I really can't take a 3-day Christmas celebration!
Son who lives nearby and daughter will be going home Tuesday. That was the plan a couple of weeks ago. I gotta stick to it, lest BH lose his Christmas spirit in a hurry. But I'm getting very tirrreddd.
And bored. Nothing to do as far as celebrating. It's over. It's done. Let's get on to something else, like routine (something I don't say very often!). So maybe today I'll put some gifts away, fold up the boxes, get rid of the bags of crumpled wrappings, do some laundry. Then relax. Maybe pick up a new book I received and start reading. Maybe pull out a ufo and continue knitting. But I will relax. I will relax. I will relax. (Say it 3 times and it's yours, right?)
Tomorrow will be a "heebie/jeebie" day. Because the anxiety and anxiousness will be setting in big time and I'll be wanting to get life back to normal. Hopefully it will pass quickly.
I do love Christmas, but it's anit-climatic. And I really love the down time, the peacefullness of it all afterwards.
So, may your day be merry and bright; and may your Christmas be......whatever brings you peace and joy!
My mom and dad went for the Christmas tree together. No kids tagging along. The tree was purchased a couple of days before Christmas and set up on Christmas Eve. I remember my father setting it up in a bucket - a metal, scrub bucket, filled with sand. Yep. Sand. Then pieces of chopped wood anchored in the sand, leaned up against the tree trunk to hold it steady.
My father would put the lights on the tree; they had to be just so! My mom did the ornaments and us 5, then 6 kids would sit on the floor and straighten out each strand of lead tinsel, saved from year to year, scrunched into a ball from the previous year. Yep. Lead tinsel. My father would then, meticulously place 2 strands at a time on tree branches. Yep. 2 strands at a time! To look like long, sleek, glittering icicles. But it was the most gorgeous tree every year! It's what I still aspire to - tinsel and all, though no lead involved!
Christmas cookies were set out by the dozens! Ohhh, my mother's cookies! She made the best cut-outs, frosted and sugared, and her chocolate chip were the best! Of course, my father had to have a big bowl of nuts set out - with the nut cracker and pick. Nuts. In the shells. My paternal grandmother was known for her Fruitcake, soaked with rum every day for a week before Christmas. Oh, how I loved that fruitcake!(hic! pardon....) Nothing has compared since.
And my maternal grandmother always had to have her bottle of "Rock n Rye". Sitting right next to her chair. Which she would pour into a small glass and sip throughout the evening ("just a small glass, Peter", she would tell my dad). For "medicinal purposes; it soothes my throat" she would say to everyone. Rock n Rye? It's rye whiskey with hunks of rock candy floating in the bottle. Rock candy? it's a concoction of hardened sugar and corn syrup formed into lumps that look like...rocks.
Come Christmas morning, us kids would be up at 3:00 - 4:00am, sneaking down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as we could (not an easy feat - the stairs creaked horribly). Some years Mom and Pop had just gone to bed minutes before. Back then, only articles of clothing were wrapped, not the toys or other paraphenalia. Everything on display, in the open. "Eeekk!!! Wowww!!! Look! Look!! Who's is this?! Can I play with this now?? Let's set it up!!"......were the almost hushed squeals of excitement!
One year, we were instructed not to come downstairs until Mom and Pop called for us. "Or Else!" Yeah. Right. So, Pop went to work that night. Mom sleeps like Rip Van Winkle. We're in the clear. We have our secret knock on the doors figured out; the plan is set.
Down the stairs we go, 3:00am. (Why do kids always know to get up in the middle of the night on Christmas, but can never get out of bed on time on a school day?!) Again with the quiet squeals of excitement. Picking each item up, eyes all aglow, passing it around for others to see, then it happens.......
we see the headlights of the car pulling in the driveway. "Everything back! Everything back! Hurry! Hurry! Up the stairs!!" A gaggle of kids running up a flight of stairs like a herd of buffalo, into our beds, all before my father's key unlocks the door and he walks in!!
Hehehe! Fooled him! He'll never know! (Of course he did. But it was never spoken of at the time!)
Ah, then Christmas Day. After the hubbub of drooling over the gifts and cleaning up, kids went to their respective spaces to play, Mom started dinner. After supper, all the relatives came to visit. Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncles (14 of them) and our cousins (13 of them). More gifts! More food and snacks! The house was filled with laughter, loud talking, adults getting funnier and funnier with "Christmas cheer" in liquid form!! What a blast!!
The day after, kids would take their most prize possession and go to our friends' homes. Comparing our gifts. Ooohhing and Ahhhhing over each others things, making mental notes "put on my list for next year". During the week, we'd go visit relatives and grandparents. More fun! What a season!
As a kid, I remember the year my grandmother bought and set up an aluminum Christmas tree. A huge tree! I guess it was all the rage back then. She decorated it with pink satin balls. On the floor sat a color wheel that would project yellow, green, blue and red color on the sparkly aluminum tree as it spun around. All the kids thought that was the most beautiful fake tree we ever saw!
One year my mother and father decided that they would come visit each one of us and our families on Christmas Day instead of having the big doings at their house. What a bummer that was! Nobody liked it, not even them. Yeah. They never did that again. We resumed our Christmases at their home for many more years.
Things didn't change much as we became adults and had our own families. Still going to Mom and Pop's on Christmas afternoon. Supper, gifts - oh, the gifts!! Now there were 12 grandchildren of their own. There was not a clear spot on the floor in the living room, scattered with wrapping paper, boxes, toys, clothes ---- and kids. Every age and size. Not too many relatives came to visit -- they had their own grandchildren now, their own family get-together. My parents and aunts and uncles would visit each other's homes during the following week - adults only.
When mom decided in her later years that preparing the Christmas buffet was too much for her, I took over. We lived next door to my parents at the time. So, I would prepare the big feast, all brothers, wives, children and my sister and parents would come to our house in the afternoon. What a time we had!! We lived in a small cape cod style home.
There were 12 adults and 11 kids of all sizes and ages. The house was packed! Kids would fix their plates and go sit on the staircase steps and the basement steps to eat. Adults would be packed around the table and every seat in the living room. After eating and visiting, we would all wander over to Mom and Pop's for gift opening and more celebrating. Sometimes, extended family members would come to visit. Everyone gathered up their clan and their goodies, saying goodnight, thankyou's, Merry Christmas! and heading home around 11:00pm.
As the years progressed, a few of us moved out of state. But those that remained continued the traditions. My sister took over and had the Christmas celebration at her home every year. Still does. The rest of us still baraged our parents with phone calls, laughter, memories, and gifts. We drove back home one Christmas. I always wished we had done that more than once. But situations prohibited it. This regret I will carry with me for all my life.
I wish I could go on and on. SO many memories!! So much family. So much love and togetherness.
Now my Mom and Dad are gone. Our first Christmas without either one of them. Our families are separated. Some by miles, some by attitudes and perceived wrong-doings to them by others. But for those of us still "family", we will once again celebrate Christmas with life-long traditions as well as some recently established ones. And pray that this Christmas, past memories will open hearts and minds. That relationships will be re-established, all will be forgotten and forgiven. That "Family" is the key to the spirit and true meaning of Christmas.
Wishing you all a most blessed, Merry Christmas in the bosoms of all those you love. God Bless.
So everything is going along as planned. The list is getting smaller, things being crossed off as they're completed. 4 more days and counting.
My energy level is ebbing. Big time. The goal of next Tuesday keeps me moving. Right now the days are relaxed, things to do can be taken in stride. No rush, no push, no fuss.
I think I pulled a muscle in my shoulder -- again. Just enough to be aggravating. I know it happened when I lifted a storage tote just about over my head to put it on top of other totes. Should not have done that. But that's me. Never learn!
Everything is right on track. This makes me very happy! Except, now with some free time, I tend to get a bit lazy. There's nothing to be done before dawn's early light; nothing that needs tending right after supper. What to do......what to do......
I was thinking, at 4:30am, that I could uncover a wheel and do some spinning. Or pull out one of the UFOs and work on that. But this would just lead to a slippery slope. I would be playing with danger. My house would be dusty and messy and we'd be having scrambled eggs for Christmas dinner when the family arrived. Best to stick with the plan.
Son from NY called yesterday evening to say a box arrived. The "goodie box" of course. He was eating Baklava while talking to me. "This is great! Ohhhh, it's sooo good. I haven't had Baklava in years". "You're supposed to share it with the family" says I. "Oh, I'll share. But the banana bread is mine, right?" I'm laughing. He yells to his wife "the banana bread is mine, all mine!" I know before Christmas Eve is here, the "goodie box" will be gone! This is one kid you don't have to worry about what to get him ---- just send him lots and lots of goodies!
Baklava:
I've been trying to take pictures of the tree and some decorations, but I can't get the right adjustment on the camera. They come out all blurry or extremely overexposed. Still working on it.
Today is grocery shopping for the weekend. I'll have to go to the local store instead of the "Big" one 25 miles away. BH is having trouble with his foot again. The same one he twisted when he fell last month. So he soaked it in Epsom salts yesterday; plan the same today. He doesn't like me traveling to the "Big" grocery store by myself. Men! (But I can go to daughter's - 60 miles away by myself!.......don't get me started....) Silly man! Anywho, I told him last night that he may have to see a doctor after the holidays. Even he now thinks he may have chipped or fractured a bone. Yikes.
Well, I'm going to get started doing something. Don't know what. BH is still sleeping and I don't want to make any noise that will wake him. I could re-do the shopping list. Or uncover a wheel and..........
All the hustle-bustle is done. The hurry, the worry - done. Putzing around from now till the Big day.
BH had to move 3 storage totes, filled with rovings, batts and coils, to the van for the time being. This is a small house, afterall, and the closets are already filled to capacity.
Wheels have been covered and moved to safe spots, out of the way; out of sight. Bobbins of yarn waiting to be skeined or waiting to be plied have been put back in their respective storage containers. I am getting the heebie-jeebies. I am an addict. I need to spin. I want to spin. Lord, keep me sane for the next week.
Two knitting projects are sitting on their needles, in their tote bags. They, too, have been relegated to hiding spots. I can't pick them up, because if I do, the putzing won't get done. Geeezzz.
Ah, but don't fret, my pretties. Come December 26th, all will be right with the world again. You will be freed from your disguises, boxes and bags. You will breathe the air of your mistress's home and feel the warmth and love of her excited fingers running over your lovely fibers making you over into something even more beautiful than before.
I think some of you may even get an extra treat. A nice warm bath to bring out the gorgeous color that I just know is hidden within you. Yes. Let's get out the dye pot and all the powders and pastes colors of the rainbow, the squirt bottles, the plastic wrap, the crockpot. We'll make this a real "Welcome Home" party!! Soon. Very soon.
