Ho! Ho! Ho!

Well, the pressure is on now,  I received my first Christmas card in the mail today. I mean a real card from a real friend, not something begging for money but disguised to look like a friendly card. Oh, yes, I got one of those too. This is actually my favorite time of year mail wise.  At least in-coming. There's a hope for something in the mail that isn't asking for a donation, offering me a great deal on life insurance (I love that they don't require a physical; I guess they figure we're all going to die sometime) or offering me an amazing new credit card.  I'm still working on my out-going Christmas mail. That's where the pressure comes in.  What rhymes with 'orange in my stocking'?

I need to smile more but at what price?

As I was walking into my job at church today I heard a little day school student, who was with his class on the playground, say to his friend "There goes a grandma." No surprise that he was talking about me since I was the only non-teacher in the area and I am, after all, a gray-haired grandma.  I turned and smiled and waved at the kids, then continued on my way only to hear the same voice behind me saying "She looks like a mean grandma." Really?  So, I was telling my youngest granddaughter, she's 12, about this incident as I drove her home from school today. She said "Don't smile, show me your resting face." So I did and she informed me that I do have kind of a mean looking resting face. So I smiled and she went on to point out all the wrinkles around my eyes and on my cheeks that show up when I smile. Yikes, now I know what my options are. I can smile and show off my wrinkle collection or not smile and look mean. Or one other option occurs to me. This may be the time to start wearing a burka.

The pressure is on

Every year I write a Christmas poem to mail to my family and friends as a Christmas greeting.  No, it;s not because I'm too cheap to buy Christmas cards (well maybe only partly). I've been doing this for over 20 years now and generally it's a fun, easy exercise because I don't take myself too seriously. However this year one of my favorite nephews has become engaged at last! He's 37 and we were beginning to despair.. They will be getting married in May in Seattle.  I'm looking forward to that for the chance to see all of my Washington family and to meet my new niece-in-law. However, in a recent phone conversation, my nephew let slip that his fiancee is really looking forward to my Christmas poem. Yikes, I don't know why he even mentioned my poems but now I'm feeling pressured to come up with something good.  Stay tuned.

Good bye leaves, hello lights!

One of the things I really appreciate about this time of year is the changing view from my balcony. A few weeks ago the colors were gorgeous as leaves turned from green to gold, red, rust and orange. Now the trees are pretty bare and I can see things I couldn't see through the leaves. The main things I can see are more lights. The MLK bridge puts on its nightly show, the Science Central crayon-colored smokestacks glow in their spotlights and, of course, as we ease into December, more and more Christmas lights will be showing up. I'm pleased to report that I am now making my contribution to the bright lights. I put up my outside lights today, and thanks to a nifty timer they will shine out in their multi color glory from 4:30 pm to 1:00 am every evening. I don't miss the hours I used to spend putting up outside decorations at my house but I am glad to have a space to put up some outside decorations here.

The Holly Trolley Tour

I took myself on the Holly Trolley Tour through downtown Fort Wayne today. It was a fun chance to ride in one of the trolleys and since one of the stops was right here at the apartment building where I live it was very convenient. I rode around through 12 stops to get to the Farmers' Market at Parkview Field. The ride took about an hour, but it was an interesting opportunity to do some people watching. Of course I could have walked it in 25 minutes but I wasn't in any hurry. From there I walked back, stopping at several shops along the way. The whole event was Fort Wayne's way to encourage downtown shopping on Small Business Saturday and I'm happy to say there were lots and lots of people downtown. As far as actual shopping is concerned all I bought was one gift certificate and some meat at the Farmers' Market so I didn't do a lot to support the small business economy, but I can honestly say I have started my Christmas shopping. I know, I know, many people are finished by now but for me to be started before December is almost miraculous. Thanks Fort Wayne for getting the ball (or at least the trolley) rolling.

Too much of a good thing?

I decided to look ahead on my nifty calendar and see what other special days are still coming in November. Not that Thanksgiving wasn't enough but I was curious. So guess what, there are two more special days this month. Tomorrow is Cake Day and next Monday is French Toast Day. Really?? Cake and French Toast? We didn't consume enough calories yesterday? Ah well, who am I to deny a special day? I don't have an actual cake in my apartment but I do have two delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that my daughter-in-law sent home with me yesterday so I guess I will pretend they are little cakes and celebrate the day. I know the recipe for French Toast so I'm not worried about that. Let's hear it for celebrating special days.

Thanksgiving Day Delights

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving dinners as much as I did. We did our usual family carry-in. My brother brought his famous green bean casserole (with lots of cheese). My daughter-in-law's mother (who hosted this mid-day feast) fixed turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing baked in the bird, mashed potatoes, and homemade gravy. I brought the sweet potatoes and two pumpkin pies. My daughter-in-law brought her excellent salad and a really delicious pecan pie. I also, at the request of one granddaughter, made some whipped cream. It was yummy. All in all a fine day for eating and enjoying reminiscing. And, one more thing to be thankful for, we get to do it all again at Christmas. Different home, different host but lots of the same food. Well not the same food. There weren't many leftovers. But a banquet made from the same recipes. Yummm! Right now I'm savoring all the taste memories and blocking out the realization that it's time to start getting ready for Christmas. I will not be doing any shopping tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving.:)