Counting down to Christmas.

“What do you want for Christmas?” Words that have mixed feelings for me. On one hand, it’s nice to get things that I don’t necessarily need, but are wants. On the other hand, I’d love it if I could just have someone that knows me well, look at what I like to do and choose some great gifts accordingly. Got the best of both worlds this year. But more on that later.
The first hint of Christmas came for me in September. I had stopped at a WalMart in Cadillac on my way to Mackinac Island, so that I could buy an adapter to listen to my iPod in the car while driving. I spotted some great Star Wars popcorn tins so bought two for the beginning of the boys Christmas. Put away in plain sight in Scott’s room for the duration.
Second hint – though we had talked about not exchanging gifts this year because of our vacation in Europe, I accidentally discovered that Steve had bought me a motorcycle jacket for Christmas to match his jacket for the ST. Ok, felt like the last thing I needed was a third motorcycle jacket. Matching doesn’t have as high of a priority for me. But the thought is what counts. (And it is a nice looking jacket.)
Fast forward to oh, probably November. The first uttering of that question, coming from Scott on one of our weekly phone conversations. Honestly, had no idea at that point. Expected to come up with some items, I gave it some thought and made a short list for the boys. Didn’t figure on anything else from Steve since our finances had changed since he made his purchase.
Thanksgiving was here. Normally, that weekend would be the big weekend to pull out the tree and other decorations. I made myself a promise, though, that I would finally get a start on taming the paper tiger, so to speak, and get our old accumulated financial paperwork sorted out. No tree until it was done.
Got a good start on it, too. But like many good intentions, didn’t complete it. In the meantime, Steve had decided that the one and only thing he wanted for Christmas was a cruise control for the ST motorcycle. He had to do some research but finally decided on a model that worked. We ordered it, and the boys pitched in a share of the cost so that it would be from all three of us. But one item to open under the tree – doesn’t seem like Christmas.
By around the 10th of December, we were still treeless except for the forest of sorted papers on the dining room table. I had errands to run that day, a funeral and a birthday party with time and space between the two events. Drove past Lowe’s and remembered that Steve had commented favorably about the new double drive screwdriver advertised on TV and available only by mail order and at Lowe’s. So went in and bought one for him.
At work we needed to submit a list of ideas for our $10 gift exchange. I updated my list from the year before, and submitted it. The staff party was on the 14th. I had drawn a guy’s name, as I had done every year (this would be my fourth Gilda’s Christmas) – what are the odds when the majority of the staff are female? Bought him a Schuler’s Bookstore gift card. Came to the party, we were to distribute our gift to their place at the table. Managed to get my gift to the right person without their knowledge. I’d made a batch of peppermint bark to go with the card. It was appreciated and shared with those around him. My “gifter” ended up sitting next to me and I was already seated so no surprise there. That was ok. He gifted me with a Barnes and Noble gift card and a nice red pen (that I had asked for – RedhedMary always signs her cache logs in red and I was running out of good pens, or at least the ink in them.) So I exchanged one gift card for another. Nice party, received a reversible vest from Gilda’s (LaughFest logo on one side, Gilda’s logo on the other) as well as a porcelain drink mug, a framed LaughFest smile picture, and two tickets to a LaughFest performance.
Received our first Christmas letter around this time, from Mom and Phil of course. She’s so good about getting it done and sent out quickly to avoid the rush. Nice to have a gift card from WalMart enclosed.
Somewhere in here I shopped online for Scott. He had given us a list of Blu-Ray DVD’s that he wanted for his collection. Amazon had a nice selection at good prices with free shipping even to APO addresses. Though I didn’t get the fun of wrapping the gifts myself, he was happy with what I’d chosen. I also shopped online for my mom and stepfather – my now traditional gift to them for both their December birthdays and Christmas is movie passes to use throughout the year. My mom thinks that’s great – so why mess with a good idea?
On Thursday the 15th, I also exchanged gifts with my “practice grandchild” at Gilda’s and their family. I had made a photo calendar with pictures of the baby, also burned a CD with all the pictures I’d taken since he started in July, and bought some baby designed toy cars for the baby. They gifted me with an Amazon gift certificate, and a really neat candle that crackles. They were leaving on vacation so this was our day.
Thursday night was also our Geocaching potluck with Santa visiting. Steve actually met me there. I’m thinking more for the food than for the fellowship with geocachers. Nonetheless, he got a full tummy at least. I had a good time, and then stopped for some Christmas shopping on the way home. With the help of a 10% off coupon, bought three pairs of lounge pants for the three guys I was shopping for. (Steve, Eric, and Steve’s dad.)
Oh yes, the tree. I was really feeling the absence of the tree so decided to break my resolve and put it up anyway. First brought out the nativity scene and set it up in front of the TV. Did not use the barn, just the figures, with the wise men up out of the way on the tall china cabinet since they didn’t visit the manger. Then put up the tree, had Steve fluff the branches out and got the garland up. Brought out the glass bird that I’d bought in Germany at a Christmas store there, then opened the box of ornaments and got one ornament out before another task took me away from the tree. That’s how the tree looked for a good week or so at least. Lights, garland, and two ornaments.
Then the eternal debate. I would flick the switch for the lights, enjoy them for a while, then leave the room. Steve would find the tree “on” and turn it off since nobody was in the room. I’d come back and turn it on again. I feel like people passing by enjoy seeing trees in people’s windows, even if I’m not in the room enjoying the tree myself. He got more tolerant as Christmas grew near, but I still had to flip that switch an extra time or two each night.
Cookies. Wanted to send some to Scott, plus give some to Eric, and then the Gold Wing Christmas party came up, where they always have an auction of baked goods so that the profits can be contributed to charity. All good excuses to do some baking. Planned out my recipes, the ingredients I needed, and the timing for all (temperature, does the dough need to be cold, etc.) My trip Thursday night was to get the rest of the ingredients as well as some gift shopping.
Friday morning, started up the process. Got a new KitchenAid stand mixer last spring that I hadn’t done much with, this was about the first time I’d really given it a good workout. With the first batch, I discovered one important fact. Don’t add the dry ingredients and then immediately turn it on a higher speed. That flour goes flying out fast! Even Max got flour on him and I don’t recall him standing all that close at the time.
Mixed all the dough that would need refrigeration, then started baking. Soon discovered that dual ovens were not really an advantage when baking cookies – it takes a while to form the cookies on the sheet and by the time you get one sheet ready, the last sheet is done baking. So turned off the bottom oven and just used the top after a while.
Didn’t get everything done the first day so finished on Saturday. Packaged up several trays of cookies for the party. Also discovered a new recipe for potatoes in the crock pot which turned out well. I have a new potluck dish for the future! A bag of frozen hash brown cubes, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese, and a bit of onion. It was good!
The party was ok. I don’t know our Gold Wing club people as well as Steve does, and he is about the youngest one there. I’m pretty sure I am the youngest. The party was at the chapter director’s house, in their basement equipped with a full bar. We had a nice potluck dinner then held the auction for the baked goods. Back home in time to watch a SyFy movie that Steve had been wanting to watch.
On Sunday, boxed up cookies to send to Scott, and finished writing our Christmas letter. Harder to write this year with the juxtaposition of talking about a dream trip to Germany and Switzerland combined with Steve losing his job. But managed to finish it up and get it printed. Steve approved the letter but wasn’t crazy about the Christmas verse at the bottom of the paper. Went out anyway as it was with no changes.
We worked on the cards and got them sent out on Wednesday. I had cut way back, only to close family and those frinds who sent us cards. Steve decided to send cards to everyone in our Gold Wing grou, though. He did the work.
Tuesday, we had appointments so I took the day off work. We got some more shopping done between appointments and even had a nice dinner out, a rare treat when you’re on unemployment. Did it taste better knowing the government was helping to pay for it? Not really.
Eric called us for approval – he had discovered he needed a good watch as he starts nursing school in a few weeks. He’d found one that would fit his needs and wanted to go ahead and buy it (we paid him back as part of his Christmas of course.) What can you say except go ahead?
Thursday morning, I did some shopping before work, then again on the way home. Mainly stocking stuffers and the like, though I did look at humidifiers for Eric since his had broken and I still felt we needed to get a little more under the tree for him. Came home, brought the first load in the house, and went back for more. The first load included a bag from Target with a mesh bag of small dog tennis balls for Max. Came back in, unpacked the bags and thought nothing amiss. Later realized that I hadn’t unpacked the balls. Looked out in the car, and in the kitchen. Finally figured they’d been left out of the bag. Called Target and they said to bring the receipt in and they’d replace the balls. Well, about an hour later went to take Max outside and found the balls. All eight of them. Neon orange. Scattered all around the living room with remnants of the mesh bag all around, too. And we’re still finding little pieces of the bag. How he got them out of the bag without taking everything else out, too, is still a mystery. And there was chocolate in the same bag, too. So lucky that he didn’t get THAT as well.
Friday, Steve and I went out looking at humidifiers again. First stopped at Meijer as I’d forgetten to get fruit for the stockings. Then to Target where I’d seen some humidifiers on sale. Soon learned Steve’s criteria for a quality humidifier and that Target’s selection didn’t meet them. So on to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Even with coupons, he wanted to look at Home Depot before buying one there. We did buy a turntable at a really great price to convert vinyl to mp3, for me for Christmas from Steve. He asked for suggestions, well I brought him right to what I wanted. The price was too good to resist. Before Home Depot, we went up to Bath and Body Works where I had a B1G1F coupon. Had to use that before Christmas! The “Paris Amour” body lotion and shower gel went under the tree for me.
Home Depot’s selection was ok but didn’t have a long enough run time before refilling. So back to Target to check on the run time on theirs. Not long enough either, so we made another trip to BB&B and bought one there, using one of the 20% coupons that I had.
Before we left on that shopping trip (while Steve was still sleeping,) I finally opened that box of ornaments back up and got some of them on the tree. It wasn’t as full as usual but looked nice nonetheless. Also brought up the stockings, the holders, and the Christmas linens. The house finally looked more like Christmas was just around the corner.
Saturday. Christmas Eve. Presents wrapped, food bought, everything done but that forest of paperwork still occupying the dining room table. I worked into the late afternoon on it, made a good dent in it, then Eric arrived for the rest of the weekend. We had decided to open presents on Christmas Eve as church was on Sunday morning. So after a nice dinner of Chicken Pot Pie and some sneaky stocking filling, we were ready. I had asked Eric to be in charge of my stocking so I wouldn’t have to fill my own, and he did a marvelous job , even better than I had done on theirs. Then we tried to persuade Max (who was wearing his doggie Santa suit) to distribute the presents to us. No go. So we took turns choosing one to give to the recipient. I think we were all happy with the presents we received. Still, awfully quiet to just have three of us. Can’t wait for the next generation to come around and liven things up a bit! Two of my gifts from Eric were the movies “Midnight in Paris” and “The Kings Speech.” We spent the rest of the evening watching both of those movies. Eric liked them both, though Steve thought Midnight in Paris was just a chick flick. You just gotta appreciate Paris, I guess.
Christmas morning, we all went to Eric’s church to celebrate the real reason for the season. Missed the instrumental music and the traditional Christmas hymns but nonetheless a good morning to give thanks for God’s greatest gift. Came back home afterwards and chilled for a while, waiting for Scott to call. He called right on schedule and we enjoyed a good hour and a half’s conversation. Feel bad that he had nothing to open on Christmas and was by himself. Many of his Germany buddies have already moved on to new duty stations. We are really looking forward to seeing him in February when he comes home between Germany and Korea.
After ending our conversation, we headed over to Heather Hills to visit Steve’s dad. We brought him new slippers, a new clock, and some lounge pants. He seemed to be glad to see us. The dementia is taking further hold each day – he repeats the same stories and forgets many details about the past and present. It’s hard on Steve (and us) to see him this way but he just can’t be on his own any more.
Back home after our visit, still had half a table full of paperwork. Did what anybody else would do, which was to gather up the tablecloth with the papers inside, put it on my bed, and put the Christmas tablecloth on the table so Eric could set it with the good china for Christmas dinner. Ham that had been in the crockpot all afternoon, plus mashed sweet potatoes, corn, and rolls. Pie for dessert was not my shining moment. When I started to put together the cherry pie that I planned to bake, I discovered that one can of filling wouldn’t be enough. What to do to extend it…the only other can of pie filling I had was peach. Let’s try it. Well it wasn’t the best pie I’d ever made, let’s just say. Steve and Eric bravely had a piece each, but I’m fairly certain the rest will go to waste, not waist.
We spent the rest of the evening together, watching a James Bond movie and talking with family. Heard from both my sisters and my mom in the evening. Felt bad that they called me before I had a chance to call them. But very good to talk to them all.
Well, enough ramblings about Christmas for today. A nice quiet December 26 morning with Steve still in bed. Five pages in my word document, and just over three thousand words. Hope to get it published to my blog this afternoon at work. I’ll try to remember to write in word and not wait until I have wifi access to publish to the blog. Hope all of you had a Merry Christmas, too!