Post-holiday mess

Lorraine was bemoaning the mess she was facing post-holiday. I feel her pain. While I magically escaped the overflowing recycling bins part of her mess by making sure that I didn't serve a single holiday meal, or host a single holiday get-together at my house (my daughter's or my oldest son's homes were the venues for those events), I still have a big mess to clean up. I have not taken down one single Christmas decoration yet. I don't plan to do anything until the weekend. I think I'm actually going to miss some of them, like my village. I love my village. It started off with pieces from K-Mart. Then I splurged and bought some Department 56 pieces. I could go broke buying Department 56 pieces. I didn't buy any new pieces this year, but it took a lot of willpower. So, here is a photo this year's village setup.


My Village

This is the first time I have put it on the TV, and I loved it there. I could keep this up all year, really. I just love the little scene. The buildings in the back are the K-Mart models. The more detailed pieces in the front, including the people, the fly fisherman, the bridge and stream, are all Department 56 pieces. The Christmas tree is to the right of the TV. Unfortunately, every picture I took of it came out blurry. I will try one last time before I take it down. Here's what the hearth looked like:

Hearth Decor (The Santa hanging above the window is one of two that belonged to my mom. They play "Jingle Bells" and are really, really old and special to me.)
And here's the sofa table with my snow globes and old time Santas:


snow globes

So, that's a bit of the Christmas decor waiting to be deconstructed. Next post will contain some Christmas pictures, and some snow photos.

Merrappy Chrismukkahzaastice!

Lorraine started it. I guess I have to add my two cents. I'm sick and tired of all the brouhaha over Christmas vs. (and for you young 'uns, that's VERSUS, not "verse" - but that's a whole 'nother post) every other religion's - or non-religion's - celebration of whatever this time of year represents. Puh-leeze! Okay, so America is now more multicultural than ever, which I guess means we have to be sensitive to all those other cultures when we celebrate holidays that have been celebrated in this country since its inception. We have to try not to offend anyone. Right. Since that is clearly not possible (heck, people get offended all the time - by someone wearing perfume, by someone wearing leather, by someone whose skin is a different color, by someone who doesn't smile at them....you get the picture), those in charge (you know - "they") have decided in a lot of cases to simply not publicly celebrate the season at all. Retailers don't count. They celebrate anything that even remotely smacks of increased sales. But thanks to our desire to be sensitive, many public facilities no longer put up Christmas decorations because they realize they are bound to offend someone. Even if they put up a menorah, don't put up a nativity (I still don't get why it's okay to put up a Jewish religious symbol, but not okay to put up a Christian one, but that's a whole 'nother post too), and refer to Kwanzaa (which has somewhat suspect origins) and the Solstice, they're going to get it from the atheists and humanists, and probably the Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, so they've started opting for nothing. How pathetic. Why do we feel compelled to throw away our long-held traditions and celebrations simply because the makeup of our society has changed? I doubt Americans or Europeans who live in Asian countries expect them to dismantle their Buddhas or start putting up Christmas trees and nativity scenes; and even if they did, good luck with that. It's not like the U.S. is the only country in the world with a multicultural population. Why are we very nearly the only country in the world who feels compelled to do these things?

Don't get me wrong. I don't think there is anything wrong at all with putting up symbols from any culture in celebration of any holiday. I think everyone should be able to celebrate their holidays with displays in their windows, on their rooftops, whatever, without worrying that someone down the road is going to sue them. I think every business should have that same option. And I even think public agencies, like airports, should be allowed to do likewise, but because they do serve - or perhaps better, represent, people from such diverse cultures, they should try to incorporate as many cultures in their displays as possible, within reason. But if they fail to represent your specific cultural celebration, don't go getting your panties in a twist. You don't visit Saudi Arabia on December 25 and get offended because they don't have nativity scenes or Christmas trees, do you? This is still a predominantly Christian society, with Christians making up over 76% of the population, with secularism coming in second at 13%, Judaism at just over 1%, and all other religions comprising the other 10%. (Taken from ARIS - American Religious Identity Study). Why do the 76% who do celebrate Christmas have to take a back seat to the other 24% who celebrate nothing or a wide array of holidays this time of year? Please, can't we all just get along and tolerate each other?

In the spirit of tolerance, Merrappy Chrismukkahzaastice to all!

Eeeeaaaaarly Monday Morn

Today the alarm went off at 4 AM. The Spouse had to be at work at 6:30. Work is an hour away. The Spouse is one of those people who has to be at work early so he can get his mind ready for work. He also wants to have plenty of time "in case".... "in case" he gets a flat (has never happened in 20 years), "in case" their is an accident that closes the highway (has never happened on his way TO work in 20 years), "in case" the car breaks down (has never happened), "in case" the weather is so bad it takes him 90 minutes to go 48 miles (has never happened THAT bad). You know - "in case". So every day, he's at work 30 minutes early. THIRTY MINUTES! I am lucky to be at work 5 minutes after I plan to be there. If I have a meeting, I'm on time, maybe even early (depends on when the meeting is scheduled to start), but never THAT early. Fortunately, I have the luxury of going in whenever I want to. I'm exempt. That means I don't get paid for overtime, but it also means I can come and go as I please, as long as I get my work finished. And even that is subject to interpretation, as there is no such thing as "finished" in my line of work. I don't have the kind of job where I go home with a clean desk, a sigh of satisfaction escaping as I turn off the lights to my office, and a sense of accomplishment. Usually, I go home still mulling over possible solutions to problems with which I am struggling, often awaking in the middle of the night with ideas about how to address them. My desk, my entire office, qualifies as a FEMA disaster area - really. Most of the time, I can find things I need in the mess of my desk. But lately, even that has been difficult. It is really out of conrol, and that is something I do need to get a handle on. I'm thinking the new year will be a great time to do that.

The weekend was pretty good. We got up early - although not as early as The Spouse had hoped - and headed to Coeur d'Alene to start our shopping. The Spouse was due for an eye exam and replacement lenses at the least (it's been two years), so we stopped in at Eyemasters, the place designated by his vision care plan. His frames needed adjusting (he had stepped on them). Surprisingly, they could do his exam in an hour. That meant we could go to Michaels, just across the parking lot, to look at Christmas trees while we waited for his appointment. I found a tree I really liked. In fact, it's the same tree The Daughter has.

We have a tree already. It's at least 12 years old. I'm tired of it. It's too big in diameter and circumference. It's "old technology". It isn't pre-lighted, so I wound lights around each branch, and I leave them on when we put it away, which works pretty well, but it's messy. I have been wanting a new one for a long time. This tree looks so real you have to touch it to see if it is fake. It has neat little pine cones on a lot of the branches. It has about 3400 tips and 800 lights, and best of all, it was on sale for 40% off. We walked over to Target to check out their trees. Not impressed. We went back for his eye exam. The first thing the eye doc told him was the he needs to stop using Clear Eyes or Visine, which is only masking and exacerbating the reasons for his scratchy, itchy, burning eyes. I didn't really realize his eyes bothered him so much. The doc told him to get some Systane eye drops. Well, duh! Those are the eye drops I have been using since my Lasik. I had some with me, so as soon as his exam was over, I had him put some in. He couldn't believe how great they made his eyes feel almost immediately. The doctor told him he has probably the worst kind of prescription you could have, because it leads to eye fatigue, headaches, and exhaustion, especially if one doesn't wear their glasses all the time, like The Spouse. He's farsighted, has as bad an astigmatism as I had pre-Lasik, and has presbyopia. The doc told him he must be a very tolerant individual, since he really only wears his glasses in the evenings, when the low light makes it more difficult to see; that he puts up with poor vision that most people wouldn't accept. I was surprised by how bad his astigmatism is. His prescription is +1.00 +1.75 and +1.50 +1.50. Curiously, his right eye is a little better than it was, while his left is a bit worse. So, new glasses were ordered, and off we headed to the mall in Spokane. No decision was made on the Christmas tree.

The mall parking lot was packed, but oddly, inside the mall it didn't seem all that crowded. We strolled through the mall, window shopping. The Bed & Body Shop caught our attention. The fragrances wafting out into the mall were tantalizing. Inside, the store was packed. It seemed as though all those people from the cars in the lot were in that store. I guess the wide array of items in the shop lend themselves well to stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts. One of the reasons we were there was to pick up small gifts for The Daughter-in-Law's sisters, mother, and sister-in-law, with whom we share Christmas dinner. Still on the list - her father, stepfather, and brother. Every year, her father flies up from California and makes a wonderful prime rib dinner for us all. He bought a cabin in the area a little over a year ago, so we've been buying him things to decorate his cabin. The father-in-law and brother are more difficult, but they're both readers, so a gift card to Barnes & Noble or Borders seems logical.

Lunch at Azteca hit the spot, then on to more shopping. We decided to go ahead with the tree from Michael's, so headed back to Coeur d'Alene. I went in, paid for the tree, and waited to have it brought out. The store was packed, with long lines at all the registers. Finally, the warehouse clerk approached me. Despite the fact that the tree had a pouch with several tickets in it - tickets you take to the register to use for paying and claiming your tree - there was apparently only one tree - the display model. I didn't want the display model. It had burned out lights and was dusty. Frustrated, I got a refund, and the number for the Michael's stores in Spokane. We had to head home to pick the grandkids up by 4:30. I called the Michael's near the mall we had just left. They had at least 5 of the particular tree. I asked her to hold one for me. When I called back yesterday, just to make sure they were holding one for me, the girl told me they actually had 13 of the trees. I remembered I had an appointment in Spokane this morning, not far from Michael's, so told her I'd be there to get it this AM.

We picked the kids up. I helped The Daughter with her outfit for the party - she was having trouble deciding on a top to wear with the adorable skirt she'd just bought - and we headed home, grandkids in tow. By the way, remember those adorable Mary Janes Lorraine bought from Payless back when Edy sent her shoes to wear? Well, The Daughter had the very same Mary Janes! And let me tell you, they are even more adorable, and flattering, in person than on the web page. I want some! Anyway, we asked the kids what they wanted for dinner. Nearly in unison they said "Kid's Cuisine"! Grandson favors the mac and cheese meal, while Granddaughter goes for the Taquito meal. What the heck. Grandparents are supposed to spoil grandkids, right? So, Kid's Cuisine it was, and the candy of their choice for dessert. If you're going to spoil them, why not go all the way?

We pulled the futon mattress off the futon in the spare room and dragged it out into the living room, laid out the kids' sleeping bags, and after dinner, snuggled up to watch the movies they'd brought along - their favorites: A Christmas Story and The Santa Clause. I've never been a huge fan of the former, but I do like the latter a lot. A Christmas Story is cute, but despite it being a favorite of so many, it doesn't hold the same appeal for me as Miracle on 34th Street, or even A Christmas Carol (the original black and white version with Alistair Sim). I love those movies. And let's not forget the classic White Christmas. Anyway, we watched both movies, with Grandson falling asleep in the middle of the last one. Granddaughter talked us into giving her one of her two birthday presents - a Jesse McCartney CD. She was ecstatic. Sunday morning meant playing the CD while we got ready for breakfast out.

Now, here's where things get really cute. I walked into the living room, where Grandson (remember, he's 5) was standing facing the TV. It is a 53" big screen (older, not the new flat panel kind). It was off. Grandson was looking at his reflection. He had on a button down shirt over a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans. He kept standing there, putting his hands in his pockets, and looking down. I realized he was looking at the CD case. It dawned on me that he was trying to look like the photo of Jesse McCartney on the CD. I had to help. Jesse's shirt collar was up, his cuffs were rolled back. So, I upturned his collar, flipped the cuffs back, then told his sister to check out her brother. When I looked back at him, he was standing with his head turned to the side, exactly like the Jesse pose. It was just too cute. He had to go pose for Grandpa too. I had to clue Grandpa in, but he got it pretty quickly. When we got to breakfast with the gang, he had to make sure everyone checked out his attire and got the connection too. Who would figure that a five year-old would care about stuff like that? Too cute.

After breakfast, we went downtown to do some shopping. Unfortunately, nothing was open yet. Nothing opened until 11 (small towns). So, we went back home, did a few chores, and about 3 hours later went back downtown. I knew what was up. The only thing I had mentioned that I even remotely wanted was a new pair of Uggs. I figured we were going to the Uggs store so I could try them on. I was right.

I'm glad I tried them on. I have a pair already - a pair I've had for about 12 years. They're the black Ultimate Tall Uggs. They're great, but they're faded. I wanted a pair of the Ultras, and they felt great on, but didn't realize they don't come in talls. I only want talls. I almost bought another pair of what I already have, but decided I really wanted options. There is nothing wrong with my old pair. So they're a little faded. Big deal. New sheepskin insoles, at just $20, makes them almost as good as new. No, I needed something different. I was very attracted to the Sundance. It's a chestnut color, tall, with exposed sheepskin seams. I don't wear them rolled down, though. Heck, I wear them under my jeans, not with jeans tucked in, so why bother with the exposed seams? I just love the feel, the look, and the color.

So, we bought them. That's my Christmas present from The Spouse. It doesn't matter one bit to me that I have them already, or that I picked them out. I love them! So now, I have options. I could seriously live in Chaco sandals one half of the year and Uggs the other half. Thank you, Spouse!

Now the dilemma is, what to get The Spouse? He's a tough one. I do have it narrowed down to a Shop-Vac, a really nice set of screwdrivers, and candles (he loves candles). Maybe I'll just get them all. Then I'll be finished, with the exception of Youngest Son. He's going to be toughest of all. With his upcoming trip to France, it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy him random Christmas gifts. Everything should be something he'll need for his trip - maybe even just cash. We'll decide once he's home from school next weekend, and we can talk with him about what he wants.

So, weekend is over. Work beckons, once again. The days will only get longer for The Spouse from now until Christmas. Today I will get our new tree. Tonight I will start decorating it and the house. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.