The "Griswold Family Party"

this here is Robert, Ty

and Griffin (notice his shoes). We think Ty

is a real Cousin Eddie wanna be -

and that's Lucy in the left bottom corner, she is looking for the squirrel in the tree.

Robert is the eggnoggingest nogger that ever nogged an eggnog.

He marches a mean band march in his marching shoes too. But the winner of the shoe competition has to be Griffin.

Ty. Well, the boy is just not right.

We don't know what happened.

Robert and Lizzie getting ready

for a little nog with a sippy cup.

And this here is

Catherina. She's cute but rite bossy.

The Day after Christmas

364 days until Christmas.

We were left all alone at 3:45 p.m. when Catherine and Griffin left with two babies in a stuffed van. It is all quiet. The counters are all wiped off but the floors still sparkle. Christmas is being

wiped away until next year. The refrigerator is empty, the pantry empty, the eggnog, gone. The moosehead cups and wine glasses are still in shock. There is a fog of happiness left over the whole house that I hope never lifts and if I listen real closely, or call one of the kids I can hear babies crying in the background...ah, the sounds of life.

I have photos to share and plan to post a couple each day with a few comments.

It is a wonderful life.

11 Hours and 14 minutes until Christmas!!!

I'm BACK!!!

It is Christmas Eve!!!

I have been locked from my blog, not because I have been naughty or anything like that, but I

could not remember usernames or password, and it took my computer savvy daughter, Faith

to figure it out for me.

OH MY! So much has happened since the last blog.

Faith and Chris flew in from LA on Saturday. Elizabeth and Catherine drove in from B'Ham on

Monday with three children under the age of 2, Robert and Griffin arrived yesterday and Ty, Ellen and the two girls will come tomorrow.

The Griswold Christmas party is tonight and I have had a glimpse of some of the party attire

(redneck casual) and it is pretty awesome. I am quite proud of my new sweater that I bought today for half price and I know that when the photos of all the party goers are displayed on

tonights blog, everyone will be inspired to go out and buy Christmas sweaters for next year.

The refrigerator has been restocked 3 times already and I just went back to the store again.

Jody has been to the liquor store 2 times and we have enough eggnog in the house for the whole neighborhood.

It's coming on Christmas! fa la la la la....la la la laaaaaaaaa.

You Better Watch Out, You Better Cry!

7 days, 16 hours and 45 minutes before the BABIES arrive!!

Another Glimpse

I find myself wandering in our house like I am sleep walking in another person's home. It is pretty amazing and I'm right
proud of it. The floor has so much glitter on it that even a broom and mop won't budge it...but I don't care - because its
like walking on stars and It's Christmas.

Tonight I am going outside to see if the stars are any brighter. I feel sure that one star is growing brighter each day, just as it did so many years ago. "Let Heaven and Nature sing!"

The Elves of fluff and puff

The elves (Rose Watson and Bev Wood, sisters in force with super-human powers of fluff and puff) arrived at our home at 10:00 a.m. and with the snip of the green, the sprinkling of glitter and the twist of the ribbon, they were gone by 5:00 p.m. It is a sparkling wonder! I can only
look in awe and remember the bare wood that is buried beneath all the greenery and be amazed by "what a difference a day makes". God bless the hands of those who create beauty for others.

13 days, 19 hours and 13 minutes before Christmas!

The decorator, Rose, is coming tomorrow (Friday) and says she will be through Saturday. If I was decorating the house, by myself, it would be finished. The tree is up. The tree is a tall , not skinny
but not too fat tree - shaped much like me, little at the top and big at the bottom. It is full of various ornaments that have survived the attic and tree falls over the years. Jody's favorite playtoy is the shuttlecraft that talks when you press a button. It says "Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, Spock here, live long and prosper". Right now, my favorite item in the tree is the squirrel like the one from "Christmas Vacation". It looks like it is ready to jump out of the tree at any time. I am wondering if Rose is going to have a sense of humor or remove the squirrel when I am not looking and hide it somewhere. Well, at least I don't have a flat, scorched, electrocuted cat sprawled out under the tree (remember the grandmother's white cat that chewed on the tree lights?)
I'm going to Dirt Cheap to look for one today.

Santa Claus

14 Days, 19 hours 36 minutes until Christmas!

There was something about Santa Claus that scared the begeebies out of me when I was a little girl.
The idea that some strange person could see me asleep and awake, and knew when I was good or bad (thanks to the elves), well - that just freaked me out. God is enough to think about at an early age. Now there is God and Santa.

I can't understand why society allowed the image of a fat man (not that there is anything wrong with being fat) wearing red velvet and white fur to come into their private homes and watch their children. AND keep a list all year long to find out if they are naughty or nice...that is pretty unforgiving. I guess the fact that I really did get ashes and switches does not help. I figured that if Santa had it in for me, then just imagine how God felt. It is tough being a kid at Christmas time. I'm going to try to be nicer to the grandchildren...
"OOOOOOOH, you'd better watch out! You better not cry....You better not pout" cause there is
a fat man in a red velvet suit with white fur who is watching you day and night, all year long to see if you are naughty... or nice.

Christmas Rush

18 days, 7 hours and 27 minutes until Christmas

It is hard to explain what defines Christmas Rush, but it encompasses more than just traffic jams
and long lines. I noticed it for the first time today in Jackson while running into a few shops.
There is an edgy tension like standing on a razor blade. Shoppers are beginning to show signs of
holiday fear. I have experienced my own holiday fear, but when I do I have a system to relieve it.
chocolate. It is better than any anti-depressant on the market. I just discovered Moose Munch.
It is popcorn and chocolate covered nuts mixed up together, and it only takes one handful to eliminate all the fear factors of holiday shopping. I am going to keep a bag in my purse at all times.
I am feeling a panic attack coming on right now...

It's beginning to look a lot like....

CHRISTMAS!

It might be hard to see but that is a tree full of lights and the Nutcracker and a Christmas train
that runs around the tree. And I actually wrapped all the gifts myself, like I usually do, and this year they really look good - as if someone else did it! Betti McCready wraps the most beautiful
gifts of all - she even puts real holly and fir tied up in the ribbon so that her gifts look and smell like Christmas. I think I'm going to spray some of that Christmas smell onto my gifts right now -
fa, la, la, la, la.....la, laaaaa..... la, la!

Zhu Zhu pets

Beware of shopping while drinking.
Jody has a quote by Tennessee Williams that he uses often "The confidence I feel after noon wine is only an illusion". I suppose it can go for nighttime too, because after a couple of glasses of wine (possibly more) I bought on the internet a gerbilly hamster animal that runs on batteries. Why is this so bad? Because it cost $60.00. Yes, I paid $60.00 for this stupid little toy that runs around on the floor like a mousey rat. What is worse is that Ty just found one for $12.99 at Toys or Us.
I am going to string it from my neck for the rest of the year as a reminder of what can happen after a couple of glasses of wine (or more).

The Elves

19 Days, 6 hours and 5 minutes before Christmas

Elves are everywhere. Elves are on shelves, in trees, in classrooms, up high usually, in spots where they can't be stepped on, and since they are little, I understand. Elves used to be naughty little people who played tricks on others but Santa came along and converted them. Now they are so good that they report to Santa about everyone who is bad...this sounds a little unfair to me.

We have elves in our neighborhood on Dogwood Drive. They drive the dogs nuts. They show up every Christmas Eve, usually when everyone is in Church, and they leave little treats to let the children know they have been good and to expect a visit from Santa. They leave snow behind and everything, even though we have never seen them we did hear their tinkling bells in the distance once.

This year I have been worrying a little about the elves and for their safety. Most of the children in the neighborhood have grown up. The next door neighbor, Seward, has a gun and hunts, she is a
real hunter. I'm thinking about sending a text message to Santa warning him that maybe the elves should wear camouflage this year just as a precaution.

(...Seward has a gun...the elves had better run...)

22 days, 10 hours and 18 minutes before Christmas!

"It's fruitcake weather!"
My friend Amanda Bailey knows well, what line this is from and it is one of our most prized books, especially at Christmas time. Truman Capote wrote "A Christmas Memory" in 1956, 4 years after I was born. It is one of the dearest stories about a boy, a dog and his old aunt growing up in a house with two other "relatives". It is a book about love and about simplicity and pureness of heart.
In the midst of wonderful things like family gatherings and circles of friends, Amanda and I will always say to each other our favorite line from the book..."As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes."

My book is in my lap as I type, but it will be carried off to my favorite reading spot where all is quiet and I will take an hour to read it once more, like every year before and most possibly I will cry all over again...when I imagine a "lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven."

Homemade Christmas Balls!

24 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes before Christmas!

Thanks to Jennifer Wimberly, I had one of the most fun nights making these christmas ornaments. This is her instructions to me:
I purchased clear glass balls at Hobby Lobby - they come in two sizes large and small. I bought 1 box of small and 4 boxes of large. In the craft section buy acrylic paint in the colors of your choice...I bought yellow, white, blue, green, red, gold, turquoise, silver. One day before you are
going to start your project, remove the silver stopper (I put all of mine in a ziplock bag) and then
wash them out with an equal part of vinegar and water. I mixed up 1 cup and poured using a funnel from one ball into another...turn them upside down and let them dry out overnight.

The fun begins!!
One ball at a time. The first one I did was red, white and yellow. Into the opening of the glass ball squeeze some paint on one side, turn it and squeeze some down another side, and another.
Swirl the paint until it coats the ball inside, or shake it like a martini and it will marbleize.
If you shake it you better have the opening completely covered or you will have polka dots all over your kitchen too. Once you begin to get the hang of it, you'll squeeze more stuff into the
glass ball than you intended to, just to see what will happen. When you are finished, turn it
upside down into an empty plastic throwaway cup to catch the leftover paint. It takes a long time for all the drips of paint to drip out. Go to bed.

This project is not as dangerous as gingerbread houses after 5:00 and would be a really fun project with children, as long as YOU are in charge of shaking the ball (with the opening covered). Thanks again to Jennifer Wimberly - mine are still not as cute as hers.

Ashes and Switches

The economy must be having an upswing after Jody and I went to Jackson this weekend to do some Christmas shopping. Everyone else was out there with us too it seemed by the looks of the traffic. I would like to think that we are 90% finished with our purchases, but I know, from years of experience, that we are not that close. But ( and it is a big BUT ) I will sleep well tonight knowing the Stocking purchases are finished.

Did I ever mention that I got ashes and switches (it was actually coal and switches) in my stocking when I was about 6 years old? Yes, I did. Stockings were usually full of apples and oranges, nuts in the shell (that's why I like walnuts) and what room was left was full of candy and maybe a dollar. My stocking was the very first thing I went to on Christmas Morning. Mine was red velvet (real velvet) with a real white fur lip and I loved holding it up to my face because it was so soft and really pretty. Plus it was the only article I ever owned that was red - mother would not allow me to ever buy anything red.

That year, I remember, mine had nothing but coal and switches.
No apples, no oranges and not even one peppermint. Some analyst would probably say this is the reason I obsess about the Christmas Stockings. Maybe.
(what did I do that was so bad?! to get coal and switches!) I'll never tell.

A DECORATOR?!

Yes, a Decorator. Rose Watson to be exact. A fluff and puff expert in the field of the Decorating.
A woman who knows the art of arranging and how to display with the full effect of Boom and Display - without the Boom. I describe myself as simple, but there is nothing "simple" about Rose. She is the expert to do what I least like to do ...decorate.

The WOW factor has never been part of my nature, and I am not ashamed of it. I know it and I accept it and I will pay for my tragic shortcomings - this time. I will probably never have a Decorator again, so I plan to enjoy every single minute of it. I am ready Rose!

28 days, 5 hours and 33 minutes until Christmas.

The turkey... gobbled up.

Tomorrow begins the official day to declare it is Coming on Christmas! Yes, I am very excited.
Our Decorator has been to inspect the house and rooms to fluff. She is ordering 5 fresh garlands and I can smell it now, and if I can't I'll spray some of that canned Christmas Tree Smell on them
like I always do. note. I need to buy some more.

But for now I am thankful for the family gathering with the Carrs. I am thankful for the generations of families melted into one that make us who we are and for their love and devotion.
I am thankful that everything about this day is as simple as lunch with family, happy and united.

In memory of Savannah

In memory of Savannah
who was "the pretty girl"
2001 - 2009

My Christmas Dance

don't forget to press play on the bottom left.

I have been practicing my dance steps in the backyard - it is really amazing how much snow we have had lately. I plan to be in the Yazoo Christmas Parade this year and show those little girls who do the hoochie to Silent Night that there are still some decent dance steps out there.

oh we need a little christmas...right this very minute...

The Manger

Somewhere around 1980 when I worked for Fr. John Egan, he gave to our family a Christmas
Manger with painted figures, at least 15 including a camel, a cow, donkey , wisemen, shepherd boys and others that I do not know. Some of the sheep got lost but baby Jesus and the manger are intact - except for his halo. This manger scene has always been a big part of our Christmas tradition.

Tonight I went to my studio to put a little paint to the chipping figurines. Heat from being stored in an attic in the summer, humidity, and dust, even though each one is wrapped have not been good for these family treasures. I turned on my spotlight, squeezed out my acrylic paints and picked up Mary. The sweetest song came on my ipod and that's all it took. All the sweet memories of this manger and the kids, Father Egan, Jody's parents, Papa,my grandparents, every single image of Christmas' past rolled in elephant tears down my face until I could hardly see the figurines.

One by one, I painted and reintroduced myself to the members of the first Christmas. There
is a little gold paint on the hems of one wiseman, but quietly and subtly each one tells a story that has nothing to do with glitter. A very solemn moment for someone who just spent a day
with her eyes looking at the wrong kind of light. I will keep my eyes open still, for the glitter, but more importantly for the light that shines in unexpected places like a star over a stable.

31 days, 3 hours and 26 minutes before Christmas.

I went to Jackson today and my "decorator" said to me "Go to Calaways and look at the decorations and tell me what you like." I did. I do that every single year. I go in, I look, I turn
around and I walk out. I have never, ever, bought one thing there because it is so much to see.
I take it back, I bought some flicker lights and bubble lights one year.

There is a theme for every single kind of Christmas Tree (almost) that anyone could try to put into and onto one tree. The first one in the door was nature, with berries and popcorn tree berries, birds, pine cones, etc. and then there were at least 20 other trees - including the upside down tree. Trees stuffed full of all kinds of stuff, anything you might think in your mind is a possible ornament for a tree. But since my "decorator" said to tell her what I liked I put on my sensible eyes and looked at everything as if it was a possibility for decorations in our house (which I have said more than once has never been officially "decorated").

It took me two whole passes through the store to decide which tree I liked best, no it was not the Charlie Brown tree. It was a wreath that caught my attention. "THIS IS IT!" That's all it took-
one wreath with a ribbon and some stuff that I liked all over it. After all these years, mine eyes
have seen the glitter.
( no. I did not buy the wreath. And after looking at the prices I understand why I never bought anything - until now).

Christmas Smell

34 days, 1 hour and 24 minutes before Christmas.

From the time I was a little girl and that was a long time ago, Christmas season began with something as simple as a smell. The day was not a day marked on a calendar, it was a day that my mother decided to start Christmas Season. Everyone would know it because we could smell it.
And so tomorrow I will begin Christmas, even if it is early and before Thanksgiving. This is the
recipe for Christmas Smell:

Use a 2 quart pan (preferably one that is non stick )
Into the sauce pan add:
1 orange with peel cut into quarters
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp. ground or whole cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Fill with water
Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer.
Close your eyes and smell Christmas.
Add more or less spices according to your nose
(Keep adding water or it will burn ...turn it off at night and turn it back on again the next morning.)
when it is too disgusting to look at throw it away and start all over again.
(don't even think about eating it)

Angel Lamps

I went back to Dirt Cheap to rescue the cowboy dolls but the whole pile of dolls and stuff had been replaced with some different dirty cheap stuff. Today I was prepared to shop in Dirt Cheap.
I had on my disposable rubber gloves so I could actually pick up stuff or move stuff around to
find other dirty cheap stuff. Walking through the aisle I saw them way up close to the ceiling
like a celestial band of angels dressed in red grouped together just perfectly. Angel lamps !
One whole display of them up high and looking so RED. I had an urge to buy one just to see it
lit up and to see what my "decorator" whose name is to revealed soon, might say about it. Would she approve? I might need some input here...to buy or not to buy? And it is cheap...

My two men

Here is the latest addition to Christmas 2009. He plays music and lights up
when I come into the room. What more could a girl want.

That is Jody standing next to him. He knew even before I got home today that I had spent $190.00 at Rite Aide. I call him God because he knows everything.
But he is being real sweet about it while biting his lip. I know for a fact that the
very next day after Christmas he is going to tell me that we are going to have to
stop spending money, that Christmas is over, and we spent way to much this year. But for now, I still have in my possession, his American Express Card.
ho, ho, ho.

It's Here!

37 days, 1 hour and 26 minutes before Christmas

It's here! The long awaited package weighing in at 55 pounds, it is as heavy as
Savannah, the dog,
and stands 5 ft. tall.

The UPS guy guessed it was a christmas tree. No. We always put up a fresh tree.
One year the first tree died and we took it down and put up another one. Another year the tree was so tall that it fell over twice before we realized the base was not big enough to hold it, so it got tied to the wall. Another year Catherine (first daughter) brought home a crazy cat and it ran up the tree and had diarrhea.
But we always put up a fresh tree. It smells really good at first and then I have to get out the canned tree smell to spray around...everyone who comes in thinks its
the tree, but really, its the canned tree smell.

So I can't wait to get into the package...

5 (five) naked cowboys

I need to start shopping. I said that to myself all day long and finally I took a break from the paintings I'm working on to go out and boost the Yazoo economy. This is the year to "shop Yazoo"
as much as possible. I have bought my 20 silver cowbells from Gilberts and a few items at Essco
but I have only started shopping...so I thought to myself, I'll go to Dirt Cheap and see if there are
any little "cheap" things that I can pick up "cheap."

Dirt Cheap is the dregs from Hudson's Salvage Center and there is no system just piled up stuff on tables to rummage through, but I thought I might get lucky, especially near Thanksgiving and
Christmas. I walked around and spotted a table full of dolls, looking like a very interesting place to discover something wonderful. There. Right before my very eyes were 5 naked cowboys (dolls) and no one seemed to think it was strange at all that there should be naked dolls heaped up on the table. No sight of their clothes anywhere around, except the hat made onto its head ...not even marked with a price tag to cover up... I was tempted to pick one up and carry it to the checkout to buy it but then they would think that "I" was strange. So I did what any Southern Lady would do, I buried them under the pile. I just hope they behave themselves down there.


I'm going back to check on them tomorrow.

20 silver cowbells! That's how many I bought from Gilberts in downtown Yazoo. The sweet clank and clunk of them all hanging around together just makes me one happy girl. I'm going to string
them from ribbon, just like they did a Gilberts, in groups of three.
Just the thought of it makes me smile and feel like a country girl.

Silver cowbells...I feel a song coming on:
Silver cowbells, silver cowbells, it's Christmastime in Yazoo City
(la, la, la) hear them ring (clank, clank, clunk) ding a ling - in 37 hours, 1 minute and 26 seconds it will be Christmas Day.

39days, 0 hours and 34 minutes before Christmas.

I'm sending a care package to Faith and Chris and she requested my hot chocolate mix. It is time to make it again and when I do I make large (LARGE) quantities. Cindy Foose shared this recipe with me in 1980 - I know because I wrote it on the back of an invoice when I was working at
St. Mary's and it is dated 10/ 17/ 80.

This is Cindy Foose's Hot Chocolate Mix

1 box (8 qrt) Carnation powdered milk
1 lb jar Coffeemate
1 lb box Nestle's Quick ( I use more - like 1/2 box more chocolate)
1 lb box powdered sugar
mix it all together and store in airtight jars or ziplock bags
To make hot chocolate mix 1/4 cup mix (or more) per cup of hot water (you can use milk too)
top with marshmallows or whipped cream or both.
optional - I have been known to add Bailey's Irish Cream to mine or Kaluha to really take the
cold out of the bones. I think I'll do that tonight.

39 days, 5 hours and 16 minutes until Christmas

And I only have one gift purchased... and 38 family gifts to go, plus stocking stuffers, friends, neighbors, the mail lady, ...

I am making a Christmas disc for friends and downloaded so many Christmas songs on my computer that it actually shut down. It did not know what to do with that amount of songs at one time, so it did what I would like to do when I feel overloaded, it just stopped and said "enough".

We are leaving for Birmingham to visit the babies (the grown babies too) and Jody says that we are going to start shopping. The good thing that will come from a long drive is lists. I will get to
make a list for every event:

Lists
1. Gifts
2. Stocking stuffers
3. menus
a. Christmas Dinner
b. Christmas Eve
c. Griswald Christmas Party
d. other meals for family
4. Things I need to do before family arrives
5. Groceries
6. other stuff

I could not sleep last night and instead of counting sheep, I tried to remember all the names of
Santa's reindeers, but I could not remember how many there were so I was up all night.
There are 8, in case you do not know and to keep you from wondering and staying awake all night,
like me, I will tell you their names.
The reason we can't remember them all is that the first and second reindeer have similar names and I could never recall the first _ whose name is :
Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donder (also called Donner)
Blitzen

I personally believe that the gender of the reindeer is in question and going through the names
I just can't imagine that they are all male or all female...it has to be a mixed group here.
Oh, and I just remembered Rudolph!

42 days, 21 hours and 17 minutes before Christmas.

I think I need a jump start, or an energizer battery plugged into me. I can not find the second
thing to get for anyone (I already have one gift). I went to a Christmas store to buy ornaments and could not find ONE that I wanted. No stocking stuffers, no candy, no nothing. It's looking slim
except for the two topiaries, the angel, wreath, and 5 spools of ribbon.

So, I'm wondering to myself, where did Christmas decorations originate? I need to google it.
I have never been one to buy glittery stuff, and I even hate to mess up a perfectly beautiful pine cone with gold spray paint, but I'm finding myself getting "caught up" in "decorating for Christmas." I did, for 15 minutes, climb into the attic to inspect any boxes with "Christmas" written on them. I found some real antiques. The carolers made from styrofoam (one has no head) made me almost cry, remembering them on mother's mantel. I still have them, out of love,
or possibly guilt...I would feel awfully guilty if I threw them away. Santa might frown on me and give me ashes and switches - and that is another story.

45 days, 7 hours and 1 minute until Christmas.

There are 5 boxes of gingerbread mix in the pantry - I bought 2 extra because I will burn at least
two batches IF I decide to do what that little voice in the back of my head keeps telling me to do... make a gingerbread house. For years, the children were young I would make, from scratch, the "Martha Stewart" Gingerbread House, except that ours was not gilded with gold. I learned the hard way that it is a daytime sport. Gingerbread houses should not be worked on after 5:00p.m. for several reasons.
1. Building Gingerbread Houses while drinking wine is dangerous
2. Piping tubes full of sugary frosting explodes when the piper is under the influence of alcohol
3. Children can explode under the influence of sugar after 5:00 p.m.
4. The Gingerbread House is likely to cave in from the lack of good engineering due to the
over stimulation of sugar or debilitated drunk.
5. Parents and children will not like each other when this happens.



This is a fact.

48 Days, 10 hours and 10 minutes until Christmas.

Jody has just come into the Kitchen and I can tell just by his body english that there is something bothering him. It doesn't take long to find out. "Hope, what is Paul Michael's? and what on earth did you buy there?" Jody follows his internet banking like some men follow football or baseball.
Well, lets see. I bought 2 topiaries, a large wooden angel (who already sits on the armoire in the den) Elizabeth's Christmas gift - a lamp, a glittery reindeer, a large wreath and 6 rolls of ribbon
in assorted colors. "Is that all?" he says. "yes". "Are you finished?" "no."

49 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes until Christmas.

The eggnog cup for the Griswald Christmas Party.
We only bought 16, but it is 16 more than we had
last week. I can just see it now filled up with
eggnog and bourbon, or just bourbon. I have still only bought one Christmas gift, but the party is
definitely underway.

Elizabeth (number 2 daughter) and Egan 15 months old were here for a visit. We took the day and went to Greenville to Christmas shop at Paul Michael's in Lake Village, Ark. It is the Christmas Store of the South and more. It is HUGE. Full of
Christmas everything. Glitter was everywhere. Yes! I just knew this was it. All
my shopping over in one hour (all the time we had since Jody was babysitting Egan)
One extra large shopping cart and my American Express Card. It took a couple of circles around the store before I spied the Angel and the topiaries that fit into the basket with little room left, 5 spools of Christmas ribbon, 1 wreath, and some stuff
of Elizabeth's - oh and a lamp. Ho, Ho, Ho.

Jody and I both had lots of tradition growing up, especially when it came to Christmas. I remember as a young girl going to my father's home on Christmas Day and gathering with all of the Estes family. I was always there to help decorate the tree (afterall, I was the favorite grandchild). I still have my grandmothers tree light reflectors cut from tin and made like stars.
When my grandfather died I tore the house up trying to find those holiday lights. We still use colored lights on our trees. It's the "always" that is beginning to change and now we are going to break tradition as we get older and let the children begin their own traditions. Even though I know some of ours will become some of their traditions. Maybe one day 5 generations from now, I will look from heaven and see a little mother in the years to come with the light reflectors, wondering where they came from.

52 days, 3 hours 9 minutes and 1 second until Christmas.

I have not forgotten that it is the Birthday of Jesus that we are celebrating. I kind of wish that
the Magi had just gone for a visit and brought dinner instead of bearing gifts. They would never have imagined what we would turn gift-giving into. This brings me to the next subject weighing
on my mind. Gifts.

When will I begin to shop? And what will I buy? There are 4 children, 3 spouses, 1 significant other, 5 grandchildren, 1 mother, several good friends, 6 neighbors, 5 neighbors children, the mail lady and my hairdresser (who I want to keep very happy). I'm sure I have left someone out.
Oh yes, and stocking stuffers! The most important and the most scrutinized gift of all - thanks to St. Nick. Stockings are to be stuffed with little treasures that should take into account each person and their personality. The stocking is a valued prize. One year I put pickles into all stockings and the following year I had two pregnant daughters. That was a lesson.
I think I'll google on over to search for stocking stuffers.
later.

53 days 12 hours and 22 minutes before Christmas Day.

Jody has just returned from Freds. He has 3 sacks of Christmas lights. Each sack
contains at least 13 boxes of outdoor white lights. He says he is going to start on the trees in the backyard first. He has decided that he is going to actually throw away all the strings that have gone out instead of going through each bulb to see if it is blown out - this is huge - totally against his personality - something is changed.

He is back in after spending all of 3 hours on a tall ladder and his poor arms are covered with scratches from the bushes and sticky cedars. He is out of lights and has to go back to Freds.

Have I called the decorator yet? oh yes, I have. This is also a first. My idea of Christmas decorating is cutting a few limbs of cedar and some berries - A Christmas tree and colored lights and a wreath at the front door. That's it. The decorator says to me..."How long will it take for you to get your decorations down from storage?" "About 5 minutes?" They are called ornaments. I have no Christmas decorations. There is silence on the other end of the telephone. "So, we will just have to purchase some this year." she says.

We have already begun our purchasing. 16 moose ear eggnog cups are already on order, oh and 4 black dickies for the men to wear under their skin tight v-neck sweaters. This is for the Griswald Christmas party we plan to host in honor of Clark and Cusin Eddie. It is going to be the Carr family Christmas E-vent. I am on the lookout for a really tacky Christmas sweater. Think I'll just google on over to the internet. later.

"It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees, putting up reindeer singing songs of Joy and Peace, Oh I wish I had a river...I could skate away on." joni mitchell

This is my first blog, ever, but there is something in the air in the Carr family household this year, and it might just be a story worth following. Much like the Griswald's we are hosting
our family Christmas, as we usually do. Every other year the children gather at our home for Christmas. On the off years they go to the spouse's parents to celebrate. This year however is different, there is one thing that has changed. The grand children are older and Jody thinks this may be the last (gasp) last time the children will be home at one time with all the babies in tow for Santa to arrive. Yes, they are growing up and mommies and daddies want Santa to discover where they live so he can come to their house instead of ours. I guess that means we will be traveling instead of hosting (sigh).

It all began with the announcement from Jody "I think we should make this the Christmas to
remember."
"Oh?" I say. I thought the last Christmas we hosted was memorable enough. If I remember
correctly, we had for Christmas dinner 14 adults, 5 children, 5 howling dogs, and a mother with a case of diarrhea. I even wrote my own 12 days of christmas following the onslaught.
Sing it yourself.
On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
A mother with a case of diarrhea
2 pregnant daughters
3 broken dishes
4 more gifts to wrap
5 howling dogs
6 carpet stains
7 rolls a burning
8 guests eggnogging
9 toys to move
10 pots to scrub
11 empty bottles
12 lunchers lunching
that about covers it, so I can't wait for this years version. But for now, this is the blog.
and It's coming on Christmas.