Christmas: December 2010 Archives

I've been a social butterfly this month! It started with a Christmas dinner with my quilting bee December 3rd. They always help me to get into the Christmas spirit, so it's great that our dinner is always the first Friday of December.

The second party I got to attend was a very posh gathering in a subdivision called "Falling Water" The houses are grand, and the landscaping is awesome, and everything that doesn't move is lighted! We had a wonderful time, and our hosts made sure that Bears afficionados wouldn't miss the game! Just to the south and to the east in Indiana, roads were closed due to a winter storm. We celebrated for about ninety minutes before we decided that we needed to make the trek home.

This morning, the woman who leads my exercise class is having her annual Christmas party for the class, right after we exercise! It's a lot more fun than it sounds. We all bring something to share, and she and her husband provide quiche, sausages, juice and coffee. They have a lovely home and our class loves to visit with them.

I decided that I would take a Praline Pull-apart Bread. It's rather like a cross between cinnamon rolls and Monkey bread. I rolled frozen white dinner rolls in butter and then in a mix of sugar and cinnamon, and placed them in an Angel Food cake pan. you sprinkle pecans over them, and set them in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.

This morning, Dear Husband woke me when he was ready to start his day, and I finished the preparations for the bread by whipping cream and adding cinnamon and brown sugar to it. The mixture is poured over the rolls and then it's baked for an hour. It sits for ten minutes (can't you tell we are sitting as we speak?) and then it's turned upside down onto a serving platter.

I'm really looking forward to this party. I like my classmates and really enjoy having the time to chat with them. Even people who are not a part of the current class will attend this party, so I'll have the chance to catch up with old friends.

Isn't that the best kind of party?

We are at the wrapping stage of the season. I'm just amazed, because I frequently spend a couple of days just before Christmas wrapping all our gifts. Most of Dear Husband's gifts came in on Monday, so while he was at work today, I opened the bags, checked the invoices, made notes about what came from which store, and then boxed the gifts.

It was a good plan, because just as I closed the last of the boxes, Dear Husband walked in the door. It's so bitterly cold that he hasn't been able to put in a full day at work. He's been repairing heaters and other equipment, and working on proposals, and then coming home around lunchtime..

DH asked if he could have the scissors and tape, so he could wrap gifts. I let him have them, and went off to move some laundry. You have to realize that DH doesn't wrap gifts for beauty. His wrapping is very functional. I asked him if he really WANTED to wrap gifts, and was relieved when he said, "No." I told him that I would wrap everything but my own gifts. He could do those. He seemed to be as relieved as I was! *G*

So, I wrapped the gifts for my youngest sister's family, which need to be mailed off tomorrow morning. Then I finished the wrapping on DH's gifts, and wrapped most of the packages for our oldest granddaughter. I have a long way to go with the wrapping, and a short list of things I still need to get, but we are well on our way to being ready for Christmas.

I really like the idea of simplifying our preparations for the holiday. I've enjoyed the past two weeks more than I usually do because there's less pressure to have everything "perfect." I think I may get around to making cookies next week! YEA!!

I've found a person with whom I am totally in sync! My Postmistress!

Today, when I stopped to send a box to my sister, this lady and I were the only two in the post office. I have decided to be politically incorrect and wish people "Merry Christmas." They may respond as they wish, so I'm going to say what I want.

So, I told her I knew it was politically incorrect, and then wished her a Merry Christmas. She agreed with me! And that started off a five or six minute conversation about all the things we object to in our current government.

The upshot of our conversation was that if we don't tell our government that we object to the decisions they are making they will never know that they are on the wrong track. Those of us who have been part of the Silent Majority now need to take responsibility for where things are going. Write your representatives. Tell them what you think, and continue to let them know what you think.

And for my part, I wish you a Merry Christmas!