Def-y's Categorizing: December 2010 Archives

We had a beautiful White Christmas. Not too much snow, just enough to give a good cover and make everything look lacy and pristine. IT looked traditional, old-fashioned, even, and I really enjoyed it.

Yesterday, though, it started to RAIN! Who ever heard of rain in December in Illinois!? It was a light rain, but between the rain and the fact that it was in the forties, the snow was a gonner. Well, almost a gonner. We still have a light patch here and there, and the mounds that were plowed to the side of the drive are hanging on, but I doubt they will make it through the night.

We could have really used this rain in October and November. It's hard on the perennials and trees to go into winter without adequate moisture, and it's tough on perennials to have to get through the winter without the insulation of snow cover, and the resulting drink they get from the spring thaw. This evening our temperatures are supposed to drop back down well below freezing, into the twenties. Plants will shiver and party-goers will need to be careful on icy streets on their way home.

I suspect that we are all doing the same thing right about now. We've spent so much time working on Christmas in the past month that we need to play catch up during this last week of the year.

I have not had a chance to be in my studio for about two weeks. Two of my quilting friends have donated close to 500 yards of fabric to Scraps on a Mission, which makes quilts for people at our local hospitals. One of the Empty Nesters wanted to get a project like this started, and I offered my assistance. Now I spend my time cutting out kits for ladies to assemble this summer, and I am the keeper of all that fabric! I've organized it into six boxes, plus a box of kits, and that seems fairly manageable. I've washed part of it, and now I need to press some of the fabric that I want to cut. My goal is to get the cutting table cleared off, and two projects set up for cutting in the future.
AND....I have a quilt on my design board that needs to be sewn together. I have plenty to do in the quilt section of my life.

Do you still iron? For the most part I've found clothing that doesn't need a lot of pressing, but I have a FULL to overflowing ironing basket at the moment. The napkins from Thanksgiving, white antique pillowcases with the crocheted or embroidered trims, a couple of small table cloths, my Mother's Christmas apron, and an immense stack of quarter-yard pieces of quilting fabric all need to be done. I may set the board up in the living room and iron after dinner until I get it done!

I've been crocheting squares for Share A Square 2010. If you're not familiar with this group, please click on the link to the right for more information. I've encouraged the members of my exercise group to make six-inch granny squares, and so far we have created 98 squares. I find that I can make one square while I watch (or listen to) a one-hour T.V. show. Over the past 45 days I've made about 30 squares. If I can make the time, I'd like to make two more before I send off my current mailing, so that I can say we have made an even one hundred! And, of course, this is on-going.

One of the reasons I need to clear off the table in the studio is to make a sorting area for personal papers. I hope this is a project that won't take more than a day or two, and the sooner I get it done, the better. DH says I keep EVERYTHING. He's almost right. There are a few insignificant things I throw away during the year. Which means, that before I do our taxes, I need to sort through all this stuff to determine if there is anything which needs to be kept for taxes. DH and I will need to be meeting in the basement on a nightly basis in the future to destroy documents. He gets to work on things for the company, and I will need to work on our personal papers. I doubt we need to keep the gas and electric and phone bills from 20 years ago. Besides, I want to reuse some of the binders to hold my cooking magazines!

I also need to file the papers I've been collecting on my Mother's behalf. I'm pretty sure that I can get things down to several three ring binders, and I'll check with the CPA to determine how long those will need to be kept.

I might see the top of the desk again, soon! What a pleasant and amazing thought that is! lol

So, I assume that most of you go through this same procedure, of catching up with your lives following Christmas. I wish you smooth sailing and great success as we move toward 2011.

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!

A bucket list is an on-going thing. There will be things you get to cross off, and things you realize you need to add. Tonight I've thought of something I want to add to my bucket list.

I want to visit the Arizona memorial.

I've read about Pearl Harbor and December 7th all my life. I've read the history of the bombing, and seen movies and documentaries on the subject. Tonight, on the news, we were reminded that the bombing took place 69 years ago, and there are 3,000 or fewer people alive who survived that day.

I want to go and pay my respects to all the people who lost their lives when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and thank them for their service.

My fingers are so cold I can barely type, and I haven't even been outside today! Snow and cold moved into our area late at night on December 3. I went to the quilting bee Chistmas dinner that evening, and the cold front moved over the area while we had dinner. The snow held off until I got home, and for that I was thankful. I bundled myself up in bed and snuggled in for the night and ignored the snow to come.

It wasn't that bad. I had to make a morning trip to the dentist. I was supposed to get a new crown today, but the temporary crown came off on Thursday. They tell you to clean it off, put some denture fixative in it and put it back it. It worked! I was able to enjoy dinner with my quilting friends on Friday and on Saturday it was still there! Yea! So, the dentist had me come in a couple of days early to put the permanent crown in, and I had to travel through the snow.

There were very few people out on the roads, and it was absolutely gorgeous outside. Dear Husband had me put the SUV into four wheel drive, and I left in plenty of time. Most of the drivers were using common sense, and the roads were fairly clear. I took one road that just had tire tracks, but it wasn't slippery. I rather enjoyed the quiet and beauty.

So, this morning I have been attending to office work, and taking care of bookkeeping for my Mother's accounts. I moved from the personal computer to the office to fax off a document, and my fingers froze! I think I'm going to have to put a small room heater in my office for the winter.

Or, maybe if I'm lucky, Santa will give me one of those Dragon voice recognition software programs for Christmas. Heck, DH needs it more than I do. Maybe I could use his on cold days! *G*

Happy Holidays to you all!