Daily Archives: December 29, 2016

Christmas Giving

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I’ve probably posted on this subject every year for the past ten years. I feel like the Grinch! I really don’t like to shop, and rarely know what to give my family, yet I need to make the effort.

My oldest sister gave me a book I can’t wait to read. My younger sister, who knows that we love to watch our backyard birds, gave us a suet holder and suet, and birdseed bells. Both of these are perfect gifts, something I really enjoy. Now, why couldn’t I remember that they love these things, too?

I told someone recently that I thought we should either have a specific limit as to how much we could spend on a gift, or, perhaps we should try having a year where we only gave things we made. I’ve been operating along a mix of those two ideas for a while, and both of them have pros and cons. It takes a lot of time to make things for my entire family, and not everyone wants something I can make. There are times when the perfect gift falls outside the cash limit that has been set. I need more ideas. I want to give more than a card, but not be bankrupt at the end of the holidays.

And, time is always an issue. I may have to start working on Christmas in September to accomplish everything. It takes a LOT longer these days to get it all done.

I feel very Grinch-y right now. It’s a good thing Christmas is past.

I Love Winter

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I love winter when the sidewalks have been shoveled and the pavement is dry. I love winter when the roads are plowed and there is no slipping or skidding of cars on the road. I love winter when I can stand inside my cozy home and look out on the new-fallen, glittery white snow. I love winter when the temperature is between 30 and 40. I love winter when there is little wind, and very little wind chill.

I really do like winter, but as I age, the danger of slipping as I walk is a much more serious matter than it used to be. I don’t drive in snow storms unless I have no option. I don’t own clothing appropriate for temperatures below 20, or for snows higher than about six inches, and I don’t really want to!

Now that we live in a subdivision with sidewalks, we have to shovel, but the driveway is quite short, and the sidewalk length is manageable if we double team it. Still, I need to find someone to do our shoveling. Dear Husband shouldn’t be lifting heavy, wet snow, and I really don’t care to do the entire job on my own.

On the bright side, winter gives me a chance to piece quilts! I can hibernate in the basement, and sew to my heart’s content. Some days I barely make it upstairs in time for meals, and it’s a darned good thing that my hubby knows how to cook!

When spring arrives, perhaps the neighbors will see me once more.