Christmas 2021

We just wrapped up our big take down of all things Christmas. Santa has gone back into storage for the next eleven months. The accountant daughter has returned home because she's leaving on a trip tomorrow from the Austin airport. The college coed will be with us for a couple more weeks until the spring semester starts. Now if the weather would just cooperate and cool off again so it actually feels like winter.

All in all, our lead up to Christmas was lovely. We worked on puzzles. Toured the neighborhood to see holiday lights ablaze. Baked cookies. Ate too much, mainly because we cooked for days. And we all enjoyed sharing Christmas Eve and Day with family and friends. 

I was so grateful that my mother made it to Christmas one more time so we could enjoy Christmas Eve with her. A couple of the holiday recipes I still make today date waaaay back to when I was a teenager and young adult. It just wouldn't be Christmas Eve without them. And her.

I just couldn't resist snapping a couple pics of me and the husband with the fun holiday filters.

On Christmas Day, we enjoyed spending time with the husband's parents and his nephew. Unfortunately, the husband's brother, sister-in-law and her mother all caught covid a couple weeks ago and couldn't join us. Thankfully, they're all on the mend now, but they really suffered with it. I'm glad we opted to take the vaccines in the spring and get our boosters this fall to lessen our chances of having a bad reaction to whatever variant chooses to rear its ugly head next.
 

 

The girls got their usual on Christmas morning - one large gift and several smaller things. It's nice that I can still surprise them at 21 and 26. 

 

Now I'm just burning my Christmas themed candles - a cinnamon and cedar scented seance, of sorts - so I can switch over to my usual first of the year lavender fragrance.

And now we bid a fond farewell to 2021. I'll be back in 2022 with some new things on the horizon. I hope everyone out there on the web had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus. I pray that the new year brings resolutions to strengthen your faith, deepen your bonds with family and friends and helps you lead a healthier, happier life for the glory of God.

Christmas Cuties

The Longhorn daughter wrapped up her fall semester with a 4.0, and celebrated with a cup of cheer at a pop-up Christmas bar with her older sister. The girls are often asked if they're twins, and they do look a lot more alike now than they ever did as kids. The coed is already home, helping me grocery shop and start the prep for our big Christmas Eve and Day food fests with friends and family. The accountant should be home in a couple days, in time to help us bake and decorate holiday sugar cookies in fun shapes. They're becoming real cookie artists these days. I hope this is something we'll get to continue with their kids for future Christmases.

December is for Luke's story

Every year I re-read the Gospel of Luke in the month of December. There are 24 chapters, so I begin with one per day on Dec 1 and finish on Christmas Eve. This year I've enjoyed it even more because it has dovetailed with the Matthew study I'm doing in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). 

I grew up with the King James Bible, which might as well have been a foreign language with all of the thees, thous and old verbiage that made it hard to understand. As an adult, I adore my NIV (New International Version) that has made God's inspired word so much more comprehensible with its straightforward language. I believe God is always trying to speak to me through His words in the Bible to help me understand Him better. Who He is. How much He loves me. What He wants to accomplish with my life for His glory. 

My name is Carrie, and I'm a Santaholic. And yet my enormous Santa collection doesn't supplant my understanding of the real reason we celebrate Dec 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ. What a gracious God, that He sent this baby boy, both human and deity, to Mary and Joseph to ultimately be the King who would erase the stain of sin from man and provide a path for our salvation.

Luke has its share of challenging parables, even the NIV. And yet it's the most important story found in the most important book you'll ever read. I pray you'll take the time to ponder the amazing story of Jesus' birth in Luke 2 in any version of the Bible you prefer. Let yourselves get lost (again) in the joyous miracle of Christ in the manger in Bethlehem this Christmas season.

Hearkening back to what we studied in Matthew 1:21 earlier in the fall...

"She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Born to be mild

Yesterday when I was out running errands, I spied Santa up ahead of me at a stop light. 

Obviously the flag was the first thing that caught my attention. Next I noticed the red shirt and Santa hat. As I squinted my old lady eyes, I was surprised at the cute little holiday details on his motorcycle. Check out the reindeer horns on the front. Did you see the festive sleigh attached to both sides? Then on the back above the muffler he hung a couple mini stockings. All he needs is a wrapped present strapped to the carrying case right behind his seat. But seriously... isn't this cruisin' Claus a creative fellow!

Riding the temperature rollercoaster

Santa is in the house and the oaks are wrapped in red and white Christmas lights. The trees in our yard have been dropping leaves like crazy lately, which is usually a sign that we're down for the count, temp-wise. And yet we're a week into December and I STILL have a pair of shorts and flip flops in my closet for those "just in case" days when the Fahrenheit hits the 80s. This time of year in Texas, we're bouncing back and forth with running the AC and heat.

As a kid, I can recall riding a brand new bike Santa brought me on Dec 25 in a tank top and shorts. And I guess when I was a kid, I didn't mind the warmer temps. Now that I'm in the midst of menopausal hot flashes, I'd love for the daily high to stay in the 60s. I want it to feel like the Christmas season so I can wear the red sweaters hanging in my wardrobe. The gray and white snowflake patterned turtleneck with coordinating down filled vest. And all of my fun boots. I'm tired of having to make an effort to keep my feet presentable enough for public display. 

That house in the mountains for our retirement is looking more and more attractive these days. I'm beginning to think I have all the makings of a good snow bird. Texas will always have my heart, but I'd love to spend about half of the year where I don't break a sweat just thinking about stepping outside.

Just a little pinch

Our family is fully vaccinated. I didn't have any qualms about taking a coronavirus vaccine back in the spring. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think any sane person would agree that we don't know the long term effects of the vaccine, either positive or negative. God gave us brains and expects us to use them, so it made sense that considering my age bracket and since my mother is immuno-compromised this was the best choice for our family. With the newest strain of omicron starting to make the rounds now, I went in earlier this week to get my booster. And actually, I wouldn't mind if one of the crazier theories turned out to be truth. At this point, it might be kinda nice to glow in the dark since my vision isn't getting any better as I age. 

Light it up

The day after Thanksgiving, we put up the MERRY CHRISTMAS sign I made for the front gate and turned on all of the exterior lights. 

My newest Santa also got placed in one of the living room windows that faces the street. Several days before that, I was checking the porch for a package delivery and noticed some water on the floor next to Santa. Only it wasn't water... it was dog pee. Unfortunately, the chorkie is well known for marking anything new in his territory and this was his latest urinary conquest in our house. You can see him in the pic below, back at the scene of his crime after I chastised him, put him in his kennel for time out and then mopped up his calling card on the floor and plastic cover.  It's a good thing Santa was still protected by his packing from the folks who made him by hand. Otherwise the accountant daughter's chorkie might have been holiday hawk bait living in our back yard until the day after Christmas when I put all of my Santas back into storage.

 

 

You'll notice the small white picket style fencing around Santa. I bought that to protect St Nick from any further leg hiking the chorkie might attempt.

I think this new Santa is a lovely addition to my collection. Now if he'd just quit giving us a fright. The girls and I will spy him in our peripheral vision when we're in the kitchen and startle for a second, thinking we've got a red robed intruder in the house.

You aint nothing but a hound dog

I volunteered to houndsit my sister's basset Bucky for a couple days while they were out of town for Thanksgiving. He quickly made himself at home on my new rug in the family room.

 

 

 

Any time we put him over in the hemmed off area I created in the hallway leading to the garage, he cried like a big baby. He's accustomed to sleeping with my sister, all 60 lbs of him that is constantly shedding little white hairs on everything. And the drool - yuck. Our little dogs can be yappy, but at least they're a manageable size and don't shed.

Needless to say, our dogs were not amused with this slobbering, rather oafish intruder to their doggy domain. With the hound on the loose in our house, they tended to spend a lot of time snuggled up on holiday throws atop the beds where Bucky couldn't jump up and join them. The older daughter's chorkie was the most vocal with his dislike as you can see in the video below, even when we put chorkie in his kennel so he'd leave Bucky alone.

Thanksgiving 2021

This year my sister-in-law hosted Thanksgiving. She is an excellent cook, and everything was delicious. 

The highlight on the groaning Thanksgiving table was the pork crown roast my sister-in-law made especially for mother. It really was a culinary work of art. The girls and I whipped up some basics like broccoli rice casserole, chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin pie (Aunt Mary's recipe, which is the best I've ever had), and a chocolate sheet cake since we were traveling for the day.

We were especially grateful this Thanksgiving to spend another year celebrating with mother. I've already started working on my Christmas Eve and Day menus for next month. There's nothing better than enjoying good food while spending time with family and friends during the holiday season!

Thankful for Thanksgiving

I'm really enjoying Thanksgiving week. The coed is home and we've been busy doing things like eating Tex Mex at her favorite restaurant, as well as baking homemade sugar cookies for her to decorate with friends. 

We decked the halls at mother's house, too. I also made a front door wreath for my sweet mobile groomer Lily and she was so happy to get it. I had her pick the colors/theme and she chose a snowflake scheme with blue and silver. All she has to do is fluff it and add the snowflake ornament in the center before hanging it.

I was at Target over the weekend, and was surprised when I ran across a breathalyzer. Who knew they made these for the general public to purchase? Honestly, it's a rather good idea for folks who plan to enjoy a bottle cup of cheer this holiday season. Though for $14.99, you wonder how accurate it is.

I enjoyed reading several Thanksgiving books this month with the two girls I tutor on Tuesday mornings. Volunteering in one of our local schools is so rewarding for me, because I genuinely miss being in the classroom. After teaching 5th graders for years, it has been interesting to work with the younger kids who need help. We read, write and work on building their vocabularies. I'm in zero rush to be a grandmother, but I must admit I look forward to sharing my love of reading with the next generation. 

I pray your Thanksgiving is shared with precious family and friends. May you recall all of the blessings God has bestowed on you in 2021, both big and small. There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.