More Bits of This and That

Image copyright Thomas Kinkade.

Bit 1: I'm dragging my feet about Christmas cards, and that's not a good thing. Time is getting away... fast! I send only handmade cards, these days; I have to justify my insanely large collection of Christmas-themed rubber stamps. I rationalize my procrastination by reminding myself that there are 12 days of Christmas, so if my cards arrive any time before Epiphany (Jan. 6) I have still sent timely cards. Can I get by with that? A scan of my first efforts is above. It's really nicer "in real life" as the base card has a metallic sheen to it and the color blends better with the image.

Bit 2: I finished the last of the soup, and the remaining meatloaf made a tasty sandwich for supper last night. This one-two, usually sure-fire, knock out combination didn't work; I still have a plethora of cold symptoms! Bah! Humbug! I feel like I am single-handedly keeping the Puffs people in business.

Wait! I forgot the macaroni and cheese! I think that might be lunch today. I am inexplicably fond of a boxed product, the maker of which refers to it as "the cheesiest." My good friend who specializes in yummy, made-from-scratch mac and cheese is appalled at my taste. I don't care. I like it; it's quick to fix and requires only one saucepan.

Bit 3: My youngest daughter, who is a Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, currently stationed on the island of Okinawa, Japan, has been in the States on leave since just before Thanksgiving. She and her husband have been looking for a place to retire. Her husband is already retired from the military, and she has only one more year before completing 30 years of service. It will be nice to have all my children (and grandchildren) residing on U.S. soil again. Daughter's older son has just finished Air Force boot camp, and she was able to attend his graduation ceremony in San Antonio, TX this past Friday. It made him very happy to see his mother, of course, and the feelings were mutual, I'm sure. The three of them will be back here tonight. Their remaining time stateside will be short as they have to leave again on Dec. 17. While I wish they could still be here at Christmas, their being here at all, when I didn't expect to see them until year end 2009, has been a wonderful gift.

Bit 4: The same cannot be said about gifts, which, for persons who will not be present at the family Christmas gathering, really are expected to have arrived at their homes before Christmas Day. I don't do a whole lot in the way of gift-giving these days, but try always to send something to my sisters and brothers-in-law. Baby sister lives in Virginia, the other (but still younger than I) lives about 75 miles from me. This year, their gifts will be my own photographs, suitably framed. I will leave the packing to the UPS Store. To me, it's worth the extra cost not to have to accumulate all the stuff necessary to adequately protect whatever I'm sending.

Bit 5: Local daughter Jean assisted a friend with friend's annual open house/food frenzy yesterday. I took my box of Puffs and my crochet bag to her house and played baby-sitter for my 4 year old granddaughter. We watched The Last Unicorn, read a couple of books, made strange creatures with Play-Doh, colored in the color book, drew pictures of other very strange creatures (she's very fond of goblins at present, but will tell you that she has nightmares because she watches too much TV --very likely true) and otherwise had a good time. I was ready to come home when her mama returned.

Ta! for now. I'm boiling the water for my mac and cheese. I'm gonna feel better!