Friday, December 12, 2008

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!

18 comments:

Snap said...

Pat,

Feel better soon.

I still the card you made for me *ages* ago -- "Let It Snow". Love it!

I have a great chicken soup recipe if the mac and cheese doesn't work!

JC said...

Hope you are feeling better very soon. I was wondering why I hadn't received my handmade Christmas card from you. You know how much I would appreciate one but then I remembered you don't have my address. HA!!! I just finished sending card today, not handmade, and it was a chore but I'm glad it is done. Have a great weekend and get well soon.

Anonymous said...

Pat your ahead of me. We don't do cards at all.Too many years when i couldn't get to the mailbox to mail em. And we don't gift much at all, just international aid gifts now. hope your cold is better soon. And Kraft Mac and Cheese is fine if ya like it! No need to explain or defend! haha. Go away to your cold!

Suldog said...

I think the card is lovely. And I think Jan. 6th is perfectly fine. MY WIFE and I don't exchange gifts until then.

As for the cold, my favorite remedy is a spicy hot green curry. Makes me sweat and I like to think it burns the little cold germs to death.

Pat - Arkansas said...

Snap: it has been a looong time since I made that card. Probably 1999. You're a sweetie to have kept it all these years.

JC: thank you for your get well wishes. I'll take all I can get. If you'd *like* to have a handmade card, shoot me your addy in an email to patsschado at yahoo dot com. I'm serious. I'd be dee-lighted.

Sherry: You and the Contrarian probably have the right idea: no cards. But I do like making them, just not while I am feeling puny. Perhaps soup, meatloaf, and Mac and Cheese are like an antibiotics; they don't kick in right away. I'm waiting.

Suldog: Thank you. Spicy-Hot green curry sounds like just the ticket, and I *like* it. I'm all in favor of frizzling those germs.

Dr.John said...

My grandkids love mac and cheese from that same box.
Sorry the cold has such a hold on you but puffs are great.

abb said...

What a wonderful family you have. Christmas blessings to all of you!

I look up to you and your wisdom. Just want you to know that - love your thoughts.

Hilary said...

Pat that card is a beauty. I have trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that you have a daughter at retirement age. Your posts always reflect a very youthful woman to me. Make sure you stay that way. Look after yourself and feel better soon!

Rose said...

I sure enjoyed this post...I have been slow getting around but trying to catch up...I somehow missed that you had been sick. Hope you are all better very,very soon.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I love that brand of mac & cheese too, although I've pretty much eliminated it from my diet for health reason.

The card you show is beautiful. We're not doing cards this year. I'm working too much, and I just can't face another writing task.

rhymeswithplague said...

We're not sending cards this year either. First time ever. Partly financial and partly laziness.

Your card is very beautiful.

Jeannelle said...

Your card is beautiful! Yes, I think its fine if cards don't arrive until Epiphany...or later, who cares.

My kids always were happy when I fixed a box of "the cheesiest" mac & cheese. Easy to please, they were.

Take good care of yourself so you get over that cold soon. Hope you're having wonderful time with your daughter & family this weekend.

Anonymous said...

Years and years ago [before I learned to cook] I used to make macaroni cheese from a box, I think it was Quakers. It came with the dried mac. which I boiled, a tim of gooey stuff that i think i added to the cook pasta, and some cheese-powder in a cellophane package that I had to shake over before grilling. It was delicious, but even if it were still available I would be run out of town if I presented it to the horde.
Love the card...I am starting in January to get presents and make cards for next year.

Sandi McBride said...

I hope you are feeling better soon...this is the worst time of year for a cold...my Grandmother called them "fresh colds" for some reason. My nephew and his young family are also stationed in Okinawa (Air Force) and are home on leave but just for a few more days. I know your daughter will be happy to retire! Give her our thanks for her service, her husband, too.
Sandi

Patty said...

Your mac and cheese sounds ok with me. I think it's pretty good for a boxed item. I also love to put in some peas and tuna once in a while. When the kids were all at home, that made for a quick casserole type supper along with some home made biscuits and a salad.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting about Abe. He's to have that procedure done again this morning, they want to make sure they get the lung coated good this time. But they also said it could happen again, in fact it could happen when they pull the chest tube. Now that has to be a gloomy outlook for the person having it pulled. Won't get down to see him today, everything is iced over and I'm not going to risk it. I know he's in a safe place, being cared for and he'll be fed. LOL

Hope you get to feeling better soon, nothing worse that a darn old cold and or flu this time of year.

Rune Eide said...

I think I recognize some of the pre-Christmas atmosphere. Like you, ee only send self-made Christmas-cards, but based on one of my own photos. However, unlike many, I do not "send the family", but a wintry/Christmas like subject. I has got to be personal.

Thank you for the very pleasant comment - always nice to me mentioned :-)

PS Merry Christmas!

Kerri Farley said...

Oh, I think your card is absolutely stunning!! And we are BIG FANS of "that" MAC & Cheese!!

Hope you are feeling better soon!

Melinda said...

beautiful beautiful card!!