“Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago.”
Today is so cold that the only place to be is home. It is 18°, but with the wind it feels like 5°. I gasped when I went outside. I’m happy to have nowhere I need to be, and I have my gingerbread house for later. It will be a good day, every Christmas Eve always is.
Already this has been a busy Christmas Eve morning. First, I put on the coffee. There are priorities. Next, I brought out my walking stick and used it to prop up the front fence which had toppled during the wind storm. Lifting the fence was almost painful. Next chore, I picked up the tipped cow near the other fence. I didn’t pick up the flag and flag holder which had been blown over the hill. House chores were next. A chalkware Magi and pieces of its head were swept. The king had been a victim of Nala, the destroyer of worlds. Lastly I noticed the entire stable is gone. It was old and wooden. I know it is probably in the yard but it is too cold to hunt. The survivors are put away.
There is good news. My tree is lit and standing tall. It is decorated in memories. Three round ornaments covered in fading red leather were gifts from Michelle, a friend from Peace Corps days who lived in Kumasi. She had had these ornaments since our Ghana days but decided to give them to me as she knew they would grace my tree every year. Pinocchio is there too. My mother and I bought the ornaments in Florence at a toy store. A cloth heart came from Budapest. A few sea creatures hang off smaller branches. They are molas from Panama. A couple of round compounds and a drum are from Ghana, from my first trip back. There are cross-stitch ornaments I made for my mother which came back to me. There are some she stitched. My favorite is a cross-stitch with a K and three kings. It is high on my tree away from the destroyer. At the top of the tree is an ornament made from blocks. I made block name ornaments for every family member the year my sister and her family came from Colorado for Christmas. This ornament says Chick, the nickname my mother got as a kid. It is the one I made for her. I hang it every year, and I remember my mother and all the Christmases she gave to us.
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December 24, 2022 at 11:31 am
It’s all pretty weird out there, I guess the cyclone bomb did show up. The roads are slick, the air has a “chill”
Meanwhile Mrs MDH has abandoned Christmas songs and has turned her attentions to Taylor Swift and Frank Sinatra.
Services will be early this evening probably interfering with the Lions game and then on to my daughter’s for dinner.
Santa is probably on his way. Hope it’s not too cold for him
December 24, 2022 at 6:35 pm
My Dear Hedley,
It is freezing here. The wind means it feels like 5° though it isn’t much warmer at 17°. I played carols while I decorated. I have had them on in the car for most of the month.
Sorry, about the time of service and football. The NFL is being inconsiderate.
What a nice way to spend time with family, a dinner on Christmas Eve. I always loved Christmas Eve when everything was quiet, and my mother and I would watch a Christmas movie and have a Spanish coffee.
Santa layers!
December 24, 2022 at 4:49 pm
Hi Kat,
The sky is absolutely clear and the temperature has finally warmed up above freezing. It’s 37° right now. Just settled in to watch the Cowboys and the Eagles duke it out in Arlington where it’s always 70°F inside.
Christmas Eve was always anticlimactic for us because Chanukah was usually over or still in progress. We would hang up our stockings on the mantle just in case there really was a Santa. 🙂 A kid never wants to take any chances when it comes to gifts. In the morning we always found some candy and a small gift inside. My parents didn’t want us to feel left out. After all, they had read Dr. Spock. 🙂
Next week I’m off work because we close up the training center between Christmas and New Years. On Monday, I’m taking my daughter to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in downtown Dallas. I have never been there but my daughter has been several times. I’m looking forward to her giving me a tour of the place.
I want to wish everyone on Coffee and especially our hostess Kat, a very merry Christmas Eve.
December 24, 2022 at 6:43 pm
Hi Bob,
It is freezing here and still windy. Even the dogs are in and out quickly. The Pats lost today~ Enjoy your game.
On Christmas Eve, I would lie in bed awake, unable to fall asleep. I was too excited anticipating the morning. I would finally fall asleep and usually sleep through the night. When I was young, my grandparents came back to our house with my parents after midnight mass. They would insist my parents wake us up so they could watch us open our presents. That was the worst as we always had to go back to bed.
Even when I was an administrator, I took the week after Christmas off. My work year was counted in days so I worked a lot in the summer so I could take off during school vacations. I needed time off more during the school year than in the summer.
December 24, 2022 at 5:55 pm
Christmas Eve and the Christ Child was already busy in this country and can relax and recover now. An egg liqueur might help. (Don’t worry, it’s old enough by now.) Good luck, Santa, have a good trip! And stay warm and safe, dear Americans!
December 24, 2022 at 6:47 pm
Hi Birgit,
It is still early here. I think Santa was busy on your side of the ocean. I guess he’ll work his way west to us shortly.
It is so cold right now. It feels like 5° with the wind. We had snow flurries. I guess we’e supposed to have more. I’ll go out in the morning to get my papers. That will be it.
Merry Christmas!