“Welcome Christmas! heel and toe, Come and fill us ere you go!”
Last night was downright cold. My car was covered in frost this morning. I gave thanks that I no longer have to scrape windows before work. The morning is already getting warmer. We are up to 42°. We’re having a heat wave. Where’s my Hawaiian shirt?
My dance card is filled with uke this week. Tonight is our Christmas party, Tuesday is practice, Wednesday my lesson followed by an afternoon concert and on Thursday and Friday more concerts. My house is nearly bare of decorations. I need to find time in between my uke events to Christmas my house. I’m starting today.
I’m the mouse in the maze, sort of. I set the trap yesterday morning. When I checked later, the peanut butter was gone and so was the mouse. I figured he was sitting in the cabinet full and happy. Being an eternal optimist, I refilled the trap. This morning, the sassy rodent had struck again. The peanut butter was gone. I made a couple of adjustments in the trap and reset it. I want that mouse. He’s mine.
Winter was inevitable. Even as a kid I knew that. It was the season of bundling. It was walking to school in the cold mornings and seeing my breath, my sort of personal winter, sort of icy, fog. The walk to school in winter was quiet. My friend and I whispered without even realizing. Frost covered parked car windows. Houses still had their lights on to counter the winter morning darkness. I remember how happy I was to get to school, to the warm building.
During my first year in Ghana, I was dreading Christmas, my first Christmas ever away from home. Nothing was familiar. Fir trees didn’t grow. Houses and streets weren’t decorated with lights. I heard no greetings of Merry Christmas. It was the harmattan, hot, dry days and cooler nights, no hopes of a white Christmas. I didn’t write home about what I was feeling, but I think my mother knew. She sent me a box of Christmas spirit. She and my aunt paid the postage to send it airmail, a not so small fortune. In the box was a fir tree, not tall but perfect regardless, decorations for it, some from the family tree, brick crepe paper to make a sort of fireplace, a small Christmas stocking, Christmas cookie cutters and sprinkles. In that box, I found Christmas. I could see it, but most of all, I could feel it.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
December 9, 2024 at 3:51 pm
Hi Kat,
Today the sun is shining and the predicted high temperature should hit 69°. I’m sure when I get home my better half will have switched the thermostats to AC.
Holidays are about feeing and family. When I was in College, my father usually took the week of thanksgiving to take vacation in Acapulco Mexico. Usually, I would go to a restaurant for my Thanksgiving dinner and go home and watch football by myself. It’s not that I needed my father, but it would have been nice to have some company.
One year I was invited by a woman whom I was dating to her friend’s house for Thanksgiving. The hosts were both very flamboyant gay men. They put on quite a huge spread. Because their apartment was small, they served dinner buffet style. All of the other guests were man and my girlfriend was the only female. When dinner was ready, the host said, “Come and get it, Ladies first”. Immediately all the gay men stood up and got in line. 🙂
It was one of the best Thanksgiving’s I ever attended.
Sadly, the CEO of United Healthcare was killed. I’m convinced that someone’s mother or father died while awaiting approval for some medical treatment, or was denied the treatment. Unfortunately, we have the most expensive healthcare system in the developed world, and have the worst medical outcomes. This CEO, supposedly implemented an AI system to speed up the denial for treatment requests. Besides, with Dr. Oz in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, it will be very interesting to see what happens. Oz is a big fan of Medicare Advantage for all. I fear for my intellectually disabled daughter who depends on Medicaid and Medicare.
Sadly, it’s not going to get any better with Trump in charge. Medical insurance companies are very large contributors to the Republican Party.
December 9, 2024 at 10:56 pm
Hi Bob,
It started raining around 4:30 and rained most of the evening. We had our uke Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. It was great fun.
I always had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house until my father passed away then we had it at my house. My sister and her husband didn’t come down but had their own dinner. Once we went to Arizona together. After my mother was gone, my friends and I always went to the same restaurant every year.
That does sound like a great Thanksgiving. It sounded as if you were in wonderful company.
I hope the best for your daughter, but I am afraid. It seems as if Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will be targeted.
Trump still says he has concepts, the same thing he said when running in 2015.
December 9, 2024 at 11:49 pm
We hit 73° today but tomorrow the high will only be 49° with a northwest wind. Brrr