Mariel,

This would be the time when I wish we were all close so we could surround you with love for Christmas. I hope your son invites you this year. If I were you I would just show up anyway. I wonder if they just expect you to know you are welcome without an invite? You are his mom after all!

My sister is inviting Keith, our late dad's caretaker for Christmas Eve dinner. Last time he didn't show up. He is a strange fellow, but has a good heart, and he was a blessing to our dad in his last two years of life, because nobody else could have put up with dear old dad and his cantankerous ways. We were lucky to find an equally cantankerous but lovable caretaker for him.

Doydie,

I love that you are including less fortunate people for your holiday celebrations.

We will be in Boston for Christmas. We take almost-MIL to Christmas Eve mass at the church she was married in. Then we will have supper - not too much- here.

Christmas morning is just the 2 of us. Then Christmas Day we pick up MIL and go to friends across town for a re-do of the Thanksgiving spread but w more desserts. That last for hours. We are supposed to give to charity in lieu of gifts but someone(s) always breaks this rule.

Meanwhile my brother and his family will be at my Mom's. Then DH2B and I fly in to spend a week w Mom that includes NYEve. We do Chinese food NYE and Christmas on NYDay morning- all of us in the living room in PJ's. There is no way we could ever be in MIL's LR in PJ's- ever!

Heads up- the moon is almost full- gorgeous.
ANN

Wiz, sometimes I would like to disinvite my husband and brother in law. They were not brought up in the same environment we were and see no purpose in doing this.

Now here is the way to decorate a white Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays To All.

That is such a cute idea, Sally!!

Doydie, it sounds wonderful! If I didn't live so far away.....and I could drive......and I could handle sitting for more than 15 minutes......and I didn't need an afternoon nap.....well, you get the picture......I would show up at your house!!

I'm working but it will be with the kiddos so that makes it more palatable and I should be done fairly early.

I'm going to use the extra $$ for vacation!

I wish I had plans...I like plans! My days of playing it by ear are WAY over. However, real life happens, and we have no plan. I don't mean "we plan to do nothing". I mean, "we have no plan".

My granddaughter is out of state and working Christmas Eve, my daughter only has Christmas Day off work and lives a couple of hours away (assuming bare roads, a foolish assumption), and my daughter-in-law is having health problems--so my son has an uncertain schedule.

We hope it works out that my son and daughter can at least be here on the same day for a while, but it may be before Christmas or long after. Therefore, I can't plan food or anything else.

I'm not feeling humbuggish about it, I'm just frustrated and trying not to have an attitude. It isn't any of the kids' fault that things just aren't coming together this year. I just told them to try to give me a couple days' notice if they can.

Kitty I wish we could invite a needy family over. I know my Mom would try to do it if she could. But there is no way my husband would do that. For one reason he wouldn't want a stranger in his house. And he would think that the family would expect something from us all year long. I hate to think what he will think of what all I want to do if he should die first and I have this big house all to myself.

Love the Christmas tree Sally .

Well, I'm 90% decided on not trying to make it to my Dad and Stepmom's for Christmas and staying home instead.

Between the 2-3 feet of snow that is supposed to fall before I would leave on the 24th, the ups and downs of this body lately, probably another new medication starting on Thursday and Willy having to go to a regular kennel (his trainer is dealing with the recent passing of her mother)...it just seems that now is not a good time for me to go anywhere.

Even if all of that weren't going on, there is another big snow storm coming in on the 27th, and I would prefer not to drive in it; so would then probably try to come home on the 26th to beat it, if I did go down. That would mean a lot of driving (10+ hours each way), to just spend the whole of the 25th to be with them; and I haven't been driving much lately.
So Christmas Day would likely be one that the body would be needing to rest from the drive down and for the drive back anyway. I certainly wouldn't be up for cooking a full Christmas dinner, which is what I usually do when I go there for Christmas.

Staying home is looking far more beneficial for everyone, including Willy & Ziggy.
I don't like the idea of Willy being in a kennel, although the one that he has been in here before, is a very good one. They have play and activities for the residents throughout the day, and provide treats as well.
Similarly, Ziggy is used to me being home and I'd worry about him being here alone for 3 days, even though my friend would come to feed him and clean his litter box. I don't want him to feel like he has been abandoned, because he certainly missed me when I was in the hospital for two days.

Then there is the issue of my truck and snow plow not being here for the time that I am away. That's especially an issue if the snow plowing doesn't get done from the storm that is now on our doorstep, before I go. I'd hate to leave people snowed in over Christmas...and have already had a couple of calls from folks who are worried about whether they'll get plowed out or not. My friend's husband, who has been doing the plowing, has had a call from someone that he plowed out for the Lions as well.

If the body is up for it, I'd rather spend the days leading up to Christmas and the days after, going around and plowing out those who are in need. If my body isn't able to do it, my friend's husband said that he would be happy to do it again. Who ever does the the driving, Willy will enjoy that because those are the "best days ever" for him, and so for me too .

I'm also thinking that I don't want my Dad to see this body in the shape that it is in now. It doesn't doesn't look that great and has certainly deteriorated since the last time that he laid eyes on it. Seeing it now would probably only cause needless concern, so I'd rather get a little weight back on before visiting with him.
I've been pretty careful about what I say and how I say it when I talk to my Dad on the phone, so he doesn't worry. Better that he enjoy Christmas knowing that I am home safe and sound, and doing well.
I think that will be a nicer Christmas present than having me show up there at this point .

Perhaps early in the new year, I'll be able to go for a visit when things are more conducive all round.
So I'll be home for Christmas...and here to keep everyone company .

I'm going to cook up a nice Christmas meal that can be shared with some of the shut-ins that we plow out, who would otherwise go without. It will be easy to do that because it doesn't all have to be cooked at once, so it can be done in stages over the span of a couple of days.

I have some free range organic turkeys in the freezer that I gift to others, so I'll cook the largest of those (28 lbs) on one day and get it carved up; maybe with the help of my friends. Then the next day I can prepare some vegetables from the garden that I have in storage, and get them cooked at my leisure.
From that, some nice 'ready to heat up' meals can be made up with the help of my friends, so that they can be delivered on the 24th by who ever is doing the plow runs.

On Christmas Day, Willy, Ziggy and my pet wild crows will get the turkey trimmings and I'll have a meal from the veggies, before making a large pot of turkey soup that can again be shared during the plowing runs on the 26th & 27th.

Ah yes, Christmas at home is looking better and better .

With love, Erika