December 11, 2004

Getting ready for Christmas...
I knew I'd have to gear up this week because Leslie and Bun are coming home for the graduation/early Christmas we'll be celebrating. We're also putting the house on the market after Christmas so it needs to look good. Two weeks ago, we went to the Harbor Playhouse and saw THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. The children in it were delightful! The little girl who played Galdys Herdman, The Angel Of The Lord was simply wonderful. I confess that I teared up in a few parts, just because. Work was part-time this week, which was a blessing because I had so much to DO! I managed to spend a full afternoon shopping for things to make gifts and then came home that evening and made everything I'd planned. I even packed the boxes. I will be mailing gifts to Mark, David and Dennis' families on Monday. Today I decided to do Christmas decorating, which first meant cleaning this pigsty. I chased Jenny and Richard out by sending them to get Jenny's "big" Christmas present - a CD player installed in her car. They also took some things in for me - I really don't need anything but I asked to have some jewelry and my old Singer 401A sewing machine repaired. I am so looking forward to getting that machine back in tip-top shape! It is some 50 years old but I love it. Since my vacuum cleaner seems to be having issues, I used Richard's shop vacuum to clean the living room. Holy moly! That thing is powerful. I had to use my little brush attachment which made it serious work, but that's okay - I think if I'd left in one place too long it would have sucked up the carpet and the pad. The carpet is CLEAN. I also dusted with it and cleaned out all the crevices and cracks I could find. I put the Christmas tree up last night. I wanted to use the multi-colored lights, but none of the strands were working and after a half-hour of sticking little bulbs in the sockets and fiddling with it, I gave up. I hopped in the car and went and bought 3 new sets. Then I went through every old set and any that didn't light up even when I replaced bulbs, were tossed. I also got a little shopping in. After that, I cleaned the dining room. I fluffed up the bow on the centerpiece and put it on the china hutch. The dog toys are back in their basket (not for long, I'm sure). I took out the Pendelton wool plaid blanket and tossed it over the couch. I fluffed the Christmas pillows and tossed them on the couch, too. The tree has lights but I'm saving the decorating for Jenny. I also put the advent calendar up. Then I started mopping the kitchen floor. I wanted to clean the grout so I used harsh chemicals and a toothbrush and got the breakfast nook done before I ran out of harsh chemicals. I will finish tomorrow. After I did that, I came into my office/sewing room and made two dog placemats for the dogs. I've been meaning to do it for a while and now seemed as good a time as any. I've been simmering my Christmas potpourri in the microwave all day and playing my Winter Ice (from Wyndham Hill) music. The house smells like Christmas and looks like Christmas. I hung the stockings and even filled some of them with little gifts. The mantel is decorated with garland, white poinsettia lights and red bows. There's still much to do but slowly I am getting it done. I've had a bad headache all day, too and after taking Motrin and Aleve...I took 4 aspirin. Seems to have done the trick, the headache is finally gone.
Anyway, back to work on the next thing - finishing up making stuff...