Oh Deb, I'm sorry Jessica isn't home, that must put a damper on your holiday. You & David need to start a new holiday tradition so you'll have something to look forward to (a little weekend getaway? B&B? Fancy dinner on Christmas Eve?). Hope your mother is doing well & enjoying the season. My shopping is DONE! With DD in middle school this year I wasn't going to purchase teacher gifts -- she has eight teachers!-- but the social studies teacher organized a field trip taking all the sixth graders to see the Statue of Liberty. Bless the man, they spent ten hours on a bus! Eight sixty person busses actually, 480 kids and parents participated. He's getting a Borders gift card. Yes, he deserves adult beverages but the kiddo can't take that to school. Christmas dinner is still in the planning stages, DH is vacillating between turkey and ham. So once a decision is made, I need to grocery shop. Baking I enjoy, that's not a chore at all. We tried a new pecan pie recipe from Southern Living at Thanksgiving and it just wasn't right, so the old faithful pecan pie will appear at Christmas. Happy holidays! Cecily

I agree that Angel 35 is 'probably' thinking of English Holly, though I would say that 20 feet is a VERY conservative estimate of the size at maturity! She might be talking about an American cultivar, 'Merry Christmas', however. Neither are one of the hollies that would take kindly to being an entry plant, let alone a shrub for 'under the windows'! Angel 35, attached is an image of the English Holly to help you identify the plant you might be interested in. I think we would like to suggest that you find a smaller growing holly, perhaps one native to North America, for your selection. A GOOD locally owned nursery or garden center (emphasis on the locally owned) will guide you in your selection and assist you in purchasing the right male to go along with your female berry producers. The problem with the two hollies that you already own might be that there are no males nearby. A male American Holly will happily donate pollen to an English Holly, as long as the bees are willing! There are many good male cultivars, and a good nursery can help you out. Here is a link that might be useful:

Annellis, it will get better. Hope you get well quickly. Ann, you sound like you're in great shape. I bet you're happy with how things have gone. My kitchen floor needs mopping, I probably should be doing that right now instead of this. Okay, I'll do it *next*. There. When they announced the hard freeze I went out and cut every single rose and rose bud so there is a nice vase of flowers in front of the mirror. In between the Christmas teddy bears. Gifts need wrapping. There's just the three of us so that won't take long, I plan to do it while dh and dd are out shopping tomorrow. One more trip to a different grocery store for some things I couldn't get at the first one today. I think I'm done with stocking stuffers. I spent some time today baking gingerbread men for the family. Got them iced and here came dd with friends. When the icing hardened I put them on a plate and set them out for them to eat - I can make more cookies for us tomorrow and I'm happy she's comfortable enough to invite her friends here (they're all 18). But you know how that sort of thing sets your plans aside is my point. I love it that she has a living room full of friends watching a movie when they could all easily be out somewhere getting into trouble, know what I mean. I think my main gripe is decorating. I am still in the hauling out the mish mosh phase and I wish I were in a color coordinated phase. I even didn't put out nearly everything we have and the place still gets that cluttered feeling. I need to go through the living/dining area tomorrow morning and just grab some things and put them away. Those Christmas teddy bears - grrrr. You know the stuff that comes home with other family members and it gets saved and saved and saved? Ick. I wonder - will anyone complain or notice if I put them away? But, I am pleased to have time off. Got my mammogram today and need to call for the dr appt. Need to make a dental hygiene appt., stuff like that. Need to pay for dd's dual credit (college) classes by 1/3. And it got COLD even way down here, so I guess tomorrow I ought to go get some covers for those pipes outdoors. Okay, two trips tomorrow: groceries and pipe covers at HD. I'm rambling. I'm in pretty good shape this year and I credit Jamie's Christmas by the Month with most of it, she really helped me get organized - things like family addresses etc. Gonna go mop this floor now. Thanks a lot! LOL

I take my digital card to CVS they have a machine. Last year I did two types of cards. I did one type where you inserted a 4x6 pic in a card and the rest were like a post card. They had different styles to choose from and you could make any number or different combos. I have three friends at work who celebrate Hannakuh and I was able to share my x-mas picture card on a Hannakuh styled postcard. Key is find a store that has someone who knows how to work the machine. Go in the morning on a weekday before lunch, the time when they are the least busy. I see machines at our grocery and places like K-mart, but never had any luck with the people helping me. Sometimes I need a little direction:). You can crop them, take out redeye, etc. Last year I tried a different approach with my dogs. I had my daughter sit on the front step (decorated for x-mas) with my old girl sitting next to her. The two boys laid on the floor in front of the full glass front door. I must say it was the easiest card I've done. I knew the two boys would be stuck to the door since we were in the front yard. Finally, they laid down when it got boring enough for them (2 mins). Got a lot of compliments because you could see all 3 dogs very well and I didn't have to wrestle with the boys. They are 1/2 siblings and being 4 and 2 at the time and labs, they still act like puppies only 90 pounds of puppy:-). Good luck on the reproducing. Its really not to cost prohibitive. Last year did get a little nuts, I like my card so much I really hit everyone in my address book!