Oh i know what i was meaning to ask you suzi. What is the deal with the weird colored poinsettias? I saw lavendar and fushia colored ones at a floral shop this afternoon. At first i thought they were sprayed but after turning the leaves over and inspection the stems closely i found there was no trace of a spray paint. The colors were beautiful in a designer sense but not for Christmas IMHO. How they do dat?????

Cookies in the oven. 2nd phase of baking. First bout was on weekend for trays to take to all the departments who I work with. This batch is for dh's work Christmas getogether, for one more office and to have some on hand whn ds comes home. This Friday- whoo-hoo! Haven't seen him since end of summer. Think my shopping is done.

I have no clue, Pam. I reach for my garlic and make the sign of the cross when I see them. I think they're bizarre. Years ago, I grew a yellow poinsettia called "lemon drop". It was a beautiful little variety and I only had one customer for whom I grew it, and that was a high-end floral shop. Always put me in mind of the phrase, it was a nice place to visit but I wouldnt' want to live there. I've also grown lovely coral poinsettias. Beautiful, but nobody wants them for Christmas. I suspect it is because that is about the most "tradition" laden holiday of them all.

This is conservative country. Anything other than red is a hard sell. Now you have me curious.

Baked cookies yesterday with grandson. He took home some,we kept some and some are going to Iraq. Have been introducing a newly neutered cat to our household today and he dove under the skirt around the tree having a good old time. I think he'll fit right in with us and he and Rootie rather ignore each other. I dragged out my A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote and just finished reading it. I'll watch the movie sometime before Christmas,I always do. Tomorrow night we go to a Christmas dinner with DHs German class,who have been meeting for over 20 years now. They will sing songs in German,we'll all exchange gifts and eat a wonderful meal. They are a great group of people. I haven't done much Christmas shopping yet but the cards and annual Christmas photo are all ready to go to the post office. I think things will be down to the wire this year. I've had lots of meetings,friends in the hospital etc. etc. and just haven't had the time to do what I usually have done by now but it will get done. It always does and I have to admit,I love Christmas and am married to a perennial Christmas child.

Pam:
{{gwi:204105}}. Initially, I thought it was an incredible hybrid... then I decided it must be dyed through its circulatory system... upon closer inspection, I noticed there were some leaf-shaped non-blue bract sections and a bit of overspray on the leaves. I concluded it was a white poinsettia variety that had been sprayed by a fine blue dye mist. I considered it beautiful and it lasted several months. I think I paid $10 for it at Target. I saw some blue and purple ones at an upscale florist the other day but the price was too silly to tempt me.

Calliope:
While the water-meter-inspector dude from the village was here last week and I was chatting him up as he worked, Izzy fetched up what I assumed to be a half-eaten catnip mouse to me... but what turned out to be a semi-dessicated, heavily masticated real mousie (or parts of one anyway) that had died of apparently natural causes in our basement. Don't ask me how or why, but I maintained a calm conversation with the inspector without revealing my horrific discovery, whispered to Izzy to fetch up the other pieces, calmly tossed them, washed my hands, and re-joined him in the utility room as though nothing had happened. I don't know if I was more horrified or amused... or why I felt I needed to hide the presence of ex-mice from the utility dude... Blech!

As for Christmas preparedness... I pick and choose what I do. I'm waaaaay too susceptible to holiday rage otherwise. I made a simple wreath for my front door with sugared fruits, gold and pearl "berries," a pretty bow, and pheasant feathers... and that is the sum of our holiday decorations. I have bought numerous gifts for my niece and nephews, my parents, and a couple small but meaningful ones for my siblings.

I made several batches of bourbon balls, and intend to give a container of them to each of my coworkers. I finished a batch of Crema di Limoncello and Crema di Orangecello (from the recipes posted here) and bottled them up tonight. I will give a bottle of each, along with a container of bourbon balls, and jars of the stuff I canned this fall to several of my neighbors.

Steve told me he wants to baked stuff with me, so we'll do that this weekend, and freeze it for our upcoming trip. Other than that, I have three parties to attend, and then we're off to ND to visit my family (including the CT residents) for over a week.

I have to be very careful not to overdue stuff or it triggers insane anxiety in me. There's lots I choose to not do during the holidays so I can enjoy it. I'm about as done as I'm going to be.

I've used the floral paint sprays years ago, when doing wedding arrangements and the bride insisted on blue mums. Even those struck me "un-natural" but they were pretty. It is used widely for homecoming corsages as well, as each student wants their corsages to match their team's uniforms. I suspected spray on the poinsettias, but didn't know for sure. The ones I saw when I was working at a box store last year were very well done, but scarlet and grey poinsettias didn't float my boat. rofl.

The limoncello sounds wonderful. I've been wanting to try to make some for years and just never got a round tuit.

I'm doing nearly all of my shopping on-line. Been pretty successful too. Only one visit to the mall about two weeks ago, for an hour, when they opened. Stuff shipping to the UK, stuff shipping to MIL and SIL etc. Stuff arriving for Himself, promptly hidden. Just the step-offspring to go. This is the earliest I've been this organised, ever. I love shopping online.

Did the first lot of Italian fig cookies. They won't last beyond the weekend, based on current consumption rates.

We seem to have weathered a family dispute (from the steps.) about who goes where. Neither parent was making demands, the siblings seem to have managed to get their knickers in a twist on their own, but thankfully it seems to have blown over.

Cards - oh yikes. That's today's job. (always late with those).

And of course, the essential lights outside. Put up a lot last weekend, but then DSS came over and started ranting about DSD, and we didn't get anything more done. We weren't exactly feeling full of Seasonal Goodwill to anyone after that . . . . Tomorrow we'll finish, and maybe buy the tree.

And we're going to celebrate Chanukah on Sunday with friends, so we're having a pretty ecumenical season around here.

Mice? I just put more mousetraps in the garage. No corpses yet.

My large front windows are filled with tropical plants of red and green leaves. I'm cutting white paper into big stars to glue on the glass. Looks Christmasy from outside or in. My small evergreen potted tree will come inside..probably will decorate with earrings and beads/chains and perhaps a few small bells from my collection. It's only 3 feet tall so doesn't need much. Will cut down Eucalyptus which grew to about 6 feet this year and stand in floor vase on porch...may add a red ribbon...that's it!

We're giving checks to son and his family...they looove to shop, especially the two teens...and I no longer know what's "in" or "out"...lol so I'll put the checks in tiny lidded baskets (from still another collection) around the base of the tree and call it done. The little 3-1/2 year old grandgirl will get books and art supplies...she has her own bookshelf here... (now for me to give someone bookshelf space is generosity indeed...LOL). I'm so glad she's a book lover already! Its fun to tuck little surprises there for the next visit.

DIL has huge clan nearby and there are lots of get-togethers...DH often goes but I just can't do big crowds any more. He's especially popular as he's been doing pen and ink sketches of houses...everyone wants one now. He's got a waiting list...LOL...but lately I've had him working on a colored rendering of our old home where DS grew up. It's been fun deciding in which season and how large the trees we planted should be shown. It's to be a surprise for my son if finished in time.

So it's a quiet Christmas here. But I'll enjoy reading about all the travel and family gatherings...and creative cookng and decorating. josh

Very Cool Jo. One year, I just decided I didn't want to mess with a Christmas tree, and had six rather tall potted Norfolk pines in my solarium. I strung lights on them and didn't add one more thing and they looked so ethereal, especially from outside looking in, as the walls are all lexan from two feet up. We even put the gifts out there and went there to open them when all the family showed up.

Sara, the holidays and how and with whom they be celebrated is a family stressor with adult kids/step kids. I am laughing, as it seems like the hosts stayed out of it and the kids still got in a tizzy. I had a lot of pressure from my parents (read mother) about always being there for the holidays after I married. Thankfully, my first husband's family celebrated their Christmas on the eve after mass, so usually made both. But I swore then I'd not do that to my kids. With blended families that's hard. My grandkids haVe three sets of grandparents, my step grandkids even more. So, we often do not see them all on "the day". The up side to it is that our celebrations usually stretch to the epiphany.

Re: the poinsettias, the weird colored ones are just bizarre, IMO. however, I did get a couple of pretty pink & white variegated ones this year at the local plant farm.

I was going to bake cookies today, but this didn't work out as the septic system decided this was the day to back up water into the bathtubs & showers. So the house got a Christmas present today, something that I find happens at Christmas all too frequently.

However, other than that, the shopping is done, the cards are sent & we're sliding into the actual even with more tranquility than I can remember for a long time.

I've been Scrooged this year. I'm so far behind in any preparations that it would take me another year to catch up.

My vacation time was restored today at 10:30 am. The phone rang at 4:30 pm and I was told to "stand by", it may be canceled again. So, tomorrow, although I'm officially on vacation, I will go into work. If I show my face for even a little while, maybe I'll squeak by with a day off every now and then.

The tree is up, the lights are on, and a few ornaments dangle from the branches. The rest are still in the boxes, piled in the middle of the floor.

I bought a couple things for DS the other night while he was at Scouts, but haven't done any real shopping. What's strange is that I don't have any urge to shop at all. I dug out the cards I bought earlier, but haven't addressed a single one. I'm totally out of stamps. I have an aversion to the post office.

I shall start baking this weekend with such gusto that I will put Betty Crocker to shame. I don't have a choice if I want to get boxes out to my soldiers in Iraq.

Since DS is spending Christmas with his father, I have no intention of cooking. I'm actually thinking about going to the mess hall and hanging out with the soldiers. Or I may just stay in bed with a bottle of champagne and a stack of movies. Some think it's a pathetic way to spend the holiday, but I kinda think it's a bit hedonistic. At least for me, the one who never gets to stay in bed. The other option is to invite a bunch of folks over and spend an exhausting day cooking and entertaining. Staying in bed sounds better and better every time I think about that.

This year, I could very easily skip Christmas. I'm totally Scrooged...

For a lot of different reasons, December is a bad month for me. If it were not for my first-born's birthday, I think I would stay in bed the entire 31 days. When we were singing with the local symphony chorale, we had a ball at the Christmas concerts. But the old vocal chords have worn out so I miss that a great deal. That used to be the high point of the season for me.

I come from a very small family. I have had very little contact with any of them because most of them were much older than I. The Husband, however, comes from a BIG family and he has a lot of friends and business contacts. I used to spend hours signing the cards, etc. and a day after I got them in the mail, he would ask if I had sent one to so-and-so, and then a day or two later, he would think up another someone else. This went on until New Years. NEVER could I get him to make up a valid list. NEVER could he manage to remember everyone. There was always someone new!

So, one year, I quit! It was his family and friends and he could be the one that did the work. It's surprising how our card list shrank! LOL!!!

Agnes, I told my DH early on that he had a bookkeeper and secretary at his office but not at home! Poor dear even had to at least select the gifts for his family...as I did for mine...and I made sure they knew who chose the gifts. I did consent to wrap as I enjoyed that part. LOL

Would you enjoy attending the Christmas concerts even if no longer participating? DH will be going to a big-band concert for which he played drums in earlier years and also keeps up with the local jazz bands he's played with. He enjoys hearing the younger folks and seeing old friends.
I have a tin ear and rarely go with him...just do what you want...it's your holiday too...there's no "one size fits all".

Maryanne, I like your "hedonistic" description. That's how I feel...my favorite pastime is curling up with a good book. You work so hard and have such a hectic schedule I'd think you need time to recoup your energies and usual enthusiasm. Perhaps you'll feel better if you have some time to relax before "the day", but if not, I'll be thinking of you as I open my book... LOL

We'll see our DS and family either earlier in the week or later...I hope they will spend Christmas at home making their own traditions, but if with DIL's family, that's fine too. Like Suzy...we don't want to be the cause of any angst about Christmas visits. josh

My eyes shone at Christmas as a child. The preparation was as much fun as the day. Making our own paper chains and hanging them up. I can still smell that amazing fragrance of my mother's mince pies. Such a feeling of being safe and sound when my Christmas stocking was there at the end of the bed when I woke up; and, as usual, it had nuts and a big red "Canadian Apple" in it. My mother all through the war managed to find a big red apple to put in our stockings and I guess they must have come from Canada because the big thing was that a) it was a red apple and b) it was a "Canadian Apple". I will love Canadians forever for that.

I live alone...it's not such a big event. I enjoy seeing the Christmas smiles of children. I go to the pier to see Santa come onshore from the fishing boat, I feel the friendship and and warmth as we all stand together and watch the town tree light up. As we smile at each other, as we run into friends and neighbors.

The day? I'll be eating dinner with friends but I'd be just fine home alone reading a good book:)

Greetings for this Season of our lives :) Remember what it's about and take it with you throughout the year. That is the real gift.