I’ve decided to do my holiday baking after Christmas. I’m working full time until tomorrow and have too much on my plate to get three days of baking done as well, plus we’re having a heat wave with temps around 110+ daily and our aircon broke with no guarantee it will be fixed before new year :-(. I was really stressing until I decided to delay the baking.

John, I sympathize. All of a sudden a bunch of family have turned out to be diabetic and those that aren't are perpetually dieting. Just doesn't make it a whole lot of fun, does it? But ... The spirit and the meaning of the holidays is still the same. Listen to some good music, read an inspirational book, count your blessings and maybe start a new family tradition.

I wasn't much in a holiday mood either because of a bad cold, but DD and the neighbors were encouraging me to put up lights outside and put wreaths on the doors. (humbug!) but I did it and started to feel a little better.

Most in my family are dairy-free. WHAT cookies with no butter???!!! Not even going to go there. I did make the Christmas Jam, and it's success put me in a better mood.

I think it's hard to get cheerful when you're stressed beyond belief and sick to boot. I think you should take it easy this year and give yourself a break.

The Christmas tree gets me in the spirit. Just do what will make you feel good.

I find that my Christmas spirit arrives the day after Christmas. The days leading up to the holiday are stressful and a good deal of work. It often falls on one person in the home to do it all. That week leading into the New Year's is the best time of the year.

I am not in the mood for Christmas this year either! I can't put my finger on why really, just cannot get into it for some reason. I haven't even put out my snowmen collection...just don't care about it.

It's not a good year for anyone, it seems. Having xmas fall on a Wednesday is making it difficult for everyone who works and has to travel, so it's just not working out. All plans cancelled here, so it's going to be a very quiet xmas.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

DC, I believe you did something similar before. You've got a good heart!!

John, I hope things improve for you!

I'm not in the spirit, as in I'm not going anywhere Christmas Day nor having anyone over. I'll make something for dinner, not sure what, and watch movies or something.

I do have Rudy decorated though, as usual!

Bummer.... But not in my home. Wednesday x-mas day is perfect. Great for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa...my small neighborhood has all. We all are good friends.

We will have 10 days together, DH and myself, starting Friday. (tomorrow). Good simple food. No excess of sweet. Mostly savory charcuterie. Quick pickle and all my momofuku pickle jars...mustard, shitaki, Korean chili sesame, bacon jam. Kimchi, 3 krauts...seafood salads.

Gifts are minimal. I'll wrap a few things I purchased for myself, : ), and gift DH for fun.

I'll do the same as DC. A few lottos and share if I hit big, : )

A co-worker won a couple years ago. So sweet. The nicest guy. 5 mil just about the healthy retirement age. Stress off no doubt.

I think you're not the only one John. In fact, there is a whole discussion thread devoted to it. It's kind of a bummer but I think it is OK to have some bad years. Last year my Christmas was wonderful, but this year, four out of the six people we spent time with are having something going on of one sort or another that is very negative. And DH and I have to go our separate ways to support family 600 miles apart. But hey, we'll get through it one step at a time.

John, I'm sorry you've not been able to find your Christmas spirit. I think it happens to all of us, I was The Grinch personified for several years, and just ignored it all.

This year has been busy, with ill family members and learning the Township Clerk position and kind of stressing about being in charge of elections, even if it is just in my own little Township. Still, I'm happy and I'm thankful and acutely aware of how lucky I am to have those family members still here to depend on me. Last night I spent the night with Bud and Amanda, Bud had a 24 hour EEG as his seizures are becoming more severe and more frequent and the new medications have not helped. I slept on the floor of his room on a camping mat because he "always feels safe when I'm there".

The thing that always works for me is getting the grandkids over, putting on something really upbeat, like Chuck Berry doing "Run, Run, Rudolph" or the kid's newest favorite, Kurt Russell(!!) singing "Santa Claus is Back In Town". I throw around some flour, break out the sprinkles, watch Bud "bust a move", do a little singing along and it's just.....better.

Now the keto diet thing? I don't know what to do about that. Having a fat ball just isn't the same as a cookie with frosting and sprinkles. Amanda tried the keto diet years ago, not as a weight loss tool but as a treatment for seizures. It didn't work for her and I found out far more about the ketogenic diet than I ever wanted to.

You should definitely cook something delicious and special. Merry Christmas.

Annie

Thanks for all the thoughts and especially congratulations to Annie on her township position. Sorry to hear about Bud's condition. Crossing fingers for dcarch too!

Tonight SWMBO, DS and I watched "Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets", which was a huge childhood favorite of the kids. We're going to watch "The Prisoner of Azkaban" tomorrow.

SWMBO and DS made popcorn and dehydrated fruit garlands for the tree.

I had a really good work meeting today. I have a whole bunch of other work to do in the next few days - advocacy and neighborhood work - but I'm not sick anymore so I feel like I can tackle it. Just not being sick is making me feel a lot better about things.

I've set up a temporary home workstation with five monitors that makes me geekily happy and quite productive. I'll be able to work from home for most of the rest of this year.

I get the keys to my new office in a couple weeks and can start setting up my workstation there and getting ready for the new chapter. There is a lot of work and uncertainty ahead but it could be great.

Tonight I made a quick dinner of sous vide salmon, creamed spinach and mashed cauliflower. Tomorrow I think I'll come up with something fun to make.

So things are looking up.

P.S.: I may have found another espresso machine restoration project, too! Fingers crossed.

Oh yes! Being sick is guaranteed to put anyone in an emotional funk. I think it's the inflammation affecting our brains.

We're struggling here as well because my dear mother is having health issues that are causing her to be confused and unable to remember things, as well as making her weak & tired. Hard to enjoy the holidays when someone you love is suffering.

For me it's music that helps - along with pretty lights & decor.

Our church just shared this on its Facebook page:

Oh wow, Carol, I love that!!!

Carol, wishes for brighter days ahead.

I find classic Christmas movies, and songs, put a jingle in my step. If all else fails, I bake.

Sol

Amylou, lol, those cookies would make my day. ! Hilarious. The facial expressions are priceless. Perfection would be so boring.

John, someone turned the light on. Or upped the dimmable a bit. The crud, flu, common cold seriously will ruin a holiday.

Or a project will snap you out of it. : )...another expresso machine(!?)...I had three at one point, and three pinball machines in my old loft. I had to just walk away. We Just brought the pool table with us. Re-did the felt, big project, so have that in my studio...and good fun when we need it.

Making most of my holiday condiments tonight. Charcuterie delights. All keto.

A neighbor brought over a keto cake, but so many chocolate treats so easy.

These are good using different nuts and rolled 'toppings'.

We are doing 12 fishes again. 4 apps, seafood chowder. Might be 24 fishes but many are combo dishes. I add then subtract...some fish we caught, some a friend caught. Already in the freezer and a few freshies we will pick up Monday.

(oysters. blue crab, lobster tails)

Lingering respiratory goop from an illness it would be 7 fishes brothy chowder only.

I can't seem to want to do any baking this year. Maybe because I know I shouldn't be eating all that stuff. I do give a lot away but I can't stand not eating SOME of it after slaving in the kitchen over it. I can't get into it this year at all.

Yaay, new project...

I'm finding it difficult too. My DD's family (grandsons) moved across the country last year and we won't be together for Hanukkah and Christmas. The boys are 12 and 15 so toys aren't fun to shop for either. Gift cards are what they want now as do DS and his gal. DH and I bought ourselves Apple watches so we won't be exchanging any other gifts either. The one thing I did do was shop for a couple of bags full of toys to donate to Toys for Tots. At least I had fun buying toys for somebody's kids.

I firmly believe that our country's partisanship and verbal nastiness is bringing us down. There's so many people suffering, it's hard to find the holiday spirit.

Annie, sending best wishes to Bud. I hope that they can find the cause of the seizures and the best medication for them. You're an amazing grandma!

DD is now feeling unwell so I'm back to making medicinal chicken soup. Also making a kind of lazy semi right or maybe just inspired by boeuf borguignon for dinner.

Amylou, I LOVE the cookies, especially the one with the full face mask, LOL.

Thanks, John. I'm finding the Township job is more involved than I thought, Michigan passed Prop 13, which is a very good thing, but now people can register to vote on the day of elections, can ask for an absentee ballot with no limitations, and we're working on letting overseas military personnel vote electronically. That means extra safeguards against hacking, of course. Plus, it's W2 tax time and the prior clerk is taking a 5 week trip to Australia, so no one to answer questions. Thankfully our accountant is very patient and lets me know what they need, but not necessarly where to find it, LOL. And I'll have to run for office in November so there are those petitions and we have a couple of millages for roads and fire protection that will need to be drafted and on the ballot. We're a small township, though, and I work from home, we don't even have internet connection or an office at the hall, so I can do things at night when I won't be interrupted and can puzzle them through.

I do hope that DD feels better soon, Christmas is nearly here and it's just not a time when a person is sick. Take care of yourself, though, so you don't catch it too. And enjoy that machine, it's beautiful!

Compumom, I was wondering how you were coping with your kids' relocation. (sigh) And I agree, the whole country seems to just be in a bad mood, bickering and fighting and slinging insults like third graders. I thought adults would be above that behavior and could disagree without being disagreeable, but apparently not.

Merry Christmas anyway, I refuse to let reality intrude on my Christmas plans. The kids will be here any time for cookie baking and decorating and the powdered sugar explosions will begin. Bring on the sprinkles!

Annie

OK, just put the last pan of cookies in the oven. I made DH's favorites - coconut macaroons - and also the chocolate chip ones with peanut butter and muesli style cereal that everyone loves. I'm done and glad I finally got in there and did it - it was nagging at me and I didn't want to start but after I got started it wasn't so bad.

Oh wow, Annie, that's quite a plateful you have. Guess that won't leave you with time on your hands to be running the streets and ending up on Live PD Cam LOL!

I would love to turn the news on and hear that all is peaceful, quiet and calm but I'm afraid the only way that could happen would create a world-wide shortage of Duck Tape HAHAHA. So I'm determined to ignore it all for a few days and just cook, bake, eat, play with my grandchildren and remember the Reason for the Season. The rest of the world will go on however it does whether I'm fretting over it or not. So - not! My main concern at the moment is when I should bake the cake for the Bu^che de Noel. The party is Tuesday afternoon so I don't want to make it so early that it's either soggy or dried out but I would rather not be frantically trying to make the frosting look like tree bark 10 minutes after we should already have left the house. ARGGH.

Yeah, no live PD cam for me, LOL. I used to tell my youngest daughter that the only way she'd ever be quiet was with duct tape, three times around her head. I think it might work, you might be on to something there!

Have fun with the grandkids and good luck with that cake, I'm sure it will be delicious and lovely and everyone will be happy to eat it even if the bark isn't exactly like you expect.

Merry Christmas!

Annie