*That* time of year again?

The turkey's been devoured, thanks has been given, and Black Friday came and went. Tis the season now. We've put up Christmas lights outside, but I haven't gotten around to putting up the tree yet.

Yeah, tis the season. But when did the season turn into such a huge, expensive, commercial *thing*? People going into debt up to their eyeballs, frantic searches for the latest and greatest, and stressed out, miserable consumers. When?? When did we forget that this is a season of joy and peace? Good will toward men? The birth of Jesus? Away in a manger? Remember that?

I'm going nostalgic now.

I look back on Christmas as a child, and it makes me sad. I didn't have a wish list that consisted of several pages and hundreds (or thousands) of dollars. Each year, there was that ONE special toy I wanted. We didn't "celebrate" Christmas at home (Mom's religion), but Popsy insisted on a compromise. There was no Christmas tree or decorations, but there would be gifts and a celebration at Mamaw's.

We went to my paternal grandmother's house on Christmas Eve every year. The house was FULL because all of my aunts, uncles, and 9 cousins were there, along with Mom, Popsy, my brother, and me. We had a HUGE dinner, we opened TWO gifts (one from grandma and one from drawing names among the cousins), and then we went outside and the uncles (and my Popsy) helped us shoot fireworks.

Mamaw always made different candies...divinity, fudge, and the still popular "doo-doo candy". It's a date loaf (kinda like pralines with dates), but my oldest female cousin nicknamed it that one year when she walked in the kitchen before Mamaw got it cut into pieces. To this day, Mamaw still gets requests for "doo-doo candy", because even though we grandkids are in our 30s and 40s now, the name STILL stuck.

One year my two youngest male cousins got matching battery-operated firetrucks and fireman hats with sirens and lights on them. Back in the '70s, batteries must've worked differently than they do now. The batteries got put into one of the trucks backwards, so the truck ran in reverse. The grown-ups tried to fix it, but that cousin burst into tears. He *wanted* it to go backwards.

My brother and I got ONE gift each from our parents back then. There are two that really stand out in my mind.

When I was around 4, I wanted a "Baby Tender Loves" doll more than anything on earth. I had talked about it (apparently) to everyone who'd listen. That Christmas Eve, one uncle was flying in from Cali, and another uncle thought he'd be funny. I grew up surrounded by people with a sick sense of humor. Not-so-funny uncle walked in at my grandma's and said that he'd heard on the radio that Uncle B's plane had collided with Santa's sleigh, and there were "Baby Tender Loves" flying everywhere. I was DEVASTATED, sobbing uncontrollably until my Popsy convinced me that Not-so-funny was fibbing. I remember glaring at not-so-funny every time I saw him for the rest of the night. The next morning I woke up, and there on the sofa was my beloved baby doll. I played with that thing for years and eventually the velvety coating rubbed off in spots. My brother got one of the worst whippings of his life over that doll b/c he said she was ugly and threatened to bury her in the woods. I wish I could find another one b/c I don't know what ever happened to her. I outgrew playing with dolls, and she disappeared. Maybe he did bury her. grr... I wouldn't put it past him. I wonder if he'd 'fess up if he did.

Another year, I was awed by music. I wanted an organ so desperately, but I didn't dare ask for one b/c that was too expensive. I watched so closely anytime I saw one being played. That Christmas morning, I awoke to find an organ and book sitting in the dining room, just for me. My Popsy and Mom must've gotten rich! They must've read my mind! Funny how kids think. I played that organ until it finally died sometime in my teens.

THAT was the time of "Merry" Christmas. As you go rush off to the mall or fill up those cyber shopping carts, try to remember what this season's *supposed* to be about.

I love this

The Hub was looking at a vintage signs website when he ran across this one. This is an old fave saying of mine that's now been brought back to life.

I will be placing an order in the near future, because they have TONS of great ones.

Well, we met "the boyfriend"

Breeze's boyfriend came to the house yesterday, along with his mom. We have a rule that we have to meet parents before she's allowed to go off with friends. We had let it slip on Halloween, so when Breeze told the boy we wanted to meet him and his 'rents, his mom drove him up to the house so we could meet. Cool of her, I thought. She's a nice lady, and I love that she's so involved in her son's life (like we are with B).

He's a sweet kid, kinda on the gothy/skater/grunge side, but no biggie. Lip ring. That's her type. She doesn't go for the testosterone-driven jocks, redneck Bubba's, playaz, or motorheads. Desperately needs a haircut, but what teen boy doesn't these days? Oh, and he's younger than her. (Read that as 'he can't drive yet so Mom chaufers him around').

I think he has the fear of the Gunny instilled in him properly. Poor kid looked like he was scared shitless standing in front of The Hub.

I have to say that I'm not too worried about this kid. B's got her priorities straight, and we still play 20 questions before she walks out the door. I had hoped she'd swear off dating til she was about 25, but she just wouldn't cooperate. ;)

Let there be LIGHT!

She cried. And because she's married to a kick-ass electrician who wants her to be happy, there was light. I love fairy tales. ;)

Seriously though, my craft room for the past 5 months has been a dark dungeon with one working tiny wall sconce and an overhead light on the ceiling fan. It made my sanctuary a very unpleasant place to be, so The Hub fixed it for me. He installed THREE flourescent lights, took out the shitty sconces (there were two, but one didn't work), and fixed the ceiling fan light *again*. See?


This room still needs SO much work. That dark ass paneling has GOT to go. The floors still have to be dealt with (I have a bare concrete floor). Organization MUST take place. I'm ashamed to show you the mess that is my happy place, but I'm so excited about the lighting that I'll suffer the embarrassment. Yay for light!

I just realized that I should've at least closed the closet doors (on each side of my work table). *sigh* Oh well.

Oh!! See that lamp on my table? The brown one? Look closely, tilt your head and squint, and maybe you can see it thru the shitmess on my desk. Yeah, there it is! I scored that at the Habitat ReStore for like $10. Got it home, did some research, had The Hub check it out, etc. It's all original circa 1940! I love my antiques. I was gonna paint it a brushed nickel, but now I can't bring myself to alter it at all.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Ten years ago today, I made the best decision of my life. I married my best friend. Y'all know the story.

In a way, it seems like we've always been together, and in a way it seems like the past 10 years have flown by. We were talking about some of our favorite memories earlier tonight. Like the night we spent in a moving truck (freezing our asses off) in Las Cruces, NM and how the most gorgeous sky we've ever seen was on our wedding day in Lake Havasu, AZ. Good times. *sigh*

I know I promised pics of our progress on the house, but I haven't taken them *yet*. I'll get to it, though. I'm just gonna enjoy the last few days of The Hub's leave. He'll be headed back to work next week, and I'm not looking forward to it. At least it isn't Iraq, and at least he has orders coming home in a few months. But for now, I'm enjoying.