December 23, 2007
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Hey, friends,
Along with folks across America
(especially women!), I've been running here and there, buying stuff,
wrapping stuff, cooking stuff, decorating stuff, doing stuff! I just
got through making a batch of Chex Mix ( a tradition for about 20 years
that my son Jamie gets a "whole batch of Chex Mix all to himself" from
Santa Claus. Even though Jamie will be 27 next month, it's still a
tradition!) wrapping a bunch of gifts, and cleaning up a bunch of
wrapping mess.
I have to work tomorrow, as well
as the day after Christmas, but that's the daily newspaper business. We
put out a paper Monday through Friday, and every Sunday, all year. The
only three days a year we don't publish a paper are Christmas,
Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Which means, yes, we work New
Year's Ever AND New Year's Day! But, here's the great part...since
we're an afternoon daily, our deadline is noon, and the newsroom's part
is done. So tomorrow, I'm looking to be out the door for the day by 1.
I'm the "editor for the day" on the 26th, so I'll check the Associated
Press wire and try to stash a few things for Wednesday, since there
will probably be slim pickin's that morning after the holiday.
Doyle and I had a good day. We
went to 8:30 Mass together this morning, then to do a little Christmas
stocking shopping for his mom and then to the Dollar Tree to get
stocking stuffers for stockings we planned to do for our two little
girls across the street. We had so much fun picking out little fun
stuff for them ,and then delivering them later. They loved the light-up
batons; plastic recorders which they promptly started blowing; Silly
Putty; glitter glue; and a bunch of other stuff that kids like.
Little kids are so much fun! We
can't wait to see D's two little granddaughters- Morgan, 11, and
Maddie, 6 - when we go to Sarasota in January, and my little nephew
Ben, who'll be six in March.
We'll be a fairly small, but
merry group, here in the Ozarks for Christmas. Doyle, his mom Ruby, my
son Jamie and me. We'll have a Mexican Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow
night here, then I'll go to "midnight Mass" at 11 p.m., hopefully
accompanied by Doyle and maybe Jamie, too. Then Christmas morning,
Doyle and I will do some cooking early, then he'll go get Ruby from her
house and bring her over. When Jamie gets here, we'll open gifts, then
have Christmas dinner after noon. If the weather is pretty, we hope to
take Ruby out for a drive in the hills. Last year we took her down to
the Buffalo River at Mt. Hersey, which she loved.
Today, my sweetheart and I
loaded our big dog in the back seat and drove down to the Buffalo at
Pruitt, our closest access. We met a lovely Mexican family here on
vacation from Houston and talked to them for a long time. They've never
been up here before, and of course were falling under the Ozarks spell
already.
Here's what the bluffs at Pruitt looked like about 4:30 this afternoon:
Comments (7)
Great picture! Merry Christmas~
The McGuire's back "home" in Mississippi wish you and Doyle and Jamie and Ruby, and, of course, Hagrid (we are, after all, serious dog people) a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year! What's Alex doing this Christmas?
As usual another beautiful picture!
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.
Those bluffs are so pretty I gasped when I saw the picture! God bless you all this Christmas! Two of my children will be at my house for Christmas Eve and opening presents, and I'm excited to see how the grandchildren will like what I got them:) My daughter in law who is expecting a baby in June says the doctor told her the sonogram shows it's likely a girl.
I'm really excited for Jamie to have this job and to be carving out a good life for himself. God be with him always.
Love to all,
Gerrie
A gorgeous shot! Wow! Now, about the food mentioned in your post. Chex Mix, I can understand. Mexican on Christmas Eve? Strange. Okay... original. That is so sweet that you get gifts for the girls across the street. They must think you're Mr. and Mrs. Claus. By the way -- here's trivia for you -- check the Silly Putty package (oh yeah, you can't; they're wrapped). You know how the Silly Putty eggs are under plastic bubbles, glued onto an illustrated card? Well, I illustrated the cards. No kidding. Now, there are still some ancient ones around, so tell the girls that if the art has a little dog included, then it's my illustration. I thought of the dog. Crayola people then promptly named him Rufus.
Merry Christmas, dear friend. I'm so glad God has brought you into my life. You're a constant source of cheer and gentle sensibility.
I love ritual and this season is filled with them inside and outside of the Advent and Christmas masses. Your rituals sound so loving and fun. I love the picture of the bluffs. Blessings this Christmas Season.
That's a beautiful picture!
Christmas blessings to you and yours.