Christmas...Past

Well Christmas 2016 is now, Christmas past!  It was good...really good!  Everyone was happy, healthy and humorous... 3 things I yearn for in my daily life. It was our first Christmas with Jett and he was a doll.  He had a big Walter Christmas on Christmas eve, Christmas breakfast at Mima and PopPop's and finally here for presents and dinner, barely a whimper and maybe a few sleepy nods at the table!  Everyone enjoyed the thoughtful gifts that each had given and received and dinner came together, perfectly timed and delicious....if I do say so myself!!!
We were able to get some family pictures which are always on my list but not always easy to take.  All 9 of us were actually awake and still smiling at the same time.  Pictures to me are priceless and I can never have enough. As a FB meme said this morning, pictures seem unimportant until the people are gone and they're all you have left!!!!!

On that note...here are a few from Christmas 2016:

Christmas

Here we are just three days before Christmas.  Our Hatfield family Christmas was last Sunday and we had a great time.. We changed it up to breakfast this year...Bloody Marys and Bourbon enriched Egg Nog beat out coffee....shocker!  We had great fun playing a new game with oven mitts and dice......  everyone was happy to watch and play...  We went back to drawing names and that was a fun change too.... Of course, having everyone here was the best part.  We'll probably never have the whole gang together as they are scattered from NC to Ca to Fl but with the help of our phones and cameras, everyone gets to enjoy.  

With the joy of having Jett to celebrate with this season we were also missing Aunt Wendy and Aunt Nancy.  We also lost a cousin a few weeks ago so with all joy always comes some sorrow.  It reinforces our need to make contact, enjoy what we have and live each day to the fullest.

I am so looking forward to Christmas in 3 days.  Our family will be here to enjoy the grands (Jett, Bailee and Julz,) drink a few bloody marys, eat a huge, juicy piece of raw, red meat and smile when they love their gifts.  We always have chuckles when the manly knife comes out or Lee gets his annual dirty joke book. 

We also have our day of remembering on Christmas Eve when this year will bring the 10th anniversary of Dad leaving us for greener golf courses and unending scotch in the heavens. He would have so loved Bailee's wit and intelligence and Jett's huge smiles and love of everyone.  I'll bet he knows♥

Santa and the Grands

What a fun morning yesterday.  The Locke Fire Department had their monthly pancake breakfast shared with a visit from Santa, the Cat in the Hat and even the Grinch...(no, it wasn't Lee.)  It was Jett's first visit with Santa and it wasn't the year of tears...(there's always one.)  It was definitely the year of wonder.. "I wonder if that beard's real?, I wonder who the heck this is?, I wonder what's so special about this stranger, I wonder if I can eat that?......."  As always, Jett provided us with priceless pictures and the merriest moments.  Even Santa gave us a great expression.  Bailee, who is "on the edge" of believing (I think), was astounded to know that Santa knew Grandma had chickens??  That seemed more unrealistic than the fact she had asked for a unicorn!!!  "I think Santa's a stalker," she announced!

After a great breakfast, decorating some homemade cookies, a prize from the Cat in the Hat and visits with neighbors, everybody headed home to enjoy some football, some shooting, after all, if it's Sunday, it must be time to shoot, and some Sunday relaxation.

This week brings on the lunches, dinners, parties and family Christmas on Sunday.  Let the festivities begin !!!

Happy Holiday('s)...............NOT!

There are but a few venues in today's social circles where I can profess my lack of tolerance for people who speak and write poorly.  In my defense, it's hereditary! My Dad used to give job applicants spelling tests...and not just for office positions.  The grammatical apple didn't fall far from the tree.  When hearing folks speaking incorrectly, I would just cringe a bit and thank my teachers, my parents and Shirley VanNest for keeping me from sounding like a moron (that's a simile by the way.)  When spoken to correctly, we can just assimilate a lot of that knowledge and it becomes second nature.  Then came the Internet and social media. Now I get to see, every single day, what the majority of folks never learned....in school or at home.  The most trampled set of words being your and you're!  I see it misused innumerable times a day.  I only correct them with my outside voice inside my home. (I'm trying to retain as many friendships as I can.)

Last night I read a post from a FB friend that explained that she missed the fact that her children were grown and missed "listening to there wishes".............and wait for it........."and excrement!"  Holy shit...literally! I understand spell check but excitement (which I presume she meant) is a much more prevalent word than excrement.  If folks would just read what they type BEFORE they post it, I'd have much less stress in my Face Book surfing.

This morning's meltdown came with a Christmas card....and before I let loose, I love Christmas cards and every single one I receive is a joy!!!  Today's lesson is apostrophes.  Obviously last name pluralization wasn't a high priority in English class. It really is NOT that difficult.  One gal has called it an apostrophe catastrophe! I concur!! Here's a simple guide to pluralizing your last name.

Only 6 instances plead for an -es.... ALL the rest only need an -S.  If your name is Mary Wolf, please don't send your beautiful Christmas cards with the adorable kids and grands all dressed in matching jeans and sweaters signed by The Wolves!!!  If your name is Sue Murphy, don't over think what you learned in 3rd grade and send your card from the Murphies! The only time you would use an apostrophe in your last name is if you sent your cards from the Smith's New Home!

I know it's the Christmas season and I should be less judgmental rather than more... I'm working on it. I think there are 12 steps and I'm still stumbling at the bottom of the staircase. It will, once again, be my # 1 New Year's resolution..notice that resolution belongs to New Year so I've used an apostrophe.

All I Want For Christmas...........

Well maybe this little guy will have his wish come true!  Top tooth # 1 has arrived and # 2 is showing its colors....white!  He will be in full chew mode when that one makes it's entry! Only by mistake did I find the first....He loves the beard on a Santa plaque and quite enjoys putting the tiny little hairs in his mouth......where everything goes regardless of size, structure or risk. I was trying to remove Santa's beard hair when I managed to run my finger across another foreign object...a tooth!  I was so excited I think I scared him....Amazing what an event just a tiny, white tooth is... It ushered in text messages, photos and excitement galore...

Today's photo op will be transforming a Jett into a snowman.  We have all the paraphernalia  needed to put on little black tummy buttons, a painted orange nose, a bright red scarf and a gay little snowman hat headband.. ( I failed in the search for a real snowman hat :-(  Tomorrow he will be double digits... 10 months old.  B was just 10 years and tomorrow 10 months for the Jettster!  Wow, how time flies....

All the preparations are in order for Christmas.  Presents wrapped and under the tree, ornaments adorning the "not for real fir," stockings hung by the "not so real" fireplace and and lists made for holiday dinners and breakfasts (they will be real).  We're ready for the snow that is predicted for this week-end at least! Christmas movies have brought me to tears, Jeff and Lacie and their family have baked their way into Christmas cookie heaven, everyone's trees are up even if the West Hill tree is black and the Van Pelt Lane tree is white.....:-/  I always said I'd never have an artificial tree so I guess a tree is a tree!!!

Only 3 more weeks to enjoy the anticipation and really that's the fun part!!! I have several lunches with my gal pals and maybe a couple of trips to see the lights.  It's fun to have all the buying and wrapping behind me so I can enjoy each and every little nuance of the holiday... Jett will visit with Santa on Sunday and I look forward to that with camera charged and smiles...the first year is usually a good one, the second is often filled with tears and a whole lot of "who the hell is he and why do I have to sit on his lap?"

For now, the little things are the big things and the very best things!!!! After six and a half decades, I  believe!!!

SNOvember!

Well, welcome back winter.... It's about time we had some snow like year's past.  Saturday it was 71 and sunny.  Christmas lights went on the bushes and Jett was eating a snack in his shirtsleeves on the deck.  A few hours later, the thermometer dropped 40 degrees and the snow began.  Sunday was flurries and wind and cold.  Yesterday morning we had 18 inches and our world was white!!!  Just as it should be!  Unfortunately, roads were hazardous, schools were closed, businesses folded early and fender benders and ditch dwellers were abundant.  Ho Ho Ho!

Bailee, our resident Elsa, (the cold never bothered her anyway) was a happy camper and frolicked in the snow most of the day.  I never left the confines of my toasty, warm house.  Can't remember the last time I stayed in.  It was ok for ONE day but I was up and out bright and early this morning.  School is closed again which is probably fine as the rest of the week is vacation anyway.  Roads are mostly clear now and driveways are being plowed and snow diverted to lawns.  If we could just have a few inches every couple of days to keep it clean, it would be perfect.  

This week-end will begin the transformation from turkeys to tinsel at EIEIO.  (Well not really tinsel..I HATE tinsel but I was searching for alliteration and tinsel worked!)  The mantel will lose it's leaves and the rustic winter will arrive.  The garlands will be hung, the snowflakes will shine in the window and the tree will go up.  I really miss the fragrance of a real tree but I really don't like vacuuming pine needles in March...I know, I'm not exactly Tidy Tillie in the white glove department. I may have to break down and get a few wreaths for the smell alone. It's amazing what you conjure up with certain smells, songs and sights!  I'm not sure how much Jett will enjoy this Christmas but I know his presence will be our present. Everything he does makes me absolutely sure he's a genius and he makes me smile....a lot!  He's even mellowed Papa as he is pretty sure he is the best thing since scotch (and Bailee).....and that's huge because scotch is just...well.... like breathing!

This strange object landed on our patio last night.  As Bailee and I are the only true believers in UFOs and life away from earth, we will be investigating it's chosen landing spot.  Pretty sure it's because we are extremely friendly and we believe.... Believing has really paid off in the past...especially at this time of year!  We'll keep you posted!

A decade....WOW

Bailee is 10 years old today.  A decade has literally flown by.  Every day that I spend with her is the most wonderful day....even when she's a pill..... (My Mom's favorite word for being "out of sorts!)  My Mom and my Grandma Hewitt definitely had old school views.... When you were a pill at Grandma's, you got prune juice for breakfast. When you were a pill at my house (as a child,) you got an ENEMA....  They both professed it got " the nastiness out of you!"  That it did!!!!!!

Bailee and I have had some amazing times....just the two of us.  We have our own little cottage where we've danced, sung, played games and read.  We are avid movie goers and we always try to outsmart each other with movie trivia on the way home..... She's very good!!!!!  She knows the importance of keeping my "old brain" in good working order. We know each other well enough to read a glance, anticipate a reaction, laugh at each others ridiculous jokes, rub backs, arms, hands and even tummies if need be and snuggle when it's needed and wanted.  We know when it's time to be 10 and time to act 2. We know when holding hands in public is OK and when it's absolutely NOT! We know what's appropriate and what's "apparently not!"  We know the importance of being kind and the affects from those who are not!

She is a great reader and loves history.  She retains things I forget instantly and is able to recall them at the appropriate time.  She knows the difference between, to, two and too, you're and your, there, they're and their and she calls me "Grammar" instead of Grandma....often. She writes Thank you notes!!!!!!! She's in the will for just this alone!

I am so sad that my Dad never got to know her.  He would have scolded her when needed, squeezed her knees till she bellowed, praised her accomplishments and warned her of life's pitfalls. He'd have loved her unconditionally.

I asked her the other day what 3 things she was most thankful for.... "Mom, Grandma and Food."  The highest of compliments to have made the list!

I can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.  Bailee is definitely her own person and is often not in the "in crowd."  She accepts that with relief as sometimes that path is clickie and unkind. She loves winter more than summer, is about as coordinated as a snake trying to bowl, she's bright, beautiful and makes me smile at the tiniest of things. An out of the blue I love you text is the best thing ever....and I love her with my whole ♥