And so this is Christmas

I cannot believe it's Christmas Eve already.

The Christmas shopping is done, the house is clean, the fridge is full of food -- and I had help with all of it, thank goodness. If I'd had to do everything by myself, I never would have made it to this point. If there'd been an extra minute to write something here, I'd have told you about some of the following:

How my central heating system chose our snow day to break down and blow only cold air.

How a good friend and his daughter-in-law ended up in the emergency room on the same day, one with a mild heart attack and one with a brain tumor. (Both are doing well.)

How annoying it is when stores allow customers to stand twenty-deep at the three open checkout registers, while five other registers are closed.

How I went to the coat sale too late and only ugly coats were left in my size.

How my big, long winter coat stayed at the cleaners throughout our cold spell.

How the temperature here ranged from 28 degrees to 84 degrees in a one-week period.

How thrilled I am that my brother and his family came for a visit. (It's been six years since I've seen them.)

How Butch and Kadi reacted to having company.

How this is the first Christmas season that hasn't been sad for me since my mom died the day after Christmas in 1999.

How my mom's spirit went shopping with me yesterday, and we got some good stuff! (And, yes, she found me a close-up parking space.)

How Kim has made batch after batch of cookies, and I'm eating them as fast as she makes them.

How we just got back from the video store, where we selected seven -- count 'em, seven -- DVDs to watch in the next week.

How much I look forward to spending Christmas Day at Kelli and Troy's house with my kids and grandkids.

How, counting today, I only have to work two days out of the next twelve. Now, that's what I call the twelve days of Christmas.

And, since I have so much time off, I hope to be back here soon to fill in the details of at least a few of those topics listed above. In the meantime, I hope all of you spend a safe, happy Christmas with the people (and animals) you love.

Peace and blessings,
Velvet, Kadi and Butch