Angie and Gracie were here for the weekend. Saturday morning I wrote out more cards to get in the mail, while Angie slept in. Early afternoon, Angie motivated me to decorate my front yard. Should I? Shouldn't I? I had lots of stuff in the garage from 2 years ago. Outside we went, Gracie secured in her little doggie hold so she wouldn't chase every dog, squirrel or rabbit that happened by.
Angie hauled out bear figures while I planned out "Candy Cane Lane". Three hours past as we worked on our creation, then had phase one done. 
Late afternoon I headed to Freddy's to get in on weekend coupon deals....Another chance to now use the digital coupon I didn't have downloaded the day before!
While there I get a text...
Reflections of Christmas Past...
When Debbie was in her early 20's she bought various materials with Christmas patterns, lace and quilting and made tree skirts for the ladies in the family. Mine was the first one. She was always able to quickly finish projects. I still use mine every year.
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Day 17
I woke up later than I wanted so had to rush to get to church service within the hour. Made it just a little late.
Back home Angie was just getting up. The weather was semi-nice so we went for a walk with Gracie. She was in her glory, trying to race her little legs and lick everyone we met.Time to wash dishes from the past few days. (No dishwasher connected yet.) And start the Chex mix. Micaela stopped over to pick up Angie to return home. After a quick visit while the Chex mix crisped up in the microwave the girls....all three left.
Nap time....2 hours...then on with the next Hobbit movie....followed by a 2 hour Victoria on OPB.....followed by the 3rd Hobbit movie....figured this was my mid-winter movie break....did do some stretches in there somewhere...off to bed about 1:18 AM for a long winter's nap.
Reflections of Christmas Past....
Because some experiences are disappointing....
When Chuck was in the air force and stationed in Colorado Springs, he was able to get a flight into Minneapolis to come home for Christmas. It was a 4 hour drive from home to there. There was a severe blizzard happening all across Minnesota and Wisconsin. When he arrived at MSP in the evening he "knew" we would surprise him and be there to get him. We weren't. We would have been if the weather was tolerable. He called us, still "surprised" we weren't there. I don't remember how he got home. I think he took a bus the next day and we met him in a town about a 2 hour drive from us.
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Day 18
Monday ended well, but there were a couple blunders before that. I slept in a bit after going to bed at 1:18 AM. Even during Christmas season one needs to finally do the laundry and clean up the house. Early afternoon I mustered up the determination to get outside and finish what Angie and I started on Saturday. Of course, it was just in time for the drizzle. All the light twisting and hanging went along fine. Combining all the wires to connect was a little tricky...so many and various lengths from the plug-ins. At one point I decided the bare-branched tree needed some color and there were strings of lights not used...red ones and one white. Kneeling under the tree on wet rubber shreds I busily contrived how to position the lights and needed to unplug one set. Zzzzttt...a shiver of tingle zapped through my body. Oh! Better unplug the main plug. (About an hour earlier a friend had driven by and stopped to comment, "You sure are lighting up the yard." "Yah", I replied, "as long as I don't light up." HMMMM...Shortly after the lady across the street stopped by as she was walking to get her mail. She complimented on the yard and quipped, "You just keep going and going like the EverReady bunny." If only she knew!
By late afternoon the rain was heavier so time to go inside. Good time to finish decorating the fireplace. That went quickly, now that I know to stand up the bubble lights with double sided
"Command" strips.
Since this seemed like a "finish the project" day I figured I may as well finish the project. Two years ago I started making a sign saying, "Candy Cane Lane". Since this was a classic DIY, I didn't know how to do it. Having decided to form the words out of heavy duty stick-on stickers and stick them onto a shiny white painted board, I discovered, they didn't stick. So, the stick and sign sat in the garage for 2 years. NOW is the time to get out the instant glue and instantly glue them on! Would ya know, that glue really does instantly bond skin together....With help from nail polish remover and picking at the skin for about 15 minutes, I had independently moving fingers once again. Next problem to solve, how to keep the fuzzy stickers from fading in the rain? Spray on poly-urethane. Bought a can today and waiting for clear weather to DIY outside.
Reflections of Christmas Past....
Years ago Louie had a DIY project for our Christmas tree. He thought the crib scene would be beautiful set into the tree with all the colored lights surrounding it. He built a heavy-duty wood shelf for it to sit on and fashioned a heavy metal hook to fit around the tree trunk. He then cut out a few branches so the scene could be secured and viewed. The sight was indeed lovely....for a few minutes until the unbalanced weight brought the tree and all tumbling forward onto the floor. Several glass bulbs were shattered and the crib scene folks suffered loss of many chunks. The second attempt went better after Lou secured the tree to the large window frame with heavy wire and large screws. We did enjoy the secured rendition for several years after, though the crib folk lacked chunks of plaster. I think I have photos but don't know where they are.
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Day 19....Tuesday morning was a great time to sit and enjoy the holiday ambiance in my living room. Outside a "winter storm" of heavy rain and wind was happening. Mostly we have had a mild winter. The rain is suppose to stop by Wednesday. After finishing more laundry by mid afternoon and the rain having eased up, I made my way to Freddy's for more Christmas shopping. Their huge parking lot was totally full. Already various items were sold out inside the store. It was almost 7 PM when I left there to return home. Several items will spend the night in the vehicle until tomorrow's sunlight.
Reflections of Christmas Past.....
For several months in the early 80's my Uncle Mike came to live with us after his sister passed on. I only know him as an older man. He lived alone on the old family farm for many years. When he was not able to care for himself he lived with my Aunt Emma. After she died he simply said he is going to live with Louie and Georgia. He paid for building additional space that was needed for him. When he was living on the farm he would come across old volumes of National Geographic. They were a treasure to him. The year he had Christmas with us, we got him a subscription to the magazine. He was overwhelmed that we would do that for him. He was diabetic and unfortunately had to have a leg amputated that spring. He died shortly after.
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Day 20....
Rain continued through the night, but there were glimpses of blue sky by late morning and sunshine in the afternoon, though the air was cold.
Angie texted to say she would like to do something festive for the evening. We decided on "Peacock Lane" in Portland. But first we needed to try on our matching brown coats from the arctic circle of northern Wisconsin!
Peacock Lane is a free attraction of a neighborhood that elaborately decorates their houses.
We had never been there. Great fun to walk along the sidewalks with the crowds. The air was just right nippy cold, but tolerable.
How to vegan without trying.....
We were hungry while strolling through Peacock Lane (I thought I kept smelling hot dogs). I asked Angie to find us a burger joint. She found one called Next Level Burger. I imagined all kinds of yummy stuff stuffed inside the burger. We ordered the "meaty patty with special sauce". The color and texture of the meaty patty was a bit strange, but reminded me of long years past school cafeteria hamburgers. We discussed the burger as we ate. Before leaving I asked the lady at the counter what kind of meat the patty was. "OH!", she replied, "there are no meat products here. Everything is vegan. The patty is wheat and barley. Basically, you ate a bunch of bread." (One could ever order a gluten free meaty patty. That should have been a red flag....make that a "green" compostable flag.) I considered the meaty patty and stuff burger quite tasty and I didn't have any digestive problems after. Angie said she felt like a bunch of dumplings were sitting in her stomach. After, we found our directions to get a Voodoo donut!When I was 9 and into early teen years and living with Aunt Emma and Uncle Jack we lived many Old German Christmas traditions since Jack's father and mother were from the Old Country. One was going to midnight Mass followed by feasting most of the night. One food was "sultz", jellied pigs feet. It was formed in a jello mold and came out a transparent "jello" with hunks of pork hock pieces. I never tried it, couldn't do it.
This has been a good 5 Days of Christmas in the life of Grandma G.
"But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2)
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