Busy

I have been busy putting together my Christmas packages and presents and finishing up the things I am making by hand. I have another busy weekend ahead but that's ok. Tomorrow I get my hair done and then am going to a huge craft fair and dinner with my dear friend Amy. Saturday I may go to the fair again with my adopted sister Susan. Not sure yet.

I plan to watch "Rudolph" at least twice this weekend along with "Grinch" and other Christmas stuff which I usually have done by now. I think maybe Netflix is to blame for me putting it off. Too many other movies coming into my house. :) I hope I get the ones on Saturday I should get instead of Monday. Delivery has gone from on-time getting 1 at a time to always-late getting 2 at a time. Maybe my mailman hates delivering anything but junk. Who knows. But if I have movies come on Saturday then it'll be Sunday when I watch my own selections. (If they get there soon enough I can watch both and return them to the post office by the 5pm deadline for last mail and they'll get back on Monday to Netflix... I have to get back on the twice-a-week shipment schedule!)

I am anxious for my trip south. I get to spend Friday to Wednesday there and then I don't have to return to work until the following Wednesday, January 2nd. Thanks to holidays, half days off and a floater holiday, it's only going to cost me about 20 hours of vacation to have 8 working days off. Yippie!

I'm also looking forward to dinner with Jo on Monday the 17th. We usually go out before Christmas and swap our presents. I had fun figuring out what to get her. This year has been easier because I began planning at the beginning of the year. I will do that again next year. In January I will make my list of what I want to make for everyone for the year and get started. Yes, after Amy's hat. That has to be first. I don't know why I'm putting it off.

I want to stay away from the mall and other stores until after Christmas. I had to go last night and that was definitely NOT fun. But it did mean I had everything for my mom's package which is now at the post office. Gotta love flat rate boxes... I had over 5 pounds of stuff in there and it only cost me $8.95 to mail it. Definitely a bargain! And a relief that it's sent.

It's supposed to rain today. I am looking forward to snuggling under my penguin fleece blanket tonight with a cup of cocoa, watch some of what I have taped this week and finish one knitting project.

Even in the blizzards in Maine and New Hampshire growing up I loved winter. Can't feel your legs? Your cheeks are burning? Your large Schafer ears are tipped with frost? Yup. Still makes me smile. I really don't mind the cold. Or the snow. Just don't want to shovel it. And ice scares me - I have a fear of falling. But I think back to the rabbit snowman we built one year and all the fun I had going headfirst into snowbanks at the edge of the skating rink and getting cut by the crust of snow when I fell off the sled. Believe it or not, all those thoughts are happy ones. It reminds me of being a kid and of how I liked living on the farm and what a happy family I had - still have. Winter is probably real close behind fall for me in season preference.

And so I've been busy and remembering old times and will continue to be busy until the first of the year. I don't mind, really. Lots to look forward to. Especially family time. And some of my friends *are* family.

Yup, busy but happy.

On A Cold Winter's Day...

I slept in too late. I did manage to get the laundry done. I need to finish making the bed. I have two projects I want to finish today but probably won't because I took time instead to do something else. I need to have lunch. I'm so far behind on everything. So why am I so content on this cold winter's day?

It wouldn't be because of the dream I had last night. That was sad.
It wouldn't be because I have seen a friend today. I haven't.
It wouldn't be because I have any real plans. I don't.
It wouldn't be because I feel things are moving ahead. They're standing still.

But I can tell you that the "something else" I did today warmed my heart. What was that? I spent two hours going through old pictures. And looking for ones which should have been on my computer but weren't. So I dug through discs and put them on my computer and just spent some time being happy in the memories.

Pictures of Ally.
Pictures of Ally and Sean's wedding.
Pictures of Matt from birth through when I last saw him in October.
Picture of grade school/high school friends.
Pictures of college friends.
Pictures of newer friends although a friendship that started 12 years ago isn't one I really consider to be new.
Pictures of places I have been.
Pictures of Den with me and other people I love.
Pictures that remind me of the many blessing I have.
Pictures that give me happiness, hope, sunshine and warmth on a cold winter's day.

It wasn't wasted time. Far from it.

The rest of the chores can wait. I've got something else to do. :)