Christmas Day

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Got up around 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises again so I could sear the beef roast and get them ready for the slow cooker.

After that, I got ready for the day, and then made a pear/apple cobbler, followed by a cherry pie for tomorrow's festivities.

Hubbie washed the dishes and bowls, and then Mother cut up celery, onions, and carrots for potato soup, to be made early tomorrow morning. Hubbie then peeled potatoes to boil for lunch.

The roasts were ready by 11:30, so Mother set the potatoes boiling and made gravy. She also put the squash in the oven. When the potatoes were cooked, I mashed them, and then heated the asparagus in the microwave, and sliced the locally-made bread.

Fruit salad that I'd made yesterday, and glasses of red wine completed the yummy meal, which we enjoyed with a background of Christmas music by Harry Connick, Jr., and Josh Groban.

After we put away the food and cleaned the kitchen following the meal, we played Skipbo for the rest of the afternoon. For supper, Hubbie and I had cold roast beef sandwiches, and Mother had chicken noodle soup.

We played several more games of Skipbo after supper, before Mother went home around 7:30 p.m. She was a little wobbly-legged, so Hubbie accompanied her to her house.

Later, we watched the 2009 unrated movie, "The Skeptic," starring Bruce Altman, Tom Arnold, and Tim Daly. A lawyer (Daly) inherits his aunt's Victorian home. He's a cynic, who doesn't believe in religion, much less the paranormal...but then he begins experiencing ghostly forces.

A white Christmas today? No. It spit snow a little this morning, but nothing stuck to the ground. Lots of folks were disappointed, but not us. Snow and ice tend to cause problems, like power outages in our state, so we don't yearn for it.

Christmas Eve

Slept late, and then skipped my exercises to do some housework before Daughter came for a visit. She arrived a little after noon, bringing gifts for Mother and me. Mother's gift is a box with hanging photo sleeves. There are about 100 sleeves inside the box, and five more can be inserted in frames around the outside and on top of the box. She got the box at a greeting card shop. It's really neat.

At the same shop, she bought a recordable "It Was the Night Before Christmas" book. I've collected most of the regular little storybooks from the shop over the years, so she knew that the recordable book would be a welcome addition.

We had a nice visit for the afternoon. We had already eaten a lunch of chicken noodle soup, made with the homemade noodles I bought in Branson, but Daughter was ready for a steaming bowl of it, too, which she had with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese ball.

Later, she mentioned that she missed seeing "The Little Drummer Boy" animated feature, which is no longer shown on TV. As it happens, I have that feature in a DVD collection of animated Christmas features that I bought several years ago. So we sat down to watch that, plus "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," which precedes the Drummer Boy feature.

It was after 4 p.m. by the time the features were over, so Daughter headed home. There was a threat of wintry weather for the evening, and she didn't want to risk driving in it. The threatened weather didn't materialize, but it was good that she was able to get back home before or just after dark.

Earlier, we entertained the notion of eating out for supper, maybe at the catfish restaurant, but it was so chilly out that Mother didn't want to go. So I scrambled eggs, made gravy, and baked a can of biscuits.

Then we stacked our gifts under the tree. We hadn't had them under there before, because we knew the cats would have a field day tearing the wrappings off.

Around 7 p.m., we opened the gifts (it's our tradition to open gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, when we are busy preparing dinner). We each received several nice things. Mother got a soft cushion that fits inside her wheelchair, including on the arms; a set of warm bed sheets; a Snuggie blanket; a box full of intimate apparel that includes tights and long-sleeved shirts to wear over her other intimates and under her outerwear (should help keep her warm on these winter days); a couple of cryptogram puzzle books; another can of her favorite hairspray; and a jigsaw puzzle featuring a photo of her cat.

These gifts are in addition to tickets to the Andy Williams Christmas show that we enjoyed in Branson in early November, and the various items she got during the 12-Days-0f Christmas. As Sis would say, she made out like a bandit this year.

Hubbie got an electric paper shredder; some head bands to wear while gardening; several western movies on DVD; two burgundy shirts...one long-sleeved, one short-sleeved knit; a large Ziplock bag of peanut brittle; and a bottle of beauty salon shampoo...supposedly good for dry scalp.

I got a beautiful pendant necklace from Hubbie; a gift card to a favorite clothing store; gift certificates to a downtown cafe'; a gift certificate to the greeting card shop (from Mother); a box of chocolates; and a laptop computer cooling pad.

These may not seem like exciting gifts to some folks, but they were all delights to us.

Afterward, we enjoyed slices of rum soaked chocolate date nut cake, with dollops of whipped topping, and cups of chai tea.

Then we played three games of Skipbo...Hubbie won two, and I won one. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I headed to our bed. It was a good day.

Thursday, Dec. 23

Countdown: only two more days.

Slept til 8 a.m. this morning, but did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast, anyway. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and chopped onions and gathered other ingredients for making salmon chowder.

When I finished exercising, I put the chowder together and simmered it for the required 30 minutes. After that, I got ready for the day, and then made fruit salad. Hubbie cut a couple of the hybrid squashes that volunteered in the compost heap, and we baked them for Christmas dinner.

Then we sat down to watch a Trans-Siberian Orchestra DVD , "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve."

For lunch, we sampled the chowder. Later, Hubbie and I made a final (I hope) trip to the WDCS for last-minute grocery items. Wow, what a crowd! It was wall-to-wall people...some, no doubt, were doing last-minute gift shopping, but I'll bet others were stocking up on bread and milk in anticipation of a possible white Christmas, as hinted at by TV meteorologists. I'll be surprised, though, if we see a single snowflake.

Today, besides groceries for the weekend, I was interested in stocking up on fresh fruit...can't eat cookies and candies all the time, even if it's Christmas. I picked up a large bag of oranges and some bananas, but there wasn't a single grape to be had. So before we headed home, we stopped by a grocery store, where we did find grapes, but in limited supply. What's up with the grape shortage, I wonder?

It was about 4:30 before we got back home. I noticed that Mother had spooned the squashes out of the shells and put them in quart Ziplock bags for the freezer. She'd forgotten that we baked the squashes for Christmas dinner.

Later, she and I put together a supper of whole wheat pancakes, with turkey bacon. The pancakes were ones we'd made for the freezer several weeks ago.

After supper, we hopped in the van for a driving tour of Christmas displays around town. Usually, we do this on Christmas Eve, but just in case the meteorologists are right about the possibility of snow coming in tomorrow evening, we decided to do the tour tonight.

The city and the downtown association have outdone themselves this year. Judging by the number of lighted displays, it's hard to believe there's a depressed economy. But then, maybe we need more Christmas in times like these. Lots of homes in residential areas are also ablaze in lights this year.

We spent about an hour and a half touring and listening to Christmas music. On the way home, we saw a spectacular natural lighting display...a large, three-quarter orange moon blazed in a clear sky. Mother went to her house when we got back, and Hubbie and I watched the movie, "The Santa Clause 3."

Wednesday, Dec. 22

Just before bedtime last night, we heard a crash in the dining room. My worst fear was realized, when Hubbie announced that Romeo the cat has knocked pulled the stone-like nativity characters off the table and broken both the Joseph and the Baby Jesus figures. So now, all I have left of two nativity scenes is a large Mary figure and angel from the stone-like set, and a shepherd, donkey, and cow, from the small set. After Christmas, I'll be looking for an unbreakable set.

It was nearly 8 a.m. before I got up this morning, but I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and cut up veggies for veggie soup, which I put together for simmering after I was ready for the day.

Then we did some house cleaning in anticipation of a visit from Daughter on Friday, and Hubbie's family on Sunday.

For lunch, we sampled the veggie soup and then put the rest in the freezer. After lunch, Hubbie ran errands, while Mother and I watched my all-time favorite Christmas movie...the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol," starring Alastair Sim. After we'd finished watching the movie, I ran it again, this time with subtitles for the deaf and narration for the blind. It's fascinating listening to a narrator describe people and scenes. We didn't watch the whole movie again, just a few scenes from it. The DVD also includes a very early animated version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

For supper, we opted for baked potatoes and leftovers...beef stroganoff from last night, and spinach, English peas, and green beans, as well as slices of bakery bread from a loaf that was included with a handmade wooden cutting board I got at a soup/chili supper and silent auction event at a local college library.

Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I made another batch of fruited popcorn. We make an extra batch each year for Hubbie's daughter, who, like Hubbie, dearly loves the stuff. I never touch it.

After that, we watched the 2009 R-rated movie, "Deadline," starring the late actress Brittany Murphy. A young woman, abused by her boyfriend, moves into a large empty, apparently haunted, house, where she finds video tapes of the former residents that reveal something sinister.

Then we watched the 1994 movie, "The Santa Claus," starring Tim Allen. While we watched the movies, I recorded our favorite college team basketball game on DVR, and we began watching that around 8:30. Our team squeaked by to a win.

It was much cooler today than yesterday. It was warm enough yesterday that we turned the air conditioner on in the van as we were running errands. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't work. Glad we discovered that now instead of on the hottest day of summer. Glad, too, that the van is still under warranty. Hubbie will take it in for repairs after the holidays, at which time repairs will also need to be made to the automatic door latches, in accordance with a recall notice.

Monday, Dec. 20

Today is Son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Son!

Up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and started a pot of 11-bean soup cooking. Naturally, this did not go off without a hitch. Mother discovered we didn't have Rotel for the soup. Since Hubbie was out Christmas shopping, I tried to call and ask him to stop by a grocery store. I couldn't reach him, though he said later that his phone was on, but he didn't hear it ringing. So as soon as he got home, he had to turn right around and go to the store.

Kitchen duties today also included baking the other pumpkin from the outdoor fall display, which we then bagged for the freezer. The 11-bean soup went into the freezer, too, to be brought out as part of a soup and sandwich meal on Dec. 26, when Hubbie's family will visit.

Otherwise, we spent the afternoon following lunch watching Christmas movies..."Miracle of 34th Street," on DVD, and "A Christmas Carol," performed in 1992 as a ballet by the Northern Ballet Theater on PBS. I taped the performance several years ago. Wish I had this one on DVD. The VHS tape is getting worn.

For supper, I fixed bagel pizzas, which we had with leftover sauteed potatoes, and cottage cheese. As soon as the kitchen was cleaned, Mother and I made a batch of chocolate/peppermint bark. The candy is made from melted white chocolate, on which is swirled melted semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and topped with broken candy canes. I won't want to eat much of this candy, but it's pretty for serving or using for gifts.

Mother went home after we made the candy, and Hubbie and I watched TV.

Saturday, Dec. 19

Slept late this morning, until nearly 8:30. I skipped my exercises today. Mother came over mid-morning and started a pot of chicken stewing, while I put together gift bags for Hubbie's family, who are scheduled to visit the day after Christmas, as well as a food gift pack for our neighbors.

Naturally, this didn't go off without a hitch. When I went to the spare bedroom to get the supplies I needed for the project, I found the door locked. In our house, you can't unlock the doors from the outside without using an ice pick, which is what Hubbie did.

Once I finished getting the gifts together, and did some household chores, we sat down to watch Christmas at Concordia College, and a Boston Pops concert I taped several years ago that features a reading of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," accompanied by a choir and orchestra. We also saw a cute animation I recorded on DVR called, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus."

After a lunch of the stewed chicken, with homemade noodles that I bought in Branson while we were there in November, and English peas, we watched "Mrs. Santa Claus," a musical starring Angela Landsbury.

Later, we enjoyed slices of rum soaked chocolate date nut cake, with dollops of whipped topping, and cups of chai tea. Then around 4 p.m., I called Niece in New York, hoping to talk with my brother. But he was napping. So I suggested they call back when he woke up. Well, Mother hung around for over an hour, but Niece never called back, so Mother gave it up and went home.

Finally, around 7 p.m., she called back, and I spoke a few minutes with my brother. But I could tell he was having a difficult time making conversation...he's still in deep mourning for his wife, of course, who died after a stroke in November. The Christmas season will be very hard for him this year, though Niece and nephews are doing their best to keep his spirits up.

This evening, Hubbie and I watched the Hallmark Channel presentation of "Battle of the Bulbs," a comedy about two guys who live across the street from one another, who compete with each other adding more and more lighted displays to their houses and yards. Of course, they finally see the error of their ways, when a neighbor gets into financial difficulty.

Then we watched "Santa Claus 2, " starring Tim Allen.

Sweet: as I was making a rum cake for Hubbie last night, the tortoise shell cat with one blind eye came into the kitchen carrying a lightweight softball (a spongy ball meant for little children). She laid it at the feet of the white cat that is nearly blind. Then she laid down and watched the white cat bat the ball around the kitchen floor. Presently, the black cat, called Romeo, came into the kitchen and started for the ball. I called out "no, no" to him, and he joined the tortoise shell cat in watching the white cat play. And they say that animals can't experience empathy.