Thursday, Dec. 20

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

Up around 7:30 this cold and windy morning, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house while I got ready for the day.

Back downstairs, I gave Mother today's twelve days of Christmas gift...a box of chocolate covered cherries. This little gift occurred to me when we saw an ad for them on TV, and Mother and I went on a journey down memory lane remembering that receiving boxes of these gooey filled candies with a cherry in the middle was an anticipated treat every Christmas.

I'm sure my kids remember getting them. And they probably also remember the year that our dog, Little Bit, ate three boxes of them one Christmas, while we were away from home. That's when I realized how sharp a dog's sense of smell is to be able to sniff out the candies through Christmas wrap, cellophane, and a box.

I didn't accomplish much for the rest of the morning other than gathering a few things to take downtown later, when Hubbie and I manned the art gallery for a few hours. I packed my newest Christmas novel, my e-reader, and boxes of Christmas cards, and Hubbie prepared a thermos of coffee, and packed cups, creamer, and snacks.

After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and around 12:30, Hubbie and I went to the gallery. To open the gallery, it was necessary to fetch the door key from the shoe store next door.

While Hubbie got the key, I waited in the van, out of the wind and cold. It was so windy that it rattled the store front awnings. And I thought that a large inflatable snowman in front of one store would surely slip its wire moorings and go sailing down main street.

Naturally, the buildings on either side of the street created a wind tunnel, so that folks trying to walk down the sidewalks had to bend into the wind, and try to keep their whipping hair out of their eyes. I wondered why some of them didn't wear hats. I certainly did. If ever there was a day for one, today was it.

The clerk was reluctant to give Hubbie the key, since she didn't know him or me, but she finally agreed. We found out later, though, that she'd called the president of the art gallery board to make sure we were okay. She deserves a pat on the back for being diligent in protecting the gallery.

We were at the gallery from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. During that time, a couple of women with a couple of kids in tow came in and toured the exhibits; a woman dropped by to purchase a calendar featuring photos and stories about historic buildings in our town; and another woman came in to buy a handcrafted cutting board.

The only other visitor was the president of the art gallery board, who hoped to pick up a check to pay the gallery's electric bill, which is overdue. But the treasurer never did come by with it, so the president will have to call her, I guess.

But while she was there, we were able to catch up on each other's lives. Both of her parents are in ill health right now, so she has been stressed. This lady is just getting over an injury to her shoulder from a horse riding accident. She was also seriously ill a few months ago with pneumonia. On top of that, her son had a health crisis this year.

Most of the time we were at the gallery, it was pretty quiet, though, so we used the opportunity to finish writing Christmas cards. And I had time to start reading the novel I bought at the bookstore yesterday, "Shepherds Abiding." It's proving to be a delightful easy-read for Christmas.

Promptly at 4 p.m., we turned out all the lights, except for the ones on the flocked Christmas tree in the window...a tree that leans precariously to the left, and upon which the glass ornaments are lost against all that white, locked the door, and left.

Back home a little after 4 p.m., I put leftovers from last night's meal into the oven, which were heated and ready by 5 p.m. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to her house, and we watched TV for the evening, including a Hallmark Christmas movie, and then our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a hard-fought win.

Note: think I might be coming down with a cold...lots of sneezing and blowing.