Skating Santa

Last Thursday, we had our nice little Thanksgiving Day dinner party, hosted by Anne and me, with Dave and Joanie as our only guests. At dinner tonight, we will be finishing off the last of that meal’s leftovers. Thank you very much David, who is now winding his way back to Purdue. Having put Thanksgiving into the rearview mirror, it is now time to dive head first into the Christmas season. We skipped the Black Friday’s shopping/horror experience, but dove right into Small Saturday instead. We walked over to downtown Maplewood, where we bought a few things, ate a few things and saw a few things that we might purchase later. Plus we got some exercise to boot. It was a pleasant experience all around, devoid of any of that claustrophobic crush that you get at the malls. One of the things that we bought was a garland, which will be our stand-in for a tree this year, but instead of the usual pine rope, we went with cedar this time. It looks so much nicer. This morning, we put up our Christmas decorations, both inside and out. There are still a few finishing touches yet to be applied, but we are so far ahead of the game this year and I wonder why? Well I know why and I plan on taking full advantage of the extra available time this year and to savor and celebrate this holiday season for a change, instead of just lurching half-dead on my feet from one obligation to the next. Merry Christmas!