And Upon This Day, Last Day of November, Mt. Pleasant Shall Be Completely Decorated for the Holiday Season

When I was a kid, going to my Grannie Annie's was always a treat, because she always grabbed a branch that had fallen outside and decorated it with silver tinsel, and underneath this, the had all these figurines: ice skaters, woodland creatures, and winter shenanigans. Everything was so tiny, and we were into our presents, etc. but always loved looking at her creativity and silliness.

Fast forward to Kentucky when my Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Dick handed down their nativity set to me, a gift made by my mom in ceramics and the only holiday decorations I had. each year, I can't wait to set it up with the Snowman tree with its tiny ornaments because it reminds me of my grandmother's house.
I always like to add to the manger scene with special friends: frogs, a Buddha cat, Buddha, adult Jesus (hiding behind one of the Wise Men, and 3 lil' frog stones made for me by Kaitlyn (Abu, Lossine and Chitunga sitting on a log - Shut up, kids. Shut up, kids. Not tonight. Not tonight).

I put up the tree and lights yesterday, too, but will wait for Chitunga to decorate it, as that has been a ritual he's enjoyed for many years (although my ornaments are somewhat lame, as everyone has handed me back the ones I've made for them over the years with my sense of humor). Getting the ornaments out is always a special time, though, simply because so many of them have memories and document time and place.

There's something very calming to be on Mt. Pleasant with the television off, the lights off, and the house lit up with white lights. I still have to do the garage and back porch, and I figure I'll wait for Chitunga for those, too - he went out with friends to a comedy club last night, but promised most of Saturday to be on duty.

I did manage a super long run and a great walk, but then screwed everything up by having a plate of leftovers at 9 pm last night, making me feel lethargic and over-calories again. Ah, tis that season.

And I'm proud to say I didn't buy a single thing yesterday on Black Friday, simply because I hate shopping and hate crowds even more; instead, I uploaded proposals to the Consortium of Northeast Writing Projects Conference in the Bronx this spring.

How I survived yesterday without a nap to recover from Thursday is beyond me...

...but I did. Today, however, I think we might shop. Just kills us (or wish us luck...whatever you prefer)