For most, Christmas is over. For me, not quite. I still have a few gifts to deliver, a few visits to make. This year I just couldn't clear my mind about the things I had to do. When I finally did, every time I left the house, my car would break down. Thanks to some wonderful men in my life, I was able to get a new vehicle, but the delivery date kept getting pushed back due to one issue after another, so the car wasn't delivered till the day before New Year's Eve. A little late for Christmas shopping.
One of the gifts I had been working on for my family was a cookbook. I'd managed to get about 20 pages printed when I ran out of ink. It was discouraging but I decided to go with what I had because I didn't have anything else for them. I had intended to put the pages into a binder with dividers, but that was one of the errands I started on when my car broke down so I didn't get them. I decided to temporarily bind them with cardstock and ribbon. I felt a little reluctant to give them out because I thought my family would grrooaan when they saw their "gift", but to my great surprise they were all very excited about it! I didn't make a copy for my son-in-law thinking he wouldn't want one, but he came in so excited, telling me what a great idea it was, so I felt much better after that and now I'll be making one for him too! They even loved the crude binding and didn't want me to change it, but I explained that I couldn't be tying and untying it every time I had new recipes to add. I plan to spend a lot of time this year completing the book. I have so many recipes to pass-on, and I am hoping the rest of the family will contribute to it as well. It could be something to be passed down for generations to come.
Christmas dinner was also definitely out of the ordinary. My son-in-law was making a deep-fried-turkey. The rest of us were supposed to bring dishes to go with it. Well, for one reason or another, everyone showed up empty-handed. (You already know my reason.) My son-in-law said the grocery stores would be open in the afternoon, which I thought strange, but whatever, so we made up a list and my son and grandson went to the store. It closed 15 minutes before they got there! Now what? Well, everyone started scrambling around the kitchen to see what could be put together for dinner. There were some two-serving, precooked mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese sides in the fridge. My grandson grabbed some green beans from the pantry and threw them into a pot, seasoned them up and started heating the potatoes and macaroni and putting them into a serving dish. My daughter had some fresh tomatoes she sliced up. And in 20 minutes we were sitting down to eat! It was one of the best Christmas dinners ever and cleanup was a breeze! Why do I feel prepared food was so good for Christmas dinner? I don't really, although it was pretty good for prepared food. What I did think was really good was the way we all put our heads together and made do with what was on hand, enjoyed our time together and were rather proud that we were able to pull it off. To me that was the real beauty in that meal. We have become very spoiled, and it was nice to remember that we don't have to have the best of the best to have an enjoyable and memorable Christmas, and I personally think it brought us closer to remembering what Christmas and family is all about. It's not really glitz and glamour, it's humility and love.
The New Year was spent with my mom. She will be 83 in a few weeks. She broke her wrist a couple of months ago and had to have surgery to repair it. She lives a couple of hours away, so I had been unable to see her as I didn't have transportation. When the car finally came through I headed on up to her house and spent the better part of a week with her.
Now it's on to the New Year. I have so many things on my list for this year. Painting, moving furniture, organizing, getting my yard shaped up, and getting all of my Art and Crafts organized and in line for a really productive year. Given my health problems and space limitations, it won't be easy, but I'm shooting for a good year anyway. I have a car to pay for so I definitely have to supplement my income. Onward!
As for you, I'm hoping you each had a wonderful Christmas to remember with your families, and that your New Year will be safe, happy and productive!
