Joyce hosts most weeks and provides questions for us to ponder and then answer. Check out how others answered the questions at From This Side of the Pond.1. 'Tis the season to be jolly....so are you?
Not yet...but I'm trying to be. There's too much to do between school and church to be jolly just yet.
2. Do you trim a tree this time of year, and if so is yours all done? What's something in your home-closet-life that needs to be trimmed in the new year?
I don't put up a tree until a week or 2 before Christmas and then leave it up until Jesus' Baptism (Jan. 9 in 2022). FYI: In case you weren't aware, I'm Catholic; we celebrate Christmas until Jesus' Baptism. So if you're all about Christmas, it gives you a reason to enjoy your decorations a little longer! (You're welcome!) I've decided to only do a small tabletop tree this year, along with having another small one somewhere else in the house. There are no grandkids and each of my boys has announced that they don't like Christmas, so I'm not bothering too much with it this year.
Our basement needs some serious cleaning out. I have a lot of stuff that I saved from the boys' childhood that they don't care about. I need to get down there, sift through everything, throw a lot of it most of it out.
3. Are you 'dreaming of a white Christmas'? Is that a possibility where you'll be celebrating? According to this site the top ten places in the US you can count on for a white Christmas are- North Pole Alaska, Crater Lake Oregon, Yellowstone National Park, Winthrop Washington, Aspen Colorado, Ketchum Idaho, Mt. Washington New Hampshire, Whitefish Montana, Duluth Minnesota, and the Lake Tahoe town of Truckee California
Of the snowy spots listed which would you most like to visit?
We had a very rare white Christmas last year. It was just about the most perfect Christmas ever. I even wrote about it! A Perfect Way to End a Year
Hmmmm...where to visit? We were close to Mt. Washington a few years ago when we stopped by a friend's to visit on our way to Canada; Duluth just sounds too cold. Okay, I have no idea where I'd like to visit!
4. December 8th is National Brownie Day...will you be celebrating? How do you like your brownies-chewy or cake-like, frosted or plain, nuts or no nuts, a piece from the middle or give me the corner? As a child were you a member of a brownie troop?
Well, I will be celebrating now that I know it!!! I use the Ghiradelli brand of brownie mix; the dark chocolate is the family fave. I use the cake-like version, plain, no nuts. I'm not real picky about which brownie I get.
I was a Brownie for a short while. In 2nd grade, I wore my uniform to school one day. This was my first year in public school so I didn't really know all of the rules yet. After we were given an ice cream, the teacher told us to stay in our seat. I was through with mine so I just sat there holding my stick. A classmate told me to go throw it away but I told her we couldn't get up. She encouraged me to get up, the teacher wouldn't mind. That earned me my only paddling of my school days. The classmate got one as well (not her first or last!)...and I never wore my uniform to school again. Isn't it funny what we remember from our childhood?
5. Share a favorite line or two from a Christmas carol or holiday tune.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on
Our troubles will be out of sight
The song is in both of my all-time favorite movies: The Holiday and Family Stone. I've already watched The Holiday and there will be more viewings between now & Christmas!
Here's something very interesting. These aren't the original words. Apparently, when Judy Garland sang this in Meet Me In St. Louis she objected to the original words, but Hugh Martin was against changing them. He finally gave in and re-wrote it. Then, Frank Sinatra changed "until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" to "hang a shining star upon the highest bough". Want to know what the original words are? I found them on classicfm.com.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
The SLPs (Speech-Language Pathologists) in my district had a combo baby shower/Christmas Party last week. The food decor was just incredible! Here's a peek:
This was purchased from Swiss Colony. Aren't the raccoons just adorable? And this cheese hedgehog!
The best part? All I had to do was show up! 😉