The day after the day after..

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like Christmas day lasted about 30 minutes? It is hard to believe that Christmas day, which seems like it takes an eternity to get here, is over in the blink of an eye.

So here it is, Thursday, December 27th. My husband and son have driven north to just outside of New York to see my mother-in-law. This has become a tradition since our son was little that we would go as a family to visit my in-laws a day or two after Christmas day. The past few years, I would go and spend the day with my father-in-law and my husband and son would take my mother-in-law out for the day, most often into New York City. Since my dear father-in-law passed away in August, plus the fact that I am not a big fan of NYC and the weather is pretty lousy to be outside, I decided to stay home this year. And do laundry.

My son came home from college last Friday night carrying two laundry bags, two large trash bags and a large duffel bag filled with laundry and a few clean clothes. He also received a few new shirts for Christmas and he and my husband did some post Christmas bargain shopping. So, when you add his pile of clothes together with the rather large pile that had built up here, you have one Mt. Everest of laundry. So today, I have attacked that pile with a vengeance and hope that by tonight, the only pile left will be pile of ironing that always follows.

I must end this post now, as the dryer is calling me. And if I ever want to see the floor of the laundry room, I had better answer it.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Happy Birthday Caitie

Today is my niece Catitie's twenty first birthday. My has she grown up.

Caitie is the only granddaughter in my family, with my brother having three boys in addition to Cait and me with one son. But, she is by no means a princess. How could she be - she has three older brothers. Like me (two older brothers, no sisters), she had to learn to be a little (okay, a lot) less lady like to survive.

My husband and I are her godparents. We had gotten engaged just two weeks before she was born and we were thrilled to be asked. I remember the day of her Baptism like it was yesterday - I dressed her in my family's gown that was made by my grandmother in the early 1900's. She looked like a little doll. And just before the anointing of her chest, she promptly loaded her diaper sending the "sweet smell" of a baby wafting all over the church and making the priest turn a little green.

She was my "grown up" little helper when my son was born (she was all of two and a half). She insisted on holding him and giving him his bottle. I swear he swallowed way more air than formula when she fed him. She loved having a little cousin and to this day, she and my son are still good buddies.

Today she is a beautiful young woman, a college student with aspirations of becoming a physical therapist and helping people. I pray that she will one day fulfill that dream. She'll be a good physical therapist - just enough compassion for her patients, but she won't let them get away without working.

Happy Birthday to my sweet goddaughter. See you next month and I'll buy you a beer!!!

Lego Beer Song

Run, do not walk to Fr. Erik Richtsteig's Blog "Orthometer" for a very, very funny Lego Beer Song. You won't be disappointed.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Decorating the Christmas tree is one of my favorite decorating chores each year for a number of reasons. One is that it never fails to put me into a holiday mood since it is the most obvious of Christmas decorations. But my favorite thing about decorating the Christmas tree is that it is a time for me to think about so many of the people I love.

Many of the ornaments on our tree have special meaning to me. There is the pear-shaped bird house with a partridge in it that my father gave me. It belonged to my parents and since they had two, my father gave it to me for our tree. There is the Lenox angel on the top of the tree that my husband gave me an anniversary present many years ago. The "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments that remind me of our first Christmas as a family of three.

Some of the ornaments are special because the giver is no longer with us. Some remind me of special friends. Many years ago, my husband and I decided to buy ornaments on our trips as a remembrance of the places we have traveled to. These include the starfish Santa from St.John, the starfish snowman from Hawaii and the Disney ornament that we purchased when my whole family went to Disney World. I collect them too from my "girls only" weekends with my friend J.

It's never a quick task to decorate the tree. But is one that I do with much gladness.

My patron saint for 2008

Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii recently posted about obtaining patron saints for 2008.. So I decided to request a patron for 2008 and much to my surprise, I wans given St. Clare of Assisi.




I found this to be a bit ironic since my friend, Sr. Rosemary, who recently passed away, was a Franciscan Sister. And St. Clare is one of the patrons of her order. So I checked out the order's website and found the following on St. Clare of Assisi:

"Clare was a dozen years younger than Francis and a member of the noble class. Her life was far more sheltered but, like her mother, Clare was known throughout Assisi for her generosity to the poor. At a young age, Clare developed a deep spirituality and was drawn to the teachings and lifestyle of Francis. She met with him on a number of occasions until finally, in the middle of the night following Palm Sunday, she left her parents' home and found her way to Francis and the brothers.

There Clare made her commitment to God and to the poor and simple lifestyle that Francis preached. Even when her uncles came to remove her from the convent where Francis had placed her, Clare did not waver. Nor did she falter when other women of nobility, including her younger sister, joined her. Like Francis, she cared for her followers, taught them by word and example, wrote for them a simple rule of life, and stood up to bishop and pope for the privilege of living the life to which she felt called.

Followers of Francis and Clare can be found today in every walk of life and on every continent—still joyful, still seeking a simple lifestyle, still seeking to love and follow the God who lives in their own depths and in all of creation. Theirs is a common vision: identification with the poor; care for creation as a sacred trust; embrace of each person in relationship as sister or brother.

Like Francis and Clare of the twelfth century, today's followers of Francis and Clare can be recognized by their lived faith in a God of love, by their deeds of care and generosity, by their care for all creation, and by their daring to live Gospel lives whose values run counter to the culture of their times."

Why am I not surprised

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Each year, you really get into the spirit of Christmas. Which is much more important to you than nifty presents.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Christmas is so much more than the tree and the presents. It is the love of God and our family.

The Christmas Season

The Christmas season had officially started in our house. Saturday night we held our annual open house and about 60 friends came out to help us usher in the Christmas Season,

We started this now annual tradition about five years ago. I don't remember the circumstances that led to our first open house, but it has become a bit of a tradition and our friends look forward to an evening of visitng, food and good cheer.
I enjoy the preparations (well, except for this year since I was sick), the shopping and cooking, but most of all, I enjoy entertaining and visiting and it always puts me in a festive mood.

One of the best things about having it so early in the month is that it forces me to decorate early and not let things go until the last minute. We put our tree up Thanksgiving weekend (yes, it's not real, but that's a story for another entry) and this year I purchased another tree for the back of our house. In this house, the tree has always graced the living room in the "Christmas Tree Window" that I insisted on when we were picking out the options when purchasing this house. We have a bay window on the side of the house that is very visible when driving up the street and also from the front of the house. It was the one option that I insisted on as I could picture the tree in it. Anyway, the back of our house, where we have an open kitchen, family room and breakfast room, seemed to lack the Christmas spirit. So we now have a tree in the breakfast room and I love it. It is festive and really makes me feel like celebrating.

We normally decorate the shed in our back yard since we have floor to ceiling windows in the breakfast room and you can see the shed easily. But with me being so sick, and my husband being away at a conference, and our son away at college, the shed did not get even a light on it. Usually our son makes certain that the shed is decorated in the style of the Griswolds from Christmas Vacation. I think we will leave it for him to decorate when he gets home.

So today, I am recuperating. While the cold is slowly going away, it is not gone yet and I am really worn out.

Book Meme

Fr. Daren had tagged me for a book meme. Now I am a voracious reader, but certainly of nothing as intellectual or stimulating as his list. I'm more the fiction/chick lit type reader. But I will dig deep into the far reaches of my brain to recall some of the finer works of literature that I may have read. And if that doesn't work, I guess my answers will reflect the shallowness of my literary interest.


One book that changed your life: Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi. I saw the author on a talk show and just couldn't believe how any one could be so controlling and horrible. After I read the book, it made me pray that he would never be out of prison.

One book that you’ve read more than once: The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher. It makes me want to go to Scotland. Of course, anything she writes makes me want to go to Scotland.

One book that made you laugh: Everything but Money by Sam Levinson. I loved his description of growing up during the depression and all the silly things he and his siblings did to entertain themselves.

One book that made you cry: Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther. I was a teenager when I read this and it made me think about what it would be like to find out that you are going to die and you haven't even begun to live yet.

One book that you wish had been written: The Encyclopedia of Teenage Boys. I don't think this needs any explanation.

One book that you wish had never been written: The Bridges of Madison County. I read the book and didn't get the hype. It wasn't even one of the best works of fiction that I had ever read. Sorry Oprah, this book would never be in my book club.

One book you’re currently reading: Double Cross by James Patterson. I absolutely do not miss reading anything he has written.

One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Bible. I have never read the Bible from cover to cover and it is something I want to read, but never seem to pick it up and read it.

Now tag five people:

Barb
Christine
Lorri
Michele
Margaret

On the mend

Finally, after nine days of feeling like crap (sorry folks, that's as creative as I get), I am finally feeling better. Of couse it has taken four prescriptions, lots of fluids, some soup and lots and lots of rest to get to this point. And of course, we have our annual holiday open house on Saturday and I am not nearly ready. And if that isn't enough, my husband is in Texas until Friday night.

But, tomorrow my parents will pack their bags and load up the car and drive fifty miles to help me get ready. Thank you Mom and Dad.

Every year I promise that I will prepare for this party in advance, and it usually doesn't work. But this year, we went away for a week in October and for five days of Thanksgiving week and so I did very little ahead of time. But I have simplified the menu a little so it will all fall into place.

So tomorrow, I will work my butt off (if only that would happen) and get ready for the party.

The Advent Wreath

So many of the blogs that I read on a regular basis are those of my fellow Catholics. Most of the bloggers have an advent wreath. I am sorry to say that I do not have one.

I remember so vividly the advent wreaths my father made. Every year, he would cut fresh greens and fashion them into a circle for the wreath. My mother had a pair of glass candlesticks that each held two candles and these were used every year. The wreath always sat on a silver platter that my parents received as a wedding gift. And every year it was interesting to see if the wreath would hold up for all of advent. Many years, the fourth week found us with an advent wreath made of twigs sitting in a pool of dried out pine needles!

The first night of advent always began with the blessing of the wreath by my father. As the youngest, I usually got to light the candles the first week since it was only a single candle. We went up the line with the middle brother next, my oldest brother third and my mom last. Dad was always the prayer leader. We always lit the candle before dinner and we said grace immediately after the advent prayer. The little booklet that contained the prayers was tattered, but it was used every year (I think it belonged to my grandmother). Over the years, I lit more and more candles as my brothers grew up and moved away.

We continued this ritual until I graduated from high school. I guess when I went away to college it was not as meaningful for my parents to light the wreath for just the two of them. And they never resumed the practice, even after I returned home to live for almost four years after I graduated college.

I never had an advent wreath in my home. I guess with my husband's rather lax Catholic up bringing and the fact that we rarely if ever got the opportunity to sit down to dinner as a family. Even now, with just the two of us at home, we don't often eat together. But next year, I will try to have an advent wreath. Even if I am the only one to light the candles and say the prayers.

Enough is Enough

I have had it with this cold. Today is day eight and enough is enough. Yesterday I was back at the doctor's office because the viral upper respiratory infection has turned into bronchitis. And we are having a party at our house Saturday night. And my husband leave today for a four day conference in Texas, so he won't be around to help. Fortunately, my parents will come on Thursday to lend a hand getting set up and putting together some of the food.

So today I will rest and do some things around the house. And hope that the meds will kick in so that I feel better!