Downsizing Christmas

One December evening, after hours at the mall, I trudged home loaded with boxes and bags—a stressed-out Christmas shopper.

When I saw my husband lying on the sofa, a newspaper across his face filtering snores, I lost it. How dare he sleep while my bunions killed me?

Sighing loudly, I banged the bags and boxes on the kitchen table, hoping to wake him.

Worked like a charm. He bolted up and exclaimed, "What happened?”

Christmas overload. That’s what happened.

Say the word "Christmas" and many women get hives. The decorating! The shopping! The entertaining! The guests! The money! Is there really a way to have yourself a merry, “little” Christmas and still feel fulfilled? With a little practice, and a new attitude, I believe so. Here are a few suggestions.

SHORTEN YOUR GIFT LIST

If you’re part of a large extended family, give up the notion that every person must buy for every person. That’s insanity waiting to happen. Many recipients return what you spent hours looking for anyway. Try something simpler.

Draw names. Ask participants to put their names on a piece of paper, followed by five things they would like to have. If you can’t get everybody together, have this information sent to one person in an email. That individual can draw for everybody then relay the results back.  Admittedly, drawing names doesn’t always sit well with children, but it teaches them a valuable lesson: Christmas isn’t about receiving; it’s about giving.

SET MONETARY LIMITS

Unless you have money to throw away, you should set limits on your gift-giving. Whether it be with your immediate family, or extended family, the amount should be agreed on beforehand. If you don’t set limits, you’ll always be tempted to overspend by buying “just one more thing.”

SIMPLIFY SHOPPING

If you aren’t resigned to drawing names or shopping from a “wish list,” consider choosing a “theme” for your shopping list. Avoid broad themes like “clothes.”  Instead, narrow it down to something like sweaters or pajamas or perfume. Other ideas are games, books, videos, music, cosmetics. A theme will keep you focused and save countless steps at the mall.

Another way to simplify shopping is giving gift cards. Although they aren’t very personal, they usually please the recipient, and save you frustration.

ENTERTAIN SIMPLY

The Christmas season is filled with get-togethers. It’s OK to make them simple. Try the following:

• Have a potluck party. Furnish the meat and leave the rest to friends.
• Prepare a one-pot wonder like gumbo or chili. A tossed salad goes great with either of these.
• Host an after-dinner party. Whip up your favorite desserts, brew up some interesting hot drinks, put on the Christmas music, light a fire in the fireplace, and enjoy.

LOOK OUTWARD

Years ago, while shopping with my small daughter, we encountered the Salvation Army bell ringer. “What's that?" Anna wanted to know. I explained how the money was spent to help indigent families. Her face lit up as she stuck out her hand. "Mama, can I please give some money to a poor little child?"

There is no better time to look outward than now. Consider a monetary donation to a non-profit organization. If money is tight, you can still find ways to help. Offer to baby-sit for a single mom, prepare a meal for a family, volunteer at a soup kitchen. And don’t overlook the popular “angel” trees at department stores. Opportunities abound.

TAKE TIME FOR REFLECTION

People of various faiths enjoy this time of year, but Christmas is a religious holiday for the Christian faith, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Don’t forget to nourish your soul as you reflect on the Christ Child.

Some ideas:

• Attend a religious pageant at a local church.
• Listen to religious Christmas music.
• Read the Christmas story from the Bible (Luke, Chapters 1 and 2).
• Start an “Advent” candle tradition.

A familiar Psalm says: "Be still and know that I am God." The Christmas season seems a perfect time for practicing stillness, for discovering God.

LET GO OF IDEALS

It may take years to surrender, but letting go of your visions of a perfect Christmas will improve your life. Christmas may never come off perfectly. But that’s OK. Consider the first Christmas. A young couple in a strange city. A young girl about to give birth. No hotel rooms available. Only a simple stable to sleep in. Even so, the angels' song floated calmly through the night air, announcing that peace and joy had come to earth.

Let’s celebrate!

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This article first appeared in The Dallas Morning News. All rights reserved.

Picking Up Where We Left Off

I have forsaken blogland this week, and in a big way. Other things have demanded my attention and there comes a time, as I’m sure you all have experienced, when you have to let something go. I hope we can just pick up where we left off, like friends often do.

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, hosted by my beautiful twin sister. As we get older, it seems time flies by. I’m grateful for having shared another November, with those near and dear to my heart, and I hope you all had a memorable weekend, as well.

I can hardly believe December is upon us. I will tackle the big Christmas tree this week, but, in the meantime, I was able to get up a few things Christmas related (like the itty-bitty firefighter’s tree I put up each year to honor the retired firefighter who lives here) and hope to be all done by next weekend. 

Until next time, dear blogging friends, thanks for your continued friendship. I've missed you and look forward to visiting with you soon.

Eggs on the ceiling can be a blessing

"Mom!” My daughter—then four—calls to me from her bedroom. Quickly, I place four eggs in a pot of water, turn the burner on high, and head down the hall.

In her room, Anna sits propped up on a pile of pillows, looking sleepy. Yellow sun stretches across the bed in long narrow strips. Nap time.

"What's up?" I ask her.

"You read me a story?"

"Okay, but just one; Mommy's boiling eggs for tuna fish.”

She nods. Together, we nestle down between the cool sheets and share the travails of Timothy Tiger and his terrible toothache. Halfway through the book, Anna's eyes droop, she yawns, slipping further down into the covers. In minutes, she's napping peacefully.

I lay the book aside and curl up next to her, eggs forgotten.

About an hour later, I am awakened by a putrid smell. In the kitchen, sitting atop a bright red burner, a dry pot smokes profusely. And, to my complete horror, the eggs are no longer in the pot but have exploded!

Everywhere I look pieces of sooty egg lay scattered about. There is egg on the floor; egg on the cabinets, egg on the ceiling, egg on the countertops. There is even egg in the adjacent room!  What an awful, disgusting mess!

Muttering, I reach for a broom and begin swiping at the splotches on the ceiling, then decide to crawl on top of the counter to get a better aim. It is while I work and moan that Anna rounds the corner, holding her nose.

"Yuck!  What’s that I smell?" she asks, then upon seeing me standing on the counter high above her, she gasps, "Mom, what on earf happened?"

With as little enthusiasm as possible, I relate the entire story ending with, "Just look at this mess!  I am just sick!” My voice rises with hysteria.

Her answer shocks me. "Well—you oughta be happy," she scolds, her little face solemn and stiff.

I glare down at her, speechless. Happy? Did she say happy?

"It coulda burned our house all down. Couldn't it, Mama?” she says, her brown eyes piercing mine like chocolate daggers. "And it coulda burned us up too!  Couldn't it, Mama? And that would make Daddy so sad. Wouldn't it, Mama?"

Climbing down from the counter, I set my broom aside and stoop down to put my arms around her, wondering how on earth I ever got along without such wisdom. Cupping her round face in my hands, her expression softens. "You are so right, my sweet angel," I say, feeling small and foolish. "You are one-hundred-percent right. I should be happy."

Backing up a step, she puts her hands on her hips. She isn’t done with me. "And you oughta tell God you're sorry for being so upset," she says, her little face stern again.

Quickly, I do as I am told. It is, after all, November, a time for giving thanks. And  this child of mine has just made me realize how blessed I am—even with burnt eggs all over the place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This story appears in the book, Whispers From Heaven (Pacific Press), by Dayle Allen Shockley. All rights reserved.

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Shopping Days Are Here Again

'Tis the season to go shopping ... fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

Have you started  your Christmas shopping yet?

I went shopping, but haven't purchased a single gift.

Woe is me.

Art ~ What A Needle And Thread Can Do

My love of doing intricate embroidery and stitchery needlework came about unexpectedly, and I owe it all to my beautiful mother. The year was 1973. I was a teenager, recovering from surgery. My dear family showered me with gifts, and I still have them all packed away somewhere, but there is one gift hanging on the wall in my dining room.

It was Mother’s “hospital” gift to me—the very first piece of stitchery that I ever attempted—and it started out as a pile of yarn in a plastic wrapper, with a few instructions for completing.

Even though the stitches were simple, it is far from perfect. I keep it visible to remind me of many things, not the least being how my love for needlework began.

...

What you will see below are some of my needlework pieces. These are all either embroidery pieces, or what's called "stitchery." (I've never been into cross-stitching, although I do have a few pieces that I've done. However, they are not pictured here.) My "artwork" will never be worth much money, but these pieces are priceless to me.

The earlier pieces were small.

Ah ... mushrooms.

They were a big thing in the 70's.

...

In 1981, I underwent major surgery and Mother “rewarded” me again with a stitchery kit called, "Oriental Winter," only this time it was not a simple piece, but extremely complex and large. I'm not sure why I kept the instructions and left-over yarn, but I assure you the diagram was referred to so often it is split in every direction.

The end result would measure a whopping 18x26, and would take me a year to complete. That is mostly due to my giving up hope of ever getting it done a number of times.

I display this piece every winter, and still marvel that I actually completed it at all. Perseverance pays off.

When you work on a piece this large and this detailed, you have days when you can hardly wait to start working on it, and days when you can't bear to pick it up again.

I especially love the detail paid to colors and clothing.

Everything you see is done with a needle and thread.
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One of my favorite pieces is this one of adorable kittens playing in the window.

Love, love the window shade.

The lace curtain was a difficult stitch for me, and there was a lot of trial and error.

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My mother is partial to this piece called, "Oriental Ladies."

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In 2006, my twin sister gave me a kit that scared the daylights out of me. I opened it up, studied the directions, which were about a paragraph long and the diagram, which appeared to be a nightmare.

There were some complex stitches that I'd never done, and I wasn't sure I wanted to learn.

Just interpreting the keys proved challenging, which is why I decided to stash the whole thing in the closet, convinced I would never find the energy to finish it, so why start?

But a year later, itching for a project, I pulled it out of the closet and took the first step … then the second one … until I had completed it.

It features a magnificent crocheted tablecloth, and I knew I would give it to my mother, who is not only the Queen of Crochet, but who also has a crocheted scarf almost identical to the one in this piece. (The finished product was difficult to photograph because of the specialty frame; the photo doesn't come close to doing it justice.)

The most difficult stitch, for me, was the Bullion Stitch, which just happened to be needed in abundance on the tablecloth. I managed to find a good tutorial on YouTube.

I love how the tablecloth looks like it's softly folded over in places.  Amazing how you accomplish all of that with mere needle and thread. (I hate to sound like a broken record, but I apologize for the fuzziness of the photo; very hard to capture behind the glass.)

In 2008, I presented it to the Queen of Crochet for Christmas. It took her a minute to realize it wasn't a painting. Needless to say, she loved it. No matter what my hands find to do, she remains my biggest fan.

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These days, I keep my needlework simple, but if I ever decide to go all out again, there are several contenders in the closet, just waiting to be chosen.

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Autumn's Glow

There is something about autumn ...

Whether inside ...

Or outside ...

Autumn offers its own special glow.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday series.

Thankful for Ainsley ~ My Sugar Plum

I received an email from a blogging friend this week, generously inviting me to link up to her very first linky party. (I know how scary that feeling can be ... hosting your first party.) Anyway, Dawn will host a linky party every day in November at her blog, "The Goodlife." You can join in one day, or the whole month. It's up to you. 

It's a "thankful" party, and what better time than this for counting blessings? I'm linking up today, and hope to make it back before the month is completely over. And if you have time, I know Dawn would be pleased as punch to have you hop on over and link up, as well.

If you've followed my blog long, you may recall I have a very special great-niece, Ainsley. Can you believe she will be a year old next month? It's hard to wrap my head around that fact, but there it is. Where does the time go?

Monday, my mom and dad were in town, and seeing their one and only great-grandchild is always a must whenever they're over for a visit. So, I rang up the niece and we all met up and had lunch together.

Here is sugar plum, blowing a kiss to her great-uncle with one hand ... and holding on to her fried okra with the other one. A true Southern girl if I ever saw one.

After lunch, we returned to my place for an afternoon of fun.

I have yet to become a grandmother, so Ainsley has been one of my greatest joys since arriving on the planet last December. I'm blessed to live close to my niece, and doubly blessed to be asked to keep Ainsley on occasion; currently, it's about once a week, which thrills me to no end. (And the neat thing is, I also kept Ainsley's mom quite often when she was this same age.)

I am so thankful to have Ainsley in my life. She has brought sunshine to the shadows.

Linking up with Dawn for "30 Thankful Days."

When You Love Someone

Doing something a little different today. It isn't Valentine's Day or anything, but love can and should be celebrated every day, don't you think? 

This is for those who dare to love. Whether you discover the love of your life, or get your heart torn asunder, you are to be commended for putting it all on the line, risking everything for love, because that’s no small matter.

I put this video together just for fun. This song is from one of my favorite movies, “Hope Floats,” and also one of my favorite tunes by one of my favorite male vocalists, Bryan Adams. Yeah, that's a lot of favorites. And the orchestration is out of this world wonderful! While the song is written from a romantic viewpoint, if you listen closely, it is also quite fitting for how we feel about our children.

If you have three minutes and 40 seconds, click the play button, turn up the volume, and enjoy.

By the way, The Man can whistle the introduction flawlessly. Just thought you might want to know.

WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE

Songwriters: ADAMS, BRYAN / KAMEN, MICHAEL / PETERS, GRETCHEN

When you love someone, you'll do anything
You'll do all the crazy things that you can't explain
You'll shoot the moon, put out the sun
When you love someone

You'll deny the truth, believe a lie
There'll be times that you'll believe, that you can really fly
But your lonely nights have just begun
When you love someone

When you love someone, you feel it deep inside
And nothing else can ever change your mind
When you want someone, when you need someone
When you love someone

When you love someone, you'll sacrifice
Give it everything you got and you won't think twice
You'll risk it all, no matter what may come
When you love someone

You'll shoot the moon, put out the sun
When you love someone

 

Treasures from the Closet

I'm happy to report that the closet has been rightfully sorted and purged and the girl is smiling like a clam. There's just something about de-cluttering that has that effect on me. I open the closet door now and it feels like both of us can breathe easier.

Here are a few of the treasures I uncovered. Some of them will stay, and some of them will go.

Tammy will stay. She's been mine since the early 60's, and the joy she brought to my young heart cannot be measured. I'm not sure why I decided to enhance her eyebrows (with a permanent marker, no less) but, alas, I did.

My parents were never extravagant people, and these (plus the one she is wearing in the photo) are the only store-bought outfits I had for Tammy.

Love the party dress, complete with fur shawl, pearls, and gold clutch. I also have the gold belt that came with this outfit, but it is a bit stiff now and I didn't want to force it to comply with being photographed. :)

This was probably my favorite outfit. I adored all of the accessories that came with it, especially the camera.

My mother was/is a dynamite seamstress, and you can imagine my excitement one Christmas, discovering new clothes for Tammy, all lovingly stitched by my mother's hands. They are seen below.

The beauty of this dress can't be captured well on camera. It has sequins, and a net overlay. Tammy was stunning in this little number.

Here is an adorable casual outfit. The red corduroy jacket was a big hit.

Mother has such imagination. She created a lettered jacket for Tammy ...

... and a flannel housecoat ...

... and (drum roll please), a set of undergarments! Yes, that is a body girdle on the left (although rather stained from age), and a full-slip (with attached panties) on the right. Apparently, no respectable girl went out without a full-slip in those days. Have you ever seen anything cuter?

Last, but not least, this charming glittery gold formal dress, complete with faux fur shawl.  

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The closet also held two boxes of my novelty candle collection from the 70's. They were a popular thing back then, and I took pride in finding some of the most unique ones.

I have decided it's time to let these go, as they no longer make my heart skip a beat.

I especially loved the "food" candles.

Their brilliant colors have faded, but they are still recognizable.

Fried egg anyone?

Or a baked potato, perhaps?

Who doesn't love a cheeseburger?

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Then there were the animals and assorted others.

I will miss them all, but I'm ready to let them find other homes where they can be placed on a shelf and enjoyed.

Goodwill, here I come!