Merry Christmas

A few days ago it was 71 degrees here, but today, we're officially winterized with temperatures in the 30's. I hate the cold but I have to admit that breaking into a sweat while puttering around the house was a bit annoying in late December. I've spent the past two weeks painting the inside of my house and it looks fabulous. I'm good at meticulous jobs that involve lots of patience. I found it oddly peaceful to take each room and make it like new again. It kind of reminded me of cutting grass (when I used to do that when I was a teenager--not so much now since my husband loves his lawn work). You can see the progress as you move along so it feels like you are getting positive feedback from the get-go.

Everyone is home for the holidays and it feels so good to have everyone close again. My son just missed a major snowstorm which probably would have stranded him up North for a while so we're so thankful for that. My parents lost their power for EIGHT days during that terrible ice storm a week and a half ago. The power finally came back on and then they were then hit with this recent snowstorm. They have a generator which they used in various parts of their house to keep things going and have a wood stove where they cooked and whatnot. I honestly don't know how they do it. I'd be sitting on the beach in FL if I were them, and to hell with winter. Why deal with that if you don't have to? I'll never understand New Englanders. I guess having the Red Sox, the Patriots and the Bruins to watch makes all the miserable weather worth enduring because I can't figure out what else it might be.

I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping but I'm sure I'll still find myself out on Christmas Eve picking up a few things here and there. It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't have some last minute shopping to do!

What makes me happiest during this season is having the hearts of everyone in my family all beating under this one roof for however long we're blessed to be here together. It's sappy and cliche, but there is no greater gift than family. If you have a good one, you have everything.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you get what you wish for.

Happy Thanksgiving

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. " ~Melody Beattie


Tomorrow I am going to cook a big meal, eat lots of stuff, hang out with my family, maybe read a little, call my family across the miles, think of friends who've made my life golden, take a walk to clear my head, breathe in and breathe out, live in the moment, and give thanks for everything. My happiness is tied up in my extraordinary family and friends. Because of them, I walk the earth supremely blessed.

Chrysanthemums

One of the many reasons I love October.