Christmas Countdown - 2017

[Holiday]

Good morning MMC!! And here we are already at the 1st Pines Day of the year! Looking forward to it!!

Everyone, have a great day!!!

 

[Holiday]

I agree, I'll probably wait and take things down on Mon and Tue. I was thinking about it a little while ago, and even though I work those days, I know myself, and I'm not going to come home Fri, Sat, or Sun evening and want to take things down. Not only is it the weekend, it's still that last shred of days that you can possibly justify it being even remotely part of the official holiday season (did I drag that out long enough? ). So I'll just enjoy those last few evenings with my decorations up.

Then come Monday, it's over.

Anyway, glad to know others are on board! Merry first week of the year!

I agree! I'm still enjoying my tree every morning before work & every evening. I just love it! Never up long enough for my taste!

 

[Holiday]

I don't want to shovel!

Snow blower?

 

[MerryBells]

I hope everyone has had a good year so far. Happy Wednesday, all!
My boss's son is getting his Bar Mitzvah this Saturday, and the office girls are all invited. We (all 3 of us) remember when this kid was born, and we went to the Bris (circumcision in the Synagogue). He's 13 now. My gosh, how time flies. And I'm excited about seeing my first Bar Mitzvah!

On a sadder note, those who remember me posting here and there about my Mom know that she was troubled with early, then moderate, Alzheimer's. My sister and I held out as long as we could, but we finally had to put Mom in an assisted living. She was falling often, and we found out that she wasn't doing a lot of things that she said she was doing. She fell so much at the end that we went the extreme route of putting her in the home as soon as they were ready for her....which was three days before Christmas. Our family and friends were very supportive, and no one was upset at the bad timing, but still I wish it could have been different. The first couple of days she was there were hell on earth, and it was like Christmas never happened this year. But I think we finally have the bumps ironed out, and hopefully we can go forward with the new year in a more hopeful frame of mind. For my own part, it's a relief not having to worry while I am at work (a necessity for us) if Mom is eating, has fallen, is letting strangers in the house, etc. etc. The home is very nice too, and it's people my Doctor-boss works with, so that makes life easier too.

I know there's a lot a work ahead of us. We have to clean out her house and (huge) shed and sell the property, eventually. But that's in the future, and right now I'm enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet.

Oh wait.....my husband's off work for two weeks vacation. Scratch the peace and quiet.

 

[Holiday]

Happy and Prosperous New Year to one and all. A tough period for us Christmas lovers but we are already a clear 9 days nearer and plenty of time to prepare for and savour the coming season. It is never quite not Christmas with this site to keep the candle glowing, looking forward to the milestones and little signals through the year that we are getting towards peace and good fellowship that is the Christmas spirit

Hard to believe it's already been 10 days since Christmas!! That's a good way to look at it!

 

[Holiday]

Merry Tuesday!

Was going to go to the library today, but instead went looking for store stock and ran a few errands. I quit drinking coffee at home, so one of my errands was going to the local convenience store and buying a large hazelnut coffee. What a treat!

Merry dreams!

Sounds like a great day. Hope you enjoyed the Hazelnut coffee! Have a great day M!

 

[Holiday]

I always have a tentative date for takedown, but mostly it is when I finally get the feeling it is time. I took my last tree down on January 28 last year. The only thing that is certain is my outdoor lights being shut off for good on Jan. 8. My window candles stay lit until the first day of spring.

That's kind of what I do too - take it down when I get that feeling! I'm not there yet! My sunroom tree will be up until March!

 

[Holiday]

Good evening ~
It's been raining here all day, it's finally letting up. Perfect day to stay inside and do some deep cleaning which is exactly what I did. I even tackled my middle ones bedroom, with her help of course. I've been asking her to tidy up for quite some time. It got so messy she didn't even know where to begin. Looks beautiful in there now. It was a very productive day. I'm beat though so I'm going to turn in. I hope everyone had a Happy Tuesday. See you tomorrow, Goodnight!

Sounds like you had a productive Tuesday! Hope your Wednesday is going well!!

 

[JayIsh]

Trying my best to welcome each day as it comes but I do miss the lights and action of Christmas even though this one was somewhat somber at times...My lights at home are up and on till Friday night late...Saturday I will disconnect the power sources but it's going to be in the teens so no outside take down work will be done...I do still have Christmas music playing exclusively on my iPod though...I fall asleep and wake up to it everyday. Have a great Wednesday folks!

 

[Holiday]

On my way home, more than half the homes that had Christmas lights up didn't have them anymore. I guess they took advantage of the long weekend and the mild weather to take them down. I miss them already. But I can close my eyes and see them in my memory. And I still have my lovely trees.

I have noticed many people with just a few lights/decorations up yet. Wreaths lit up, nativity scene still lit up. Seems they just scaled down their display. But I will continue to see less & less every day, I'm sure.

 

[Holiday]

Well this evening, for the fist time since October, I've begun to feel that hollowness where everything around me is just starting to seem like any other day, rather than that feeling you have when it's the holidays. It's hard to describe, but you don't even have to be a Christmas fanatic to know what I'm talking about. It's just that feeling anytime you're in the midst of the holiday season, like something is in the air, you can literally sit there doing absolutely nothing and still feel it, a full-ness to each day. Every day is like its own holiday worthy of celebrating it seems like. But now comes that inevitable period where days start seeming that way less and less. I got the first of it just a little while ago. I'm doing what I can. Just started a DVR recording of The Santa Clause, if for nothing else than to at least take me back to remembering what it was like when it was those days just a mere few weeks ago, something I'll continue to do until I don't. At least the Sounds of the Season is still tuned to Holiday music for a few more days, that's always one of the last things to go. And as the week progresses and as we get into next week, I guess I'll have to face the inevitable realization that it's just not Christmas time anymore.

I understand this! (((HUGS))) Hopefully MMC will help to fill that void!

 

[Holiday]

Good evening,

First day back was fine, my team did a great job while I was away. I am off tomorrow, no plans, maybe a Christmas movie or show.

I hope you all had a good day, it was a little strange as it always is coming back to work post-Christmas.

Goodnight, everyone

Enjoy your day off!!! A Christmas movie is a great idea!

 

[SnowflakeMom]

Happy 1st Pines Day of 2017! Looks like we are going to have our nicest day today that we will see for the next week. It may get close to 50 degrees! After that it looks like we are going to be getting colder and colder as the week progresses into a cold weekend with highs in the 20s. No big storms predicted but we may see a little snow on Friday. We haven't had a big snowstorm (yet) this late fall/early winter season. My 1st work day back was good and as soon as I got in my 3 coworkers all said how spoiled we are from Thanksgiving till New Years with all the days off we take. They said it's not too early to play 2017 and they want to take off again and started picking dates lol. I think that I started a trend because when I first got here they used to work the holidays while I took some time off. Anyway day 2 of work and hope you all are well and keeping the Christmas spirit alive.

Happy Pines, Edge!! We are going to get close to 50 today too! Crazy it is Jan 4th!

Good morning ~
Happy Pines Day!
It's going to be sunny and mild today, highs near 52 degrees. I have a bunch of errands to run, back home afterward to make a batch of meatballs and a pot of sauce. Dinner will be baked ravioli. Just having my coffee and relaxing for a few minutes before I start my day. Hope everyone is well and has a Happy Wednesday!!!

Have a great day HMG...raviolis sound great!

Good Morning, Folks.

Onward we move into a brave new year.
And onward we press toward our first Milestone of 2017.

Days to the Season: 313
Days to Christmas Day: 355

That first Milestone is, of course, the 300 day Season Window and it will arrive in less than two weeks, after which a 200's level Season count will commence.
(See the beauty of the Season and it's depth and how much shorter it makes the count seem?)


It was chilly yesterday but not really cold. That will be coming by this weekend.
Still damp here after nearly 3 inches of rain.
But that's tame.
One forecast model has TWENTY INCHES of snow falling on Saturday. Our local weather man dismisses anything that dire but concedes at least some snow may be headed our way by the weekend. We will just have to wait and see.
We are at 55 still very wet degrees here right now.


Alrighty!
Carl is all prepared for the kick-off open house Wednesday of 2017 this evening. There should be a New Year's Eve/Day flavor to it, so I would recommend stopping in to check out the festivities (and enjoying a fired twinkie or two!)

Have a Wonderful Wednesday, Everybody!

Thanks Crown!! I heard your area was getting hit w/ snow. Crazy!

I hope everyone has had a good year so far. Happy Wednesday, all!
My boss's son is getting his Bar Mitzvah this Saturday, and the office girls are all invited. We (all 3 of us) remember when this kid was born, and we went to the Bris (circumcision in the Synagogue). He's 13 now. My gosh, how time flies. And I'm excited about seeing my first Bar Mitzvah!

On a sadder note, those who remember me posting here and there about my Mom know that she was troubled with early, then moderate, Alzheimer's. My sister and I held out as long as we could, but we finally had to put Mom in an assisted living. She was falling often, and we found out that she wasn't doing a lot of things that she said she was doing. She fell so much at the end that we went the extreme route of putting her in the home as soon as they were ready for her....which was three days before Christmas. Our family and friends were very supportive, and no one was upset at the bad timing, but still I wish it could have been different. The first couple of days she was there were hell on earth, and it was like Christmas never happened this year. But I think we finally have the bumps ironed out, and hopefully we can go forward with the new year in a more hopeful frame of mind. For my own part, it's a relief not having to worry while I am at work (a necessity for us) if Mom is eating, has fallen, is letting strangers in the house, etc. etc. The home is very nice too, and it's people my Doctor-boss works with, so that makes life easier too.

I know there's a lot a work ahead of us. We have to clean out her house and (huge) shed and sell the property, eventually. But that's in the future, and right now I'm enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet.

Oh wait.....my husband's off work for two weeks vacation. Scratch the peace and quiet.

Sorry to hear that about your Mom but you did the right thing for sure. You do not want her hurting herself.
Have a great day!

 

[JayIsh]

I've got that ahead of me as well with my Dad...Not looking forward to it but I know the time will come when it is an absolute necessity for his safety...

I hope everyone has had a good year so far. Happy Wednesday, all!
My boss's son is getting his Bar Mitzvah this Saturday, and the office girls are all invited. We (all 3 of us) remember when this kid was born, and we went to the Bris (circumcision in the Synagogue). He's 13 now. My gosh, how time flies. And I'm excited about seeing my first Bar Mitzvah!

On a sadder note, those who remember me posting here and there about my Mom know that she was troubled with early, then moderate, Alzheimer's. My sister and I held out as long as we could, but we finally had to put Mom in an assisted living. She was falling often, and we found out that she wasn't doing a lot of things that she said she was doing. She fell so much at the end that we went the extreme route of putting her in the home as soon as they were ready for her....which was three days before Christmas. Our family and friends were very supportive, and no one was upset at the bad timing, but still I wish it could have been different. The first couple of days she was there were hell on earth, and it was like Christmas never happened this year. But I think we finally have the bumps ironed out, and hopefully we can go forward with the new year in a more hopeful frame of mind. For my own part, it's a relief not having to worry while I am at work (a necessity for us) if Mom is eating, has fallen, is letting strangers in the house, etc. etc. The home is very nice too, and it's people my Doctor-boss works with, so that makes life easier too.

I know there's a lot a work ahead of us. We have to clean out her house and (huge) shed and sell the property, eventually. But that's in the future, and right now I'm enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet.

Oh wait.....my husband's off work for two weeks vacation. Scratch the peace and quiet.

 

[Holiday]

On my way to my aunts today, city employees were taking down all of the decorations on the light poles and dismantling Santa's village. It all looked so plain when I headed home.

Boooooo!
I'm dreading the day they start taking down the Christmas decorations at the nursing home Mom is in. They have such beautiful tree's & mantles. All still lit up. I can't imagine the time it takes to put it all up & down so I'm really hoping it's up for quite awhile yet. Cheers the place up!

 

[SnowflakeMom]

GM and happy Pines day!! A dreary day here but it is going to be a bit warmer so I will take that. Just work for me today and then my daughter has dance tonight. I am making chicken tacos for dinner. They are quick and easy....

 

[MerryBells]

You know Noodle..when I was a young Marine and trying to find my place and earn respect. A Gunny took me to the side and said.."Never deny or pretend you are something that you are not" over the years I instilled this thought into every man/woman that came under my charge. Alot of PCB's are brought on because the world has moved on from Christmas and you arent ready to yet. So media, peer pressure,family say its time? Now that old Gunny that had the talk with me meant a completely different meaning than I did with my people. You walk into my house and you can find some form of Christmas any time of the year. I dont care what people think. I say there is alot of worse things in this world you could be interested in than Christmas! Ultimately you find your own way to not deny who you are in this life,whether people accept it or not. And are they truly your friend if they cant accept it?

Thank you so much for this post. It always seemed to me that people place too much importance on what other people think of them. Everyone should be their own person, enjoy their own interests, and rest on their own merits.

 

[Holiday]

Hope you had a wonderful evening too. Happy New Year. How was your Christmas?

Happy New Year Festive!!! Christmas was real nice. It worked out well at my nieces. It was a bummer that mom was in the hospital, hopefully next year she'll be home & well! I think everyone was there except mom & 1 of my nephews, his wife & baby.
How was your Christmas?

 

[Holiday]

Good Wednesday morning! Not a fan of closing the store and working early the next day, wish I could have slept more. It was so quiet at night that I could've closed the store early but that wouldn't fly. Tomorrow we'll take down the decorations. It will feel very empty in the appartment afterwards. I am not too nostalgic about taking them down though, I like the anticipation of putting them back up each year. Hope everyone will enjoy a great day!

Hope your day at work goes well & taking down decorations isn't too draining!!

 

[made582]

Happy Pines Day, MMC!!! I've got some errands to run today and then it will be back home to hide from the snow that is coming tonight. Other than that, not much going on here. I hope everyone is having a great day!!!