Christmas Countdown - 2010

Annette · Jan 6, 2010

SPF...I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. What a pain this is. I hope everything gets back to normal for you soon. It's nice to know thou that your mother lives nearby to help you out.

Ballcoach...I can relate to letting the dogs out and them not wanting to go. My dogs were the same way here this morning.

Jeff...I only wish it were 70+ degrees here today. It's about 5 out right now.

Good Morning! It started snowing yesterday. Everything is once again covered with it. It looks pretty I must say looking out from the inside. I took a few pictures and will post them later.

Crown 84 · Jan 6, 2010

JayIsh said:
.....I mean it is close to two months ago that we kicked off the season and that came so hot on the heals of the previous season that it seemed like time passed two minutes for every one!.....

Indeed!
In just one week, 2 months worth of the count to Christmas Season 2010 will be complete!

Sapsorrow · Jan 6, 2010

It's so encouraging to come here when the after Christmas blues creep up on me and to find so many people looking ahead to next year, too.

I think I may have to declare a "no Christmas planning until after Twelfth night" policy this year, but I truly feel like Christmas 2009 was canceled for me, so I'll go easy on myself for having so much on its way for the coming one.

I never realized that the Orthodox calendar was so different on Christmas! Is it a solemn holiday for the Orthodox (I recall that some denominations have a quiet, gift-free Christmas, I wasn't sure about the Orthodox). Either way, Merry Christmas All Through The Year everyone!

Minta · Jan 6, 2010

Good afternoon everyone.....woke up this morning to find it lightly snowing. We got a slight coating before the snow stopped.

Well we managed to get all the outdoor Christmas lights and decorations down and packed up. It amazes me every year that it takes us all day to put them up outside but only takes 2 hoursa to take them down and pack them up..

Our 3 yr old son comes up to us after we were done and says with a very sad face that Christmas is Gone.....when we told him it was just for a little while and that we will be decorating all over again before he knows it he smiled and said OK and then went off playing with his toys.

May have to stop in at the Pines for some coffee....need a refill!

Have a great day!

Wenceslaus · Jan 6, 2010

Photo by Dave Berger, from Flickr

Great Feast of the Nativity, celebrated at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, on the night of January 6–7.

From Wikipedia:

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Christmas Eve is referred to as Paramony ("preparation"). It is the concluding day of the Nativity Fast and is celebrated as a day of strict fasting by those devout Orthodox Christians who are physically able to do so. In some traditions, nothing is eaten until the first star appears in the evening sky, in commemoration of the Star of Bethlehem. The liturgical celebration begins earlier in the day with the celebration of the Royal Hours, followed by the Divine Liturgy combined with the celebration of Vespers, during which a large number of readings from the Old Testament are chanted, recounting the history of salvation. After the dismissal at the end of the service, a new candle is brought out into the center of the church and lit, and all gather round and sing the Troparion and Kontakion of the Feast.

In the evening, the All-Night Vigil for the Feast of the Nativity is composed of Great Compline, Matins and the First Hour. The Orthodox services of Christmas Eve are intentionally parallel to those of Good Friday, illustrating the theological point that the purpose of the Incarnation was to make possible the Crucifixion and Resurrection. This is illustrated in Orthodox icons of the Nativity, on which the Christ Child is wrapped in swaddling clothes reminiscent of his burial wrappings. The child is also shown lying on a stone, representing the Tomb of Christ, rather than a manger. The Cave of the Nativity is also a reminder of the cave in which Jesus was buried.

The services of Christmas Eve are also similar to those of the Eve of Theophany (Epiphany), and the two Great Feasts are considered one celebration.

Annette · Jan 6, 2010

Our new mascot? *L* Seen this picture online and wanted to share it here.

Off to go get daughter from school soon. She's coming home for lunch today!

trackrebel · Jan 6, 2010

Kandice is asleep now....she´s coughing very hard and I am praying for her to sleep through...her cough is quite worrying....she got a doctor date tomorrow...so that will get checked.

Christmas-A-Holic · Jan 6, 2010

JayIsh said:
I think that one of the reasons that I don't get that awful sinking feeling when the holidays end is that I have you all to spend a bit of time with looking forward to "next" Christmas! I mean it is close to two months ago that we kicked off the season and that came so hot on the heals of the previous season that it seemed like time passed two minutes for every one!

I don't feel bad at all this year because I have you all to come to and no matter what I feel "Christmasy" all year!

Minta said:
Our 3 yr old son comes up to us after we were done and says with a very sad face that Christmas is Gone.....when we told him it was just for a little while and that we will be decorating all over again before he knows it he smiled and said OK and then went off playing with his toys.

My 4 year old grandson gave me a look of concern and asked, "is Christmas over"? I told him, "it's never over at my house, come over anytime if you need Christmas"! cheesy

trackrebel said:
Kandice is asleep now....she´s coughing very hard and I am praying for her to sleep through...her cough is quite worrying....she got a doctor date tomorrow...so that will get checked.

I hope she gets better soon!

HoosierChristmas · Jan 6, 2010

We're supposed to get a foot of snow tonight! It's gonna be hard to get to work tomorrow!

made582 · Jan 6, 2010

Track- I hope Kandice gets feeling better soon. I will keep her in my prayers.

made582 · Jan 6, 2010

Crown 84 said:
But again, the saving grace is lots of sunshine and no wind.

OK!
First visit to the Shispering Pines for the new year!
Complimentary sleigh rides will be provided from the front entrance to the Inn.
As always, Carl will be on hand with Cookies, Tea, Fired Twinkies and....yes....some new experimental coffee blend for Binger or anyone else bold (or foolish?) enough to drink it. (Something about Koolaid this time - sheesh!)
Anyway, Holiday, I assume you will be there as usual.
Come one - come all!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday, Everyone!

The weather sounds better there so count me in!!!!!!cheesy

made582 · Jan 6, 2010

HoosierChristmas said:
We're supposed to get a foot of snow tonight! It's gonna be hard to get to work tomorrow!

Be Careful and Stay Safe!!!! They are calling for 5 to 6 inches around Indy tomorrow so I am going to stay home all day.

Binger · Jan 6, 2010

Heat wave here.. we got into the mid 30s..... break out the bathing suits...

YABBA

made582 · Jan 6, 2010

Well I am back from working and braving the grocery store. It took me 3 1/2 hours to do 14 stores today and 2 hours in the grocery store to get a few things. They were almost out of milk and bread. You would think that they were calling for a blizzard and not 6 inches. I just needed milk and when I walked in and saw how busy it was I thought about leaving but I knew everywhere else was going to be just as bad. The main problem was that they only had 3 registers open and hunderds of people in the store. The rest of today will be spent getting my work in order for next week and listening to christmas music. Music choice on my digital cable is still playing it and I have decided that I will listen to it for as long as they play it and then I will take a break for a couple of months. I hope everyone has a great evening.