Come and Gone...

Christmas, come and gone…..

I know… Christmas in 2012 is nothing but stress.  Back in the day, I am sure that my Mother probably felt the same way, but she made it look so effortless from the eyes of her children, that I cannot imagine that she went through a 10^th of what a modern day person does.  Things were done in an orderly fashion, Christmas cards with personal notes inside went out early in the month, shopping and wrapping were done without hassles, house decorated, tree up around her birthday so we could enjoy it for several weeks, goodies baked and stored, house cleaned to the grandparents could come and spend the week and food for the many feasts purchased and prepared for gourmet meals.  I credit most of that to her use of multiple lists that she lived by daily for as long as I can remember.  I have lists, too.  My problem is that I tend to leave them at home and always forget at least one of the things I really, really needed.

This year it was double stress as I am also trying to get the Maryland house cleaned out by year end so I can put that chapter of my life behind me and move forward into my new life.  So when Brian arrived from Minneapolis on Saturday the house was cluttered, no food for the holidays had been bought and I was tired and fairly grumpy.  Once he arrived, I almost felt like curling up in a ball to do nothing as it was such a relief to have someone else to pitch in and help.  I am hoping that I did not over-stretch his helpfulness.  I want him to come back next year.

We planned the meals for the short time he was here and he did most of the cooking.  He really likes making things from scratch and it certainly did make for some wonderful food during his visit.  The first day we had Rueben’s.  The next day we had meatloaf.  I made the meatloaf and he created a wonderful Potatoes Au Gratin using all fresh ingredients.  Christmas Eve, our meal was lasagna, garlic bread, brussel sprouts with bacon, tossed salad and a cranberry salad.  Brian made the ricotta cheese from scratch, his own noodles and baked the Italian bread.  He also did the veggie and it was all wonderful.

My brother and his family joined us for the afternoon and evening of Christmas Eve, a family tradition for many, many years.  We laughed and talked and my brother and nephews set up a couple of web cams that will broadcast me in my house to them via the internet so if I am not heard from in a while, someone can look in and see if I am OK.  It snowed while we were visiting and they had to drive back to Yardley with snow on the ground, but the roads were clear, so it was not a dangerous evening for them.  He lives in Fredericksburg, VA and I am hoping that we can visit a little more often.  He is my only sibling.  He will be retiring soon, he says, so it would be nice to spend some time together.

Brian left Christmas morning to go visit with his father in New Jersey, another tradition.  I was supposed  to go with a dear friend of mine to visit her family on Christmas Day, but she picked up a vicious stomach bug that had her bedridden, so I was home alone.  I am finding that I am going to be alone for holidays as my late husband’s family, who are local, are finding other, new holiday traditions that do not include their uncle’s widow.  Not a surprise, it was something that I expected to happen in time.  And I did have plans, they just fell through.  Fortunately, I enjoy peace and quiet, so I used the time to de-stress, get some things put away and relax.

Today, I am still fussing with the web cams.  There are still some glitches in the broadcasting so I am QAing the setup.  My brother is also monitoring the cameras and offering suggestions as to things I can try.  I am getting the dining room set up again for sewing.  I have many projects to do, including a Mystery Quilt project that will happen on New Year’s Eve.  It snowed again today.  The grassy surfaces were covered in the fluffy white stuff but then, in our area, the snow turned over to rain.  So now the white coating is gone, the temperatures are hovering around freezing and the Police/Fire scanner is coming alive with accidents and power outages.  I am quite happy to be safe and sound in my house.

I have decided to do a daily journal in 2013, just for fun.  I will do my best to post everyday my weather and compare that to what was ‘forecast’ in the Old Farmer’s Almanac.  I think it will be interesting to see how accurate the OFA actually is in their guessing a daily weather pattern.