It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Less than a week until Christmas and I am not feeling too stressed at all. This because I took yesterday afternoon off, picked up the last of the gifts and gift wrapping supplies, and then wrapped all the presents. In other words, at least as far as gifts go, I am all set and with a week to go. That’s pretty good for me!

Yesterday the weather was also decent – in the 50s – so after I did all the work with the gifts I put on shorts (yes, shorts in December in St. Louis!) and went for a run. And I did run the entire route, just 3 miles, but boy oh boy did my legs feel like I was dragging anvils. And even though I wore long sleeves, I was still more than a mile into it before I warmed up, largely because it was windier than I anticipated. Still, as always, it felt good to be out and moving.

And finally, golly do I love Christmas lights. Not that I put any up myself, but it’s more like I am so happy other people put up Christmas lights for me to enjoy. And where I live, there are some nice light displays. Not so much over the top, but just really pretty, sometimes simple, well lit homes. I see them and they make me smile and remind me that it is a magical time of year.

Velvet Devil and Beer Taps

Last night we drank a Charles Smith Merlot called Velvet Devil (I believe the year was 2007). My gosh, what a great wine. We first discovered it at a pizza place in my little town called Dewey’s. M always has me take the first sip (apparently he agrees that sommelier school should be on my list?) and I described the finish to him like this: it’s like a great sugar cookie only not sweet, but it just melts in your mouth like the best of the best sugar cookies do – the ones that really don’t require you to chew because they melt.

He took his sip and had to agree. Needless to say, we enjoyed the wine very much.

One other thing I should explain about Dewey’s is that they support local brewers. Several weeks ago when M and I were in Ste. Genevieve we visited a few of the wineries. One of them, Charleville, also has a microbrew. We walked in and were a bit puzzled because we initially thought one of their beer tap handles was from a different brand, but of course, quickly realized, it was their own brew. We started to talk with the owners and found that yes indeed, this was a beer that Dewey’s carried. Great big small world of Missouri!

It's Christmas Time...

At my little cottage! We put up the tree yesterday and she is a beauty! Tall and fat and thick and just lovely (pictures at a different time). And so well lit! This year I resolved to throw away all my old, sporadically working lights and invest in all new lights. Some of the old lights were close to ancient (but Midwest girl that I am, they were working so I had to stand by them). Since I've been in this house I've used 3 strands of colored lights - one never twinkled, one sometimes twinkled, and one twinkled. Yes, kind of drove me nuts. This year, the day after Thanksgiving, I bought 6 boxes of white, 100 bulb, strands of Christmas lights. And yes indeed, all 600 lights are on my tree. It is beautiful and cheery and makes me smile hugely. And, for the first time since I've been in this house, all of the ornaments are on the tree. This is partly because H is home for the weekend and she likes to decorate the tree. It was fun - we have many ornaments that have stories behind them.

Of course, M needed a tree as well so we took care of that Friday evening at his place. He has a mere 400 lights on a tree that is larger than mine, but still, his is a beauty as well. It's his first live tree ever and I think - hope - he is sold on how awesome it is to have a live tree. He seems to be.

Friday was family night at M's house - all 6 of us were together for M's birthday dinner. Yum! We made Tuscan chicken, which was pretty much amazing. Given the small quantity of leftovers, I think we did a good job. We followed that with a couple of games of Right-Left-Center. Family nights and game night are just about the best thing ever!

Friday Thoughts

It's a cold Friday, but I'm super cheery because...

H comes home tonight!
Tomorrow is M's birthday!
We get Christmas trees this weekend
The weather is slightly warmer (running outside this weekend!)
I'm thinking about a movie to see on Christmas Day

And...

It's Friday!

What Makes Me Happy!

Well, I have not been very diligent about posting lately. And I sort of promised a new name, but I honestly haven't been able to come up with one. So for today, I'll just share these things that make me happy:

Family
College decisions :-)
Adorable dogs
Cleaning day
Fire in the fireplace
Cooking together
Christmas!!!