Let's Talk About Christmas

   Yes, let's talk about Christmas. As some of you may know, it's coming. Soon. But before that, is our wedding anniversary. Hubs and I were married one week before Christmas Eve. That way, neither of us can possibly forget. (like I would!)This year marks our 23rd anniversary. Not bad for two people who met a mere 6 months before they got married, huh?

  I just erased a whole bunch of paragraphs I had written. It wasn't going where I wanted it to go. So I'll try again. I do love the holiday season, but I find that as the years pass, I don't want to decorate and make a big fuss any more. I bring my little table top tree up from the basement, and hang the stockings. Our house is filled with love all year long, so really it's just another day in paradise!

   I really look forward to the TV specials. Last night, there were two on, about people who go overboard with the Christmas lights. One was U.S. people, the other was about people in Europe. I watched them both. I also watch every version of A Christmas Carol that I can find. My favorite is the Muppets version. I'm waiting for the Mr. Magoo one to come on. I hope I haven't missed it! That's the one I watched as a child, the one I remember most.

   This year, the holiday is a little harder than usual, except for last year. Last year, my mother-in-law had just passed away, and we stayed in her house the whole winter. It was a very somber and sad holiday last year. This year, I'm finding I'm missing her a lot. You know how, when you are first married, and you have to adjust your lives at the holidays, trying to blend the two family celebrations together? Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you settle into a routine. In our case, we spent Christmas Eve with Hub's mom and her Hubs, and Christmas day with my family.

   Well, his mom got tired of cooking a big dinner, so she started taking all of us out to
a local restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner, then we would go back to her house to open our gifts. That was fun, and eventually, all of us, including my family, would attend. Last year, we held the dinner in her honor. Nearly my whole family was there. This year, we will continue the tradition. But we are holding it on a different night. Because bringing so many different branches of the family together is getting  more difficult, mom decided to wait until the 26th of December to hold the dinner. That way, all the younger married folks can still celebrate with their respective families. And my Hubs and son are unavailable on Christmas Eve this year, as Jesse's gift to his dad takes them away for the day. That's all I'm sayin', as it's a secret, and Hubs still doesn't know.

   I am still perfecting my chocolate truffle tart, and have more experiments to do. Someone better hurry up and eat what's left of the last one! Some of these are destined to be Christmas gifts, and I'm taking one to the dinner, for dessert afterwards at mom's house.