I Know it's Too Early......But

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! Christmas is happiness for me. Christmas is creativity and nativity and activity and pover-ity city for most. Maybe I am basically glitzy and Christmas gives me an opportunity to legally be a glitzer...Rhinestones of all colors, dangling gold and silver, fur and feathers and all the majestic colors of the Wise Men. The smells of apples and cinnamon and almond flavored sugar cookies. Pine scent inside our homes be it real or warming in a simmer pot. Decorating windows and railings, fireplaces, stairways, and bathrooms. Lighting candles in the window signaling a wayward family member home for the holidays and forevermore. Tinsel and teddy bears and peppermint candy. Giving. My favorite activity is giving and Christmas is the only time I can do it freely without someone saying I should take care of myself first. Or am I doing it so they like me. Not! Taking Tommye's Toppers (my friend knits beautiful hats and scarves) to the homeless shelter and battered women's shelter. Baking shoe boxes of assorted cookies to be delivered on a chilled snow covered day to the various people on my list. Brownies with caramel and decorated Santa's. Pinwheels, and Cornflake Cherry cookies next to my traditional Pfefferneuse of which I make huge pickle jars full and give as gifts...adorned with gorgeous ribbons I might add. My famous chocolate chip cookies and chocolate pie....Sprinkled bell cookies. And my Angel Sugar Cookie mold from 1995. Oh, Gingerbread men or are they women? Flowing lace packages....rich foil paper.....ready made bags with glorious pictures on their faces. Fireplaces crackling if anyone is lucky to have a real one anymore. God forbid an outage. I love going to the malls to view the individual trees all in different themes... My favorite is Macy's and Boston Store where one could spend $5,000 easy just on ornaments and other Christmas foo foo. I think I get this from my MoMo. (Maternal Grandmother) She was a

clutterer of knick knacks and paddy Wacs, whatever they were she had 'em... All very neat of course. It was just that every nook and corner was filled. I have to be careful of my nooks and corners or I will fill them!! This is why Christmas allows me so many of my deep passions and pleasures. Creativity, spontaneity, Glitz-city, and major activity. As the children have moved away there is much less activity. The Grands don't visit here much...they go to the funny farm...there is more room and they have motorized cars and chickens and the pony to feed. A golf cart to drive all over the farm....and many toys to play with. A small apartment doesn't offer much to small children. So to the mall I go to window shop, always coming up with ideas for things to make, just never doing it, or to blogging and writing. There is Gracie Allen and Lucy that need attention and my work. And the most important is the MENTALITY of CHRISTMAS!!!

I made this little skier fellow about twenty years ago out of salt dough, then baked him and painted him...whalla....I have a few others that have weathered time. I keep them in the infamous jewel box with the old report cards and such. What's with the blue dot for an eye? I have evolved since then thank God! Now I put a dot in the center of the blue dot. No, I don't make these anymore...just a joking.