christmas rush

from thanksgiving to christmas it is an avalanche of rushing time. sis had all her shopping done before thanksgiving. i still have to paint a picture and buy something for my son. but there are all those other 'serious' things that seem to have to be done before christmas day. my sis has to bake batches of cookies (i gave it up after the kids left), make lefsa, and more cookies. then there are the open houses, the parades, and christmas programs in which grandchildren are the 'stars.'
thankfully i had my hair cut and colored before thanksgiving.

we put up our christmas tree at the beginning of the month because sis's grandson (kindergarden) wanted to help put it up. he is a good helper. he always helps us clean the chicken house and really helps. but we still have to do some outside decorating.

my sis's birthday is also in the time frame between thanksgiving and christmas. i lost her present someplace in my room, but found it the day after her birthday. on her birthday, one of her son's family gave her some joke gifts. a little teasing. i was warned ahead of time so i wouldn't be shocked to see the two pillows i just gave to robin and james coming back to my sis. sis didn't remember that i had bought them, so she thought they were really hers. she also got a lot of stuff (as a joke) that she is not supposed to eat...candy, soda, etc. her real present from them was a purse she had wanted from the shop next door to her son's workplace. she also got a book and a scented candle; all things she is glad to have and use and not dust.

at this age, i truly understand my grandmother's wish not to receive any gifts that have to be dusted. both my sis and i have collected things and decor items through the years that are now more of a burden than a pleasure. you 'can't' throw them away because they were a gift, or because you yourself paid good money for the item, or the most burdensome of all, because it is an inherited item (supposedly treasured by ancestors).