wednesday
Last night on our way home from Pittsburgh we (Dave, Hazel and I) were hungry and stopped at the A and C Buffet. They were selling little waving cats. I've always thought they were cute so I picked one out for Dave to buy when he was checking out. If I get no other present I am happy that I now have a good luck waving cat!
Hazel played Giant Uno with me last night - lots of laughter. Then we made cookies. A house should have Christmas Cookies in it right? We used what was available and made oatmeal, coconut and chocolate chip cookies. The recipe used no oil or butter (I thought that was strange) and it used corn syrup. Something I had never used in oatmeal cookies before - not that I'm an expert on baking cookies. They turned out good, very thin and crispy/chewy. Maybe it was the coconut that made them chewy. That was a last minute idea - just looking around for stuff to put in. They were very hard to get off the cookie sheet though.
I woke up this morning feeling like, oh my gosh, I have so much to do and the house isn't even clean yet. But when I was going out for the chicken chores (crisp cold, the air smelling so fresh) I got a better hold on myself. What is SUPPOSED to happen on xmas morning? Happiness, gratitude, laughter, pleasure, lolling in bed, sleeping late. Dammit - I'm not going to start my day with frenzied cleaning! Though I did do a little cleaning - emptied and filled the dishwasher. But then I retreated to my room to do art. Be happy on this special day. I don't think of it as the birth of Jesus anymore. I don't even think of it as Winter Solstice. It's a day (or season) for gift giving and kindness. So I need to be kind to myself and go at my own pace, put some love in it!
Have yourself a nice day today.