The best Christmas Present - three times

She arrived on December 10, 1970 with a lot of help from me. Twenty-four hours of hard labor and a C-section was all worth it. The best Christmas present until...

She stood on my doorstep years later. Her father had picked her up from the airport. She didn't want me to go to Strawberry Fields alone that year - 25 years since John had been killed. So my Christmas present that year was her trip across the country to be with me. Together we wound our way through the crowds that night in New York in Central Park in Strawberry - candles lighting our way.

This year she's coming home for Christmas. Uh...sorry. She's told me that Everett/Seattle, Washington is her "home" -I guess it's like Easton had become my home when she was born. Again her dad will pick her up at the airport. Her cousins are looking forward to Christmas Eve with Heather. I'm just looking forward to Heather - not like I haven't seen her enough this year.

But it will be so nice to see her here.

In Defense of Black Friday/Avoiding China

I never, ever, ever go out on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Never, ever...

Until this year. I saw the flyers with all the deals. I saw the times the stores were opening and I thought, "What the heck, I'm up early anyway."

And guess what. I had fun. Sure I stood in a long line for the Kohl's checkout but I was behind a nice lady with a written list. We chatted and joked and enjoyed ourselves. A bright mom had her daughter stand in line while she and another daughter went for their goodies, bringing them back to daughter #1.

I hit three stores in an hour - I knew what I wanted and where it was in the store. I took myself out for breakfast and then went to the fourth store. I'd started out at 4:30 AM and was home by 7 - the Cruiser full of stuff.

Most of the stuff I got was for me, me, me (almost all my shopping is done). But I found some great work gifts and something for Heather. And I had fun.

Now for Avoiding China:

It's very difficult - almost everything I picked up was labeled "Made in China". But I also bought some things from craft fairs and online. One of my favorite places is the SPCA website - got a couple of things from them. And for the person who has everything, you can get them an entire wolf family at http://www.action.defenders.org/. I have one - and entire family of wolves I've adopted for one year.

Nothing says Christmas like a family of wolves, or penquins, or polar bears.

Here's the Stor-ee

Pattie and I were going to a craft fair at 9 AM - any later would make it difficult to even move through the aisles. I was afraid I'd be late meeting her and I'd forgotten something. I rushed back to the front porch and lost my balance.

I grabbed a supporting beam that "went" from the small porch roof to the building. The beam broke off from the building and I fell, but I didn't fall fast enough - the beam smacked me in the right eye.

So - no it wasn't a bar brawl. But that would have been a better storrrrr-eeeeee.