Wanna see our tree?

It's Officially Christmas Season

I am one of those grumpy people who don't like to see Christmas decorations or hear Christmas music or watch Christmas movies before Thanksgiving.  It is just so very, very, wrong.  Any time after Thanksgiving Thursday is good for me.  Some years we wait until a couple of weeks before Christmas, some weeks we start earlier here at the So Cal Cinema.  This year?  We're gonna start earlier.

One reason I want to get in the Spirit of the Season early this year is to make up to the kids for last year's sucky Christmas season.  I just could not pull it together.  This year, Paul and I have a plan. A plan is good.

Another reason I want to start getting in the Christmas Spirit is to really get into the Christmas Spirit.  I am determined to celebrate Advent this year and that begins on Sunday.  I hope to pull out our Advent wreath and have candle lighting and a short devotion on Sundays.  It helps keep the focus of Christmas on Christ and his first coming instead of on the more secular aspects that vie for attention.

The final kicker, though, is this post by one of my top five favorite bloggers of all time. Her story of a two thousand year old coin made me immediately think of The Bishop's Wife, my number one favorite Christmas movie of all time in which an old Roman coin features.  Number One.  Not It's a Wonderful Life, which makes me appreciate my life. Not A Christmas Story, which makes me guffaw. Not How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which makes my heart grow.  Not A Christmas Carol, which keeps be from being a Bah Humbug.  Not Elf, which, let's face it is one of the sweetest movies of all time.  Nope, it's The Bishop's Wife for me.

It has David Niven, Loretta Young... and (swoon) Cary Grant as an angel sent to help out a bishop who's gotten focused on a building instead of helping people.  The end of the movie features the bishop beginning his midnight Christmas sermon.  The words of that sermon are the foundation of our most meaningful (at least to me) Christmas tradition.  The Jesus Stocking. Simply put, it is an empty stocking, placed in the center of our fireplace mantel that represents the birth of Christ.  We put in it a list of the things we've done for others over the year.

Now... I just need to get Paul to hook up the DVD player in the living room.  I'm resting up from a round of migraines and I do not plan on getting off the couch for most of the day.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas Halloween!!!!

I guess it is time, then, to take down the last of the Christmas decorations from last year.

Yes, 9 months and 4 days after Christmas, I finally took down the last bits of Christmas cheer--our Christmas cards.

 

Our special window, it has the Christmas spirit ALL year round!!!

 

Our little card-holding angels have really worked overtime!!!

 

Finally, a holiday-free window. Now, if we just had window treatments!

Gone with the Wind

Well, the air is pretty and clear here in So-So Cal these days. We had so much wind it just blew the smog right out of town. I'm sure it will be back soon but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Just 13 days until Christmas... Paul and I had decided that we would only buy presents for our kids this year to me more prudent financially. It's a good thing because I paid the bills last night and whew, the money is where? I don't know, but it isn't in our checking account! Fortunately, we get paid once more before Christmas so I can finish shopping for Colin and Marley but our hoped for post-Christmas trip to Oklahoma is a goner.

Colin is cruising through school so far. He had two big projects coming up before the end of January so I hope he will do well on those. He and I met up with some of his former elementary school classmates on Sunday. I really enjoyed visiting with the moms. Colin isn't too big on the organized get togethers but I think it was good for him to connect, even briefly, with a lot of the kids he's known since he was 2 1/2 and in preschool.

Marley starts basketball tonight. It is through a local church. She isn't all that excited about any sport with a ball because she says she can't do it. Well, we're gonna try. We never replaced gymnastics with anything and she needs the exercise, to keep busy and it doesn't hurt for her to try something new. In addition to the sports scene, she is busy working hard on her mouse part for the class play. She and the other three mice actually do a really cute job. Aunt Monica and Grandma Bogan slaved over four mouse heads for the costume, plus a cat head and some tails to boot! Paul will be doing sound for the five performances so it is an all around family affair.

Paul is back from what should be his last trip before Christmas. He headed up to New York City when he was done with the New Jersey and sent back pictures via his camera phone. While in the Big Apple, he made a point of seeing Les Paul play at Iridium. He brought back jewelry for me and Marley (earrings for me and a necklace for Marley) and a t-shirt from a skateboard shop for Colin. Oh yeah, a major, semi-sweet hunk of chocolate made it to our house, too.

I had my usual collapse after a longish trip. My CPAP treatment wasn't going all that smoothly for a few days so I was in worse than usual form. The last three or four nights have been better and I can see the difference. Viva la difference! I've been reading quite a bit and just finished a book called Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. It is a fictional story about a town in England that quarantined themselves when the Plague reached their village. It is based in historical fact but because it happened in 1665-66, there is very little known about what happened during that year in the village. The story is very interesting and I did really enjoy it. If I wanted to go all Lit Major on it, there were some things that didn't fly with me but all-in-all a thumbs up.

So, here we are. 13 days before Christmas. All is well in the family. I don't have a lot of Christmas hustle and bustle to deal with although the play hustle and bustle will more than make up for that. I'm hoping we can sit back and enjoy the secular aspects of the holiday whilst keeping the true meaning of Christmas in the forefront of our hearts and minds.

Born Once

Born once.
That's enough.
Jesus was born once,
for us.
That's enough. That's love.
Love is once for all
for all of us.
Jesus will come
He who was once born.
He will come when he will
Love is once for all
For all. That's enough.

Madeleine L'Engle

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Gone with the Wind
Release Date 1939
Directed by Victor Fleming
Starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable