March 14th 2020

November 2nd 2014

What a strange Sunday. I woke up not feeling great, but not sick, just weird.



John told me to have a pyjama day.



Normally, that would mean a lazy day laying in bed reading.
Instead, I spent the day doing small chores, printing Christmas planners for other people, doing small clean up jobs, researching a few projects on line and making a Mexican dinner.

I am loving this Christmas planning site. http://christmas.organizedhome.com/
A lot of the big holiday is the planning before hand. The organizing of all the things you hope to happen. It suits me well and so far I have found it very helpful and inspiring.

I have to say, John was the mover and shaker today. The man went out and had coffee with a buddy this morning and then made sure the windows were weatherproofed, the floors swept, tools away, boat out of the backyard for pick up tomorrow, a delivery made, he got his own groceries, got a tamper out for Dennis, put a battery in the Saturn and watched a little CSI with me.

Judy worked all day.





So, it is time for the 8 things that could make your Christmas better....

• Don’t schedule yourself too tightly during the holidays. Before making an appointment ask yourself “can this wait until after Christmas?”
  
• Take a holiday photo each year in the same spot, like a favourite tree in your yard. In years to come you will have a wonderful record of the growth of your family and the tree
  
• Find out what’s on everyone’s Christmas wish list at thanksgiving
  (Sorry the list was late this year guys! It is a blog entry now too)
  
• Make an effort to attend every holiday party you are invited to, even if only for a few minutes
  
• Place your children’s stuffed animals under the tree as a welcoming committee for Santa
  
• Adopt a needy family for the holidays. Let each member of your family buy the gift for the person closest to their age
  (many churches accept non perishable groceries for grocery baskets)
  
• Fill your home with the holiday fragrance of cloves, orange peel, cinnamon sticks simmering in a pot on the back of the stove
  (I did this for many years with the rinds from the clementines and apple cores)
  
• Don't despair if you are short of cash. Be creative. Looking back you'll discover that the Christmases when you had the least money were the ones that left you with the best memories
  (like homemade dishcloths and scarves or a handmade ornament)

Where does the time go? It seems like only a very short time ago, I was reading this book to Judy for the first time, sticking post it notes on the pages she thought sounded like fun. This year I have bought her her own copy as a gift.

There is just so much I want to do with Judy. Now to get it organized and figure out just how to do it and not get stressed trying.

I want a wonderful Christmas......... it doesn't have to be perfect.

Good night