Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Holiday Prep Already?

A "Jingle Bells" tune ruffled my feathers yesterday. An ad on the radio for lazer hair removal. Gift certificates are available, so hurry, there are only 57 shopping days until Christmas. Whaaaat!!??? Seems the great push for holiday shopping starts earlier every year and I start my great push later each year. Whether I'm in a grocery store or department store, I'm surrounded by the sights and sound of Christmas. And I worry, each and every darn year. Until yesterday, I hadn't given the Holidays more than a 60-second thought.

And to all of those super organized women who have their shopping done in July, gifts neatly wrapped, and cards written already, I am so impressed...but...shut up about it! I am laughing out loud right now... Christmas is my favorite Holiday, hands down. I get so giddy with lights, sparkly things, decorations, glitter, and foil wrapping paper and bags. I don't know why I wait until the week after Thanksgiving to get cracking.

It rained steadily all day yesterday and the sky was dark and gray. The misting rain was nearly silent and you could hear a leaf float off the trees and touch the ground. Just the kind of day you want to warm some soup and camp out on the sofa to watch I Love Lucy shows until you fall asleep. My dogs had the right idea...

My pond has become so unattractive. The annuals bit the dust and the Canna, after a real heavy frost three days ago, just shrugged in submission and gave up. They were so alive and full of color on Sunday!

A burst of energy bounded through the door around 6pm last night.

Mr. Biggins! He's a shot of pure adrenaline on a lazy day! "Let's get ready to r u m b l e!"

Like this photo, his visit was a blur.

Kissed Gina and Mr. Biggins good-bye, then packed away my aquatic crystal and brought out some of my winter crystal.

Hey, that's one item checked off the list of 250. Way to go, Mary!



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, I was always one of those crazies that start the days after Christmas preparing for next year...but two years ago I found a BAG of goodies I had purchased the year before and misplaced...so much for my organizational skills. Now I wait until late summer to get started....but still get perturbed when I hear Christmas music before Thanksgiving is even under way! By the way you are ahead of me this year!

LauraHinNJ said...

You think starting preparations the week after Thanksgiving is late?

Bwahahaha!!

Every year I promise myself to be one of *those people*, but it's just not in my nature to be anything but a procrastinator.

Do you keep your pond going all year in NC?

Mary said...

Jane - you have good reason to be behind on your holiday plans this year. That damned foot!

Laura - A procrastinator is someone who usually works well under pressure and that would be ME. In Maryland and Delaware, we ran the pump all year. I kept a heater floating on the surface to allow gases to escape when the ice was severe. All of our ponds were 3' in depth so I never worried about the fish. I just like waterfalls. Here in Charlotte, freezing will never be an issue, so I can run the pump all year. I'll let you know what happens in an ice storm, something we haven't seen here yet.

Susan Gets Native said...

I just can't seem to start early for Christmas. I always want to, but when the holiday music starts November 1st, I get all pissy and refuse to shop until December.
I LIKE your pond. I tried to make a marsh in our yard this year and it was a dismal failure. Well, the frogs and dragonflies liked it, but I am not an engineer, so when it rained heavily the marsh backed up the sump pump and flooded the floor under my desk here in the basement.
I don't like to blog with soggy feet.
OH: Your dogs REALLY need to learn how to relax.

LauraHinNJ said...

I asked about the pond because of the waterfall - we turn ours off because I worry what will happen with the ice.

Nice pond - would love to see more pics someday.