Post-Holiday Roundup

I always have mixed feelings after Christmas.

There is so much build-up to the big day that on the night of December 25th, I feel a little sad. The presents have been opened, the stockings have been emptied and in a matter of days our little Christmas tree will be heading back down to the basement for another year in the dark.

Christmas 1966 with my brother, Paul

On the other hand, I won't have to listen to yet another rendition of Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You. So there is an upside to the departing holiday.

When we were growing up, I always thought New Year's Day was the saddest of all holidays. That's when we took down all of the Christmas decorations. My mom was big into the big day, so there was a lot of undecorating to do. In addition to removing ornaments and icicles from the tree, my job was to pick pine needles out of the carpet. When I was older, I had to use a razor blade to scrape the fake snow from the windows, then Windex them. I would grumble all the way, knowing all I had to look forward to was the start-up of winter term at school.

I think that's why I don't go crazy decorating the house. It's just too sad taking it all down at the end.

It would be a lot easier to take if we didn't have three more months of winter weather looming ahead. Mr. Ginley deals with this by crossing off the days between January 1st and St. Patrick's Day (which is the first day of spring as far as he's concerned).

I hunker down and make plans to curl up in the easy chair to read and do puzzles.  And dream a little dream of warm spring days and fragrant flowers.

In the meantime, I'll check to make sure we have plenty of rock salt. And hot chocolate.

And I'll count my blessings that I was able to spend the holidays with my family. They can count their blessings that January 1st will be spent watching football (and the Capitals play in the Winter Classic), not taking stuff down.

Happy New Year!

A Merry Little Christmas Wish

Every year, Mr. Ginley and I seem to struggle more and more with what to get each for Christmas.

What usually happens is...I get him a couple of books and I buy myself a few things and put them under the tree. In reality, there's not much either of us wants at this point in time. And, after all, the funds are coming out of the same pot. So buying stuff just to buy stuff seems silly.

In the past, we've focused on our son, showering him with games and clothes and stuff. But now, being in college, his needs are mostly the monetary kind. (Gift cards are a godsend.)

So, I buy little somethings for my copy team at work, and that's about as much shopping as I do. And I sewed a little this year. But no big stuff under the tree.

We talked about it this morning, Mr. G. and I, and we came to the conclusion that what we really want this year is to spend Christmas Day together, just the three of us. We're not going to sit around holding hands and singing Kumbaya or anything. But maybe I'll drag out some version of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. Or I'll watch some football with the boys. We'll sit around in our sweats and chow chocolate Santas and yack about not much at all.

I hope all of you enjoy the Day in your favorite fashion with those you hold dear.

And that, my friends, will be the real gift.

Happy Christmas!

Everybody Wants to Be My Baby

I opened my Yahoo mailbox this morning and saw that it was chock full of people who want to be my new best friend forever. Or at least until Christmas.

One-time purchases have put me on these mailing lists until the end of time. In many cases, unsubscribing is useless. Now that I'm in their clutches, they will stalk my email account forever. Bwahaha!

Stephanie's Shawl

Fortunately, I have the power of the delete key. That giant red "X" is my real friend.

Oddly enough, in spite of the glut of emails this holiday season (or maybe because of), I've been making a few of my holiday gifts. For some unknown reason, I've actually taken a liking to sewing and have been stitching up a storm.

I'm not the first in my circle to do so. Stephanie has been my inspiration. She's done it for years. At the master level in the art of crochet, she once made me a shawl that is flawless and beautiful. (See photo, right.) She's also given me hot chocolate mix and bath salts featuring some of my favorite scents. These have been some of the coolest gifts I've received, the ones made by hand in a labor of love. Also reigning supreme in my heart have been the cards I get from my husband and son, hand-written and illustrated with love and great humor.

As for me and my sewing projects, not to worry. I will confine my less-than-masterful efforts mostly to family. They come from the heart but will never be mistaken for store-bought. I'm also doing more local shopping this year than I have in the past. It feels good to support local artists and merchants.

In spite of my ramblings here, yes, I have bought goods on the internets. There's no getting around BarnesAndNoble.com. There's no substitute for a great book. And there's just some stuff you can't find in a store.

So, yes, I'll be getting those emails forever. 

And waiting for the discount. And the free shipping. Before I make my move.

Bwahaha!

Moving Right Along

My cubicle was like a reverse clown car yesterday.

I thought I had just about everything packed, but stuff kept spilling out of it. Old art boards with layouts from the website we launched eight years ago. Photographs from holiday parties long past. A 2005 calendar with cool pictures.  A dozen old magnets stuck on the side of a cabinet and forgotten.  A smattering of paper clips and push pins. Bobblehead dolls that were giveaways from some long-forgotten sporting event. Pictures of my son going back to babyhood. Matchbox cars (including, I am proud to say, the Monkee-mobile and the Partridge Family bus). And so much more.

It was moving day. And a moving day. I bade a fond farewell to the space I'd occupied for many years.

Over the course of the last week or so, I'd been sorting through my files. Some I shredded, others just pitched. And kept the ones I absolutely had to.

Then there were the catalogs and direct mail samples I've been collecting since 1990. Fortunately, I was able to store those temporarily in a file drawer in my old neighborhood until big file cabinets can be moved over.

Our new area has a lot less room for storage. This is actually a good thing, at least for me, because I tend to fill the space where I work. The more room I have, the more crap I accumulate.

Thinking back on this past week makes me wonder about our house and what's going to happen when we move. My original idea sounds better and better all the time: Tell the new owners that everything in the house is theirs, take only the personal items that can't be replaced, and start over again in the new abode.

In some ways, I will miss the old digs. But our new offices are awesome. I have a window seat (something I've coveted ever since those long car rides to Lima with my two sisters -- I had to sit in the middle seat with the hump at my feet). 

The ability to look up and see the outside world is great for maintaining perspective.

And my plants will be happy, too. 

Now all I have to do is unpack on Monday morning.

Time to start up the clown car!