Ready or not..

Christmas will be here in no time flat. Only 18 days left. This month will fly by, as it always does, and as usual at this point in the year, I've done very little to prepare.

I guess it would be different if we had a bigger (or closer) family, if there were any kids involved, or if we were religious. Since it's just me, Gregg, and our houseful of pets the celebration is usually pretty limited. Buying and putting up a Christmas tree seems kind of pointless, since no one will see it but us. I had looked forward to my friend Marla's baby this Christmas. Little Alice would have been nearly a year old by now had she lived and I had made plans last year to put up a tree and lots of lights just for her. It's strange to miss someone that you never got a chance to know. How I would have spoiled that little girl! And of our nieces and nephews, the youngest just turned 21 years old and is away at college. I doubt we see her at all this holiday season, or her brother and cousins. Too much decorating just seems like a big drain of time and resources under the circumstances.

I did go through the closet where we store holiday stuff and pull out a few things that were easily set up (and will be easily taken down) yesterday. Here's one of them: a lighted wreath for our dining room table:

I also strung a big string of colored lights above the dogs' bed in the garage for fun. We always use the garage as our main entrance so it's cheerful to see the lights once it gets dark. Ginger, George, and Marco all have stockings that we will hang up by the fireplace on Christmas Eve . (Their daddy always brings home tons of treats and toys from the pet store to fill them with). Gregg and I usually try to buy one big mutual gift together at Christmas to save the extra stress of shopping for each other--this year we're planning to buy a new, nicer tv. We always do small gifts for friends and coworkers, something inexpensive and preferably consumable like wine or cookies or a candle. One good morning out, and I can get all of our shopping done relatively easily. And I just picked out our Christmas cards and started preparing them to send. That's one holiday tradition I enjoy and wish more people took part in. I love holiday cards!

How are you all preparing for the big day?

It's beginning to look....nothing like Christmas

So, true to form, December is rolling up it's sleeves and preparing to have it's way with me.

I've posted before about how bad stuff always seems to happen to me around Christmastime. Well, yesterday my husband finally went to the doctor after almost a month of having a "chest cold" that he couldn't shake. It kept getting worse and worse until I insisted he go get it checked out. He is the kind of guy that will try to "tough it out" and get better on his own. Sometimes that isn't such a good idea.

Turns out he has a bad case of pneumonia. They almost admitted him to the hospital. As it is, they sent him home with lots of drugs and a breathing machine and instructions to come back in a few days for a CAT scan.  The initial x-rays they did showed a lot of fluid in his lungs and they have to make sure it responds to treatment.  I think the doctor scared him a little, which may be a good thing.


He hates going to the doctor.  He's also very suspicious of drugs, and rarely will take so much as an aspirin unless he really, really has to.  I've been nagging him for two weeks to go get this "cold" checked out.  He finally gave in after a full month of being sick.  I wish  he would take better care of himself and make his health a priority.  He works too much, for one thing, and when he gets sick he will rarely take time off .  I appreciate his strong work ethic and good intentions, but it's foolish to ignore or try to "tough out" illness.  And it scares me that he does so!

So this December I'm hoping we don't have to spend the holidays at the hospital.  The doctor gave him a big shot of an antibiotic on the spot, and four prescriptions to fill.  The CAT scan of his lungs in a few days will determine whether or not he can stay at home to recover.  Even if he can stay at home, it's going to be a while before he's fully well.  So.....

.......I'm beginning to think this will be the year we skip the whole holiday celebration.  I just haven't had the time or energy to do anything, unless you count stringing two strands of white lights on a houseplant! (Seriously, that is the whole extent of my holiday decorating.)  We had already discussed not exchanging gifts this year with our families due to some members having financial hardships, so we haven't done any shopping.  Between busy retail jobs and GB being sick,  there has hardly been a thought given to anything like that in our house this year. I am surprised to find that (at least at this point) I don't really care much.

 I know this is a time of great fun and excitement for most people, and I hope I don't sound like Scrooge. I will continue to try to post little bits of holiday stuff here and there for the blog party.  I hope everyone reading is having a wonderful Yule/Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday. I've been enjoying all the holiday blog posts out there. They add a bit of holiday sparkle to my moments of free time. And holiday sparkle is something I seem to be lacking this year!