Thursday, December 27, 2012

it's over for another year

 I'm breathing a sigh of relief that Christmas is over for another year.

Just too much hoopla and too many expectations for me.
Though I enjoy the few weeks of sparkly decor and the generality of people
in a nicer mood, I'm always glad when it's over and we can all get back to
a semblance of "normalcy". I'm more of a quiet, stay-at-home kind of girl.


Though I must say that Christmas Eve at my own home with 
just the three of us was lovely. We had a fire going in the fireplace, snacked on
 hors d'oeurves, opened gifts, drank wine, and talked and laughed.
 My sweet man gifted me with four books from my amazon wish list.

Brian also loves to give me jewelry. His favorite jewelry place is
Blue Nile online. He wrote me a short romantic note about this necklace being
a token of our love for each other.


My poor husband looks so tired in this photo. He gets up at 4:15 a.m. for work
every day. Including Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

My sweet son gave me some of my favorite goodies ~ wine and chocolate. :-)

 The kitties got a couple of new toys, but just like little kids, their favorite
things to play with were the boxes and the wrapping paper.


Christmas day was spent at my aunt and uncle's house with my extended family.
I was so touched to receive an unexpected gift from my cousin's wife.
They live in Washington ~ and here I am in Illinois ~ so we don't see each other often. 
She said when they were in a little gift shop waiting to catch a ferry, she saw this book and
thought of me. She knows how much I love cats. Ironic thing is ~ 
this was another book on my amazon wish list!


 These three lovely ladies - my mom and her two sisters; my aunts - are three
of my favorite people in the world.


I hope all of you had a blessed holiday, in whatever way you chose to celebrate it.
 


8 comments:

  1. Me too Melanie! I feel the same way about Christmas. Every thing is packed up and order has returned to my little house! :)

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  2. It looks like you had a lovely Christmas...you have a beautiful smile on your face in every picture! It is nice to see the face behind all the emails we exchange, dear friend! Keep me up to date on what you are reading...I am always looking for a good book.

    I just did a new post...it was hard to squeeze it in with the kids coming and going. Al is having good days and bad...today not so good and it is unsettling. But onward and upward with the New year! Not tired of the Christmas decorations yet...seems I am just now enjoying them! ;-D

    XO,
    Jane

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  3. I love the build up to Christmas in December but the week ahead itself is not fun. Here people become rude and rushed. I find I want to do anything but be part of that. I told Jos this year that I was making a simple farmer's stamppot but he then asked me to make his favorite sate. Both are not normal to eat for Christmas. Here it is always what the fad is and it was eating wild game. We eat wild game at times but I will not be part of trends. I enjoy that our Christmas are quiet and simple. That is what makes us happy.

    I am going to start taking down my decorations tomorrow so I can start my winter decorations instead.

    I wish you a wonderful 2013 with happiness injected into each day of the year.

    Hugs from Holland ~
    Heidi

    P.S. - I think you asked what breed Dagi is? He is a Javanese or Manderin and they have overly sensitive intestines. He has really surprised us doing so well for so long. Each day is a blessing with him.

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  4. Sounds like you had a lovely Christmas!

    I'm glad it's over too. I think that all the hoopla starts too early so by the time Christmas rolls around, I'm tired and ready for it to be over. That being said, I had a lovely Christmas day!

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  5. Melanie - looks like you had a wonderful Christmas! I think a lot of people were ready for the holidays to be over this year .

    Judy

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  6. Your Christmas celebration sounds wonderful!

    Have a wonderfully blessed New Year!

    blessings,
    karianne

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  7. I feel just the same way you do. It seems like all of the hubub just gets to be too much. It looked like you were enjoying your Christmas very much. What was that title of the book about cats that your friend got you? Did I read what I thought I did? What I thought I read made me laugh out loud!

    This year my husband developed a bad cold two days after Christmas. I came down with it a couple of days later after playing out in the snow with my grandson. Playing in the snow with him was the highlight of the whole Christmas season for me. The only reason I was still up at midnight on New Years Eve, was because I was keeping myself awake coughing. And so, the Christmas decorations are sitting around getting on my nerves because it makes me tired to even think about taking them down. Hopefully, by this time next week, I will be feeling as good as new. Then I will do some New Year's celebrating!
    Happy New Year to your and yours!

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  8. Hi there Melanie! Just popped over to say hello. I am your newest follower at ComfyHouse!
    Happy New Year! We've got the same cold here at Dandelion House... sniff, sniff...
    Looking forward to reading your blog in 2013!

    ReplyDelete

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