Tuesday, December 29, 2020

quiet christmas

I don't know about you, but I'm glad Christmas is over. It's not just this year; I feel that way every year. I think it's just all of it...the decorating, the list making, the present buying (finding the "perfect" gifts!), the wrapping, the did-I-forget-anyone feeling, the card sending, the baking, the anticipation, the missing loved ones that are no longer with us, the get-togethers. Though we didn't do that this year.

Don't get me wrong; our Christmas day itself was lovely. I made my annual breakfast casserole and we also indulged in an almond Kringle while opening our gifts. Of course, the cats were included. Later in the day, we had a video call and gift opening with Tim. We were hoping he could come home for Christmas, but he had to work.



Brian is usually stumped what to get me for Christmas, so this year I helped him out. I have a favorite artisan shop in a nearby town that carries a unique selection of handmade and vintage finds. A few weeks before Christmas, we browsed the shop and I pointed out some of the items I really liked. I stepped outside and let Brian shop and pick a couple of things while I waited. One of the items he chose was this handmade bracelet. He also chose a beautiful, soft winter scarf made in Germany that I was eye-balling. He did good!


Best of all, Brian surprised me with a writer's medic bag. (By the way, my shirt says, "Eat, drink and be meowy." It's a Life is Good shirt.)


This gorgeous leather bag is handmade by Galen Leather in Istanbul, Turkey. It unfolds to showcase places for pens, journals, and writing essentials. A friend of ours had posted about this bag on Facebook last month. Her husband had given her this bag for her birthday. I had commented on the post how much I loved the bag. Brian saw my comment and took it from there. 😉 


Here's a little history behind the bag.


Brian's hard to buy for. Not because he's picky. Far from it! He's non-materialistic. He loves books though, especially anything about Chicago or his favorite sports team, the Cubs. I ended up finding several Chicago books he amazingly hadn't read yet.


The end!



All the Christmas decor is taken down and packed away until next year. I was tired of looking at it and the house started feeling cluttered. Since our winters are mostly dismal and it gets dark at 4:30, I'm leaving up fairy lights and candles to cast a warm glow.

We have a big winter storm heading our way this afternoon. The first snowfall of the season. They're saying our area will get whopped with snow with ice mixed in, plus winds up to 30 mph. Power outages are a possibility. And it figures: Brian has been on vacation these past two weeks and he goes back to work tomorrow morning. I worry when he has to travel in this kind of weather, especially since he has a 25 mile commute. 

I hope to be back with an end-of-year post on New Year's Eve. 
💓



14 comments:

  1. Hi Melanie,
    I know what you mean about all the Christmas stuff being a lot and even with this year being less, it was still a lot.
    I was wondering about Tim, I always think about him around Christmas since we share a birthday.
    Your presents are so nice and just perfect for you.

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  2. It looks like you both got some great presents this year!. Wishing you a happy, healthy 2021.

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  3. What a nice Christmas you two had. May you have a lovely 2021. Love, hugs & prayers, FlowerLady

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  4. Hello - I enjoyed sharing your lovely, quiet Christmas. Ours was very much the same. My husband also loves books and so that is what several of his gifts were. I love that writer's medic bag. Beautiful, and so practical! Have a lovely 2021. I will stop by for another visit soon.

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  5. My Christmas stuff is put away too. I don't do Christmas presents anymore. I focus on birthdays because I feel that is an individual day, a special day for just one person. I just don't like the material feel Christmas has. And my grandkids get too much as it is.
    Brenda

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  6. I love your gift! Such a cool idea. I love your Christmas. It seems perfect and cozy.
    Mike had to come home from his work trip early because of the weather. This is when I am glad he isn't at a dealership anymore. But I know how you feel because Mike used to commute to Milwaukee. So I will say prayers for Brian.
    Stay safe and here is to NO POWER OUTAGES. :)

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  7. Very nice presents! Storm is coming our way as well. I'm ready for snow, but the ice possibility is not something I want. Your kitties are beautiful. Safe travels to Brian.

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  8. I love the writers bag that is pretty nice. Glad you had a great day on Christmas. Our was pretty quiet too. Happy New Year. Let's hope that 2021 will be a better year for all of us. xoxo Kris

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  9. Oh, that writer's bag is perfect and I love that he saw your comment and then bought it. How romantic and sweet! And I'm with you, I need those lights a little bit longer. I've put away most of the other stuff, but the trees and the lights are staying. xo

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  10. It was certainly a "different" Christmas. We didn't do the big family gathering, of course. And we didn't even get to have our daughter and son-in-law here like we always do. But we had a lovely 2 hour Zoom call with them, eating Christmas breakfast and opening gifts *together*.

    Those were great gifts! My husband is also hard to buy for but this year was a little easier because he took up model car building during the pandemic. It's always helpful when someone has a hobby. ;)

    I didn't put up every single decoration like I normally do but it's still quite festive. I'll leave it all up at least until Epiphany. And the lights stay up year round. All the best to you in 2021!

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  11. Your Christmas sounded a lot like ours. Quiet, but nice. Our tree will be up for awhile longer though. We like having it on at night. Prayers for your husband that he gets to and from work safely in that winter storm you're expecting.

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  12. I'm always glad Christmas is over. It's all become such a frenzy of buying and decorating. I notice that even the "normal" Christmas decor on home sites now has every surface covered. As I get older, less is definitely more and finding a peace in it without the buying and decorating frenzy is what I strive for. Plus, the less decorations one puts out, the more noticable and enjoyable they are! Even ornaments are packaged in stacks and stacks. I like quiet, nice and simple. Growing older, less is definitely more.

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  13. The grands were gone over Christmas, so we're celebrating tomorrow. I love the Christmas tree, but am ready to get things put away. Saturday. I'm packing it all up on Saturday.

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  14. Our Christmas was similar, lovely, quiet, and cozy. You know that I often feel as you do about Christmas, it can be overwhelming. This was a year without the craziness, and part of me liked it better this way, even though it meant not seeing loved ones. Low stress!

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