My Shop

Finally put a new item on my Etsy shop.  Check it out:

A Christmas Moment

Just a quick story.  Thursday I got a call from the young man that usually drives Santa's fire engine at the Manhattan Stroll.  He wondered if it would be possible for Santa to stop by early on Christmas Eve because his mother-in-law was dying and he just wanted to keep the kids' spirits up during this hard time.  Turns out he lives next door to my daughter-in-law's sister.  Stan stopped by yesterday and saw the man's kids and he could tell it was a really tough time for the family. 

Got a call from my daughter-in-law a while ago.  The mother-in-law passed away this morning.  He told Millie's sister that having Santa come made Christmas for them.  What a privilege Stan has to touch lives like this!

Our Day

It was a quiet day here, with only five of us-Steve, Sydney, Stan, myself, and my sister from Helena.  I miss the big group-setting up the extra tables, tons of food everywhere, playing dominoes (Syd got a Wii so there were no dominoes today) and me making lattes for everybody.  Hardly worth firing up the espresso machine today.  It was a good day though.  I could set the table in my pretty linens and goblets, and the meal was easier.  Not sure why that was because I made pretty much the same things and the same quantities as always-lots of leftovers for us.  A big prime rib, Hubby deep fried a turkey, parmesan potatoes, salads, and topping it off with raspberry cheesecake.  Whew!  It was surely a lot of food.

We were all so excited about Sydney getting a visit from Santa.  You'll never guess who was the last one out of bed-yup, Syd.  He was worn out from all the anticipation, I guess!  He loved his gifts, especially the Wii that Santa brought him.

We have another get-together with Stan's family tomorrow, and with the oldest son and his family on Friday afternoon.  We'll have a long spread-out Christmas, but that isn't so bad.  We've done it this way for as long as I've been married, and I think it's better for the kids because they don't suffer so badly from sensory overload.  My kids never did wake up at 4:00 to see what Santa brought them because they had opened all their other presents the night before.

Hubby gave me a new office chair for my sewing room-my old one is so goofy it keeps trying to buck me off!  He thinks he should have given me a new camera he saw too, something with lots of bells and whistles but tinier to fit in my purse.  I said it was OK, I was happy with what I got, but he wants to stop by Office Depot tomorrow and pick it up.  What a guy!

I've been knitting frantically, but it's all stuff I can't reveal yet.  After Friday I'll post what I made and who it goes to.  I'm even still knitting on one gift for Hubby and I'm hoping to get it done by Friday.

Hubby is needing me right now so I'd better finish this.  He makes jelly every year and gives it to his siblings and he needs my help with decorating the jars, so I'd better boogie so I can go to bed on time tonight.

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas!

Busy Day for Santa Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the Manhattan Christmas Stroll.  Of course Stan will be the Santa for it.  He will be at the school library first then ride a fire engine (I know-cool!) downtown to the bank where he will pose for pictures with a couple hundred kids.  The pictures are compliments of the Manhattan State Bank, something they do every year.  They print the photos right away and put them in a nice framed keepsake card.

The cool thing about tomorrow?  My three youngest grandkids get to ride in the big fire engine with Santa!  The fireman is a good friend of ours and said it would be just fine.  The firefighters are super to us anyway, they always give Stan a check to help defray the cost of his Santa goodies and the gas he burns making all his trips.  His favorite thing is to show up (prearranged) at someone's house and watch the kids' faces.  He loves it, but in recent years he has done more gatherings, clubs, churches, and day cares.  He's pushing 70 now and it's just less tiring to see the kids all at once.  Of course he's the Santa for the Manhattan grade school program too.

He still does as many house calls as he can, but the number is dwindling.  More and more of the parents are opting for the larger group setting.  For sure he visits the grandkids and he loves it when a charity group asks him to deliver gifts.  He has been asked to be a Mall Santa for years but has always turned them down.  This year his good friend, the main Mall Santa, had another important Santa job and asked him to cover for him at the mall.  He finally said yes, but they had already found someone.  It's fine, he was still not sure about that scene anyway.

I have to work but I get off at 5:00 so I'll fly home, change my clothes and pop in at the bank.  I'll miss seeing the fire engine ride but I've been promised lots of pictures.  And I'm sure the kids will be so excited I'll hear all about it!

Afterward it's our tradition for just the two of us to have a late dinner at Sir Scott's Oasis, a landmark Mom-and-Pop steakhouse.  A good day!

Here he is with Sam, our youngest grandchild.  When Sam wrote his letter to Santa this year, he made his dad add a P.S.-"I know you're really my Poppa!"