Week 49 - All About Christmas

 I woke up Monday and cancelled my Christmas trip ticket before breakfast. I had already made the decision to stay home and safe for Christmas so it was time to cancel. With that done, I was ready for re-entry to work and to start plugging away at the Christmas to do list I'd made on Sunday.

I made it through my first day back at work and took an at home covid test at 5:00 (48 hours from leaving the airport), which came back negative so I was good to go to knitting. Yay! Now to get going on Christmas.

First up was shopping in downtown Wahoo when I went to get my grab and go lunch on Tuesday. I found a few things for Carolyn and bought a few groceries at The Warehouse, which would get me through to the weekend when I could grocery shop. Nice. I trained all afternoon so the day went quickly. I normally cook on Tuesday nights but with minimal groceries in the house, I ate some baked ziti from the freezer. I had thought I'd thawed eggplant parm so was disappointed but survived.

Wednesday was my first one back on campus but it started with a cortisone shot in my thumb. I was at the ortho at 8:30, dropped the charity hats I'd knitted on a friend's porch to include with the donations for the elementary school his department adopts every year, dropped books at the Library Commission and was at work shortly after 9:00 for a get together for one of the accountants who was leaving UNL. It was great to see people in person and then it was on to our 10:00 team zoom. Shortly after, it was time to pick Dodie up for lunch at Cracker Barrel. I'd parked at a meter all morning and so parked in a garage for the afternoon. I spent the afternoon doing monthly reports, finishing right at the end of the day, when I drove my boss to his car to offload the circular saw from my garage that I was gifting him. Then it was on to Menard's, where Darla was meeting me to help me pick out my trees. I had sticker shock but got my trees - one for the deck and one for outside - plus a wreath and a gorgeous poinsettia. We spent so long chatting in the parking lot that I skipped grocery shopping in favor of getting home in time for Survivor. How's that for crossing things off?

It was unseasonably warm on Thursday so I put up my deck tree over lunch after getting back from doing a huge cash deposit from the Friends of the Library holiday decoration sale. I only managed to get it up but the decorating only took 5 minutes at 5:00 because it's just a single string of white lights and red bows. My deck tree brings me joy and will stay up long past winter. I ate the rest of the ziti and headed to the library for book club at 6:30. We had a good discussion and then chatted on the sidewalk so I got home later than I'd planned but you have to take advantage of the warmer weather while it's here.

I was determined to finish my shopping on Friday so started work early and worked through lunch so Andrea and I could leave for Omaha at 3:30. We started at Trader Joe's then went to World Market, where my goal was to fill in the gaps on Carolyn's stocking. I did great there, so much so that we skipped 5 Below. I wanted to hit Dollar Tree for some Christmas picks for my outdoor pots but couldn't find the one I'd looked up online (obviously not well) so we went to Aldi. I did a big stock up since I'd cleared my food out before my cruise and hadn't shopped since. We were home just after 8:00 and I was happy to be done with my Christmas shopping.

My goal for the weekend was wrapping, packing and shipping my stocking boxes. I briefly considered slamming through it to get at least one in Saturday's mail but I talked myself down from that idiocy so I could enjoy it. After a couple of catch up phone calls in the morning, I headed to the library in hopes of finding the fake Christmas flower picks I'd failed to get. It was a bag sale so I found a few picks and then a few other festive things to fill my bag. I used the picks and cuttings from both of my trees to make pots for the front and side doors. After lunch, I blazed up some Christmas tunes and wrapped one lot of presents. Then I finished my sister's mittens, which were the last knitting for stockings. I might have done more but my neighbor who fosters kittens invited me over for some kitten fun, which was a wonderful way to end the day. 

On Sunday, I wrapped and packed the rest of the stocking stuff, having to go out again to buy a battery for my scale. By the end of the day, my boxes were ready and I had a pick up scheduled for Monday. My inside tree was up but not decorated but I was feeling good about my progress. I hope your holiday prep is going well and that you find some joy in getting ready. With the heat was off for me, I plan to enjoy the rest of the holiday season. Ho ho ho!