The quiet hour

The girls are not yet up, which means I have the house to myself. I love this time of day. I have the radio on, so I can get the update on the Iowa caucuses and the late night shows I forgot to set the DVR for (I think I got the whole scoop, so I'm good). Not even the dog is up (without the kids, why bother?) so I can enjoy my solitude, plan my day.

Yesterday we loaded up one Christmas tree, watched one bad movie - we had to, as we had to see if the DVR was working (last week, out of nowhere, everything on it was flagged as ready to be deleted. I cleared it out, but everything was gone within two days. So I reset it and had to make sure it was working) - and then we headed to the mall. Maddie had some items to exchange (she bought some items in the wrong size) and Sylvia's $10 was burning the proverbial hole in her pocket. So she is the proud owner of yet another Webkinz. And I have new boots - my old short black boots have sort of a roundish toe, and I decided I needed a pointier toe. Done - and such a bargain!

So today I must finish packing up the Xmas decorations. Putting them out is so much fun - we oooh and aaah over each ornament, remembering who made what and when, marveling at the girls' 2-year-old artistic skills, fondly recalling certain vacations or times in our lives. So special - it is such fun. Except that one member of my family is sort of grinch-like at times and seems to feel that perhaps four trees are beyond necessary. With which I disagree heartily ... until today, when I have to put all this stuff away and this family member has gone back to work. Sigh. At which point I feel like four Christmas trees is, indeed, excessive. We put away two last night, so only two remain. Though we did pack up all the ornaments. And remember how I just said each ornament is special, has a story? Suddenly, last night, I was seeing ornaments whose provenance is a mystery - I have no idea where they came from nor what their relevance to our lives is. They were tossed into the box, or wrapped, and packed away. Maybe next year my memory will return.

I am also culling the decorations, getting rid of stuff we no longer use. And there is a bunch of it - some of it has been gifts, some of it, who knows. But it's going. (And that will include an item a well-meaning relative gave me just this year - not my style, no place to put it, so may as well freecycle it to a better home).

It's still quiet. And the newspaper awaits .... good day, all!