Beyond the End of the World

Left: First grade ornament
Right: Kindergarten ornament

I would not have been surprised if the world ended yesterday as predicted. With very good news (I got a raise!) and very bad news (heartbreaking events in CT), plus the usual stresses and delights of the Christmas season, plus two old communication issues coming back up on the same exact day (which was the same exact day the shadow of Mercury in Retrograde passed... coincidence??)--things have just been wild and crazy. Have you felt that way too?

Yet here we still are (I think). That means Christmas is really going to happen so I gotta get organized! Guess what--a list!

Tonight:

• Waffle dance party! "Gangnam Style" Kinect dancing has been promised.
• Gift assessment--what did we actually get for people, and are there any gaps? We'll spread everything out, make piles, and hopefully wrap.
• Cookie dough making.

Tomorrow (Sunday):

• Baking day
• Last minute shopping
• Cheese platter pickup. I'm excited about this one--I ordered a selection of three cheeses from Brattleboro Cheese . You just place your order (I did a custom selection and they were totally accommodating), pay, then return on the designated day to pick up your cheeses.
• Run. The snow seems to be melting, so maybe I can run outside tomorrow. 
• Watch Elf. Or maybe part of Lord of the Rings.

Monday, Christmas Eve:

• Work until noon or 1.
• Go to my NEW GYM (same as my old gym) to run and maybe take a sauna.
• Bake ham (I plan to glaze it with red pepper jelly... thanks Ma!)
• Bake pie (I already have my lucky 9 apples picked out)
• Assemble my first ever Christmas Eve dinner. Besides ham and pie, I will make my famous Light & Silky Mashed Potatoes (with help from the food mill) and try a brussels sprouts recipe that involves both mustard and mustard seeds
• Have the traditional reading of Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs and The Night Before Christmas with Douglas W. Gorsline illustrations
• Hang stockings with care
• Wrap anything else that needs it, assemble baked goods
• Listen to a lot of Christmas music 
• Devise breakfast strata to refrigerate overnight (sausage, eggs, bread, scallions, etc)

Tuesday, ChristmasSSSSSS!!!!!

• Children's eyes all aglow
• Eat strata, make full pot of coffee
• Family times
• Finger foods--cheese platter, crackers, a mozzarella/tomato salad, carrots, olives
• dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a merry Solstice and happy winter. I hope the next few days are cozy and bright and satisfying for you and family. It is a special time of year... GO SUN!!!!