Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

I know, I know; it's all over but the dieting. But I do hope you had a happy one!

Actually, there wasn't too much over-indulging here. Rick is sticking pretty close to his diet, and Brian and I both have bad colds. I have five tins of cookies sitting on the counter that I intended to make up into gift plates for neighbors, but I was feeling too puny Sunday and Monday to follow through on that intention. (Plus I didn't really think anyone would appreciate me bringing the germs to their door.) Still, the three of us had a lovely little Christmas Eve dinner before opening our gifts, followed by a late, lazy Christmas morning. Once up, I finished preparing the dishes we were contributing to a small group Christmas dinner at church, including these butter horn rolls:
It can be frustrating and disappointing that after 34+ years of marriage (and 3+ years of dating before that), Rick and I have never settled on any holiday traditions of our own. I guess you could say we grew up with very different family traditions, and never the twain shall meet. But this year aligned more with the way I grew up, and it was sweet and quiet and satisfying – even Rick seemed at peace with it.

Christmas Eve day was supposed to be wet. But it was still just foggy in the morning when Rick left to check a patient and Brian was still sleeping in, so I jumped on my mustang for his daily constitutional.



That took my available energy so I laid down for a few minutes. Someone joined me....

Once we were all back up and at 'em, I worked in the kitchen while the guys worked in the garage. Rick built a gate for the access between the yard and the middle pasture (we've been 'making do' there for years), while Brian built a new set of nest boxes (the old ones had an enclosed space that was being utilized as a mouse condo). I guess my baking and cooking was one of my gifts to them, and their construction projects were part of their gifts to me!

We enjoyed a festive little feast for Christmas Eve,
including some picked golden beets a friend had brought earlier in the day, and then opened our presents.

We keep gifting pretty modest among ourselves and family, but everything is meaningful and thoughtfully chosen. (Blogpals can hit that 'meaningful and thoughtfully chosen' nail even more squarely on the head, perhaps because we have so many shared interests and passions. I'll just say am blessed far more than I deserve!) I also got Jackson and Dozer a gift. A good friend recommended Bark Nuggets after using them on her dogs, so I invested in some to see if it helps our boys with their aging aches and pains. They give Bark Nuggets four eight thumbs paws up!

Christmas Day has been sunny and dry, relaxed and enjoyable – another gift.


After we got back from our small group Christmas dinner, I rode Lance again, this time in the arena by the light of one shining 'star':
So that was our Christmas. The spiritual side of our celebration occurred on Sabbath, but I'll share that in another post.

And to all a good night, from . . .

8 comments:

Retired Knitter said...

The biggest gift of all - your husband's positive actions towards his own health! If continued, it is the gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas Michelle.

Michelle said...

I totally agree, Elaine, and I am very thankful for that!

Anonymous said...

It looks like a wonderful, relaxing holiday. I have had the cold also and it's made things pretty miserable... Hugs to you, my friend!

Goatldi said...

Christmas like so much in life is about what we make it. I did what pleased me splitting wood,walking all dogs in the back 21, partaking in 350 mile texting game with family involving animal Christmas gifs and our various pets.

Today brings two grandgirls to my door via Amtrak. Let the fun begin!

Jeanne said...

I'm sorry y'all were 100% well for Christmas. My Hunny is doing better, for which I'm very thankful!
Our delightful Christmas gift was a visit from our younger daughter and her husband, from Idaho! They were only able to be here for three days, and left for home this morning. It's a 600 mile drive, one way! Because of our daughter coming, our son also came just for a few hours yesterday, and we all attended a beautiful worship service in Eugene. He and his wife live in Milwaukie, and brought my sister along.
In the afternoon, when we had planned to have our Christmas dinner, the power went off!! So dinner was about three hours later than we had wanted. Oh, well! We still enjoyed it.

Michelle said...

I can't wait to hear about your family get-away, Ruth! Hope you weren't too sick to enjoy it.

Yo are so right, Goatldi, and I much prefer being home for the holidays.

What a wonderful Christmas for you, Jeanne! Well, except for the power outage. Friends in WA experienced outages, too, making me realize that keeping all our utilities was another Christmas gift!

thecrazysheeplady said...

Lovely!

Susan said...

I hope you continue to keep Christmas in the way that makes you feel the most loved. With our family small and spread out, and with Dad's dementia, it's a struggle to keep it cheerful. But we try! I am so glad that Rick's focusing on being healthier. That is a blessing for all of you. And those are nice nesting boxes! Love to you from me.