Football and Saturday and Sunday too

The day started out issuing chill bumps to my skin as soon as I swung open the front door. After I did my weather check, I moved back into the living room and snuggled back on the sofa and wrapped myself up in a blanket for a few more hours. I waited for the sun to make it's way here.

Coffee and some sunshine and I was ready to get dressed and get outside for a while. I had to make a trip to the store and as I was returning home the sounds of "Sweet Home Alabama" hummed from my cell. The sounds of the husband calling to tell me he would be home around 1500 hrs. and as I pulled into the carport, the leaves crackled and spun beneath the car. 

Rainy cold days had caused me to neglect the outside chores. The big maple tree was shedding it's leafs and it's my job to get the garden tractor and mow them into fine pieces. It's either mow or rake and bag and, trust me on this, no rake fits my delicate ladylike hands.

I used to do that. I did it for months on end to collect all the leafs from that lone tree, bag them and drag them to the road. Now I crank up the little tractor and whip around the lawn. Did I mention it was 68 degrees here today?

The tree, not the maple, but the Christmas one is now standing in a corner, prelit and decorated with crocheted angels, baubles and tinsel. The wreaths are hung across the front door and beneath the porch lights and tomorrow I will finish the mantle and the sofa table. That's the total of the holiday spirit I manage. A few lights across the front of the house and I'm done. 

The fun thing I enjoy is the little stockings. I've mentioned this some where before in a blog. The little stockings are 4 inches in length and there are four of them. One for the daughter and one for each of the grandchildren.

The stocking rules are clear to everyone. We've been doing this for years. 12 days before Christmas, these little stockings are hung off the mantle. Each day Santa visits. Some times he leaves candy or lip gloss, gift cards or cash. Cash is 5.00, 10.00 or 20.00. Carrie gets change. She is easy to appease. The cash is the stimulus for all the attention these little stockings receive. You must remove what is in your stocking before anything new gets placed in it. One rule. Simple.  You visit and you check your stocking.

I've had one of them roll into my house for lunch, to pick something up or drop Carrie off and they rush back to their cars to make it a block away and remember they forgot to do a stocking check. I hear them roaring back into the driveway, bursting through the door laughing and shouting "I forgot the stocking"...

They have gotten smarter as the years have passed and they will remind each other to stop by and check their stockings. They are allowed to remove from their stocking only. They can't help another by removing and delivering to them what is in their stocking. 

 April seldom misses a day. Much laughter follows the hanging of these 4 little stockings and it's my favorite part of the holidays here.

Usually, I'm  relieved when this time of the year passes. I don't get the warm fuzzies. I watch the stressed out crowds of people bombarding the stores, stretching their credit cards to their limits and squeezing all this activity into busy work schedules and kid care and meal preparations and I say, "lets just cancel the whole thing". 

I stay off the main streets. Every shopper from every little nearby community will be cruising the streets, their minds on accomplishing one thing and careful driving has went the way of their budgets. Four car accidents were noted on Ambassador Caffrey, the main thoroughfare. My plan? To avoid as much intercity driving as possible for the next month and to look forward to the 26th of December. Bah Humbug!

We are promised more sunshine and nice temperatures tomorrow. I'll drop the top on the roadster, slip beneath the steering wheel and with the husband, make a trip to the casino 45 minutes from here. The husband isn't interested in driving the roadster. I worried about what he thought about my new ride so I was pleasantly surprised when he suggested we make this trip in it. I wondered if he would ever consent to any sort of trip in it.

I mentioned tonight about me making a solo trip this summer to WV.  If that flies, my next request will be a plane ticket to Germany for a month long visit. I'll start in Germany and see how many countries I can cross in a month's time.  Ideally, a spring trip with the husband, Eurorail passes, bike rentals and bus passes and a stop in Amsterdam I'm hoping for. I'm ready for a vacation. It's time to make like a freebird.

And a few words on the LSU/Arkansas game today: We lost.Nuff said. We are bowl bound but which bowl is the question.