Home Alone! Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas everyone!  It's starting to cloud over now but it's still 41 degrees F outside and the day dawned sunny and bright.  And windy, whew!  It feels more like a late March day than a late December day.  But I'll take it!  Sure beats 20 below zero!  I sure hope this weather holds for Mr. Don's visit and our departure to Spain. 

The Packers are the Sunday Night Game of the Week and won't be playing until 7 p.m. local time! That's giving me plenty of time to get yet more cleaning and rearranging done -- and right now I'm also doing laundry.  I also got the holes patched up that I managed to put into the upstairs bathroom's wall yesterday while attempting to re-install a towel rack in a new location.  I have decided that I'm going to shop for a small towel ladder instead, and if it's the kind that leans against the wall I'll secure it with sticky tabs!  In a little while I'm going to try and reopen the old paint can and see if there's any hint of paint left to touch up those white spackle-filled holes!  If not, I may try my hand at water-coloring the spackle to match...yes, I actually do paint with water colors on occasion, although I'm not very good.  I enjoy it anyway.  When I retire one of the things I want to do is take painting lessons (acrylics, oils, water-color -- the hardest medium to master), and step up my chess lessons.

What, you say, is this how you're spending Christmas Day, Jan Newton? Doing housework and laundry?  Emphatically - yes, Yes, YES!  I turned down several invitations to spend various parts of the holiday with family. I am spending it all alone except for my buddies the squirrels, who are being outrageously spoiled today with constant showers of hazelnuts.  I retired at 9:20 p.m. last night and had a GOOD night's sleep for a change; this morning I luxuriated over reading the Sunday paper with my coffee and Milano double chocolate filled cookies.  Then I made myself a nice big breakfast and looked through some old decorating magazines to decide if they should go into recycling or be saved (most of them went into recycling).  Then I patched the holes in the bathroom wall.  Then I washed off and dusted a whole lot of bric-a-brac around the house (it's amazing how much of that I have, I think it breeds in dark corners when I'm not looking).  Now my bedroom is filled with small piles of laundry and I'm about to throw in load number 3.  Some left-over Shepherd's Pie is calling my name enticingly from the fridge. 

Mother will be visited next week when Mr. Don can come along and she'll flirt outrageously with him and send us to McDonalds for food - a Big Mac Meal!  I can hardly wait!  Alas, the Family Tree project is on hold while I work through this temporary insanity of house cleaning, rearranging every movable thing inside this household, decorating and whatever. 

The stockings were hung...  Aren't they beautiful!  Look Ma, no hooks!

Oh - I got those lovely velveteen decorated "St. Nick" stockings that I picked up at the dollar store a few weeks back hung up on the fireplace mantle!  I could not get the brass cup hooks I'd bought screwed into the mantle under-shelf for the life of me!  What to do, what to do...  I hung the stockings from the candle sconces on either side of the book hutch in the living room while I fretted about whether to actually pound nails into my beautiful mantle (NO NO NO!)  Yesterday while at the Pick 'n Save with half of Milwaukee I purchased some white plastic hook-things that are self-stick.  I knew they would work okay because the hook part has an extra bit of curl and the stocking loops won't slip off!  I positioned them and got them on without having to take them off and start all over again, but as they were white they stuck out like sore thumbs against the rich dark cherry finish on the fireplace.  So, I did some coloring.  I pulled out my furniture touch-up kit and went to work on those white plastic hooks with my wood touch-up markers.  Now you can't even see them.  The stockings are hanging from them and I still can't see them!  Amazing what a little camoflauge will do! 

I've got a fire going and some candles going and Christmas carols are playing on the radio.  During sunrise I had the tree lights, the lights around the window and the door wreath on and it was so beautiful!  They'll be turned back on at dusk.  Meanwhile, the pine-scented candle on the "cardinal table" is burning and filling the living room with a lovely fragrance.

I love to sit in my Queen's Throne next to the fire and read.  It's the warmest spot in the house on the days when it's nasty damp outside or just cold, cold cold!  I light up the fire and my mood instantly changes for the better, or if it's already good, to the best!  Who would think a wood chair could ever be sooooo comfortable?  Let me tell you, the ancient Chinese sure knew how to design comfortable seating!  The back is angled perfectly to my back, the cushion (a gift from Mr. Don) fits just right in the small of my back, the arms give perfectly proportioned resting spots and I can lean my head back on the head rest and doze off with no problem at all (the arms ensure I won't fall out of the chair sideways).  For an extra dose of luxury, I take a pillow or two off the sofa or love seat to rest my feet upon.  Ahhhhh, Heaven....

This is the living room work station!  A mess, as you can see, but inspirational all the same.  When the candles
are going in the dark and smooth jazz is playing softly out of the computer's speakers, and a couple of my favorite
photos right there to gaze upon well - it's just about perfect.  I'm setting up a new work station in the family room, too...
Oh - the timer!  LOL!  That's from when I had the Shepherd's Pie in the oven last night.  Time to put it away!

When I'm finished doing my thing on my trusty Toshiba laptop I like to curl up with an afghan on the couch or the love seat and watch t.v. - or contemplate the fire as soft music plays in the background...  Tonight, however, I'll be watching the Packers and no doubt screaming my head off and getting a work-out jumping up and down.

Yes, it's good to be Queen, and it's good to have the luxury of being entirely alone, darlings :)

How I Spend My Christmas Eve

Hola darlings!

It's not over yet.  Right now I'm at 5:41 p.m. Daylight Savings Time for the Midwest, whatever that means.

I've got a Shepherd's pie in the oven and it's got about 12 more minutes to go.  I decided to make a suitably humble meal for myself this evening (and left-overs tomorrow), in keeping with one of the traditional Christmas stories from the Bible, about how the shepherds were in the field when the glorious angel(s) appeared to make the announcement about the birth of the Messiah.  I'll save the filet mignon for New Year's Eve when Mr. Don is here and he, Mr. Firemaker, can grill them outside on the deck (unless there's a blizzard raging, in which case we'll put the grill in the garage with the garage door open for ventilation). 

I got up early - before 5:30 a.m., and spent luxury time sipping coffee at the dinette table while looking at old "Traditional Home" decorating magazines.  I didn't see anything that rang my chimes so no pages were torn out; those magazines will now be trashed.  I have some more to go through --

After breakfast, I took a nice nap, aaaahhhhhh!  I got up shortly after 9 a.m. and puttered around until about 10 a.m. when I made the weekend trek to the Pick 'n Save supermarket.  If I was expecting it to be quiet and empty, I was quite mistaken.  I thought that most of the mobs would have descended last night after working; I was very very wrong!

IT WAS A FRICKING MADHOUSE!  OHMYGODDESS!

Fortunately, everyone (including yours truly), was in a suitably pleasant frame of mind.  The Salvation Army Bell Ringer in the lobby was making money hand-over-fist, and I am glad for it becaue as of a few days ago per WTMJ radio the S.A. was behind on its fundraising goal for the year.  I made sure to tuck in another dollar on my way out, and several people around me (some coming in, some going out) did the same.  Goody!

It was so crazy at that supermarket that while I got my essentials, I forgot one particular item - a can of tomato soup.  I use it to make my Shepherd's Pie.  More about that later --

So, I get back home. Oy, those bags were HEAVY.  I am generally pretty good at judging how much I can carry dangling in a cloth bag from each hand, but today both were equally heavy, and I couldn't gain any relief by switching off.  Such is life, sometimes.

 It was a beautiful day today.  The sky was blue - it never did cloud over like forecast - very few clouds at all and the sun was warm despite it being December 24th.  When I left the house around 10 a.m., it was still outside, but when I made the trek home, about 45 minutes later, a wind (as forecast), had sprung up and it was chilly when it hit me; but it was intermittent and not a screaming wind, more of a breeze.  For this time of year, it's positively balmy (consistently getting up to 40 degrees F or above!!!) and I'm growing increasingly suspicious as to just what Mother Nature has in store for us later on.  I sure hope she doesn't decide to dump on the 29th of December when Mr. Don is due in, nor on January 3rd when we're due to fly to Chicago and from there directly to Madrid.  I will be mightly pissed off at Her if she decides to do a number on us!  A pissed off Jan is something no one (not even Mother Nature) wants to deal with, let me tell you...

So, I got back home with stretched out arms and unpacked all of my goodies, including some Pepperidge Farm cookies for tomorrow morning to munch on with my coffee, yum, as I enjoy reading nearly each and every page of the Sunday paper :)  One of the joys of my life!  There's nothing quite like sitting with a good cup of coffee, equally good cookies (lots of melting chocolate in them), and enjoying both while reading the sales flyers and shaking my fist and yelling in due course at the Editorial Pages!

I picked up more hazelnuts for my uber-fat squirrels and I worry about what they will do while I'm gone.  Then again, after watching them and laughing at their antics for about 15 minutes earlier today, I see they're burying TONS of hazelnuts and so they will be just fine, provided the ground isn't covered with a foot of snow. 

And then, I decided to finish up the project I started yesterday -- putting up the large towel holder in the upstairs bath.  I took it down in November 2009 when Kevin the Handyman painted the room for me and put new flooring down; it had not been put up since.  I have been flipping the bath towel over the shower rod ever since, but decided to finally get things in order in that bathroom, including installing my Paris-centric prints in spiffy black frames! 

Oh Goddess, it was a disaster.  I spent at least 3 hours yesterday measuring this and measuring that, and and making pencil marks!  That was the easy part, despite half the wall being filled with pencil marks.  Then I started the job.  Turns out I didn't have the right kind of drywall anchors and the ones I had and tried to use didn't work.  ONE BIG HOLE IN WALL.  I called it quits for the night, last night.

So today I made a point while at the Pick and Save of buying and paying $1.99 EACH FOR FOUR DAMN DRYWALL SCREWS AND ANCHORS - times TWO!  I bought two because each package contained two "medium" size anchors and two absolutely GIGANTIC drywall anchors, and I figured I only needed the "medium size" drywall anchors to install my towel rod.  I mean, it's not that heavy.  Each side only takes two screws.  It didn't occur to me until today that the damn screws I'm using are just too fricking long!  DUH!  Anyway, my formerly pristine bathroom is now a mess, and I've got TWO holes in my wall too!

Look at those monsters!  I've started to fill them in with spackle - and what a tale that is! 

After I realized that this job is obviously beyond my skill-set, I dug out the plastic container of spackle from Junk/Miscellaneous Cabinet No. 3, where day before yesterday I found a dead mouse (another story entirely, darlings), pried the lid off with a screwdriver and found it to be - DRY. 

Oh crap.  I poked and prodded first with a fork, then with another screwdriver to search for any pockets of still-usable spackle.  NONE TO BE HAD.

Rather than giving up at this point, however, I took the dried-out spackle upstairs and added some water.  Mixed and mixed.  Not wet enough.  Added more water.  Mixed and mixed.  Too much water.

Damn.

Soupy as it was, I used it anyway because I was that frustrated and just wanted to be done with it!  The holes are drying out right now, as is the uber-wet spackle. 

Meanwhile, it's now 6:42 p.m., the Shepherd's Pie is finished and I'm chowing down.  I must say, it turned out deliciously, except it's just a wee bit wetter than I like, probably due to using the Prego spaghetti sauce mix and ketchup rather than the can of tomato soup (undiluted) I ususally throw into the meat and veggies mix.  However, the Italian flavors in the spaghetti sauce are delicious and since I had some left-over shredded cheddar cheese I added the remainder to the mashed-potato topping on the pie prior to popping it into the oven.  Delish!  At least something has gone right today!  Next time I make this particular variation of my basic recipe, I'll make up a roux and add the sauce to it over heat before adding it to the veggies, that will thicken it up. 

And, I have to say, I do like the two Paris prints that I have already added above the smaller towel rack (above the toilet):

The photo turned out a little "bent" looking, wow!  Probably because I was too close.  Honestly, my wall is not curved.

So -- "The Nun's Story" starring Audrey Hepburn is coming on now on PBS and it's such a good movie, I'm passing up "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Sound of Music" both to watch it.  Time to bid you adieu.

Happy Holidays --

2011 Christmas Slide Show Greetings from Goddesschess!

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Count-down to Christmas!

I confess, darlings, today I piddled around doing this, doing that, and not really "working."  I posted only a few things here, for instance; I did not research at all; I didn't even work on the family tree that is due next week (gasp!)  Instead, I took a lovely walk early this morning, when the sun was still out, with a fresh quarter-inch of snow on the ground, to Walgreens, to pick up a 50% off wreath hanger and a large pack of AA batteries (20 on sale for $5.99).  I needed them because, you see, yesterday, I succumbed to the magic of the season and brought a pre-lit battery-operated 24" wreath for my front door!

Oh Joy!

I'm so happy!  I haven't had a wreath on the front door in years!  Not since 1996 probably.  The last wreath I had was a first-generation plastic model that I purchased at Walgreens eons ago.  It held it's shape perfectly and had glitter and red berries on it.  It was pretty.  But, alas, I gave it away many years ago to a friend who at the time had little money and two young kids and needed a tree, ornaments, decorations - you name it.  I gave her every decoration I had, including "Christmas Around the World" collector ornaments, a nice artificial tree, the wreath, tons of lights, etc. etc.  Happy to say her kids grew up with my contributions, and despite an occasional twinge of loss every now and then, I was happy to do it.  I didn't get another tree in the house until Mr. Don's first visit - whenever the heck that was (1902??? something like that...)

Anyway, I saw this wreath perhaps two weeks ago when I made a foray to purchase some 60% off ornaments (I know, I know, I swore up and down this year I wouldn't do that, but it's Boston Store and they have such lovely ornaments...)  The wreath was then on sale for $19.99, but since I was already loaded down with a dozen large ornaments and had blown my budget (so I thought at the time), I turned my back on it.

Yesterday we received our year-end bonus checks and I was feeling flush with cash, at least temporarily.  So, at lunch I ran to deposit the check and then I ran even faster to Boston Store in the Shoppes at Grand Avenue and headed for the Christmas area.  Sure enough, ornaments on clearance, but not marked down lower than what I'd previously paid for them.  Drat!  Then, I turned and GASP! there was a tower of boxes of those pre-lit wreaths on sale for the unbelievable price of $9.99.  Originally marked $50.  I know, I know!  Well, darlings, how could I resist?  I couldn't.  I plowed through the tower and picked out a likely looking wreath and hustled it to a check-out.  I toted it home last night on the bus in this gigantic red plastic bag (Santa would fit in this bag, I swear) to await installation.

I put it up this afternoon, one of those putsy things I've spent the day doing.  I managed to figure out how to get the battery case apart (it did not come with written directions, but since they would probably be in Chinese anyway...), insert the batteries, and get the case back into it's "rack."  Fortunately, there is an off-on button on the top part of the battery case that is easy to reach but is disguised behind the "foilage."  The lights are LED so they'll last practically forever but they aren't that dreaded greyish dead white but a nice and bright warm light, surprise surprise!

Back to today -- while I was at my second stop of that nice walk -- the Pick 'n Save -- the florists just happened to be putting out these gorgeous big glittery ornaments for a mere $2 each.  Another "I couldn't resist" purchase.  The single ornament I bought is now adorning my new wreath!

Here's a picture I took earlier this evening, sans flash -- can't figure out how to get the flash turned back on and too lazy to dig out the instruction book for the camera, oh well --

Hmmmm, on second thought, perhaps that particular ornament isn't the best selection for a wreath...
well, on the other hand, this is a Goddess-blessed house and the Hieros Gamos - oh, never mind...

It's staying as it is.  In fact, I just re-hung that center phallic symbol ornament so it's more perfectly centered within the wreath.  In future years I may add a few ornaments or thread some ribbon around it (the wreath, not the phallic symbol ornament), but for this season, I swear to you I'm decorated out!

Before I return upstairs to continue my off-and-on cleaning rounds in the bedrooms, here are the latest photos I could not resist taking of the living room. 

I've got a fire going right now and it's so warm and cozy in here, the flameless candles are flickering (LOL!) and earlier today I pulled out my stuffed grizzly bear (it's tiny, not full size, unfortunately), put a bow on him, and he's sitting on the back of the sofa right now.  I didn't take a picture though because he's away from the light and without a flash on the camera you really can't see him.  I'll grab a pic tomorrow when it's light in here or whenever I get the flash turned back on.  He's so cute!  He's so soft, and cuddly and smooshy - this time of year I'll take comfort wherever I can find it, even from a grizzly bear.

But - avast!  Soon the Winter Solstice will be upon us! And then the days will get longer by a few minutes in the morning, and a few minutes in the evening, each day, all the way to the Summer Soltice in June when it doesn't get dark until close to 9:30 p.m.! 

In the meantime, we combat the dark and the cold with our dressed up "Festival of Lights."  We decorate evergreen trees (real and faux), an ancient symbol of eternal life, with glittering ornaments and lights and every good thing we can think of, including cookies, candies and fruits!  We stuff ourselves with rich foods, cuddle and ponder next to fires, make lots of love (it's no coincidence so many babies are born during the summer, you know) under bundles of warm blankets, and drink lots of hot liquered-up nogs and such.  We busy ourselves (especially we femmes) decorating our homely havens and shopping for the holidays to find that just-so-perfect gift for our special somebodies, and we hum age-old carols under our breath as we cook and bake, even those of us who rarely otherwise cook and bake.  Even if it's crappy.  It's the effort that counts, and the critters outside will always eat it, even if I won't! 

Tree with faux-gifts (except for one real one) now arranged underneath the tree.
I'm loving that new tree skirt and my new jerry-rigged traditional star tree-topper.
Those gift bags cover up the "stem" of the tree nicely.  I think next year
I'm going to elevate the tree on some phone books -- an idea I saw this year
(after the fact) on the internet!  It will make it easier to crawl around underneath and
arrange the tree skirt and gifts!

In this photo you can see the "cardinal" framed pics I added on the right side and underneath the tick-tock on the left.
No close-ups of those!  This is the warm cozy glow of my evening/night-time living room.  As the pillow on the
chair by the fireplace says "It's Good to be QUEEN."