I have to admit, this has been an odd Christmas season for me. It seemed to creep up and then bam! It was here and I wasn't ready! Cards went out late, I couldn't get my baking mode on, I didn't feel all that satisfied with most of the presents I found (and I still haven't finished shopping for when we celebrate with the kids). It was just odd.
But it wasn't without its surprises and delights as well. The holiday brought a visit from my friend Jerry, who lives in Paris. We spent a delightful afternoon catching up, doing a bit of shopping and walking around the university campus. It had changed a lot since Jerry's days as a student, including this monstrosity, the art museum!
The big shock? Seeing new buds on one of the magnolia trees we passed by. Our climate is indeed out of whack.
A few days later, I went to Port Huron, a city on the US/Canada border to have lunch and celebrate the holiday with my friend Suzanne. It was Suzanne who brought me back from Canada two days before the border closed in 2020 and we hadn't seen each other since then!
We had a long lunch overlooking the bridge that divides the US and Canada, swapped presents and almost felt like normal.
I also had one of my fellow Friends of Theatre pals over for wine one evening and we enjoyed a wonderful talk for several hours. With a few snacks, a nice red, and holiday music in the background, it felt cozy and festive. And almost normal.
I had some lovely packages come in the mail but none surprised me more than this one!
This little fellow is called "The Dupa." Probably 20 years ago, my college friends Patty, Andy and I, met for lunch at Christmas. We bought this little gargoyle we called the Dupa (after our college "family" nickname) and each year it would be sent to one of us in a round robin. Then, for about eight or nine years it disappeared. What a surprise when it turned up in a box on my step from Andy in Florida! It will go to Maryland next year!
Lizzie decided the guest room was her room. Between that and her advent calendar, she was a happy girl.
I was finally able to see and be with Rick, and that may have been one of the best joys of all. It was very frustrating to have him two blocks away and not feel comfortable being in the same house until he was cleared after the trade show. Big happy smiles! We paid Christmas Eve visits to some friends where we enjoyed a dessert at one...
...and wine at another!
Then we stopped at the cemetery to say hi to my parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Next year I might bring a wreath.
Then it was home to prepare for our Christmas Eve feast. But that's for another day! I hope your holidays were merry and bright!
Sharing with: Love Your Creativity / Pink Saturday
Looks like it all worked out in the end, Jeanie.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the holidays this year. I don't know if it was the warmer weather, lack of snow or what, but all of sudden Christmas week was here. I hardly made any art at all for the holiday too. Glad to hear you were able to reunite with Rick and see some friends too. And the dupa story is a fun one. I hope the kids and their mom are doing well too. Hope it was a Merry Christmas. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeletePrayers for good health to all!
ReplyDeleteYour holidays sound happy busy. Lizzie chose a comfy spot above the lively red throw.
Happy New Year! 🥳
I'm glad you had a good time, despite the setbacks! And I agree ~ that building IS a monstrosity!!
ReplyDeleteHugs ~
I like that gargoyle.
ReplyDeleteGlad you and Rock got back together, that's the main thing! Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteThe two men eating dessert could make a good ad.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you were at Freighters for lunch. We go there more in the Summer. Love that orange, cinnamon stick garland. A nice one for a non traditional Christmas...more of a colonial theme. I may have to steal this idea next year. Janice
ReplyDeleteI agree: it's been an odd holiday season, and I'm looking forward to the return to routines.
ReplyDeleteBut, look at all those smiles. And Rick back at the table, too. Maybe the start of better times?
Best wishes to the Little's Mama -- here's hoping everyone in their household is healthy soon.
Yes, this whole year has been like that. But alls well in the end and best wishes for a happy new year Jean!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to reunite with Rick, and some friends, but sad about you not being able to see the grandkids.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have ours around either, as the 5 year old boy got chicken pox and scarlet fever just 2 or 3 days before Christmas. Hopefully we will be able to see them before the end of the year and we can then give them their Christmas gifts.
Have a wonderful 2022 Jeanie!
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ReplyDeleteITTELKOM JAKARTA
Glad you were able to catch up with some old friends, and Rick got a negative test result in time for you to spend some time with him too. Hope the toddlers and their Mom are feeling better and making a full recovery.
ReplyDeleteHello Jeanie,
ReplyDeleteYou have been busy this holiday. Fun times meeting up with your friends. I hope everyone has recovered from Covid and are feeling better. I like that Gargoyle, he has a neat story. Lizzie looks very comfy in her bed. Take care, enjoy your day and week ahead.
The Dupa is wonderful. How great that it suddenly appeared -- that's the best kind of surprise!
ReplyDeleteIt has been an odd Christmas season. I got your beautiful card on Christmas Eve - perfect timing.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to get back with Rick before the holiday. I hope the grands and their mom weather the covid storm ok. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday, when you can finally see all your family.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about all of your Christmas preparations Jeanie, even if it wasn't all that you had planned and hoped it to be. I was like you. I just couldn't get my act together and then wham Christmas was upon us, too late for me to do half of what I had planned. I am happy that you and Rick were able to be together eventually and able to spend Christmas together. Covid had reared its ugly head here again and the numbers are worse than they were the first time around so we are in some kind of weird lockdown again. Thankfully I was able to spend the holidays with my sister, Dan and my dad, although the rest of the family was not allowed for safety reasons. I am getting so tired of this business, but it is what it is. I hope and pray every day that we will soon be past it. In any case I wish all the best for you and for each of us in 2022! xoxo
ReplyDeleteGlad some things were extra joyous!
ReplyDeleteI love your Christmas spirit! And socializing with friends and family is a great way to celebrate the holidays! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI just love your joyful spirit. You always make the most of whatever is thrown at you. Glad you got Rick back in your presence for Christmas Eve.
ReplyDeleteI love the decorations in that first photo. So many wonderful friends during the holiday season. To me, it doesn't get much better than that.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you could have one on one times with several friends. It is those little things that like you said make it feel almost normal. Glad too that Rick was fine after the trade show. What a fun tradition to pass the Dupa along through the years. Glad he showed up again and at your doorstep! Happy week between Christmas and New Year's.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly has been a strange Christmas, and your experience of this, and of it creeping up, is almost exactly like ours! Isn't that weird? And a bit unsettling. But you managed to fit in some happy seasonal times though, and it's wonderful Rick was clear, so you could be together and enjoy your feast! I hope the rest of your festive holiday is good too - I am guessing that, like here, it kind of runs over into the New Year?
ReplyDeleteIt's all been a strange season, I agree. I'm glad you got some joy during it :)
ReplyDeletenice post
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteHope your loved ones will recover fast!
Since the cases are going up, my family is staying in place.
Your cat is so cute!
Sounds like a very nice Christmas, Jeanie. How nice that you got together with a few friends. That dessert looks so big and delicious. Not sure what it is, but it sure looks good. Lizzie looks so comfy laying there on the bed in the guest room. Too bad you couldn't keep the little gargoyle forever. He's kind of cute in a strange way. The magnolia trees will look lovely when the buds open up in Spring. I'm so sorry the grandkids Mom got the virus as well, that's terrible. I hope they are all feeling better. And you made a special trip to the cemetery to see family and loved ones. Oh, how I miss visiting there. I used to always go there for a visit in my old town, the town I grew up at. But my brother reassures me that he still puts flowers on our parents' site.
ReplyDeleteI hope the new year brings you pleasant surprises, Jeanie.
~Sheri
How lovely to have Dupa come to visit your home after not seeing him for a while! Sounds like a great Christmas surprise. So sorry to hear about covid in your family, Jeanie. I do hope they will have a mild case and you and Rick will be able to visit them. Why folks don't vaccinate is beyond me!
ReplyDeleteThe Dupa visit is fun. Nice that you were able to see so many people you care for. Wishing you a happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteYou got big happy smiles!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you were confident about seeing friends. Everything seems to be getting more risky now -- your little guys getting covid is an example of how it's getting worse. I hope they make a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I'm glad you got to spend time with friends... because to be a good friend you have to have good friends.
ReplyDeleteHope the family is recuperating from Covid. It seems to be everywhere now a days.
Take care of yourself.
Happy New Year!
Your odd Christmas is my normal:)
ReplyDeleteWild about the buds. I found some Irises trying to bloom that had me reeling.
Glad that you finally got to see Rick and got to visit with good friends.
Here's to a bright New Year.
We too were keeping fingers crossed that our Christmas plans would go ahead ok, and thankfully they did. We enjoyed some wonderful time spent with family.
ReplyDeleteLove, laughter and so much fun :)
I am pleased that you and Rick were able to see each other.
Enjoy these last December days and have a Happy New Year.
All the best Jan
Oh my goodness Jeanie, I was late with cards also. Mine are going to be New Year Cards this year as I had a similar approach to the holidays. Days just got away from me. Oh dear, on the family getting Covid. Wishing for a speedy recovery. How great that you got to visit with all your family/friends, and that Dupa is a great story. I wonder what the architect was going for on the museum, and yes it seems that there are certain plants that are very confused right now. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteJeanie, yes it was one of those odd Christmases where our plans didn't pan out. But there was such peace even in the midst of it, and for that I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to launching into 2022 with you and am glad our paths continue to cross. Bless you!
I am so glad that Rick’s test was negative! Christmas came so quickly but it has felt that way several years for me. We buy way fewer gifts than a lot of our friends so it’s less stressful for me than it could be… but I have had a cold of some sort since thanksgiving so I am glad I didn’t have all that much to do! I am glad you had some normal’ish celebrations with friends! It’s nice to get those tastes of normal life even though they are more few and far between compared to pre-Covid times!
ReplyDeleteJeanie,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!! So sorry to hear that the kids and their mother have Co Vid... I hope they get better soon....Sounds like you had a great holiday all in all!! Happy New Year!!
Hugs,
Deb
Oh, what a weird, sad time.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found joy as well!
Thank you for giving me a smile (well, more than one).
To The Dupa.
And loved ones, here or somewhere else...
Christmas didn't feel quite right to me either this year. Part of it for me was the lack of snow!
ReplyDeleteI hope that the toddler twosome and their mom are feeling better now.
Oh this is so good you could see your friends. I also miss many of my friends right now.
ReplyDelete"Tha Dupa" made my day :D It means "the Ass" in Polish. "Dupa" is a light vulgarism here.
Glad that overall things went well, and most importantly that Rick was negative. Hope the grand kiddos and their mom are recovered! I know many people who had their plans cancelled for Christmas due to Covid. So sad. How fun "The Dupa" made a surprise visit! Lizzie looks awfully content! Hope you have a happy new year! We'll be laying low here in Florida.
ReplyDeleteJeanie, it seems that your Christmas turned out well, after all. Happy that Rick was negative and you could spend Christmas together. Wishing you a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHello, Jeanie. Such good news that Rick tested negative. A Christmas blessing. I believe the crazy weather and dreadful Covid have put quite a different spin to life in general. Know, I wish you and Rick a most Happy and Healthy New Year!
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