December 21 2017 - Unusual Christmas Trees #Christmas #tistheseason #Christmas2017 #boomerchick

I have a story. Years ago when I was but a wee lass, my sister and I were living with my grandmother and we were what I would call hard up. My grandmother tried her best but she was alone trying to raise two children all over again on an LPN's wages. She had a mortgage and was paying on a car to get her back and forth to the hospital so times were a bit tough. One year I decided to take it upon myself to go into the woods to the back of the house and cut down a Christmas tree. There were no cedars, which we usually used. They were all pine trees. But I didn't care. It was getting close to Christmas and I wanted to be the one to get the tree this year. I was only 12, but I knew what was going on. I found the tree and although I was quite proud of it, pine tree needles started dropping and it was then I discovered that people usually didn't use pine trees. But it was okay. We got through it like we did all Christmases.

It made me wonder if there were other Charlie Brown-ish trees out there and the more and more I looked, I found some quite unusual Christmas trees...

 

 

December 20 2017 - Wordless Wednesday

December 19 2017 - Christmas 2017 at the Boomer Chick's House #Christmas #boomerchick

I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away. My my my. What are my thoughts right now as I'm juggling a mental list of food I still need to get, have I bought enough presents for everyone and will I actually be ready in six days? Ugh. Too little time, but like in Christmas pasts, it'll get done and before you know it, spring will be here and summer and then Christmas rolls around again. Time sure has a way of doing that. You would think that after all the Christmases I have had, the holidays would get old after awhile and there for a few years Christmas was really rough - emotionally and financially - but for me anyway at the point I am now Christmas is magical. I am appreciating each day I have left on this earth whether it's Christmas or an ordinary day when nothing really major is going on. I have to because you don't know if a car can strike you down or you get some incurable disease - you just never know. So as long as I have my health and I have my wits about me, this is the way I'm approaching life and not taking any day for granted.

With that said, I thought I'd share a few Christmas pics with you:

 

 

December 18 2017 - Lemax Christmas Village 2017

I want all these!

December 17 2017: Embracing Winter Like a Trooper

So instead of winter coming in like a lamb, it roared in like a lion. We've had snow flurries and it actually did stick to cars for a little while but then melted. I used to hate winter with a passion. I'm a summer baby. Whenever cold frigid air hits, I'm down for the count so I try not to get out in it too much. You can't help it with the Christmas season here and you have to finish your gift-giving responsibilities, but dang last night it hit me. Started out with a sore throat but I took an Alke-Seltzer Cold & Flu pill...actually it was dissolved in water...and slept like a baby. Highly recommended.

I think I'm all decorated. Put up a few finishing touches last night - added the lighted garland to the back steps, plopped some batteries in the little wreath I put on the back door and turned that on. I guess I'm through buying anything else to decorate with.

But back to being a summer baby and hating winter. Last year, I tried something. I decided to embrace winter instead of dreading it. And you know - it worked (mentally). I had a bad bad case of winteritis before, you have to understand. So I'm really proud of myself for being able to switch gears and appreciate the seasons for what it was. I can't live in Florida or Arizona so it is what it is.

But you know, that was the best thing I ever did for myself. I live in an all-season area and have been missing out on the beauty of it all. Instead of closing my eyes when winter rolls around, I see the patterns the frost makes on the car windows. I watch how the weather has an effect on my summer plants (a slow murder). I am able to observe the ways the leaves change color and drop and you can admire the nakedness of the trees knowing in a few months they'll be full again. I now feel the crunch of frost on the grass and I love that feeling you get when you walk back into a warm house after a stroll in the crisp air.

One thing I do every day except for when it's too cold or raining is take Booder down to get the mail. I put his hoodie and coat on and let him do his thing in the yard, then we make the trek down to the mailbox. It's our daily walk, but it has spiritual connotations like you wouldn't believe. Just Booder and me. Sometimes the elderly neighbor is out and if it's warm enough, we stop and have a chat. He's a cool dude I'm telling you and when I grow up I want to be just like him. He's in his 80s and is as spry as anything you can think of. He's our neighborhood eyes. He sees all; knows all. He was one of the first people to move into these townhouses so he knows a lot of what goes on and takes great pleasure in telling me all about it which I devour like Cheez Whiz sandwiches. I love him.

Back to winter, though, the only thing that would make me hate winter again is if we had nonstop snow or the lights went out because of it or my heat pump went up. And of course I'm writing this in December which means we've only gotten a taste of winter so it's still all brand new so we'll see how this embracing thing goes.

But for now...I'm embracing winter and feeling really blessed I am able to do it.