It’s over! Christmas is gone for another year. I am so SAD. I love Christmas. I love the gift giving, Christmas carols and Christmas cards. But the day after Christmas, I jumped out of bed and began the task of putting all the decorations away.

As you know I started putting it up a little before Thanksgiving; yes, 70 degree weather! Now I have to go out and take down the beautiful Christmas balls that are hanging in the tree outside my window and the wind is blowing “ninety to nothing”! The poor angel flag was taken down last week because the wind was so awful. For some reason, I do not like wind!

Well, I just lifted the my little Christmas tree down from the table into the leaf bag, that the Hubby was so kindly holding and put another over the top. Good bye little tree until next Christmas. Good bye memories of years past. The little pink pig is still on it. I told the woman that made it that I still had it on my tree and she gave me one of her “famous hugs” that nearly broke my neck but I could see a tear in her eye. MEMORIES ARE WONDERFUL. I truly hope that you all out there are making memories. You see next year I will have another birthday and man, this one is a “BIG ONE”. One of those big numbers, as my granddaughter use to tell me. Thank goodness it does not have a zero after it but really what does that matter. I am “healthy, not wealthy but very wise” But that is another subject. I will continue that another day.

I gathered up all the Santa’s in the house and put them gently in my “pie safe” All you ladies that are antique people know what that is; they will stay there until next year. One upon a time, I went to a friend’s house and she had a whole room dedicated to Santa Claus. I have never seen so many Santa’s in one place. She had so many; I could not even count them. She told me at one time she knew how many she had but then she lost count because people kept giving her one and she forgot to mark it down. You know I fell in love with Santa that day. Every time I see one that is “jolly” and “happy”, I have to buy him and bring him home to live with all the other Santa’s I have. Of course, the Hubby is never too happy about that. His favorite saying just “pops” out of his mouth, “Well what are you going to do with that?” It never fails, when I go to my favorite place “GoodWill” there seems to always be a Santa that has been given away. They usually look really sad because when it is 90 degree outside, nobody wants to purchase a Santa.

Back to the major topic at hand; you know I do get side tracked sometimes! I had to go outside and clean up the garage so I had room to put everything away. Why is it that at Christmas time you just “throw it in the garage?” All the boxes that FEDEX delivered the goodies I ordered are stacked on the table just inside the door along with everything else that I did not take the time to put in its place when I was taking it out there. Also I have these big tubs that I keep all the Christmas things in but now is the time to do things I really hate to do. THROW STUFF AWAY. You know the special thing that you thought was great in years past but now you didn’t think it was so special this past year. The problem is “do I keep it for next year or pitch it?” I hate that! But as the Hubby says, “You can’t keep everything”; if you did we would be covered up with decorations. Don’t you just love a Hubby that tells you what to do? He means well, I keep telling myself. How would I ever be able to make a decision without him? I am sure you ladies out there do not have this problem.

So the tubs are cleaned out and balls from the tree outside are placed with loving care in one of the boxes that were saved and I am really SAD by this time. But the tubs go on the shelf, Santa’s are asleep on their shelf and the boxes are out for the TRASH MAN. I know he will be sad when he comes to my house; but one good thing, he recycles! He keeps all the card board in one place on his truck. So for that I am glad.

Then I bet you thought I was through for the day but NO, wrong again. I had to tackle the REFRIGERATOR. You know you cook and cook and then cook some more during the Holidays. Everybody has their favorite and of course you have “LEFTOVERS”! Man, sometimes I wonder why we just don’t throw it out instead of putting it in the refrig. Not only does the poor thing have all this stuff hanging on the outside; pictures, recipes you are going to try and so forth; but now it is full of stuff that is too good to throw away but nobody wants to eat it because it is “LEFT OVER”!

So what did I do, you will never guess; I threw most of it away. But I kept that little bit of cabbage and made slaw to go with my “big old pot” of white beans that I had put on to cook before I started this day long project. The food I threw out really wasn’t wasted. I put it in a special place in my yard. You see I have a “Coon” that comes there every night to feast on my “LEFT OVERS”. I know she is a “SHE” because she looks like she is going to have “little ones” any day. Of course, the Hubby says, “That’s all we need more coons in the yard for you to feed. So I didn’t feel so bad getting rid of the things after all!

The beans were done, corn bread made and of course my favorite slaw was on the table and we sat down to a great feast. I almost forgot; the beans had lots of left over ham.

Well, all is well, at TG’s house. Hope you have your tree down by now. If you don’t; you better get with it.

The NEW YEAR IS coming up and you must be ready for all that is out there in your future. Its coming, birthdays, reunions and Sunday dinners. These events will give you the opportunity to start over again with decorations and more food.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY. Be sure you make your New Year’s resolutions and here is a thought for the New Year, “Reach out and embrace it, LIFE THAT IS. “ENJOY THE MOMENT IT’S LATER THAN YOU THINK!”