Many mornings I arise early, just beore dawn and sit in my kitchen with a lovely cup of hot chocolate and think about the day before me. Our kitchen table is an old oak round table with "lion feet". My barefoot toes fit exactly, in the spaces between the lion's toes. It's fun to scrunch my feet on top of his. The crisp cool weather has finally arrived in Texas. There have been so many false starts. The weatherman proclaiming, throughout Oct, Nov. and Dec. - "Cold front coming!" Only to have it "steam out" somewhere north of us. Winter is a season of relief from the scorching Texas heat. I'm not complaining about the nine month torrid climate, but I enjoy Winter, best of all. This season is short - best to have your Quacker Factory sweaters and long sleeve shirts handy in a closet and not folded away in boxes in the attic.

One wish I would make this early morning would be to ask you to stop in for a chat. How nice, if you lived closer. The hot chocolate is still warm in it's pan on the stove. We could sample some pumpkin bread and catch up on all the family news. We'll sip our hot chocolate from big cups laced with melt-y marshmallows. Yum!

Just like Santa, I’m making my lists and checking them twice, thrice and many times over. Lists for presents, lists for Christmas cards, lists for special days, lists for food and decorations, lists for houseguests, lists for items to include in a Christmas newsletter-lists go on and on and help to organize and remember all the little details that help make the holidays.

This is a season filled with love and happiness. So much to look forward to. When I was a child, one of the most awaited times was the delivery of the Sears & Roebuck, and Montgomery Wards Christmas catalogs by the postman. My brothers and sisters and I would turn the pages and look at each page so hard, the ink might be read, right off the page. Each of us would circle four or five items as suggestions for Santa.

Santa always delivered our gifts on Christmas Eve, after Midnight Mass. Gifts were not opened until Christmas morning. This gave time for anticipation and speculation about what was in each wrapped present. SIGH! Cherished family memories.

It is a pleasure to watch the delight on dear one's faces as their expectations are realized on Christmas morning. December days deliver their promise best, when shared. What a merry month!

Wishing you peace and happiness during this blessed season,

Eve


(Please let me hear from you: email me at eve@quackerfactory.com.) I love hearing from others Quackers!