It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Every Other Day

My holiday card...maybe. I might try a couple more designs before I decide.

Two weeks ago, when I hopped off the plane at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, I thought I was going to die. The temp there had dropped to the low 40s. Thank goodness, I always travel with a shawl in my backpack. I dug it out and wrapped up as tightly as I could. The next day I drove to Target and bought a pair of gloves!

Living here in South Florida, I forget what it's like to be cold. That's by design. When I was a kid growing up in Vincennes, Indiana, we were often cold. Our house was heated by a coal furnace. My mother would go downstairs and shovel coal into that old behemoth to fire it up in the mornings, after my dad had gone to work. I remember peering down through the registers into the flues, where I could imagine I could see the fire. If you stepped on a register with your bare feet, you could get a nasty burn.

Since we don't have seasons here, we have to make our own Christmas magic. (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. There are subtle changes outside. More rain. Shorter days. But nothing like up north.)

Tonight my husband and I attended a holiday party. On the way there, we noticed streets in Jupiter where the folks had gone all out stringing lights. We made a plan to go wander around in those neighborhoods when its closer to Christmas.

In the meantime, my tree is up. I hung evergreen scented "icicles" on it. Each evening I light a cedar scented Yankee Candle. I bought a CD of old holiday favorites sung by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday. I hate wrapping gifts, so I have put my presents in gift bags. They look wonderful under the tree. Oh, and the menorah is in the middle of my dining room table.

In my head, I've been working on a new Kiki Lowenstein Short Story. One about riding in a hay wagon through the county roads in Illinois to go chop down a Christmas tree. It's coming along quite nicely...although it hasn't been committed to paper yet. I've also been working on a Holiday Postcard. Here's what I've done--although I might try a few other variations. I'll send one to you, if you send me your mailing address. Just email me at JoannaSlan@aol.com, put Holiday Card in the Subject Line, and include your postal address.

So tell me...how do YOU get in the holiday spirit?