Things have been so hectic lately that I have not been able to enjoy the world of blogging nor the company of friends here in mybloggers during this season. I continue to struggle to keep this a stress-free holiday by meeting every challenge and chore with a reminder that it's all fun to prepare for the big holiday. So, I'm cleaning, straightening, shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking and working with a smile on my face and, whenever possible, with a holiday movie on the TV or some holiday music playing in the background.

A lot of things that should already be done were delayed because of storms. We had the kind of rain that flooded my little town's main road and caused accidents on the only other cross-town road. This caused all in-bound and out-bound traffic to come to a stand-still, even the school buses filled with students on the way to school. With a few other inconveniences, like downed trees and a couple of small sink holes, it was quite a mess. Although all was back to normal quite later in the day, many local businesses did not open and many, like me, opted not to take any chances of traveling too far from home.

We've also had snow since then. It wasn't a blizzard, but there was a time during the storm that the snow accummulated as much and as quickly as one would expect in one. Although Bristol can, and does, get an occassional "buried under snow" storm, it is rare compared to many other areas of the state and in New England. So, for us to get 10 inches of snow from one pre-winter storm, it can be considered unusual. With some rain that followed and then a blast of cold air that swept in from Canada, many things, such as smaller roadways, sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, and outdoor stairways became covered in ice. That is how things are now, although milder air (somewhere close to 50 degrees) is coming in with rain, so who knows when and how much the landscape will be changing again, but we should have the answers by Christmas Day.

Most of my shopping is done, which is good, considering today is December 23! A few things are wrapped and ready to deliver. The tree (just a small tabletop one) is up, and so are a number of other decorations, although I know there will not be time to put them all up. I've done some baking, but I still have to make a dish to bring to the family Christmas Eve gathering at my cousin's house. And, the apartment looks pretty good, if I can say so myself. All the furniture has been polished, the new rug has been put down in the living room, new fitted slipcovers are on the couch and easy chair, all the painted trim work inside has been washed, the floors are washed and shiny, and, with all the decorations and greeting cards placed around, it looks rather cute and cheerful.

But, I do have a little more shopping to do, some vacuuming to do, a lot of wrapping to do, a bit more cooking to do, and one more room that needs some major straighening because a guest will be using the room to sleep in on Christmas Eve. So, I do have a bit more work cut out for me. Thankfully, my brother is already here from Ohio and is coming today to help me out a little before he heads out to do some of his own last minute shopping.

Edie has been a tremendous help, but her hours working at the store have taken up most of her time and her stamina. She is just so exhausted when she's home that I even hate to ask her for help, but she helped me with getting the boxes of decorations out, doing some shopping, and running errands on her way to and/or from work. She'll be cooking tonight for her party at work tomorrow and will probably be helping me wrap a few things, too.

I honestly do not think that I will be able to visit mybloggers or any of you bloggers again until after the holiday, which disappoints me a lot. However, I did not want to let this time pass without taking a moment to write a little bit and, of course, to wish you all the happiness and joy that comes with Christmas and/or with the holiday you celebrate at this time of year. Most of my family will be here this year, either for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both, so I already have the gift most important to me. I hope you will get to share the holiday with your loved ones and enjoy the gift of family and friends.

I wish all of you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday! May it be the merriest of all!