Our Stockings Are Hung

We are on a Christmas roll. I wrote our annual newsletter and had it printed by the end of November, so I was able to use a coupon for cheap color printing. Our Christmas cards are several designs of Santa with flamingos from a small American company. Grant signed cards and stuck on the labels I’d printed. Cards were in the mail December 1st. 

We have lights out front and in the lanai; fairy lights shine in the trees. I set up decorations along the buffet and hung our stockings on the bookcase. The little battery operated lights now come with timers: 6 hours on,18 off. What a great invention.


No tree, but I ordered a made-in-Maine balsam wreath that I hung inside and which makes the house smell like a forest in the morning and evenings. I am really enjoying that mixed with the gingerbread house’s aroma. This morning, I baked Santa Lucia buns, so the house smells delicious. Grant’s kimchi sandwiches sometimes overwhelm the holiday scents, but the weather is still warm enough that I can open the porch doors to let it go. I’m sure there are people to whom the smell of kimchi is the good smell of home. I’m not there yet.

So far we have attended Windermere’s Holiday Hoopla where we had our picture taken with Santa, Winter Garden’s golf cart parade, a Christmas Carol at Orlando Shakes, Holiday Punch Courtyard Cabaret with Laura Hodos, a musical retelling of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at Clara’s school, and the Bach Festival Society’s Classic Christmas with orchestra and large chorus. We are definitely seeing a one-man Christmas Carol presented by a friend, which we hoped to see on Zoom last year, but there was production problems. This year, it’s live. Also possible are a Christmas movie in the park, Windermere’s golf cart parade, and an a cappella concert at Rollins College. 



I bought Barnie’s Santa’s White Christmas caramel-coconut-vanilla coffee, only available here in December, and we ate at Ten10 brewery so I could have a couple of SWC beers, which were delicious. SWC ice cream is in the freezer, ready to be dessert when our family comes on Sunday.

Still deciding on where to have our SWC donuts. We need to go to Winter Park Monday. Perhaps breakfast at Barnie’s, then donuts after. TBD



December 1st, I ordered Kris Kringle and Vom Krampus cookies from Gideon’s Bakehouse. Two of each were for the gift exchange at our Fort Lauderdale Marriage Enrichment holiday party. I made a New York Times Cooking brown sugar cake with cranberry buttercream. Grant brought his delicious vegetarian 3 bean plus corn chili. While down south, we gave Marjorie her cookies (one of each kind), had lunch with friends, and I went out to breakfast with my co-birthday bud Deb. Our last one in South Florida, because she and her family are moving north in the spring to be near a grandchild. Lastly, there were four cookies for us. I put them in the freezer, to be doled out slowly.

Being retired is exhausting. And wonderful.

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