Yes!!!! Two weeks off work to do Christmasy things! But first back to bed for fifteen minutes because I woke up with a headache, expected because of the disgusting upcoming weather: not only rainy, but hot! Now they're saying 75°F on Christmas Day. If I wanted to live in Florida I would have moved there. (Actually this weather is apparently coming from the vicinity of Hawaii. In that case, only one thing to do about this El Niño villain: "Book 'im, Danno!" ☺ )

Having dispatched breakfast and walked Tucker, I tidied up things for a couple of hours, then I gathered up coupons and went to "see more Christmas." There is an old house on Due West Road converted into a little home decor store called "White Rabbit Cottage," mostly high-price items I really can't afford, but it's lovely to see the Christmas swag. Some of the house remains as it did; the majority of the rooms are walled in horizontal boards. One room has beadboard. The hardwood floor is still intact, and in the kitchen (it's the checkout area, and the cabinets and sink are still there) the wood is painted black and white check to simulate linoleum). There are candles and jewelry and tchotchkes and shawls and decorative spices, dishcloths and plates and candle sheaths, Santa Clauses and angels and reindeer in all different mediums and sizes. I bought something cute and small for James and some interesting "ribbon," multiple strands of green string interrupted at intervals by red string. I also went into the "barn" next door, which has larger items like lamps and sofas, more jewelry and some ornaments.

I also stopped at "Acorn," a similar store less than a mile down the street. I'd seen it advertised in Cobb Life, but never gone there. Again, mostly high end stuff out of my budget, but I did get the prettiest fall "jewel" ornament (on discount; looks like a big colored glass faceted diamond of red, orange, and yellow), a red-and-green Christmas drop (also on discount; like a lamp crystal), and a holly ornament (ditto discount; three green holly leaf ornaments strung with three red beads). The owner's pale-furred Labradoodle was wandering loose around the store; he must be very mellow to be trusted with all these glass items!

Turned around and went back to Barnes & Noble, which was hellishly crowded. There was a line at the café all the way through the magazine section! I did find the Christmas "Landscape" and the December "Period Living." Hope I can find the December "Simple Things." Made note of things I would like to buy after Christmas on discount.

On the way home I stopped at Publix to pick up a few things we'd forgotten, like disposable foil containers for Christmas dinner contributions and also onions. By the time I got home, it was nearly time for James to get home. I walked Tucker again.

I'd taken some pre-cooked pork chops out of the freezer. These had been cooked in barbecue sauce and James warmed them up with more sauce and some juice so they were sweet and yummy. For the evening we watched some Christmas sitcoms: McHale's Navy, "The Day They Captured Santa Claus" where McHale's crew's efforts to help an orphanage runs up against an invasion force; Bewitched, "A Vision of Sugar Plums," in which Samantha wants to return the wonders of Christmas to a cynical orphan played by Billy Mumy; and That Girl: "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid," with a flashback of Ann Marie as a teacher at a private school staying with a little boy who's left alone for the Christmas break. Finally we ended up with Disney's Mickey's Christmas Carol, to make us laugh, and The Small One, which reduces me to puddling goo. I remember listening to this on the radio so long ago, a production narrated by Bing Crosby.

Labels: books, Christmas, shopping, television

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