You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Best Quote I Heard All Day
Next to a circus there ain't nothing that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit. --Kin Hubbard

I should be finishing the last 10 rows of a cashmere scarf for daughter Jenn, the replacement for the felted disaster. But no, I'm doing this, with Santa Jerry already tucked in bed.

Just wanted to wish all of my readers a most Merry Christmas. No, I'm never politically correct. If you don't celebrate Christmas, have a swell Friday. Any way you look at it, it's a day off, no?

I'm an unrepentant Christmas celebrant, although my religious beliefs veer more to those of a Wiccan or Buddhist. However, I use this time of year to remember those loved ones who are with me in spirit only.

My dear Tante Helga died the day after Christmas in 1995, after having been hit by a cab in New York City ten days earlier. Jimmy's birthday was Christmas Day. My four grandparents, long gone but never forgotten, made Christmas a magical time. My German father, who died very young, at age 43, established the wonderful holiday traditions that I follow to this day. Yes, the memories are certainly tinged with sadness but with happiness too.

My joy this year is that my mother is coming along, despite a harrowing autumn. She never loses her sense of humor, no matter what. Tomorrow, she and I will sit and knit, with our children and grandchildren with us, opening presents, laughing, eating way too much, and being together.

May you all have a rare and handy holiday. And thanks for reading my nonsense for all these years. Next week, I'll be spending time with Ted Myatt and Kristin Nicholas, two good friends. Can't ask for much more. (Well, I could and I do, but WTF.) Love you all!