Christmas Cards 2023

This year I mailed out the holiday cards well in advance in case the post office delayed some of them like last year. I didn't like that people might get them before December, but all in all, I wanted them to arrive in time for the big day.

Michelle:

MeMom & Pop

Dr. Davis & Staff

Bella

Autumn

Lucy

Louise

Evelyn and Lacey

Kayla

Jackson

Brett

Amy

Barbara

Michel

Helen

Ana

Adam

David (look at the view of Positano out the window!!)

Avery

Bailey

Natalia's Holiday Package

Natalia has been having a rough time lately and so I packed up some Trader Joe’s favourites and other goodies and sent it all off to Natalia. I'm so glad it reached her in time and that she loved everything.

Books & Cooks Tour 2023!

This year Jax and I hung out Friday, Saturday, and into Sunday morning for books and cooks deliveries. I was not feeling 100% due to some major dental issues (welcome to middle age!) but we still managed to drive through rain and fog and have a good time together. 

First up, I stopped over to drop cookies off to Lucy, Stacey, and Dave

After Lucy's I picked up Jackson and we had dinner at LesbiVeggies then stopped to see Louise for a bit.

Then I dropped Jax off to MeMom and Pop's where we got the bonus of seeing Aunt Jen!

Saturday afternoon we went straight to Kayla's where she had The Santa Clause 3 playing and the candles lit and the tree all done up. Even Zuko was ready for us!

Then we shot straight up 95 to wind through the back roads of NJ to reach Amy's farm. Jackson even got to see his favourite turkey who he named Samwise on our last visit.

Then Sunday morning we went to see Bishop first thing. 

After dropping Jackson back home I headed over to Uncle Alan and Ann Marie's to see Ziggy (and Lulu) and help Ann Marie decorate the Christmas tree. A fabulous end to this year's tour!

Kayla's Place is Ready for Christmas!

Kay has the gift of decor and her place always looks so chic and cozy. These were my favourite holiday touches and I loved that she put the little snowglobe I made a few years ago on display in the peepod!

A Federman Family Christmas 2004

In September of this year I saw this in the Little Free Library at MOM's in Bryn Mawr. How sad that someone went to such trouble to create such a sweet memento of a holiday gathering only to have someone dump it off at a supermarket. I'm sure many of the Amber Brown felt cd case mixes I've gifted to people over the years have been thrown out, but thankfully, I don't know for sure. 

1) Genoa Keawe & Her Hula Maids - Mele Kalilimake 1949

2) Kenny Burrell - Little Drummer Boy 1966

3) Five Chinese Brothers - Rockin' in the Manger 1997

4) The Blind Boys of Alabama - The Last Month of the Year 2003

5) Kay Starr - December 1948

6) Alvino Rey/The King Sisters - Santa Claus is Coming to Town 1941

7) Bob Rivers - Smells Like the Night Before Christmas 2002

8) Lucky Luck - Kanaka Christmas 1950

9) Gene Autry - The Night Before Christmas (In Texas) 1952

10) Red Simpson - Santa's Coming in a Big Ol' Truck 1973

11) Heather Noel - Santa Came on a Nuclear Missile 

12) Dave Rudolf - Do You Fear What I Fear 1999

13) Gisele MacKenzie - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 1957

14) Bob Rivers - Osama Got Run Over By a Reindeer 2003

15) Little Esther/Mel Walker/Johnny Otis - Far Away Christmas Blues 1950

16) Bernie Cummins & His Orchestra - I Told Santa Claus to Bring Me You 1937

17) Mary Kaye Trio - All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth 1937

18) Homer & Jethro - Santy Baby 1954

19) Abbe Lane - Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets) 1958

20) Vibraphonic - Merry Christmas, Baby 1996

21) Duke Ellington - Auld Lang Syne 1962

22) Scary Gary Alan - New Year's Resolutions 2002

23) Bob Rivers - I Broke My New Year's Resolutions 2002

24) Buddy Miller - This Old World - 2004

25) Smith Jubilee Singers - Just a Little Talk with Jesus 1948

26) Mel Torme / Open Fire - The Christmas Song - 1954 / 2003

27) The Beach Boys - Morning Christmas 1977

28) Manfred Mann - Happy Families 1968

1 December 2021

Wednesday - World AIDS Day (Andrew, Keith, Freddie, Larry)

• slept well {at Misty and José's Airbnb in Shaker Heights, Ohio} 

• up at 7:45ish

• IG til 8:30ish

• Cozi TV: Murder She Wrote (end of "Seal of the Confessional") and The Six Million Dollar Man (ep in Austria & "The Last of the Fourth of Julys"

• pack up the car and smoke break

• check out at noon

• drive to Chagrin Falls 

• take pix of the waterfall (12:36-12:50)

-see two older gents chatting, they said they went to skool @ [that's lisa* for around] there and were reminiscing-

• Fireside Books (posties and boxed cards!) til 1:10

• drive to WFM* on Wall St. and fill out posties {in Roark} til 2:15ish 

*parked in the Whole Foods lot a young kid (teen) with curly bleached hair sees me and says with a smile "Cool car!"

• run in to peepod and buy grub

• Chagrin Falls PO 2:45

• Elm Ct. 2:55 - have a smoke (crazy loud construction going on!)

• check in with ease at 3pm

• unpack and photograph the house

• start Gemma Correll pupper puzzle

• Maureen over at 4ish

• we chat, have tea (and give Maureen a tour of the place)

• she orders food from Dave's Cosmic Subs

• pick up {Maureen drives us in her SUV} & bring it back {it was rainy}

• chow down -there are NO utensils here?!- {I actually discovered them in a strangely hidden drawer days later!}

• chat some more - selfies at 6:40

• Maureen out 6:45

• post to IG - work on puzzle

• The Gathering {I bought it on Prime} 7:15-9ish

• puzzle and Chagrinning Cmas mix

• finish puzzle by midnight!!

• smoke - bed @ 1am

• it's too quiet and the house noises freak me out

• go & watch "Tattletales" {on Prime} and sleep on sofa at 3

BONUS:

- Maureen's fave Daniel Day-Lewis film: In the Name of the Father

- fave Nicola Walker show: Unforgotten

- "No one can drink wine like Nicola Walker."

- loves chocolate

- can't have rice or leafy greens

- has to watch caffeine