Tuesday 10

Since I don't seem to be blogging, I think I'll try Chris's format. I hope you don't mind, Chris.

1) Youngest daughter arrived Saturday. The plane she was supposed to get on in Baltimore turned out to be broken. They tried to fix it, then unloaded everyone and had to find another plane. She got here safe and sound, three hours late.

2) This is not the longest delay she has encountered. One time, they had to give her a hotel room for a night.

3) She is a night owl. Anyone who has worked evenings knows that you can't come home and go straight to sleep. It was nice to have someone else to sit up with me. We talked, sipped cognac, and played Bananagrams.

4) I didn't stay up for the eclipse. Just as well. I heard it was cloudy. It is now.

5) Did either 18 or 19 tins. Will probably do a few more if I get more tins. There's always a few last minute gifts.

6) Writer's group Christmas dinner tonight. I'm giving everyone (surprise) a tin.

7) Gonna make tomato basil bread.

8) Not working again this week. Good and bad. I get paid hourly.

9)Older daughter arrived safely in NC. Staying at boyfriend's mom's house.

10) Went into a writing block after nano. I think I just burned out. I don't even know how my novel is going to conclude. But I did add a little to my other WIP, so maybe it's starting again.

Shopping Blues

I hate shopping. For practically the entire spring and a good part of the summer, I worked in the daytime and my husband's work hours were short. He did ail the errands and all the grocery shopping. I didn't miss it a bit.

I didn't grow up Christmas shopping. While all the glitz and glitter looks marvelous to a kid on the perpetual outside, the whole notion of the entire nation going shopping at the same time struck me as crazy as soon as I was old enough to drive to the mall and look for a parking space.

So I opted out of the Secret Santa at work. I felt like a bit of a wimp for doing it. I work with a rowdy, excitable crew, and they were having fun drawing names, but the whole thought of adding anyone to my Christmas list scared me. A female would have been fine, but several of the people are guys in their 20s. And what would I get one of the Mexican dishwashers?

When I first got together with my husband, we, along with his siblings, were a bunch of young couples. It was the first time I had to Christmas shop, and it was fun for a year of two. Then it got dumb. One year, his older sister and I got each other pot holders and dish towels.

The very first year that everyone had at least one child, we moved to only giving gifts to the kids. That was great. Buying toys is fun.

I went to buy a few things for my kids yesterday, and had to really psych myself up for a simple trip to Wal-Mart and Lowe's. I hate Wal-Mart for what it has done to so many American small, once thriving downtowns, but I don't live near any full sized stores, and this was the closest one. And where else can you buy both ear buds and dogfood in one trip?

I think I might be a shopping phobe. I don't even like shopping online. I'm not thrilled with large snakes or driving in snow either, but I can handle small spaces, tall heights and don't alphabetize the food in my refrigerator, so I guess I'm doing okay.

Happy rambling.