Another Different Kind of Christmas: Thanksmas

We've had my husband's kids and our grandkids come down to visit us in Palm Springs for 4 of the 5 years we've been here. It's always been surprisingly chilly. The kids, being kids, still swam in the pool, just because it was there, and considered the big draw.

So we decided last year to change things up a little bit. Thanksgiving in Palm Springs is usually pretty warm, so why not celebrate Christmas early? We'd still have a nice turkey dinner, which we would all contribute to at the community hall in our mobile park. It would be Thanksgiving to everyone else, but to us..... it would be Christmas dinner.

So Doug and I started to prepare for the great event. To get in the mood, we put on our Amy Grant Christmas album in the car, and sang along, belting out, "It's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!" And we took off to the stores to shop. We were happier than most, discovering that stores were decorated early and sold supplies for Christmas way before Halloween.

I worked on things in stages, making lists and crossing accomplishments off.....being rather proud of my obsessiveness. For days, I fussed over the calendar I make for the family every year. Each person has a photo of themself on and around their birthday, and a few are added in the blank spaces at the beginning and ending of each month. The top page of each month displays an array of photos of our travels, or places we visit near where we live. I must admit, it's a nice way to get people to look at photos of "what I did on my vacation" without tying them to the sofa with a big album on their lap. I imagine folks standing and brushing their teeth while gazing at the photos. Well, I do that some times....
My concentration gets so focused on the computer, for so long, that just as Doug is about to complain he's being neglected, Ta-Daa!! It's done! It's sent by computer to Shutterfly, and the hard copies are delivered in a nice orange box in just a few days.

I wonder if anyone will get the meaning of the print?

The next task is the family Christmas ornament, with each person's name written on it. Usually, I can find these at the last minute, at Cost Plus, or Michael's, when everything for Christmas is half off, since  I have to buy over 20 of them. But no. All the ornaments that were available were beautiful, but at full
price, they were over my budget. But then, in Michael's, a huge craft store, they had wood cut "DIY" ornaments, Do It Yourself. Hmm. And.... they were only $1... And they were Half Off! I figured that I could get away with painting a red nose on the reindeer, and just minimal highlights on all the others. I bought a couple of colorful indelible markers, knowing that I had some acrylic paint and brushes at home. I decided to get up early in the morning and work on them. So at 6:30, I sat at the kitchen table with a nice cup of tea, sorting all the types of ornaments according to families, and sparsely painting something on each one. Well, THAT doesn't look very festive! I'll have to add more paint. But THAT should be sparkly, to reflect light from the tree! Another trip to the craft store was made to decide from their grand array of glitter paint, (which I didn't even know had been invented)! Only 2 more early mornings, and I finished, rather proud of myself.

Christmas presents hadn't even been thought of yet. Mainly they're for the grandkids, but so many of them are tweens and teens now, that it was suggested that they might like "cold, hard cash". So checks were in order, but we decided on an amount for each one including a smaller, more personal gift that was more fun to open up. Michael's proved once again to come through with creative things like special pens and journals for the older ones, and there were other arty projects, scientific discovery games and beads to string for the younger ones.

Doug offered to help me to wrap them all when I was ready. I had done a few, and was happy for the offer. He tackled the first box, and was wrestling with the paper and scissors at the same table as me. I quickly realized that he didn't have the gift wrapping gene. As I grimaced and squirmed in my chair, he caught it that I wasn't approving. He said, "I'm sure glad you're not my manager! I'm not meant for this menial type of job!". Grinning, he announced, "I need more of an executive position! I went to Yale, you know!"
Laughing, I came back with, " Well, I'm your manager, and we're shorthanded, so I'm working in the trenches with you.... but, (wanting to save my reputation as a pretty neat wrapper), "I think I'll promote you to the job of unpacking the gift bags, writing names on the tags, and then writing out the checks."
"Oh now that would be fine!", he said, "That's right up my alley!"
After that, manager and employee worked well together, giggling and bantering back and forth all evening.

Now that the gifts were pretty much done, the "Wall Tree" had to be tackled. I've hammered nails in to a wall in the shape of a Christmas tree for the last 4 years, and I've strung lights and green foil garlands around them, and then arranged the ornaments from them.
Last year, we came up with the idea to use a long string of solar Christmas lights for the tree. The small solar panel is parked outside our door, and goes along the floor a bit till it can be included in the tree. We anticipate each evening the exact moment that the sun will go down and the tree lights will come on. Every night they turn on a minute or so sooner.
I really wasn't looking forward to putting it up this year, since arranging the in and out formation of the "branches" is so difficult to plan out. By now, I have made so many nail holes in the wall, I can't copy from last year. (I vow to fill the holes and paint this wall in January. It's getting embarrassing, and no amount of framed paintings that hang there the rest of the year can hide them all.) The new idea is to put a string, like a plumb line, or guide line, hanging from a top nail, and coming down and out to the side, making a nice, crisp, sort of modernistic tree shape. Once again, I was happy, and once again, the lights all came out even, crisscrossing back and forth on the Thanksmas tree.
Here it was, only November 22, and we were ready for Christmas! Oh, er, Thanksmas! Family started arriving a couple of days before Thanksgiving, and it was cold and fiercely raining. There were complaints that it was supposed to be warm in Palm Springs. Then we saw that it was not only raining elsewhere, but snow storms, and something called a "bomb cyclone" was expected to happen along the northern California coast! That appeased everyone somewhat, and the kids ran off to the pool through the rain, accompanied by a couple of adults that watched from the nearby hot tub.

We cooked our turkey for the dinner at the hall, made gravy, and Doug prepared his traditional Danish red cabbage dish. Each of the "kids" prepared something to share, since there were 14 of us. After dinner, we decided that our Thanksmas celebration and gift opening would be the next morning, since we were all so full of pie and good cheer already. And the kids wanted to go to the pool again.

Next morning, we all gathered at our little place after breakfast, and the excitement of the grandkids deepened as we found seats for all 14 of us in what we call the "parlour", (where we parle). Presents were arranged in front of the tree by Sinjin, who appointed himself to be Santa's helper, handing them out to everyone.

The only trouble was, that the tree lights weren't on, since it wasn't dark outside..... It didn't look very festive at all. Suddenly, Doug's daughter, Grace, suggested "What if you cover over the solar panel so it thinks the sun has gone down?" Whoa! What a good idea!  Sinjin ran around looking for something to cover it with, and came up with a tile I had on the stove top to set spoons on. No sooner had he placed it, halleujah! The tree lit up!

Of course, Doug wanted us to do the other Danish tradition of dancing around the tree while singing carols. That was impossible, since we'd bump in to the wall, but we all sat in our places in the little room and sang a few songs, holding hands. It did the trick.

Finally, Sinjin got to hand out the "stocking bags". I used to fill stockings with treats and gifts, but decided to give the antique, handmade stockings to their owners, and just go with $1 store gift bags. Everyone munched on their chocolates as Santa's helper handed out our wrapped calendars. I heard him say to someone, "I think I know what this is.", with a smile. I was happy to see everyone opening theirs up and searching for familiar faces, probably especially for themselves. Someone said, "Patty, this is your best work!" That made it all worth while.

The "Nut Prize" was next on the agenda. That's another family tradition, where everyone gets a cup of chocolate pudding, and only 1 has a pecan secretly placed in it. Quickly, I cover the tops of all of them with whipped cream to disguise the winning cup, and they're served to everyone on a tray. There is quiet, while everyone carefully eats their way through the pudding, and then, Ava, 10 years old, happily announced, "I got it!" She had waited years for this. The prize this year was a fancy, rather adult coloring book about sea life and creatures, and she was pleased.

The kids stayed a couple of more days, occupying themselves with crafts, like these cute reindeer made from Palm tree bark that fell down during the storm. They now live happily on the side of our Palm tree out on the patio, and the birds like to sit on their antlers.

Rainy days kept everyone painting too.



One day, many of us went to the Living Desert, a local zoo that focuses on animals from desert climates. It was pretty cold that day too, but we bundled up  and braved the brisk 45 degree F. temps. Well, That's pretty brisk for Palm Springs!

 The next day, most of the family had long, tiring drives back to the Bay Area, through some snow over the Grapevine and then stalled traffic. The trip that would normally take about 8 hours, added up to 11 or 12. We're thinking they might be too discouraged to come back again next year. Maybe it will be our turn to go to them next Christmas.

Now it's back to just the two of us. It's such a relaxing feeling to know that we have Christmas done already, except for sending out gifts and cards to those who didn't celebrate early, as we did. When we were in CVS yesterday, I saw a woman grabbing about a dozen pairs of warm fuzzy socks and throwing them in her cart. She had kind of a frantic look on her face and a long list in her hand. Phew! Been there, done that.

So we still sit in the room with the tree in the evening and bet when the lights will come on. Only one night they didn't!  I thought, "Oh no! They're broken! I'll have to start the tree all over again!" It turns out though, that Doug had strung a few more lights over the front of the house, and he figured that it was so bright that the solar panel didn't know that the sun had gone down. He had an idea, and out came the little tile from the stove again to save the day. 

 

As soon as the tile was placed, on came the lights! Voila!

Hmm. but now we'll have to find something else to occupy ourselves with, instead of the betting-when-the-lights-will come-on game.

(Retirement concerns.....)



Oh wait! It's still almost Jesus' birthday! We can still wait in anticipation for the gift he continues to give us every year.

    Happy Christmas Everyone! Here's to a very calm New Year.

Traffic Stop

This story has been brewing in my mind, and I feel enough time has passed now, that the cop that stopped me may have forgotten all about it.

The day started out with breakfast at IHOP in Palm Springs. We had our usual, sharing a vegetarian omelet, and fruit instead of pancakes. Always watching the waistline, you know. We read the paper, Doug did the Jumble, and I, part of the crossword.

Coming out to the car, everything seemed fine, until we got in. It REEKED of skunk.....not the animal, but the scent that we've been smelling more and more around here since marijuana has been legalized in  California. We looked at each other, shocked. Our Prius' windows were all rolled up, and the car had been locked. Could someone have left a burning joint under our car? We immediately opened all the windows, turned the air conditioner on full blast, and drove along Hi-way 111 trying to air it out.
We were on our way anyway, to Trader Joe's in Cathedral City, and thought that would do the trick. Almost there, we noticed that the light on the dashboard that tells you it's time to get gas, was blinking. It actually started blinking yesterday. It's pretty embarrassing to think of running out of gas in a plug-in Prius, so we drove a little past Trader Joe's, and I pulled into an Arco station. After Doug finished pumping, washing the windows, and paying, I pulled over to a driveway to exit the gas station.

Hi-way 111 is a pretty busy street, and folks drive along at quite a clip, so after waiting awhile to turn left to go shopping, I gave up and turned right, so I could make a u-turn at the next corner. I scooted across the 3 lanes, and got into the left turn lane. When I looked up, I noticed a "No U-Turn" sign. While sitting waiting for the light to change, I noticed that there was a 7/11 on the corner. Thinking fast, as I turned, I decided to do something, that some of you may have done before..... Doug may have been surprised, as I turned left in to the 7/11 parking lot, since it wasn't in the plan. As I turned in, I said out loud, "Oh, let's go to 7/11", but I was about to then say, kind of laughing, "Oh never mind! We don't need anything here", and then I was going to go out the other end of the parking lot, thus performing a U-turn.

But actually, as I made the left turn in to the 7/11 parking lot, I saw lights on a patrol car following right behind me! I thought, what I consider now, to be quickly, and skidded in to a parking spot, bumping into the cement berm in front, making quite a loud noise. I then, conspiratorially looked at Doug, and said, "You really need a Coke Zero now, right?"
I saw the officer get out of his cruiser, and as I casually got out of my Prius and closed the door, I looked back toward the officer. He was walking toward me saying, "Are you feeling alright Ma'am?"
"Yes, I am officer," I said, "What's going on?"
"Well, I think you were driving rather erratically."
"You do?"
"Yes, well, you made an illegal turn in to this driveway."
I looked past him, over his shoulder to see what was so illegal about my turn. "Hmm, well, there's a double line out there, not a double-double line, right? I think it's okay to turn in to a driveway if it's only a double yellow line", I explained, looking straight into his eyes.
"Well not at this intersection, Ma'am, it's very busy".
"Well, that shouldn't make a difference though, should it?", I asked.
"Um, uh, I had to check to make sure you were okay, as I said before."
"I'm fine, sir. Thanks."
"Okay then", he said. "Drive carefully."
He turned to get back in his police car, and to turn off the red lights that were still flashing. I walked in to the 7/11 to get the planned can of Coke Zero.
As I entered the store, I noticed that the checker's back was facing a big window and I could see our car right outside. The people in her line were all chatting together and then smiled over at me as I walked toward the soda fridge. When it was my turn at the register, I commented to the girl, "I guess everyone saw me outside with the police officer. You must not get much business coming from Hi-way 111, if people can't turn left into your driveway."
She looked at me quizzically, and said, "Oh, no. They turn in that way all the time."
"Hmm", I thought.
When I went back out to the car, Doug said, "Do you know how lucky you are?"
"That did turn out pretty well, didn't it?", I said, proud of the way I had talked to the officer.
"No", he explained, "You were lucky you got out of the car, and didn't just roll down your window! Can you imagine what would have happened if he had leaned his head down and smelled this skunk?"
Eyes wide and feeling my face turn red, I very carefully backed out of the parking space, the low front bumper on the Prius, scraping once more on the berm, reminding me to "drive safely".

Irene Good Night

My husband just played the old song "Irene Good Night" on his keyboard, and it brought back a flood of memories.
I probably first heard it on the Lawrence Welk Show, or maybe my Grandma Cuneo or my Mom played it on the piano. My kids and I learned the first few lines when we had our cherry-headed Conure, Polly. We covered her cage with a king-sized pillowcase and wanted her to go to sleep, thinking there was a chance that she might get past her repertoire of "Hello" if we sang her a song. We made it a habit of singing "Irene Good Night" to her. She never did one "peep" of the song.

While working at the eye clinic at Kaiser Richmond, there was a favorite patient of mine who came in with her daughter every couple of months. Irene, with her metal cane clicking away, was pretty spry for about 92 years. She had a twinkle in her Irish eyes, and was probably pretty spunky back in her day, but now she was a little forgetful, and her mind wandered from her tasks, like reading the eye chart in the hall. Of course, she couldn't see it very well, so she probably got bored trying.

Since my mind connects words and phrases often to songs in my memory, when I first met Irene, I thought of that song. After finishing with the eye chart, she kept stopping on our walk to the exam room, to say something, or just to wonder what we were doing. When I said, "You know, Irene, your name reminds me of a song. Do you know which one?"
She said "Maybe".
"Well", I said winking, "sing it with me if you know it, and we can continue walking down the hall".
"Okay", she said.
I started in singing "Irene Good Night", as she smiled up at me. I shifted her chart into my left hand, offered her my right elbow, and we shuffled along together, arm-in-arm, without stopping, singing to each other,

 "Irene, good night. Irene, good night.
 Good night Irene, good night Irene,
 I'll see you in my dreams".

That was all of the song I ever knew, and Irene didn't seem to mind. She stepped up onto the blue exam chair and was ready to see her corneal specialist. He came in smiling, knowing this patient, and her attitude would give him joy, as usual.
Over the years, it was the habit of Irene's and mine, to happily sing our song down the aisle to her eye appointment.

Too soon, Irene's daughter came asking to see me in the eye clinic. She had tears in her eyes, and told me of her mom's passing. She wanted to ask me if I would consider coming to Irene's memorial service, which would be at her home.
I had never communicated with patients outside of the clinic, but told her I'd be happy to.

The next Saturday, I drove up to the address in the Bay Area hills, and made my way to what was Irene's house. Family was gathered there, and I was introduced over and over again to sons, daughters, cousins......not many aunts or uncles, since Irene was the oldest of all of them. She had been sitting in what is called, "the front row" for some time.
We all partook of the array of spare ribs, chicken, potato salad, baked beans, desserts..... whatever is included in a potluck to honor the dead. Heartfelt toasts, with beer and wine, were made to her in her kitchen, in her dining room, and living room by all her family and friends.
But, when it came to the actual memorial service, I'm not sure what happened. We were all in the living room, which looked out at the San Francisco Bay. As many of us that could, fit in there, and I happened to be among them.
There were a few relatives that stood to speak some words of memories of their auntie, or sister, or friend, but it seemed that the remembrances were falling short.
Someone stood up and started to say, "Thank you all for coming.", but I couldn't help myself, and thought maybe I should speak up.
I raised my hand, asking for attention, and stood. I told of my relationship with Irene in the Eye Clinic, and how we had sung our song. "So, do you think? Maybe? Before we end up this special memorial for her, that we could sing the song together that I sang with her?"
Everyone nodded, or said yes.

"So", I said, "Let's sing....."

And we all sang.......  "Irene, good night. Irene, good night.
                                     Good night, Irene, good night Irene,
                                     I'll see you in my dreams."

There wasn't a dry eye in Irene's house.