Now It Looks Like Christmas

Because this is the first year my home and I are celebrating Christmas together, and more importantly, most of my family is travelling here to spend the holidays together, I decided to really decorate. I haven't done this for a few too many years now.

During the last two weeks I have spent countless hours unpacking ornaments and decorations, making bows, arranging and rearranging, trying to decide where to place what, and now I'm finished. I am so happy with the way everything fit in a new place.

I had fun pulling it all together, but the most fun was decorating the tree with my 5 year old grandson. He loved looking at the ornaments and deciding on the perfect spot to place them on the tree. I think we put about 150 ornament on the tree, and 100 of them are on the bottom three feet. In the beginning as he was placing the ornaments, I thought I will just rearrange them a bit when he goes home. When we finished, I knew I wouldn't touch a single ornament. Although it looks nothing like a tree I would normally decorate, it's my favorite tree ever. Everytime I look at it, I think about his excitement in decorating it. Makes me smile and feel are warm and fuzzy.

So here you go, here's a peek inside my Christmas Home.

It's Beginning to Look A Little Like Christmas

Just a few days ago, my sister said it was 45 days until Christmas. What?!? So much to do and now less than 45 days.... There is a stairway to be decorated, and a mantle to be dressed, and a village to display, and oh yes, the tree! The decorating has begun.

Coffee

Anyone who knows me knows I love coffee. I mean I really love coffee. I have my first cup as soon as I wakeup and it's my final drink before I go to sleep, with many inbetween. It's never decaf! It is my beverage of choice almost always. Maybe I'll have a glass of wine with dinner, or vodka & tonic with lots of limes on a weekend night, but dinner always ends with coffee, and most of the time those weekend nights do too. A shot of Bailey's may be added to the coffee on those weekend nights.

I have been a coffee drinker long before Starbucks was a destination, and way before tall, grande, and venti were words in our everyday vocabulary. I have not gone the way of Mochas, Lattes or Espressos with a pump here and foam there. No, not me. Bring me straight, dark roast, colombian coffee with a splash of cream and plenty of sugar. I began my coffee drinking career in New England, where when you said "I'll have a regular coffee", you got a medium sized cup of coffee with cream and sugar. That was nice.

Now to my reason for writing this detailed description of my coffee consumption history and habits. I was reading an article in a magezine titled "Six Surprising Antiagers", and coffee drinking was one of the surprises. A study suggests if you have high energy (which I do), and can tolerate 3-5 cups of coffee per day (which I can and do) you will have a reduced risk of dementia.

So Ha! to all of you who think I drink too much coffee. I will remember your names long after you forget mine.

Now off to find a study of the benefits of chocolate.....