Closing in on Christmas and Other Monday Musings

A picture of the Grace Episcopal Church Carolers, who went out yesterday to nursing homes and some of our home bound members  and brought them some early Christmas cheer.  You can see Alison in the second row, and Benjamin in the very back behind his MeeMaw, Rose Aldridge.

No, I'm not in the picture.  I had some things I was trying to get around at home and passed on going.  I regret not going, but Alison and Benjamin had a great time. 

The last Sunday in Advent has passed, and Christmas celebration is starting to creep in.  The full celebration begins Christmas Eve, with the sanctuary decked out in all it's Christmas gala, and the best service of the year, Midnight Mass.....well, 11 PM, but it's usually midnight by the time it's through.  There is an earlier service at 5 PM, for families and others who don't want to be up that late.  But we have made it into a family tradition, and have adopted it into our Christmas routine.

You may see me slowly step into the Christmas spirit now.  Our house is decorated.  We have a few outdoor things now, but we're still not much on big outdoor displays.  We are trying to acquire one new outdoor thing a year, so in another decade or so, we may slip into the gaudy category.

I saw two movies this weekend!  And no, it wasn't THE BIG ONE, as I'm saving that for after Christmas when I can take my three boys.  One was Krampus with Benjamin.  It was a solid B, a comedy horror in the stylings of Gremlins, with a little harder Bavarian edge. The other was  Sisters with Alison - we also ate out so it was like a date night - woohoo!  Well, it was actually the afternoon, but still!  Sisters was funny in parts, but it's extreme crudeness hurt it from being a really great movie.  

I did start to choke up in Sisters, however.  There is a scene near the end where the sisters visit their parents in a condo.  The way they walked down the hall, and then opened up to their parents standing near a bay window, reminded me of my own parents and their condo.  The sensory flashback was really overwhelming.

We are now into a more muted part of the football season.  It won't be until closer to New Years before Michigan or Georgia play, in inconsequential bowl games that don't really mean much of anything.  The Falcons played Sunday and won, but their playoff hopes are very, very dim.  The Lions playoff hopes are non-existent, and they play tonight.  I will watch, but probably with a heavy hand on the fast forward.

Writing wise, I am preparing Eric and the Time Team to sell on Amazon as an eshort.  The same problem as usual hangs before me - what to do about a cover.  Anyways, I hope to launch that before the end of the year.

For those who may be interested, I do have some of my writings available at the Okefenokee Heritage Center.  One of the collections has a cover in living color.  

Until next time,

T. M .Strait