Christmas is a time we often gather around the table to celebrate with family and friends, so there are an inordinate number of foodie photos. On the Fourth Sunday of Advent we went to a Japanese steakhouse after church. The chef was home-grown. He had lived in the town next to us and learned to cook when he was a dishwasher at a Japanese restaurant in Asheville. We laughed through the delicious meal.
There are natural and flash photos to show John’s Christmas tree. No one could be more meticulous in the placing of lights and ornaments to make it a work of art.
Grandson Nathaniel cooked a festive dinner for us on Christmas Eve. David worked all afternoon at Burger King, joining us in time to eat part of the meal. He finished in the car on the way to the 11 pm service.
For the foodies: We savored roast pork with a sauce, roasted asparagus, and baked sweet potato.
The service was beautiful. Midnight is not the high point in a day for me, but I stayed
awake and thought the message good. This was the fifth year for me to celebrate not being on the organ bench – a benchmark of sorts.
A few days before, I pressed the boys for suggestions of something Santa might bring them. David agreed to a quick shopping trip, but Nathaniel wouldn’t play the game. He said, “I need a toilet bowl brush for the dorm, but I don’t want Santa to bring it.”
What would you have done with nothing else to go on???
Nathaniel was not awake when the rest of us looked at our gifts from Santa. We stood around watching him with his stocking. He posed with a bag of chocolates and set of measuring cups, not looking down at the floor again. He seemed to be studiously avoiding the toilet bowl cleaner.
I asked, “Nathaniel, are you going to look at the other thing Santa brought?”
“What? Oh, no!!!” he said, as he keeled over with laughter. “I didn’t see that!”
After that, he wore the toilet brush proudly.
Neighbor Connie made Christmas stockings for all of us this year. Aren’t they lovely? We were very touched and pleased with these gifts from the heart.
Nathaniel took it one step further and tried his on without touching the floor.. He said it was perfect, but it could have had a bit more toe room.
After the 10 am service on Christmas Day, neighbors Dawn and Jeff shared our traditional family dinner. I took a photo as the flame from the pudding died down. Logan was with us for only a few minutes of the day, but that was fitting. We consider him neighbor, family, and friend.
Foodies: We had the Chicken and Stuffing casserole, cranberry sauce from a 100 year-old recipe, peas, lemon-lime Jell-o salad, frozen cranberry salad, Christmas pudding, Lebkuchen, and coffee.
The four of us had at least one gift each under the tree, and we opened them around 9 pm. The last photo of the day shows John with his new shower curtain. Daughter Lise helped me locate it on line, and it arrived on Christmas Eve. As Nathaniel held it up, John began to tell us about the name of the engine and much of its history. That was much more information than the manufacturer provided.
Merry Christmas from our house to yours!
Mehrling Muse 
Merry Christmas back at you Anne, John’s tree is superb.It looks as though you’ve fed and watered well all over Christmas with none of the hilarity removed.. I hope today is just as good.
xxx Gigantic Hugs xxx
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Our Christmas was most enjoyable, and we are making the most of Nathaniel’s last day with us until his next break. Do you have a few pics of your precious grandchildren? I miss them.
xxx Post Christmas Hugs xxx
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Merry Christmas! John sure does know how to decorate a tree. And I LOVE the shower curtain!
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John seemed pleased with the shower curtain, too. He is as hard to buy for as most men are.
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I’ll bet he loved being able to explain the history of the train on the shower curtain to everyone.
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He’s used to our ignorance. Maybe it provides a challenge for him.
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So much good here. The fiery pudding brought back happy memories. Great shower curtain, too!!!! What an amazing gift those stockings are. True treasures.
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We had Christmas blessings galore!
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Merry Christmas! It looks like you all had an awesome day!
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We had a marvelous Christmas, despite all of us having colds at one point or another.
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I’ve also spent many a Christmas with a cold. I’m glad you could rally and have a good time:)
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Colds for you would be career hazards, wouldn’t they?
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Yes it’s almost continuous at times:(
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What a lovely Christmas! I love the toilet bowl cleaner! It reminded me of the year my daughter (3 at the time) wanted a chia pet and a clapper (the on/off light thingee) because she’d heard the TV commercials playing. I failed to ask Santa to bring them (boo, mom) and went for more age-appropriate items. She told me when she was in college that she was disappointed she never got her chia or the clapper (tongue in cheek), so we did some E-bay shopping and she finally got her wish. She sent us a quick video of her singing the old commercials “Clap on, clap off, the Clapper!” and “Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia.” I drifted off subject there, but the toilet cleaner, I’m sure, is going to be a source of laughter for quite a while. Merry Christmas to you and yours, Anne.
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I loved your story about your daughter’s disappointment. I had that, too, with my children, but I don’t remember specifics. Mothers try so hard to do the right thing, and that’s where my sympathies lie.
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Sounds and looks like you all had a wonderful Christmas!
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We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you and your family did, too.
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We did!
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Merry Christmas to you and your always entertaining family! ❤
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What a beautiful and lovely celebration of Christmas with your family Anne. So glad to see everyone. Nathaniel is funny 🙂
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We get a kick out of Nathaniel. David can be lots of fun, too, but he has been under the weather with our shared cold.
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What a lovely Christmas celebration you had Anne – it is so heartwarming to read this story and the stocking presents and the little jokes in the family, the dinner – the whole works.
You are right – John’s tree was just beautiful. That is a big tree too. You’ll never be able to get ready timely in the morning now – John will be enjoying his shower curtain too much and spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom! 🙂
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We are so blessed to enjoy our family. I can’t imagine grandchildren that are without a sense of humor.
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I can tell you do – I told you when we first “met” and you mentioned your grandchildren, so many teens are sullen or without words, only staring at their devices – your grandsons are different and a breath of fresh air.
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You need a lot of air in our house in order to laugh.
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Those boys really are a hoot!
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The grandsons keep us laughing, and we need to be on our toes to catch their wicked puns.
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I can imagine they like playfully “tormenting” grandma too. lol mine do.
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There is a lot of teasing. Aren’t grands terrific?
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My daughter tells me she thinks her kids love me more than they do her. lol
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you should write a book-and the title could be food and mirth-and waterfalls!
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