Christmas 2010

We celebrated Christmas at my sister Maggie and her husband Mike's house in Parma. We had chicken (Fajita and Plain), Scalloped potatoes (Made by Yours Truly), corn, baked beans with sausage, bread sticks, and a lot of appetizers and desserts. The food was rather tasty.

In addition to Maggie, Mike (Schabel), and myself, the participants included Kathleen, Tim, Joe, Mandy, Lois, Marnie, Mike Schmidt, Kendal, and Hayden. It had been exactly a year since I had seen the last four people listed. Bob had a plumbing problem at our house and needed his rest since he is on the night shift at the post office in Downtown Cleveland. Paul was overworked celebrating with his family, so he was not present. The other relatives from the Gift Exchange group celebrated elsewhere. We enjoyed spending time with each other.

We ate in three stages. They were appetizer, Entree, and Dessert. After eating and initial cleanup, some people opened presents. Lois, Mike Schmidt, Mandy, and Marnie had presents from the Gift Exchange. Kendal and Hayden appeared to have a "truckload" of presents. (They're four-and-a-half and two-and-a-half, respectively) Most people ignored practicality in favor of readily appreciated presents. Of course, Bob and I are the exceptions to this rule because we gave them Toys 'R' Us Gift Cards. The kids enjoyed their presents for the most part.

In general, Christmas turned out to be a nice affair. It didn't start out so great. In addition to the plumbing problem, my first bag of instant scalloped potatoes went flying due to a hard to open bag. When I preheated the oven, I failed to discover a cookie sheet that was placed under the baked beans that Kathleen cooked yesterday. As a result, two of our smoke alarms went off. Thankfully, we didn't have a fire. We will laugh about this day someday.

Until next time, enjoy life.

Happy Holidays!

I would like to wish those celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, or any similar holiday, a nice holiday. I was at Ziggy's Produce on Broadview Road in Cleveland this morning. It wasn't too crowded. Of course, Orthodox Christmas Eve (January 6)will be another story. Tune in to find out.

This blog may be joining the Facebook family soon. Watch out for any future information. Thankfully, Facebook is "private" enough to avoid any major problems, I hope.

Until next time, enjoy life.

Happy Anniversary, Mandy and Paul (and a Christmas Report)

Today is my niece Mandy and Paul's Second Wedding anniversary. For my future readers, I have no stories about their wedding day since they eloped. I found out when I saw them on Christmas Day. I hope that they enjoyed their anniversary.

My Christmas shopping was finished on Wednesday. Since we have the Gift Exchange, I only had to shop for one adult and my four great-nieces (Ages ranging from four-and-a-half to one-and-a-half on Christmas Day.). I hope to see them next weekend. Bob and I received our Christmas Card from Amy Marie and Emily today. Hopefully, our card from Kendal and Hayden will show up soon.

Until next time, enjoy the Christmas season.