Christmas Eve eve

Andy and I thought we'd beat the crowds by going to Jewel at 7 a.m. yesterday. We were wrong. We then went to Costco, also crazy, then Binny's to get wine for the neighbors. Here's Andy indulging me by posing with a Chevy Chase cut-out from "Christmas Vacation." I should have had him hold the wine bottle like Chevy is holding the presents ... maybe next year.

There wasn't much we could do to get ready for Christmas day so we went to the Beer Shop (our first time) in downtown Oak Park and hung out with our friend, LM, from church. She brought cookies from Reuter's, a well-known longtime Chicago bakery. Delicious.

And closer

I wasn't expecting any Christmas gifts at work as I've only been working a few months. Our operations manager gave me a Spilt Milk gift card yesterday so, of course, I had to tell her the story of how L started working there the day after her 16th birthday and has been working at various jobs ever since.

Then the executive director came in with a gift - a popcorn and a chocolate bar. Very nice and unexpected.

E dropped me off at work so she could go to Oak Brook and get her hair cut. This is post-cut. She had about four inches cut off.

Since E was home we ordered deep-dish pizza. I also had an offer for free wings so that was dinner. Have to give the girl a taste of Chicago while she's home.

Christmas getting closer

B decorated this gingerbread house with his friends via Zoom. It's a nice addition to my Christmas decorations. He did this before with friends, but for Halloween.

E and D came home yesterday afternoon while Andy and I were at work. Allison picked them up from O'Hare and let them stop at Alpine for lunch.

One of our volunteers brought in candy for the staff. Such cute boxes.

I was looking up some information about Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer Simpson). I was looking up his senior picture in the OPRF yearbook, and whenever I'm looking throught the '70s yearbooks I always look for Allison and Julie. Turns out Julie was in his class! What? Of course, I had to text her.

Shiny tree and ‘helpers’

These two couldn't resist jumping up on the table to "help" me wrap Christmas presents.

So I had already posted a picture of our Christmas tree but not the ornaments I used, one of my summer garage sale finds. I think I paid $2 (maybe $4?) for the bag and it turned out to have 30-something in it.

I dont think they're vintage but they certainly have that look. The tree lights up the living room pretty well when it's the only light on in the room.

It was easy to decorate without hauling all the usual ornaments in from the garage. We used gold and silver bead garland but it's really hard to see unless you're standing close and even then the silver blends in a bit too much. Nowhere to hide the pickle this year.

Another surprise

Got in to work today and found this tote bag sitting on my chair. I wasn't sure if a volunteer who might have used my desk over the weekend had left it or what.

I soon learned that it was a parting gift from our administrative assistant who left Saturday for another job, one that's full time and in her field of study. (She gave one to each of us). Inside the tote bag was a really nice book on Van Gogh and 10 tickets to the Art Institute that are good for a year. How sweet!

Cookie-baking time

I'm a more organized baker than it appears.

It's easy to know when Andy puts the measuring spoons away.

A surprise for E - Snickerdoodles.

And I finally made the sugar cookies Monday. I frosted them yesterday. I timed it so B would be down for breakfast so he could place the silver dragee on the bell's clapper as he has for years.

My morning coffee must have kicked in because I realized if I topped the stockings with white frosting then put the sprinkles on it might look better than just using red frosting. It does and when the red frosting is dry the wayward sprinkles won't stick to it.

A gift from ‘Santa’

We had a bit of a mystery when this package arrived in the mail today. I thought it was something one of the kids had ordered. B came down to investigate, flipped the package over, and said it was from Darla. I opened the package to find a gift!

The gift tag said it was from "Santa." It's a cat puzzle! Perfect!

Nutcracker puzzle

Here we go again.

B and I finished the puzzle yesterday. It only took us a week but it was pretty challenging. No more until after Christmas.

It’s finally out!!

Andy and B got the buffet out of the basement yesterday! That only took almost four months, It was quite the ordeal. They even called me in to help.

They had to make a quick run to church to get a dolly to move it from the back door to the garage.

I've posted it on the local free FB page. We'll see if there are any takers. It is pretty, and very, very heavy and large. If no one wants it, we'll figure out another way to get rid of it.

Andy's treat for getting it out of the house!

Wine and cheese night

Andy and I went to the church's wine and cheese gathering last night.

Lots of conversation.

These kids were having fun trying to build a parachute that would fly over the heating vent.

When the night was over one of my friends noticed her wine wasn't open and she didn't want to being it home because she doesn't drink white wine. She said we could take it if we'd use it. Merry Christmas!