Putting away Christmas
This past weekend we finished putting away the Christmas decorations. As I’ve said before, I love decorating for Christmas and you will find decorations in every nook and cranny of our home. It takes me a week to decorate and almost that long to “undecorate”. I always leave my decorations up until at least January 6th which is Epiphany. That time frame also encompasses the “12 Days of Christmas”. Maybe I just dread the thought of putting everything away.
I do leave out the snowmen and gingerbread people for another month or so. I also add some Valentine décor which I will replace with Easter decorations around the beginning of March. I left up the tree in the kitchen. For Christmas it was adorned with old spice tins, cookie cutters, and small kitchen items. For a seasonal update I took off the Christmas cookie cutters and added hearts. These changes keep our house from looking bare during the winter months.
There were no grandkids available as we were shoving totes of decorations into the attic this year, but Kenny and I managed to get it done. I keep one nativity set on a shelf in the living room all year round. Many years ago I read a story about a young child who asked his mother why she was “putting away Jesus” after Christmas. Since then, I have kept that one nativity set out all year as a reminder that Jesus is always with us.
It’s also time to change the set up in our building behind the house. Operation: Quiet Comfort volunteers will resume packing care packages for our troops this week. There are some items left over from our “12 Days of Christmas Shopping” sale that will need to be set aside until our next fundraising event. The tables will be reset with our packing supplies so shipments can resume. Many of our troops are still far from home and we will continue our mission to support them, showing our military men and women that they are not forgotten.
Kenny talked about being “totally retired” by the end of the year (for the third year in a row). He’s off on a Kentec project as I’m writing this. Last week he talked to an 84-yearold gentleman working in a retail store. The man said he works part time just to keep busy. Kenny thought about that and decided if he continues to do a project or two each month it will keep him busy and bring in a little extra income. I guess he decided to keep doing what he knows best instead of looking for another part time job. What he doesn’t acknowledge it that there are several of us with long “to do” lists we would be happy to give him to keep him busy!
I saw a post on Facebook this morning of friends trying out a new firepit their children gave them for Christmas. They were bundled up in winter gear roasting marshmallows for s’mores. We bought a firepit this fall but it is bundled up for the winter! I will leave you with a recipe for “indoor s’mores”.
OVEN S’MORES: Bake brownies according to directions on the package. A few minutes before they are done, remove the pan from the oven and place a layer of Hershey bars over the brownies and then a layer of marshmallows (I use the big ones). Add another layer of Hershey bars and top with graham crackers. Put them back in the oven for a few minutes. Remove and press down slightly. Cool and enjoy! (If you have more will power than me, you can omit one of the layers of Hershey bars.)