It's been the most miserable day weather-wise. Very cold, gray and windy with different degrees of rain throughout the day. Yuck. I hoped to finish raking the front garden and get the leaves off all the bushes so I could put the Christmas lights on. I thought it was supposed to start raining tomorrow and wanted to get a head start. I think it will be nice on Friday and the rest of the weekend, so I'll have plenty of time to get it done. I really like to do all the decorating over the Thanksgiving break. I was able to do a lot today. I started with sewing. I know. It's what I said I wouldn't talk about. I made 3 pillows and a table scarf. I put all the sewing equipment away for good. I got the whole downstairs cleaned in anticipation of decorating the house. Can I say I love those Magic Sponges? The thing that made the greatest visual difference was taking all the magnets and pictures off the refrigerator. Everything looks so white now.

I did an incredible job of putting my holiday decorations away last year. Yes, I'm patting my own back. If you know me, you know I have a Christmas house for the holidays. I move furniture, clear my mantle, stereo cabinet, display racks, end tables, etc. and display all the things in my huge my Christmas collection. After Christmas last year I got rid of all the things I no longer liked. I now have dedicated Rubbermaid bins for each area of the house. I.E.--everything that goes on the mantle is in one bin, with a picture showing how I had it decorated last year. Today was the start of the decorating and it was great. I brought up the stereo cabinet bin, emptied it and replaced it with all the stuff I cleared off. I arranged everything just like I had it in the picture. Carried the bin back to the basement and brought up the next. I got the mantle and dresser by the front door done, along with the top of the stereo cabinet. A good day's work. Emily wanted to do lights so she did the ones around the front door. It was under cover. Unfortunately, many of the lights from last year didn't light. I had bought a few new boxes, but I probably don't have enough. That's OK. I'll just buy more.

Emily and I had a big disagreement. I had a lot of hopes for the day. The first thing she said to me upon waking was could I turn on Christmas music. Good start. I wanted to decorate, make cinnamon ornaments, hang out, etc... It's the first day of my vacation, you know? I was in a great mood. I'll just say she has a problem with authority. She's a teenager. It was hard for me, but I'm the parent and I have my job to do.

I went to the local grocery store at about 4:00. I only needed a loaf of bread. It was pouring down rain, and I had to park far away. I headed right over to the bread aisle, and the white bread shelves were, gulp, empty. I needed the bread for the bread pudding I'll be taking to the relative's house tomorrow. There was a couple standing there, and the woman said, that must be where the bread was. I said, yes, spotted the only loaf that was pushed next to the multi-grain loaves, and gingerly places it in my basket. They had their opportunity--I was the one with the good eye. I was swift and successful. I think that was my shortest shopping trip ever.

I've spent the night catching up on my taped TV shows and doing some embroidery. Emily has finally ventured out of her room to eat, and I'm glad to see her. I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow with all my relatives. I hope to see some sun.