Sorry about the stubble, I only shave Mon-Wed-Fri
It’s Thursday morning, and I’ve been sitting here admiring the twinkle of lights on my ceramic tree and door wreath, and sipping a cup of coffee flavored with white chocolate creamer (how come I only buy this flavor at Christmas?) and listening to dicey weather reports on the radio, and classic Christmas music.
Andy Williams singing ‘The First Noel’ always makes me a little melancholy for some reason…
The day before yesterday I got up earlier than usual to catch the 5:50am bus downtown (to UPMC Mercy Hospital for some blood work) and it was so nice seeing Pittsburgh all lit up in those pre-dawn hours. It reminded me of the years I spent working in the city, and holiday shopping displays and fancy, hectic parties and get-togethers. I’m glad I was a part of things then, but don’t miss it now.
After I got to the hospital and had 4 vials of blood taken, the nurse said I should go to the cafeteria and get something to eat before heading out, and that’s just what I did. I had a prune danish and some very strong coffee, and watched the sun come up over the city.
When I got home, the first of my 4 test results was already in my inbox on my computer; it said my total cholesterol was 198. When I told my friend Danielle, she said “You’re fine! My number is 248 on a good day, that’s why I’m on statins!”
Anyway, I’m just sitting here and thinking about things. Remembering my family’s Christmases at the farmhouse (my favorite was in ‘72 when a giant snowstorm forced our Grandma Morris to stay with us 2 days longer than planned) and then there’s today, the 18th anniversary of my mother’s passing on December 22, 2004.
My favorite photo of my mom from the early Eighties, and how I’ll always remember her
With six kids, Mom worked year-round to ensure our holidays were the stuff that kids dream of. We’d come down those stairs Christmas morning with our mouths hanging open in surprise & wonder.
Anyway, I don’t have anything else to write about, but wanted to say thanks and Happy Holidays to everyone out there who visits my blog and takes the time to leave feedback.
Whenever I post a new blog, then return later to see if anyone’s been here and left a comment… it’s a little like seeing those presents on Christmas morning.
Does that sound corny? I hope so.
Merry Christmas Arkansas Patti, Art & Kay, Bobi, Bohemian, Carole, Celia, Chuck & Robin, David & Gigi, David Hofstede, Danielle, Debby, DJan, Elisa, Erin, Florence, Joanne, Cool Joe, Joyce, Kim in PA, Linda in Kansas, Maebeme, Margaret, Mary, Neena, Pam S, Peter Tibbles, Rian, River, Shawn, SpacerGuy, Susan, Tom & Everyone else who kindly visits here.
Good morning Doug, Merry Christmas to you too!❤️
ReplyDeleteYour Mom was such a beautiful lady inside and out.
Always a pleasure reading your blog Doug.
Take care.
Merry Christmas Doug! Love the photo of you. And your mom is beautiful. Christmas is always mixture of emotions for those of us who live on our own. Lots of good memories, tinged with sadness as we think of those whom we have loved and are no longer with us.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell you that after reading your post about door wreaths, it inspired me to get one! It's quite festive, and does help to put me in the holiday spirit.
Here's to 2023 and peace on earth. And more than a bit of gratitude for us liberals watching the demise of Trump (fingers crossed 🤞).
Merry Christmas Doug! 🎄
Carole
Hey, I think the stubble is a good look and what a lovely picture of your beautiful Mom. Know you miss her, especially during holidays.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the cholesterol, under 200 is the goal.
Wishing you a very merry Christmas Doug. Hope you have fun, hugs and smiles galore with great health and comfort for the new year.
Lovely photo of your mom, and yours looks very nice too. I understand the bittersweet feelings around Christmas; my mom's birthday was Christmas Day and she passed 19 years ago on Dec.16, just ahead of her 75th birthday. She made Christmas special for us too, and her birthday was too often an afterthought.
ReplyDeleteWishing you Happy Holidays and all the best in 2023.
Happy Christmas Doug. You and your mother take great photos. Beautiful people, inside and out. Christmas is a special time of the year. Making new memories while remembering the past joys seems right. Like you, I have many fond memories. The "big" storm is causing some havoc. Who knows, my Christmas might be lit by candle. Improvising is, as always, all important... Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Dug! I think Christmas is full of memories - especially childhood ones. My memory isn't so great these days, but I still remember that Christmas that I found "Santa's present (a Ricky doll)" hidden in a hall closet (I was 7 or 8 I think). Your mom looks like such a kind person... and 6 kids... wow! she must have done a wonderful job for you to have such loving memories. Congrats on the good results with your bloodwork! And wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy healthy safe 2023! Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteI think the stubble is a great look on you, Doug! Your mom was gorgeous--beautiful enough to be an actor or model. I know what you mean about enjoying seeing into the past a bit but not wanting to revisit it. I'm jealous of your cholesterol number! I worry about what mine will be every year. :( Hope your holidays are wonderful and thanks for being a friend! xoxo
ReplyDeleteHey! Merry Christmas to You too Mr. Duggie! Your "bristle" photo looks James Bond mysterious with your wreath lights. You seemed to have lost some weight, comparing your recent photo to your others. That's certainly early morning devotion to getting blood drawn, but the hospital vampires like to grab their samples before the sun comes out. I saw some Star Wars wrapping paper, but remembered it was Star Trek that you like. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us, but try to be a bit boring so you don't have owies to report. Stay warm. It's -2 in Kansas today, worse with wind chill. Linda in Kold Kansas
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts, and this is no exception. I am sitting at home on my usual hiking day. It's 11°F and windy, so all hikes were canceled for today. I might go for a quick walk just to gather some pictures for a post of some sort. Happy holidays to you, Doug! You bring joy to many so very often! :-)
ReplyDeleteI am going for a flood draw in the morning. I guess I am the only one who can say I do not have happy Christmas memories. We were desperately poor and very dysfunctional. It is what it is. But I loved my mother as much as you loved yours. She did the best she could. She died unexpectedly when I was 22. I have my own children and grandchildren and a good life! I will think of you on Christmas as well as my bachelor son who lives so far away. I enjoy your blog and hearing about your real life ups and downs. Merry Christmas! Joyce
ReplyDeleteHello, blood not flood! J
DeleteJoyce, I was so sorry to read this about your own childhood and your own mom. And I'm very glad that your life turned out well! I sure hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for your always thoughtful words here. :^)
DeleteMerry Christmas Doug.
ReplyDeleteI’m honored to be mentioned on your friends’ board.
I hope you’re affected by that extreme weather system we see here on the news.
Melbourne’s forecast for the day is fine and 28 degrees (that’s about 82 in American degrees).
Congrats on the good blood tests, Doug! You must be doing the right things. At this time of year I remember my own mother who always made Christmas a very special day. Also Dad who kept us entertained and the driveway free of snow. Happy memories galore. I so agree that getting blog comments is like receiving little gifts. Thank you for caring and sharing all this time. Looking forward to more teepee adventures. (Imagine glasses clinking in a toast from your fans.)
ReplyDeleteYay for good blood tests! Keep up the good work. Your Mom was absolutely lovely.
ReplyDeleteI chickened out and rescheduled all medical related stuff for later in January. Good move I think cuz then it snowed and today it was 1° here in Walla Walla WA when I got up at 7am. This is not our normal weather. I have a teeney-tiny (18") tree this year and a small bouquet the neighbors across the hall brought me. the monster Christmas tree is at my son's house and I am happy for them have it.
Have a wonderful holiday.
Your mom was all mom, hands down. And she doesn't mind the stubble, so don't worry about the rest of us.
ReplyDelete‘Tis the season for a Christmas tale. Here’s one...
ReplyDeleteA woman (could be a man) was coming to another city and she’d booked a room at one their decent hotels. She arrived and was approaching that hotel and noticed that it had sliding entrance doors. Not so unusual, except these were stuck in the open position – they weren’t sliding.
She thought they were probably doing work on then and ventured into the hotel. She passed several men, probably three of them, sitting at a table discussing their favorite board game. One suggested that the Queen’s Gambit was the best opening move. Another opined that the Vienna Opening was better, and the third said he liked to get his knights into play as early as possible.
They then argued whether the bishops, the rooks or the knights were the most valuable piece (apart from the Queen, of course), and whether castling should be performed early or late.
Each suggested that his style of play was the best and he could beat the others using it. Of course, each disagreed and said they’d win using their mode of play.
The woman approached the desk and said to the concierge, “I see you have chess nuts boasting in your open foyer”.
Haha--Peter, you're a classic! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas my friend :^)
DeleteThank you for being here for us to read! Your door wreath with the sparkling lights looks lovely and I love the twinkling tree gif at the bottom of your post.
ReplyDeleteI've just had a lovely visit from my daughter who brought with her my grand daughter E, and E's partner J. I love these people so much. E is my oldest grandchild and is expecting a baby in March. I get to be a great-grandma!
LOVE the joke from Peter Tibbles :)
River, congratulations on the baby--that's awesome news! Thank you for your always honest (and often funny) comments here--and I love Peter too ::^)
DeleteGood cholesterol result! Congrats! Your mother was so beautiful. What a nice photo Merry Christmas, Doug!
ReplyDeleteI am honored to have been included in your Merry Christmas list. Right back atcha. And wishing you all the best in 2023 and beyond.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you as well, Doug. I always thought that the memories of Christmas past are the best Christmas present.
ReplyDelete198 ain't bad. Hope the rest of your tests come in okay. And ... Merry Christmas back to you!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, Doug!!! 4 vials? Ouch... I loved seeing that photo of you, stubble and all. Your mom really was beautiful, Doug. It's so sad that she left you too soon. I hope it's NOT too cold in PA. Tiffany texted me this morning saying it was -5 degrees F (without the windchill) in Chicago. I told her it was cold in Hawaii too and I had to wear a shirt over my tank top and shorts when we went for a walk in the morning. I don't know if she thought that was funny.
ReplyDeleteYour mom sounds like a lovely lady, creating special memories for her kids. And thank you for the special mention, that's very special. I really hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that all the blood results are good!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Doug - what wonderful memories of Christmases!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the kind words & wishes everyone! (I was trying not to reply to every comment like I usually do, it was harder than I thought it'd be...) I sure hope everyone has a Happy Christmas :^)
ReplyDeleteYour mom was a very pretty lady. I'm glad you have such great memories! Mine are all over the board, as someone above said, I came from a slightly dysfunctional family and am an only child and my parents were divorced, so my Christmases were mostly spent rushing from one relative's house to another. It's just hubby and me now and I like it that way.
ReplyDeleteI waited till today to comment because it's just another day here and I figured while everyone else is off celebrating, I'd re-read your memories and greetings to your blog readers and wish you a Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Bobi, and thank you for the holiday morning comment! I'm sorry your own Christmases weren't more traditional, but I remember as a kid often feeling a little envious of kids in your own situation. I think just because when you're 1 of 6... you can feel lost in the shuffle. Bobi, thank you again for the lovely Christmas card and the scratch off ticket you included won $2! 🙂♥️🎄
DeleteMerry Christmas, Doug. Thank you for your blog posts and tales that are always full of feeling, often of humor, and always honesty it seems. First Christmas without my mom. It will always be a time of remembrance, won't it? The memory of ny mom is of her much older than yours, sitting in the red wallpapered kitchen of her 1800s farmhouse. Your mom was beautiful. Lovely smile. Loss is visiting too frequently these days. Kim in PA
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Kim--this was a very sweet comment, thank you for such kind words... and I sure am sorry for the loss of your own mom as well. I would've loved to seen that red papered farmhouse kitchen. :^)
DeleteMerry Christmas Doug! We are freezing here in FL, but know I can’t complain as you and others have it much worse. We have my daughter and two of the grands coming to eat and then will rent A Christmas Story 2 on Prime to watch this evening. Hope you’re having a good day! Joyce
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Joyce! Listen, freezing is freezing! I just took a hot bath, something I haven't done since 1968 :^) Your day ahead sounds like a lot of fun, thank you for the good wishes!
DeleteWow! Your mother was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog because, no matter what, you send out such a positive feeling. You seem to enjoy the little things...and that, to me, is important.
Christmas is gone...but the spirit still lives on. Wishing you all the best...happiness and peace and love.
This was very nice of you, thank you Neena! I am wishing you the best as well. 🙂
DeleteI think many of us Bloggers can relate to it seeming like a Gift every time we have Comments and Connect with our Dear Readers. Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bohemian, and Happy New Year to you too :)
DeleteMy niece rang me on Christmas day – her Christmas day, my boxing day – and we had a good long chat. She lives in San Jose and she rented a house down in Santa Cruz for the festivities.
ReplyDeleteThey took along coats and scarves, hats and gloves and the like. However, they spent the time in swimsuits on the beach, so we had an Australian Christmas, she said.
This is what Christmas was like when I was a little girl, she told her kids.
Peter, that sounded great--I know your winter isn't until June! Well, we're not in swimsuits here in Pittsburgh, but it's 50 degrees warmer today than it was a week ago and I'm grateful for that. If I don't talk to you soon, Happy New Year Music Man :^)
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