It's that time of year...

Christmas time seems to bring out so many feelings in me. Of course I feel all cozy and excited. But sometimes sad. Christmas eve will be 12 years since my Grandma passed away. She meant so much to me. Still does. I often wonder what she would think of my life right now. And wish she could see Emily. She'd probably wonder if I have lost my mind with making cheese!

I remember how angry I felt that night she passed away. The ride home from the hospital was so hard, seeing all the Christmas lights and decorations the people had left on later than usual because of it being Christmas eve. It didn't seem fair that everyone was so happy and excited, and I had just lost my best friend. Now, 12 years later, I am looking at it differently. Amazed that it worked out so perfectly, since Christmas eve was her favorite, and how nice she was able to spend that Christmas morning with Jesus.

I've been doing some baking, finding it hard to keep all of us out of the cookies that I put in the freezer for later. I made some yummy Chocolate Peppermint cookies last week, and will have to make another batch since we only have about 4 cookies left! Same with the Macaroons (sp??). I don't particularly like coconut, but love those things!!! I'll post recipes later.

We set up our Christmas tree on Sunday night. It looks so pretty. And so very different than how we decorated it several years ago. We used to use all white lights, red bows, red ribbon laced through the branches and only glass balls and special ornaments. Now, we use colored lights, gold and silver garland, and anything that looks remotely like an ornament is put on the tree. Including ponytail holders, headbands, toys, and even a spoon.... Of course between the cat, dog and child, I'm not sure which of the three will bring the tree down before Christmas morning...right now my bet is on Miss Emily, but the cat is coming in a close second after her little stunt this afternoon than included knocking an ornament off and playing with it. The poor tree skirt just doesn't look quite right either. The cat (Miss Kitty) has claimed under the tree as her bed. She won't move from that spot unless she gets hungry, or needs to go outside to do her business.

I did manage to get some lights and decorations set up outside. Looks nice, even though a few nasty words may have crossed my mind (and mouth). I'm not the most patient person when it comes to untangling lights. But, Emily thinks it's a Christmas wonderland, so it was well worth it. Thankfully I finished up just as the rain started.

Cheese sales have been very good this month, thanks to the holidays. Several individual orders going out for gifts. That makes us feel pretty good. We'll start making cheese again around mid-March.

I have barely started Christmas shopping yet. We do have a couple of things for Emily, but that's pretty much it. Money is so tight this year that I'm not sure really how we will be able to do much at all. We're going to concentrate mostly on what we do have. We have a closet full of games, movies and some popcorn. To me, that sounds like more fun than getting all stressed out over what to get or how much we can't spend on each other.

It is past midnight, and I should have been in bed a couple of hours ago (at least!!). A certain little girl isn't sleepy tonight. This seems to be the thing lately. She never has been a good sleeper...I sure hope that someday she learns how to rest all night. I guess I never did like to settle down at night either. I always got in gear to do stuff in the evening.