the end of november.

This morning I finished the first draft of my first novel. It's been a long time coming, since February, and this morning I wrote the final scenes, made a title page, came up with a title for that matter, and converted the document from 180 single-spaced pages to 357 double-spaced pages.  I am so thankful for the book. I love it! Is that crazy? Is it crazy that I just began to cry when it was finished. I don't even know why.

a few pictures from lately.

Halloween night. Our friends got really decked out! We were excited!  Thank you Stefanie and Paul for donning the afros.  And if you're wondering who is down in the right corner, it's Mark.  He's Mike Tomlin. I'm Troy Polamalu.  Hannah and Josh won the costume contest as a snowboarder and a black diamond.  Dad was... some kind of old man. Hilarious.

Sisters, sisters. Never were there such devoted sisters...

Jonathan had discovered the sugar rush of orange marmalade and instead of eating the toast, licked the jam from it. Dad was helping out, which Jonathan thought was totally bizarre.  "Uhh, Papa? What are you doing?"

perspectives on early Christmas festooning.

A common point of contention this time of year is the early Christmas decorating, as exhibited by establishments such as Nordstrom, Starbucks, and the Gap.  Once Halloween is gone, the Christmas train pulls into the station and anyone that sells something gets on board. 

I hear people say all the time, “Oh.my.gosh. I can’t believe they’re already decorating for Christmas. It’s not even Thanksgiving! It’s ruining the spirit of Christmas, commercializing it, nobody remembers what Christmas is really about…” It goes on.

And while I can understand the sentiment of such complaints, I would like to take my stand on the opposing soapbox.

When I saw the first RED CUP (capitalized in honor of importance) of coffee from America’s largest coffee shop chain last Wednesday, I was thrilled.  Yes, it was the fourth day of November. But something about those red cups evokes a sense of great chilly gladness within me.  Those cups scream, “Drink me! You will be filled with the joy of Yuletide!”

And in department stores the great colored balls hang down from the ceiling, strung up with glittering tinsel. Who doesn’t want to hear Mariah Carey sing about her baby on Christmas a hundred times? Shopping in Nordstrom suddenly becomes this wonderfully sentimental walk down memory lane. The smell of Nordstrom reminds me of my mother when she would go to galas with my father. Those were always in December it seems, and he would wear a tuxedo and she a long black skirt with a deep red top. Those nights my parents became the stars of some great fifties movie.

My sister agrees with me (Can I get an “Amen” Hannah?) too, I’m not the only one on the box in the corner facing the ring.  Both of us love when it begins to be dark at 5:15 in the afternoon. Suddenly snuggly evenings are longer and the cold, dark outside forces you in to hunker down and wear socks around your house.  And, after turkey day, when there is a tree with lights and ornaments sitting in the middle of the living room, where else could you possibly want to be???

I must say that I used to follow the crowd on this, believing that Christmas festivities waited until at least the day after Thanksgiving, if not the first of December. I changed my mind, or I took a stand for the thing I always loved. Bring on Christmas early! I will sing carols as soon as I see my first tree.  I’ll try to keep from decorating until after Thanksgiving, but you can believe I’ll be enjoying the mall and Starbucks a little more often.

 

a room with a view.