Merry Christmas from Eastern North Carolina!!! I think that at this point in the night here, it is either Christmas in the Eastern Hemisphere or still going to be Christmas Eve for a while here in the Western Hemisphere. Today, I didn't really do much but get a dish ready to go for tomorrows diner and do laundry. The is the first Christmas Eve that I spend not doing much. Usually I had been either working or helping Mom get things ready for Christmas day.

Tomorrow though, I am going to be going over to a friends house for the day. Like I said in the Christmas Traditions thread, it will be the first Christmas that I will spend with someone other than my own family. I am really excited about it because it is something new for me and I get to spend it with a friend who has been a great blessing to me since I have started to get to her and her husband.

So whether or not you are celebrating Christmas today/tomorrow, what are you doing?

Northern Utah here - we're sitting in front of a nice fire watching a show. I'm working on digital scrapbooking stuff, which I love, and the doggos are working on some yak milk bones. Family will be here soon and tomorrow - should be a great time, but we'll be glad for quiet time again when it's over.

I was in the Logan area in November, and met up with Cl2. Had I known, I would have liked to have met up with you too. As it is, I had a great time with BYU Boner and met a few others.

My church had a candlelight service in the early evening. Other than that, it's been catching up on things, wrapping a few final presents, clearing my mess for guests. Now I'm distracted on RfM when I should be writing.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Just outside Logan, in College Ward. If you're in the area again I'd love to meet up!

Wrapping presents.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. ...
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.
And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap,
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.'

Nitey nite !



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2018 04:04PM by Amyjo.

https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/82342651/ho-ho-ho-fucking-satan-claus.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2018 08:46AM by Dave the Atheist.

Cuddled up with my dogs, reading.

Merry Christmas to you, Kativicky!
:)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2018 10:06AM by kathleen.

Yesterday,I cooked a big pot of spaghetti. Will munch out on that until gone or I get tired of it whichever comes first.
Otherwise, I am not putting on clothes nor moving from my bed today.

When I put on clothes it will be to take my pooch for a walk. Otherwise I'd stay in my skivvies.

My son made me promise to take the dog for a walk every day for 'his' Christmas present. ;-)

He's trying to motivate me to keep moving, I know. But it's winter and Christmas. There's no place I'd rather be than home. There's lots of things to do in the house today. That should keep me occupied aplenty.

A pot of spaghetti sounds delicious. Enjoy! I'm piecing on some deli store finds for Christmas eats. Otherwise, no major changes from my usual diet.

Many miles from my desert home walking on the beach. Merry Christmas!

I was invited to Christmas dinner on Sunday at my ex's house--early because my oldest son was here and had to get back to Rock Springs by Monday. She had a nice ham and meatballs and everything to go with and there was lots of grandkid (well, all of them-5) and way too many house dogs.

Then last night, I went to my son's house, and his in-laws were there. My son and his wife are sort of celebrating the finish of their house remodel. He did most of the work and figured it out using YouTube; redid the basement bathroom and then the front room and kitchen and bath upstairs with great looking tile on the walls. He knows she has other projects but he says hes retired.

We had a lovely dinner with grilled steak and lambchops and stuff like that. And my DIL made creme brulee from scratch with whipped cream that didn't come out of an aerosol can.

And now I'm home, going on 1pm and I have stuff to make my dinner but not sure what I'll do. I know Denny's up the street is open:)

Our son and his wife invited us to Xmas festivities at a church, don't know what denomination though.
But there was a rock band and there was a drum solo that was out of this world.

They also served coffee and mingled, and the preacher gave an uplifting Xmas message.
Very nice.

Well I just got back from my friends house after spending most of the day there!!! It was awesome but now I am exhausted. I had a really good meal and probably will not eat again until tomorrow morning when I get up and have breakfast. There was 13 of us there and it was nice. My friends went out and got me a towel set for as a present which was really nice of them because they really didn't have to do it nor did I really need anything. Now I am just sitting in the recliner relaxing.

The sun rises over the perfect cove here in Palawan.

Someone put rum in my coffee, so I will remain seated until lunchtime. I am able to rectify logical outliers on the troubled side of the planet.

Fresh courage take.

I shall read Self Help by Samuel Smiles and nap after a cool shower and fresh pineapple.

What port in Palawan? I know the island a bit.

One of the coolest places on earth.

Not a tourist in sight. Average age under 24, this village is a gem I found last year while trekking with camcorder and no money, to finish a book.

The unseen world is what makes life rich.

I've attended NOT ONE but TWO Christmas night services, one in Bellingham, another in Sequim.

The Bellingham one was at a Unity church, they practice the 'gospel of good vibes'.

Sequim was at the Catholic Church, St. Joseph's parish I think.

Christmas day:

slept in, texted & called some friends, hoping some family comes to visit;

changed the filter in the Hot Tub,
took Dogzilla for a walk,
watched 'The Price Is Right'.
Listened to a few Xmas tunes on Youtube.

Worked on a 5k historical essay I'm writing about Seattle & PNW railroads, if anyone (PLEASE!) wants to review it, that would be very much appreciated!!!!

Big Whoop, huh?

I'd be interested in the railroad essay.

My grandmother on my wife side, relate her history that her dad built bridges for the RR all over the country. The last one was in the Rainier Valley south of Seattle around 1910.

They got tired of moving around and the great grandfather and his bother found suitable farming land in Forks, WA.

Great grandma was wired to pack things up and go on out. Grandma, being about 10, remembers getting on a ferry boat in Seattle and getting off on the third port it stopped. My guess that was Clallam Bay. Grandpa met them and it took two to three days to get to Forks. Grandma remembers the big trees and the trip was like going thru a tunnel of trees. When they got to Fork, the Quillayute Prairie, they could finally see the sky.

I consider myself a good editor and critiquer. Send an email to me via concrete zipper with the composition as a Word attachment. I'd be delighted to read it and share my thoughts.

concrete(dot)zipper@gmail(dot)com

All my kids and grand kids came over for a traditional Hispanic dinner, tamales, beans, pozole, etc.

My granddaughter and her husband came to western WA from Fort Bragg, NC. She was the push for the dinner, especially for making sopapillas.

Well the best part was that I deep fry the sopapillas in the garage as the hot grease permeates the whole house.

All five of the grand kids and the grandson in law, aged 14 to 25, were all out in the garage with me. They were a blast, all sharing a simple job, laughing, remembering Christmas's in the past.

Looking at the kids and the happiness and joy they exuded was probably the best Christmas gift I could ever have gotten.

I spent last night at my best friend’s with her family. Lots of food and fun.

Today was far more raucous with my family. Six kids, two dogs and a new VR toy made for some funny moments.

Now I’m home watching TV.

Got my son and his family here. Ate heartily this afternoon...now hitting the beer fridge and liquor cabinet. Nice to have people here to talk to.

thanks for your interest, I don't know how to contact U, my email is: manderst@yahoo.com

single/eligible women on the board are also WELCOME to contact me, ha ha!

This Christmas (yesterday) I was that person everyone hates.

Christmas Eve, my children and grandchildren all go skiing together, which is our new tradition. That night, my son and his wife, who live down the street had both of their families over for dinner. We had traditional dinner of honeybaked ham, potatoes au gratin, Brussels sprouts, various appetizers, shrimp, wine, Christmas cookies, and cheesecake. There were 6 toddlers under 5, and some tweens, and mostly adults. Lots of laughter.

Christmas morning, all my adult children had their own Christmases at home. My grandchildren believe in Santa, except the oldest seems to be playing along, for fun. My entire family came over here for lunch, and to eat all the goodies that friends and neighbors had brought us--an interesting variety of food! Russian, Scandinavian, Mexican, Japanese, My children's favorite food has always been sandwiches, so that's what we have for Christmas, so no one has to cook anything, and the picky eaters can pick. We opened presents, sang Christmas songs, danced, played the piano, played with our pets, played with the toys and games.

For me, this one of the best Christmases ever! Pure joy!

My children went to their various in-laws, for dinner, Christmas night, and I visited with some single friends. We started spending part of Christmas together, back in the days when we were divorced, and our children had to go be with their dads on Christmas Day. Rather than feeling sad about being alone, we group together and watch a movie or play games. On the way home, it was snowing, and covering the trees and reflecting the lights, and our neighborhood looked like a Hallmark card. What a perfect Christmas!

In no way, was our joy influenced by the Mormon cult. We were Mormons, and my parents were Mormons, and these traditions came mainly from Europe. Mormonism did not offer any traditions of its own, so when we left the cult, we didn't lose anything.

I avoided MOrmons and Mormon functions, for the entire holiday season, as sort of an experiment. There weren't a lot of those, anyway. I never felt out-of-place because I don't have a husband. I never felt judged. I never felt excluded, or shunned. There were a lot of more upbeat, fun, and worthwhile things to do. There's a lot of good charity work to do with my family, that is much more rewarding than cleaning the church or getting dressed up to sit and be bored. That's not "charity" work, anyway.

There is lots of love in my family now, and the little kids really have a spirit of giving. They couldn't have been more charming! I love each one of them unconditionally, and that makes me happy.

My children's father abandoned us at Christmastime, and I always think about that. I thought my life was over, but our adventures continued, and life has been amazing! (No, I'm not drunk, just grateful.)

Merry Christmas from one happy heart to another! I love RFM!

I like that you describe Christmas traditions as not being Mormon.

So, so true!

Add that you made lemonade from the lemons life gave you. You have a very positive outlook that is inspiring.

You sound like delightful company to have over the holidays. If I were single, I'd be looking you up!

For Boxing Day, I slept late, checked RfM and mail, went to my broker to take care of some year-end business, and vacuumed the (Baptist) church hallway and fellowship hall. Now I'm home having left-over pot roast from Christmas and will start my taxes. Later tonight, I hope to take a look at GNPE's article on PNW railroads.

My Christmas care package arrived today from one of my children from overseas. It took ten days to get here.

It made my whole year. To read the card with so much love and thoughtfulness just makes me feel blessed indeed to have such an incredible, loving child.

Always have lots of family and friends. Big Christmas dinner. Either on the 24 or 25 I take time and ride a horese or take a side by side and drive up on hill on the farm. I can see for miles in every direction. Ihave done this ever since i was a little kid. I reflect on what a great life I have, the family and friends I have. I look down at the farm and herd of cattle and realize what an opportunity I have to be raised in the country, 25 miles from the nearest gas station and 60 miles from a safeways or wal-mart. Life is good.