"Twas a Week Before Christmas

I think I'm ready to start wrapping Christmas gifts. And I'm preparing a mental menu for Christmas weekend. I'll buy my turkey on Wednesday and get other groceries between Wednesday and Friday. I'll prepare my Sunday morning brunch casserole on Saturday night, then pop it into the oven on Sunday morning. After brunch, I'll prepare some hors d'oeuvres for Jonathan, Maggie and Ally's afternoon visit. I'll also put the turkey into the oven so it can cook while we eat hors d'oeurves (man, am I glad I don't have to spell that every day!). They'll  be eating their main meal with Maggie's family (they spent Thanksgiving with us, so it's only fair), so Dave, Joshua and I will have a small, quiet dinner on our own. Well, as quiet as will be possible with two Beagles wanting their share. Turkey is off-limits, per the vet's instructions, so I'll have to see what I can add to their kibble that night - maybe a bit of gravy.

Oops. I'm not quite ready to wrap gifts yet. I still have to get some things for Hypatia, Darwin and Ally! How could I forget them? I haven't taken Hypatia and Darwin to see Santa, and I don't think I'm going to do that. Lack of time is only one factor in that decision. But, I did take some photos of them to share with you.

First, Hypatia doing what she does best - chewing a toy. Well, actually, she's pretty good at eating too, so toy-chewing may be her second-best skill.

And I caught Darwin doing something he doesn't do very often. Sitting still.

Darwin is a pretty good eater, but not as accomplished as his sister in that department. But, he has her beat in the sleeping and face-licking categories. That boy can spot a lap before one sits down, then settle into that lap before the sitter settles into a seat! Poor Hypatia can't keep up at all and usually has to settle for nestling next to a knee.

I also took photos of some Christmas decorations.

The nativity scene doesn't actually live in front of the tree, but I thought the tree would make a nice backdrop for the photo. 

Our tree isn't complete without some White House ornaments.

And, I like the way these clear balls reflect the lights around them. They look different depending on the angle from which one looks at them. Simple but neat idea.

This final photo has nothing to do with Christmas, per se. I just wanted to add a photo of my favorite tea cups. Again, they don't normally sit in front of the Christmas tree, but I thought that backdrop would be pretty and I only get to try it out for a few weeks a year.

So, with one week left before Christmas, things are in full swing. Closets are overflowing with gifts and boxes. Prep time is running out and pretty soon we'll just be doing whatever we have to do with whatever we have on hand at the time. And that's okay. The best part of Christmas will be spending time with loved ones. All the other stuff is just embellishment.