Ho-Ho-Heatwave (Maggie Shayne)

Welcome to the holiday season! It's in full swing, folks, and while I know darn well I'm probably going to curse myself with a blizzard by saying this, I'm going to say it anyway. What the hay is up with this weather? Okay, November 30th, 6 a.m. in central New York state should NOT bring you a temperature of 60 degrees. It's just wrong. I mean, I love it. I'm enjoying it. I can go running, in shorts, and still get too warm. The predicted high today is 67. That's almost 70. On December Eve!
Yesterday it hit 60, the day before 59, and tomorrow, on December 1st, it's supposed to get that warm again.

However, there is sanity in the near future. Late Friday afternoon the change will come swooping in, in the form of a cold front, bringing heavy, possibly damaging winds, plunging temperatures, and maybe even some snow flurries. It's supposed to be pleasantly miserable for the entire weekend, highs in the 30's, snow, ice. Now THAT'S more like it. I mean, okay, it'll be uncomfortable, but I gotta tell you, it's tough to go Christmas/Solstice shopping, or get excited about the hunt for the perfect tree while dressed in shorts, a tank top, and flip flops, and wondering if you applied enough sunblock. Yeah, I'll complain and moan about the weather and the snow, as loud as anyone else and maybe louder. But griping about the weather is just one more of those wintry traditions I've come to know and love. I'd miss it if it were gone, so we really need to do something about this global warming thing.

Despite the tropical climate of late, though, I have managed to do some holiday shopping. Almost 100% of it online. I love the convenience of it. I can finish my pages for the day, hit the reclining chair with a cup of coffee, turn on Comedy Central, crank up the air conditioning, and buy holiday gifts all at the same time. Although, again, there's something off about it. Like the gorgeous weather, it's great, but it's not tradition. Tradition is crowded malls, no place to park, rude shoppers with screaming babies, guys in Santa suits ringing bells for the Salvation Army, and not being able to find the item you need in the right size or color.

So here's my plan. As soon as it snows, I'm going to spend a day in the mall, shopping. I'm going to buy a toy for the Toys for Tots barrel, empty my change into the Salvation Army kettle, hand a five spot to the homeless guy on the corner, and buy presents for people who aren't even on my list. The second snowy day we have, I'm going to head to the cut-your-own Christmas Tree farm, and spend an hour, maybe several hours, trekking through the place in search of the perfect tree. And while they're bundling it and loading it for me, I'm going to grab a cup of hot cocoa and take it with me while I browse the gift shop and find the perfect special ornament to mark my first Christmas in my new house.

On the way to and from these journeys, I'll have my favorite holiday CDs playing in the car; John Denver and the Muppets being number one among those. I just cannot sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" without adding Miss Piggy's trademark "Ba-dum-bum-bum" to the "five golden rings" part. Although I have a minor complaint about that too. My old CD wore out, and I bought a new one, and it's missing two songs; Little Saint Nick and When the River Meets the Sea, two of my faves. So if anyone out there knows where I can get a version of that CD that includes those songs, let me know, send me a link. It's not Christmas without the full CD.

I need some wreaths and wreath hangers for my doors. I need some decorations. So far I haven't done a single thing to decorate for the holidays. I've been a regular humbug. But okay, it's time to get in the mood. So that's my goal for the week--work up some holiday spirit and show it. And I'll do it, too. Even if it kills me.

Now, since I've cursed myself to a certain snowstorm, I need to go get oil and gas in the snowblower, and I think the instructions said something about a spark plug wire that needs to be attached. Hmmmm......

By the way, since there was no winter wonderland to photograph, I included a jpg of my new book, which just went on sale this week. If you click on the title of this piece, it'll take you to the book at Amazon. For those who've been waiting, it's the newest in the Brand series, Selene's story. Enjoy!

Merry, Merry, everyone!

Maggie