Sunday Mutterings

Oh my poor neglected blog! I just don't seem to have time for you. But I always have time for a little mindless muttering.

1. Destined :: for failure?
2. FAIL :: to live
3. Camping :: I like it
4. Only you :: Would say something like that
5. Incessant :: talking
6. Tomorrow :: is another day
7. Impressive :: array
8. Riches :: Wish I had some monetary ones, although I have many others
9. Dislike :: too many to list
10. Speaker :: of the House?

My holiday brain is boring I see. Maybe I need to write an interesting blog post to get my brain back in gear.

Want to see if your brain is engaged? Try muttering!

Merry Christmas Everyone

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?

~ Dr. Seuss~

Christmas 1973

In 1973 I was 5 years old. We lived in New York City, in an apartment in a neighborhood on the far upper west side of Manhattan. I did a google search of where I used to live.....wow that was weird. I lived at 119 Payson Ave., Ny, Ny. The building looks exactly the same as I remember it. You can also do a pan of the street, and across the street from our apartment was a park.......it looks exactly the same. I was 8 when we moved, I can't believe everything looks the same as it did 32 years ago. What a jog down memory lane.

Now that I am done being sidetracked, let me regale you with what Christmas was like at the Cox's apartment in the early seventies.

My parents, even though they were parents, still liked to party. And for some reason, most of their friends didn't have kids. So most Christmas's were geared toward the adults than the kids. Oh we still had fun, but probably not the same kind of fun as most kids.

In 1973 I was 5, my brother was 9 and my sister was 10. I am pretty sure they didn't believe in Santa anymore, but they went along with it for my sake.

So the evening of Christmas Eve would start with family and friends coming to our house. I remember my grandmother and Harry (her live in boyfriend, only grandfather on my moms side that I really remember) would be there. Also my Aunt Marge and Uncle Ron (friends of my parents, not real aunt and uncles because both my parents were only children). I'm sure my dad's parents were there, they lived in the apartment building right next door to us, but they weren't as social as the rest, so it's a vague memory. I remember the loud people, the partiers the most.

So we would have an apartment full of people. And our apartment wasn't that big, so as a five year old it may have seemed like more than were actually there. But between my own family of five two sets of grandparents and Aunt Marge and Uncle Ron, that was plenty.

Since my mom and dad were partying, the last thing they wanted to do was get up at the crack of dawn to open presents. So the kids went to bed around 9 or 10 while the adults kept the celebration going. Before going to bed we would leave Santa a shot of whiskey, yes whiskey, it's cold flying around the world all night. If you aren't Irish, you might not understand. And then we'd be off to bed. After my parents knew we were good and asleep, they would bring out our gifts. Sometimes starting to put things together just then as well. When they had everything out and put together (and I heard in later years that the "putting together" part often took a whole lot longer than my dad thought it would) my parents would come and wake us up yelling "Santa's been here, come open your presents." Now this was usually around midnight or later depending on how much trouble toy assembly had been.

I remember this year particularly because I heard Santa's sleigh and that is what woke me up. It's kind of hard to explain, but the way our apartment was configured, the kitchen window was just an angle away from the bedroom I shared with my sister. Not right next to our window, but just across the way at an angle (clear as mud I'm sure). We used to string a clothes line from our bedroom to the kitchen to hang clothes to dry. Anyway, that year I was awoken to the sound of Santa's sleigh bells outside my window. I was told years later that it was my grandmother (moms mom) and she had hung herself out the kitchen window ringing bells so I would hear the bells outside of mine. (We lived on the second floor). It's a happy memory that I am glad I have.

So anyway, while we were happy Santa had been there, WE WERE TIRED! We had just fallen asleep. The adults were mostly happily inebriated at this point, so they were all quite jolly. We would open our presents, entertaining the adults, get a few minutes to play with a few things, then back to bed with you, playtime tomorrow.

Does anyone else think this is bizarre? It was the norm for us, at least for a few more years. During the summer of 1975, a mean girl I knew told me that that Santa was lie. I asked my mom and she confirmed it. I think she was happy about it because we no longer had to play the going to bed charade. We just started opening our presents before we went to bed on Christmas Eve.

We continued to have Open Houses on Christmas Eve. In 1976 we moved to Illinois. That year we had our first Christmas in a new house, in a new state. Grandparents flew in to be with us. As we all made new friends, more and more people got to experience a Cox Christmas Eve. Some of my friends still talk about coming to our house Christmas Eve. The food and booze were always flowing. My parents were perfect hosts. It really is one of the highlights of my childhood memories. A lot of things were not good about my childhood, but almost every Christmas was. I miss that my children will never experience what we had when all of my family could be together. We weren't the perfect family by any means, but there were times when we did have a lot of fun.

When Time who steals our years away

Shall steal our pleasures too,

The mem’ry of the past will stay,

And half our joys renew.

~Thomas Moore~

Thankfulness Thursday

It's been a while since I've posted a thankfulness Thursday.

Right now I am extremely thankful for a home and heat. It's been snowy and cold lately and I am so thankful for my cozy home and it's working heater. I am also thankful that I have a nice warm hubby who I can snuggle up with at night : )

I am thankful that this is the Christmas season, and that it seems to bring out the best in most people. Spirits seem generally high when I'm out and about, and that's a good thing.

I am thankful God sent his son, to be born of Mary, and that even though it might not be his actual birthday that we celebrate, that we get to put aside a day and remember what's been done for us.

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The gladness of Christmas give you hope,

The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

~Author Unknown~

Wednesday Muttering

With yahoo being so screwy, I never got my muttering list this week. I just remembered to look it up. So here goes, a midweek muttering:

1. Love affair :: I've had one (I'm still in it : )
2. Bubble :: Sometimes my head is in one
3. Pimple :: never had too many
4. Knocks :: life is full of hard knocks
5. Persistent :: I am pretty persistent (I like to get my way)
6. Infected :: I don't want to be infected with anything!
7. Yay! :: Yay should be spelled Yea. (check spellcheck, I'm right: )
8. Repaint :: my house
9. Daily :: vitamin
10. Quickly! :: I don't move very quickly : )

I'm boring this week. Or should I blame the words? It's always good to pass the blame, don't ya think? LOL Want to see if you mutter boringly?

Which Christmas Character Are You?

Seems I am old lady like : )

Which Christmas Character Are You? Mrs. Claus That's right — your unwavering support, hospitality, and comforting touch have landed you the important role of Mrs. Claus. You know how to take good cheer and deliver it wherever you go, spreading warmth even on the coldest winter days.

Want to know what character you are?

Seasonal Funnies

A Baby Changes Everything

I watched a Faith Hill Christmas Special on PBS Thanksgiving night. She sang a song that I had never heard before, it's a Christmas song, and I just loved it. Here's the lyrics, and if you have your sound up, it's the song playing right now on my blog. If it's not playing, scroll ALL the way to the bottom of the blog, look for the red Playlist and it's the first song. Worth a listen, at least IMHO.

A Baby Changes Everything

Teenage girl,

much too young

Unprepared for what’s to come

A baby changes everything

Not a ring

On her hand

All her dreams all her plans

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

The man she loves

she’s never touched

How will she keep his trust

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

And she cries ouuh she cries

Ouuuaah

She has to leave

go far away

Heaven knows she can’t stay

A baby changes everything

She can feel

it’s coming soon

There’s no place, there’s no room

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

And she cries ………….And she cries …..Ouuh she cries ….

Shepherds all (Shepherds all)

gather ’round (they gather ’round)

Up above the star shines down

A baby changes everything

Choir of angels say

Glory to the newborn king

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

Everything, everything, everything

Hallelujah (Hallelujah)

Hallelujah (Hallelujah)

Hallelujah (Hallelujah)

Hallelujah (Hallelujah)

My whole life is turned around

I was lost and now I’m found

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

Tuesday Mutterings

Well, with the holidays officially upon us, my blog has been neglected. Hopefully I'll be able to post occasionally this next month.

I am days behind on my muttering, let's see what Tuesday brings to mind:

1. Sleepy :: Me, always
2. Thanksgiving :: is over
3. Fifteen :: there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose, fifteen, there's never a wish better than this, when you've only got a hundred years to live (Five for Fighting, 100 years, one of my all time favorite songs)
4. Authority :: you must respect my authoritah! (Cartman, South Park)
5. Bangs :: I like them
6. Curled :: My hair looks better straight
7. Young man :: there's no need to feel down, I said Young man, (YMCA)
8. Surprised :: Nothing surprises me much anymore
9. Mistake :: I have made many
10. Handle it :: that's all we can do

There's my Tuesday morning mutterings. My brain seems to remember songs and tv shows more than anything else. I am a product of my childhood!

Want to see what your brain remembers? Try unconscious muttering.