Author: Susie (Page 41 of 48)

A couple of years ago, a good friend of ours gave me a set of Santa coffee cups with matching plates. They are adorable, and I get them out the Friday after Thanksgiving. They rest in a wrought iron holder on my kitchen counter and I enjoy my morning Joe with Santa winking at me.

This year, as I was sipping my favorite brew, I began to reminisce about Christmases gone by. Though I love each and every moment of each and every Christmas, there are some memories that stand out as amazing. This year, for many and varied reasons, will remain one of the strangest and most wonderful of them all. In the middle of the pandemic that has brought so much sadness, so much grief, and so much isolation, we received one of the best gifts of our whole lives – a new baby grandson.

It’s been a long time since I had a baby to hold. Over 30 years ago, in fact, when Matt and I first held our own little one and gaped in wonder at this miracle in a tiny babe. I fell in love right away, just as I did this year. Watching our son grow was a delight. We saw him become an inquisitive and sensitive boy, then a caring and patient young man, and now a father himself. Those wonderful years of family games, meals, trips, and adventures seem to be just a little while ago, but decades have passed. I’m thrilled to have the chance to be part of another little life as it grows.

Six years prior to that Christmas, I married the man of my dreams. He’s still pretty dreamy, too, and we’ve had so much fun and so many adventures. He always surprises me at Christmas time, which is no easy feat. He has to work twice as hard, too, because our anniversary is just three days before Christmas Day. I remember telling him when picked our wedding date that it was contingent upon, “NO merging of gifts!” I didn’t want to get “one big gift” to commemorate both events. He’s done very well on both counts, that’s for sure. Probably the most memorable gift of all, though, is the book of matches he gave me for our very first Christmas together. You might think this a strange gift, given that I am a non-smoker, but when you see the attached note, you’ll think it’s pretty cool, as well.

Whenever people talk about “favorite” Christmas gifts, I tend to drift back to my childhood. Most folks likely do. The year I was seven years old, I spent Christmas in the hospital. I had chronic nephritis, which is a severe inflammation of the kidney. According to my mother (who may have been prone to a bit of exaggeration from time to time), they were on the verge of removing one of my kidneys, since they couldn’t find the source of the infection that was causing the trouble. Turns out, I had an abscessed tooth, and once that was addressed, the nephritis disappeared. Thanks goodness! However, all this drama (which likely caused my parents great distress) was lost on me. My biggest concern was whether or not Santa would come to a hospital. How would he know where to find me?

But find me he did and thus I received an unasked for, unexpected, absolutely fabulous gift – a doll as big as me that could walk and blink her eyes. When I awoke on Christmas morning, she was lying in the bed next to me! And yes, through many moves to college, apartments, homes, and even states, she has remained with me. I never did name her – I couldn’t decide between Cathy or Sally. But she has been a faithful friend and confidante.

Her hair is a little worse for wear, and her pink and white dress is pretty thin – so our son, when he was about six – dressed her in his old Spiderman jammies. It seems to suit pretty well.

Maybe Cathy (or Sally)’s arrival in the hospital is why I never fully let go of my belief in Santa. Over the years, Santa has come to mean to me any miracle that happens. My life has been a series of miracles – small, unexpected gifts that have steadied my world and steered my path. Meeting and marrying my husband, having a child, and now having a grandchild – these are truly miracles.

So I’m sipping my coffee as Santa winks at me, as if to say, “Sure, 2020 was strange. But there’s more, Susie. There’s more. Just be patient.”

Merry Christmas to you all! I pray for each of you to find your miracles this Christmas and in the coming year.

I was watching Ellen’s TV show last week. Ellen gives away things in December for her holiday fun.  I have heard of this and even seen it a couple of times (on YouTube or Facebook).  Generally, the giveaways look fun and often practical – like Amazon gift cards and new electronics.  This particular day, one of the prizes was something called the HiMirror Slide.  It looked like a pretty straightforward make-up mirror – the kind that lights up around it with various settings and likely had a side to enlarge your features for easier application of products.

               But uh-oh.  I came to full alert when the description on television said, “It reads your skin tone and tells you what products to use.”  What??? The mirror is going to “read” my skin tone?  And then talk to me?

               Heavens to 1984, but that is a little creepy.  The presentation on television went on to the next prize, but I leaped over to the computer and pulled up my Amazon site to see what this thing really was about.

               Turns out, it’s somehow linked to Siri, or Alexa, or whoever you have on your gadget that does stuff for you.  I don’t have one of those gadgets (and don’t want one, either!)  Because getting up to turn on or off lights is about the only exercise I get.

               But you get this HiMirror Slide and it hooks up to your disembodied servant voice.  Then, the computer microchip (or whatever) inside it does, in fact, look at your skin and recommend products to use.  (Side note:  I thought that was the job for a mother-in-law). But there’s more! 

               It will also play music. And you’d think this mirror would be huge, but it’s not!  It’s totally portable, so you can pack it up and take it with you on vacation.  Nothing says “relax” more than a computerized voice saying, “Your skin is dry. Use moisturizer.” This little device reads your skin by looking at wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles, dark spots, red spots and even pores.  Wow.  That’s a nice way to wake up.

               The mirror also tracks your skincare by analyzing the results of your skincare regimen “over time.”  This is so you can “efficiently target problem areas and move toward your beauty goals.”  My beauty goal is to wear a mask forever! But seriously, it will track what products you use and give you an analysis of their effectiveness.

               It does light up, just like the old-fashioned make-up mirrors did.  It has settings for sunset view, outside on a sunny day, brightly lit office, shopping mall or supermarket, and restaurant or party venue.  Hmm…there doesn’t appear to be a setting for sitting around the house all day in pajamas.

               Not done yet!  The HiSlide will instantly let you try new makeup without actually putting it on your face!  It does this through something called augmented reality technology.  And finally, you can do all this while linking to Spotify, Google Duo, Facebook, Instragram and YouTube.  Because we all want to share every detail of putting on our faces in the morning.

               For me, I’m not wildly excited about my $279.00 mirror telling me every day, “You skin is…old.”  I can get this for free from my vintage hallway mirror!

My husband and I watch some game shows fairly regularly.  We occasionally see Wheel of Fortune, but never miss an episode of Jeopardy! (RIP Alex Trebek). We don’t have to worry about scheduling, because we record it each evening and watch it when we can.

               During the pandemic, we’ve also been recording America Says and 25 Words Or Less.  Both of these are fun to watch during breakfast, and we play along sometimes. Just as in sporting events, we’ve realized that yelling at the television does not make the contestants or the players perform any differently. But it is a great stress reliever.

               Being fans of game shows, we know about some of the classic bloopers and blunders that have occurred in many of them. There are a quite a few available on YouTube, if you need a 10-minute laugh.  One of my favorites was a classic Family Feud episode with the late, great Richard Dawson as host.  The question was, “name a month in which a woman begins to show her pregnancy.”  The probably nervous player said, “September.”  Similarly, one gentleman was giving answers in the bonus round and when told to “name your favorite day of the week,” he responded, “December.”

               Ah, well, they were at least in the ball park of days and months.  In an old episode of the Newlywed Game, Bob Eubanks asked the question, “What is your favorite part of this game show set?” Husband number 3 answered, “Probably Wife Number 2.”  There was awkward laughter and obviously he wasn’t sure what the term “set” actually included. I do have to wonder if couple number 3 later appeared on the So You’re Getting a Divorce show (that one’s not real).

               Lately, we’ve really enjoyed some of the blunders that have been made.  In 25 Words or Less, teams of 3 people (2 of whom are celebrities) try to get each other to say 5 words with a limited number of clues (hence the name of the show) within a minute.  In attempting to get the word “Chicago,” a very geographically-challenged contestant gave the clue, “Ohio city.” Her teammates tried gamely, but never came up with the correct word – for obvious reasons. Later that same week, another contestant was trying to get his teammates to say “Baltimore.” He gave the clues “Maryland, city” and listened wide-eyed while his teammates guessed first “Detroit” and then “Marilyn.”  I have no idea where Marilyn is, but Detroit?  Seriously, these folks proved that being a great actor or entertainer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart.           

               Now I can’t really criticize, as geography is not my strong suit. I can, however, do simple math.  This week, while introducing herself, one player said she had had 14 surgeries on her knees during the last year.  When the gracious host of the game, Meredith Vierra, commented, the contestant went on to explain, “yes, 7 on this knee and 8 on the other.” 

               Seriously?  I mean, I’m sure she was nervous, but still. The good news for us is that these gaffs just add more fun to watching the shows.

This was, without a doubt, the most unusual Thanksgiving I’ve ever experienced. Because of the pandemic, our dining room remained empty and chilly, with no table settings and no extra chairs for the dozen or more folks who usually gather. Christmas decorations were around, though, which is at least two weeks earlier than we’ve ever put them on display before. The dozen folks (sometimes it’s been over 20!) were reduced to just my husband and me.

               It was a sunny day, here, and brisk and we enjoyed a couple of walks in the woods with our dogs. We played MarioKart and had a celebratory and thankful glass of wine. We carved up the humungous turkey, served the potatoes and gravy (and all the sides) and enjoyed a large feast. Just the two of us, watching an episode of Schitt$ Creek on Netflix.

               Then, we loaded up two sectioned platters with the array of Thanksgiving food, added side containers of cranberry sauce and gravy and pumpkin custard, and wrapped them all in foil. We gloved and masked ourselves for battle, then delivered one set to our son’s porch. The other set went to a friend of ours, who was in her home with her little 3-month old. We set her goodies on her back steps.

               Both my son and our friend were quarantined with the virus. They have since recovered well, and the baby is fine. We are also fine, having spent 15 days in isolation (except for those trips, of course).

               Yes, definitely the strangest Thanksgiving ever for us. Yet not as strange as folks who spent them in war-torn countries, away from family and friends and without pumpkin pie. Not as strange as astronauts who are adrift in the universe, enjoying Tang and packets of dried ice cream.  Not as strange as the thousands who had to work in hospitals and nursing homes, away from their families, watching people struggle with illness and holding hands of those who died. And certainly not as strange as those who were patients there, some of whom are not alive on the planet today.

               So I spent that unique Thanksgiving praising God and the heavens that my family was all still on the planet. I’m grateful for the loved ones who texted, emailed or called us on Thanksgiving to check in and let us know they were okay and still loved us. I’m blessed with food to share, with gas for the car to deliver dinners, and with all my parts still working well enough to cook, drive, read, and enjoy walks. I’m honored and appreciative of the folks who continue to provide necessary services in the face of risk to themselves – nurses, doctors, therapists, grocery store employees, police, firefighters, and so many others. I’m so thankful that we are smart enough to take the measures necessary to survive and beat this invisible enemy that has already claimed far too many lives.

               I’m thankful for masks, too. We all wear a mask, anyway. We put on happy faces when we’re sad, we don’t share our innermost thoughts if they would hurt, we act like we’re fine when we’re not, we wear makeup and dye our hair to conceal…so this one is just one more. The difference is this mask – the one we wear to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 – this mask can save lives.

               I’m thankful we have the opportunity to wear them.