Holiday Spirit

[thinkerlady[$]]

I've been trying really hard to get into the holiday state of mind--to start to feel the holiday--BUT....how does one think sleigh bells, hot chocolate, and red noses when it is 70 degrees outside??

Here I am in snowy suburban Philadelphia, and I have every window open, am wearing a tee shirt jumper, and believe I should consider reopening my pool--and it is December 5????

How's it going in other parts of the country?

[vania]

I'm in Georgia, and even for the South, it's far too warm for Christmas!

We should be averaging highs in the upper 50s... instead, we're almost 10 degrees higher.

I'm really ready to break out the sweaters, darnit!

v.

[lambchops]

It's been very warm in Michigan, too. We've been in the 50's and 60's when we should've already had snow sticking to the ground. How depressing. We went and got our x-mas tree and had to muck around in mud instead of trudge through snow.

It hopefully will change very soon.

[lynnzop[$]]

Here in Nebraska/Iowa, it was 65 degrees at 5 a.m. today. Staying warm all week.

Go figure. We bought the wee one a snowmobile for Christmas this year

Lynn
(Praying for SOME snow on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day)

Aside from a major wet-cold front a few days ago, 65 to 75 here. Almost never snows... every few years or so, maybe for a day or two. When it does, this city is total dead meat, but then there's significantly less homeless beggars at the underpasses and major intersections selling the paper.

[amykhar]

It's actually Santa's Christmas present to me. The warm weather I mean. If I don't have to spend money on heating oil, I can blow it on the kids.

Amy

[kurt_messick]

You can always read my Advent series. This really isn't 'the Christmas season' until Advent is over.

[slick4591[$]]

It's 73 here today, but living in Texas all my life I'm used to it.

I usually don't have a problem with getting in the spirit. It is keeping it that gets me. I hate seeing Christmas decorations out before Halloween. There should be a rule that Christmas decorations are not allowed out before Thanksgiving. !santa

[thinkerlady[$]]

Know what Fr. Kurt? I am glad you brought up Advent. I know this is Advent, and I know Christmas isn't Christmas until after the Nativity, but why can't Christmas carols be sung in church?

It seems the beauty of the carols is gone in about a 2 week span, and we are stuck with mostly antique hymns that really don't create a meaningful desire for the holiday.

I especially wondered about this for children. I teach in a parochial school, and the children technically cannot sing Christmas carols because it is Advent. But by the time we go back to school in January, Christmas is over!!

[adonna]

We're in our northern rainforest wetness cycle here, with alternating storms out of Hawaii and storms out of Alaska. So, one day it's warm and wet, the next day it's cold and wet. I'm hoping some of the wet will make its way over to you-all. We've enough for our salmon runs now, I think.

I'm getting in the spirit by burning CDs and making pillows. It's one time of year when I love to do handmade stuff, and will take the time to, if I can get away with it. Yesterday I made two terribly cool kick ass pillow covers that got rave reviews. A few days before, it was a couple of collections of Goa music from Europe and Asia.

Yes, none of this stuff features Santa, or any of that, but it all gives me an opportunity to explore some other talents and apply them to give to the ones I love.

And that's Christmas spirit enough for me.

[kurt_messick]

Actually, I mix in Advent and Christmas carols in my church services in Advent. That way we get the best of both.

[jnbmoore]

After Bible study today monkey played hide and seek

With a BUTTERFLY

And that's in Kansas!

Bridgette

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

I actually started taking my seasonal allergy medicine again - everything's budding and the pollen is out there, but none of the newscasts are listing the pollen counts because it's freakin' DECEMBER, dammit, so where is my SNOW?!



mj