Tis The Season.......2024 Here I Come!

I'm taking some time off from Blogging, I have to uncover new topics of discussion. It takes a lot of thought to come off as being witty.

But the Christmas tree is down now, my family helped pack all the Santas away for their winter slumber down south. (The basement)

I for one, was not sorry to see the end of Christmas 2023, there was a lot of anguish and misery around the Holidays. It's not the most wonderful time of the year at all for some families. It can be so sad and challenging. But I'll just leave it at that.

I started thinking (never a good sign) of all the good things that can happen at this time of the year. After all, winter solstice has come and gone, so the darkest part of the year is behind us, the evenings are already getting brighter. That sunset was a stunner this evening. That's a good thing!

Hm, I might be on to something. I feel better already.

Tis the season. For what, you might ask?

Well, come along for the ride..................

Well, tis the season of making resolutions with absolutely no intentions of ever keeping them. And we always get away with it! How many times have I said, "I'm going to eat a little healthier and get some weight off." Ya, right. Here I am still weighing a hundred and too much at 60 plus years of age. Who exactly am I kidding? It's too late to be young and thin, that ship has sailed right off the edge of the world! God knows what I'm waiting for, a miracle I guess, since only the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I hope not to be heading there any time soon. Jesus, I couldn't stand the heat!

Tis the season for my socks coming off in my friggin boots every time I come in from outside. And then, usually to add insult to injury, there's a nice cold puddle of melted snow to step into. Every. Single. Time.

The best years of course, were when dressing and undressing four little ones for outdoor play. Not bad in summer. But this time of year? And we ALWAYS had snow at Christmas then.

Picture four little bodies, lying on their backs on the kitchen floor in a row, jackets on, hoods and mitts in place, waving eight little socked feet up at me, waiting their turn. They looked some some kind of life-sized centipede. I'd slam on their boots, and stand them up one at a time, and off they'd go.

Only to return some time later, tired, droopy, sopping wet, with maybe five mitts between them instead of eight. Then they'd all flop on the floor, their wet boots out in front of them, now too pooped to wave them in the air. So I'd yank them off one at a time, and some kept their socks on, more often, not. Then I'd fish around in their boots, peel the socks back on their feet, stand them up, and then, wait for it..................wah! wah! wah! My socks got wet!!!

Oh ya, 'tis the season.

Tis the season for Jigsaw Puzzles. I've done one or two in my life time, there used to always be one on the go when our kids were little. Jaime Lee gave me several this past summer, and after Christmas I set up my spare table in my office, dumped this puzzle out, set up a lamp, and the rest is history. Instead of it being a waste of time, and something else for me to lose either my mind or my Acadian temper at, I'm quite enjoying it. My nerves used to be stretched tighter than J.J. Chaisson's fiddle strings at the very thought of putting one together. I didn't need another challenge. But no more. I guess at my advancing age, stuff like that doesn't stress me out any more. I am able to just sit in the quiet and relax. I look forward to a couple of minutes a day at it, when I'm not knitting.

A 500 piece puzzle is just right for me.

I don't need the challenge of the 1000 piece. Nor the notoriety if I actually finished one. That would almost certainly end up in the green cart. I'm not out to impress people or make new friends. I'm not trying to win a marathon. I know my limit, and I play within it.

Krystal and the boys were here for a while today, and it didn't take long for everyone to sort of drift towards the puzzle table, and start popping those puppies in, they were good at it! All three generations of us, with our heads down. Very enjoyable, for a no cost activity.

And there I go, thinking again. ..............I know there's several ladies in the area who love a good jigsaw puzzle. Would that be you, Ethel? How about the former Queen of the Baltic? Oh, who am I kidding, Annette's still the reigning Queen of the Baltic.

I can see us now, setting up a new group of avid jigsaw puzzle makers, complete with rules and a Board of Directors. We'll set up an official puzzle exchange once a month. We'll name ourselves "The Jiggers" because we love jigging. Puzzles, that is. Calling ourselves "The Puzzlers" well, that would just seem idiotic.

On second thoughts, perhaps we'll keep it an invitation only group. Only we Jiggers will know what we're talking about if overheard whispering in public. Comparing notes. Showing pictures of partly constructed puzzles on our phones.

We'll meet on a regular basis, whipping out our rolls of puzzle felt with amazing dexterity, so as to lay out our uncompleted puzzles in an orderly fashion, showing off how far we've come since last time. (All you Jiggers out there with a 1000 piece puzzle, you know who you are.........)

Gee, I feel so much better. Perhaps that's it, meet and treat the New Year with some much needed humor.

I can jig it.

Can you?