Saturday Nine: White Christmas

1. If you live where you get winter weather, do you prefer your Christmas to be white? If you never see snow, do you wish for it?

We usually have a white Christmas — white with fog, to be exact. It does not snow in Lodi, except on extremely rare occasions when the temperature drops low enough. But even then, the snow does not stick. Instead, we are usually enveloped in thick, white tule fog, so named after the tule grass wetlands (tulares) found in California’s Central Valley. There can be many consecutive days at this time of year when we do not see any sunshine at all. Tule fog is low-lying and can cause visibility to drop to ten feet or less. It is not unusual to find yourself driving through a section of roadway that has excellent visibility and suddenly “hit” a “wall” of thick fog. Sadly, there are always many motor vehicle accidents this time of year, often including fatalities.

2. How many holiday cards did you receive from people you hadn’t sent cards to, after the “mailing deadline?” Did you send a card anyway?

Because I have been out of town on business quite a bit in the past couple of months, including the entire past week, I have not mailed any Christmas cards yet. I have received quite a few from friends, however, and plan to mail mine tomorrow. Yes, I will send them to all of the folks from whom I have already received cards.

3. When the clock strikes Midnight on New Year’s, will you be at home, at a party, or somewhere else?

I plan to be right here at home in front of a crackling fire, snug and cozy. BigBob always refers to New Year’s Eve as “Amateur Night” in reference to the fools who drink and drive — usually in thick fog. I prefer to stay at home and be safe. Most of my friends feel the same way, so we do not usually have guests that evening.

4. Have you ever taken the keys and driven home a friend that you felt was too drunk to drive? If not, do you think you would attempt to if that situation ever arose?

Yes, I did that a few times when I was in college. I have not had occasion to do so for many years. None of my good friends would ever have more than one or two drinks over the course of an evening if they plan to drive home. But should I find myself in a situation where I felt someone was too inebriated to drive, I would not hesitate to confiscate his/her keys and prevent him/her from driving. If necessary, I would enlist the aid of other friends or relatives to assist me. I could not, in good conscience, ever allow someone to get behind the wheel of a vehicle if I felt that they were too drunk to drive, thereby allowing them to endanger themselves and others.

5. Tell us about a gift that you either bought or made for someone else that you wanted for yourself!

I used to cross-stitch and I gave all of my pieces away as gifts, especially to my parents. After my mother had to enter an assisted living facility and we were cleaning out her house, my sister and I started from the premise that any items either of us had given to her and/or my father, we should receive back. So I now have all of the various cross-stitch, needlepoint, and other craft items that I gave my parents over the years. Many of them are on display here in my new home.

6. What chores do you have left for the holidays?

I just need to purchase a couple more items, and I will be all ready. The house is decorated and we are very much enjoying quiet evenings at home with the fire crackling and tree lit.

7. If you could buy one gift for yourself where money was not an obstacle, what would it be?

I have always wanted a baby grand piano and I have the perfect spot for it in the corner of my living room.

8. What is one of your family’s favorite holiday traditions?

We always open presents on Christmas Eve. We stay up late that evening and have a leisurely Christmas Day which includes a nice brunch. This year, I will make brunch for the boys and am planning to serve a lovely dinner. At this juncture, I haven’t decided if we will be having turkey or ham, but I’m leaning toward ham, accompanied by cheesy scalloped potatoes (Mattie-Boo’s request).

9. If you could give a fellow blogger a holiday gift, which would it be and what would you give them?

I send compassion and warm cyber-hugs to all fellow bloggers as they deal with whatever issues they are facing right now. Everyone has some complication in their life that they must confront and resolve, and, at this time of year, problems can seem either dramatically magnified or impressively minimized, depending on the nature of the issue and how it impacts our lives.

For me, the most important aspect of the holiday season is that it affords me an opportunity to pause, reflect, and be grateful for my many blessings. I wish for all of my fellow bloggers that when they do the same, they, like me, realize that their blessings far outweigh their burdens and find comfort in that knowledge.

Click here to see the list of other participants and links to their sites where you can read their responses.