How was your Christmas?

Aside from our unexpected car accident, we had a very nice (if quiet) Christmas.

It started in mid-December, when Older Daughter and I took Mr. Darcy and drove higher into the mountains to cut some cedar branches (with permission from the Forest Service). Darcy is always so thrilled by these excursions.

The forest was beautiful. (That’s Older Daughter’s car at the bottom.)

Darcy was raring to go, so I walked him around while Older Daughter collected branches. She was careful not to cut more than one branch off any one tree.

It soon became apparent, however, that a service crew had come through a short time before and trimmed a bunch of branches, presumably for maintenance purposes.

When we realized this, it was a simple matter of finding a collection of downed branches and taking as many as we wanted. There was a nice amount in this bend of the road. (You can see Older Daughter in the pink coat.)

What I didn’t realize, however, was in this particular location, the fairly thin layer of snow on the road disguised a solid sheet of ice. I fell once and hurt nothing but my dignity. But then I fell a second time and managed to pull my entire left quadriceps muscle. Whee! That had me limping for a few days.

See that dark spot on the road?

That’s the place I slipped. You can see the ice under the snow.

The muscle tear wasn’t bad … at first. It was much improved within a day or two, and then I took a misstep and injured it again. Then a day or two later, I slipped (on dog poop – in the yard!) and re-injured it again, at which point Don practically tied me to a chair to keep me from moving. The muscle finally healed.

Meanwhile, Older Daughter was weaving garlands with lights and hanging them above windows and doors.

On the eve of Christmas Eve (the 23rd), when we all settled in to watch “A Muppet Christmas Carol” (well, why not?). Older Daughter made us a tasty dinner of Cornish game hen and trimmings.

On Christmas Eve, we had a leisurely day of not doing much. I made sure to feed the livestock extra well on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Legend has it animals are granted the gift of speech at Christmas and will gossip about us. Can’t have any bad news spreading to the neighbors!

Toward evening, we opened a few presents. For the first time this year, we skipped using wrapping paper and wrapped the presents in fabric according to the Japanese technique of “furoshiki.”

With my long-time interest in sustainable and zero-waste living, I’m shocked I never even heard of this technique until last Christmas, and then I experienced a “Where have you been all my life?” moment. It makes so much sense, doesn’t it, to use something for wrapping that can be used again and again? Accordingly, last year after Christmas when fabrics were on sale, I purchased a selection of holiday-themed fabrics (as well as some non-holiday samples for birthdays, etc.). Some of the fabrics are small, others larger, for different-sized packages.

So all the presents were wrapped in fabric, which meant no waste. How cool is that?

Late on Christmas Eve, we attended our church’s “Lessons and Carols.” The darkened church looked lovely.

Christmas Day, of course, was dominated by the car accident that prevented us from attending the proper church service, but these things happen.

In the evening, we gathered to watch George C. Scott’s version of “A Christmas Carol, arguably the best version of that famous story ever made (in my opinion).

Above all, we thank God for the gift of His son.

How was your Christmas?

Source: http://www.rural-revolution.com/2024/12/how-was-your-christmas.html