Ten things of thankful: almost Christmas

No, I haven't gone away again. The gap in posting was a combination of lethargy, fun weekend plans, end-of-year work projects, and computer issues.

Here's what's making my smile this week.

1. Studded snow tires. Seriously. These things rock. It only took me two tries to get up the icy driveway coming back from church today.

2. Live Christmas music

and

3. A new twist on tradition. Every year, Michael and I attend a Christmas concert by a brass quintet and a choral octet. It is one of the highlights of the season for me. This year, he was going to be away for the concert, so I roped the kids into going. They were great company, although Kid 4 fell asleep after intermission.

4. Warm cinnamon-roll bread. Someone delivered two loaves to a Boy Scout work party I was helping supervise. Yummy, especially on a snowy morning.

5. Our Christmas tree. The kids and I picked out a Fraser fir this year, and it has been the best-smelling tree we've ever had. It looks good, too, but let's face it, the smell is the main reason to wrestle a 12-foot combination of sap and needles into a tree stand.

6. Treats by mail. One of Michael's clients sent him some delicious treats in the mail. Some of which were clearly labeled, "Refrigeration not recommended. Eat within three days." Is it my fault he's going to be away for longer than that? Surely such high-quality creations deserve to be enjoyed at their best, even if not by the intended recipient? (We put one of the pies in the freezer for Michael to enjoy, and some of the treats can easily wait until he's back.)

7. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Although I've found to my dismay that Kid 4 seems to have outgrown having me read Christmas picture books to him (although I've seen him reading them to himself), he did still want me to read this chapter book aloud. We read it every year, and I always choke up at the end.

8. Electricity.

and

9. Fireplaces. We lost power for 5 hours on Thursday, and it turns out I should have listened to the niggling feeling that the generator needed to be serviced, because it didn't kick on in the outage. The oil furnace doesn't work without electricity, so once the kids go home, we huddled around the fireplace, reading and singing Christmas songs. It turns out, my kids have very little knowledge of secular Christmas songs, because our CD collection runs more to medieval carols, and we rarely listen to the radio. (Mountains + rural = bad reception.)

10. My cardinal. Our male cardinal (OK, I have no idea if this is the same one that was half of the pair who spent the summer here, but I'm pretending like it is) has been hanging out at the bird feeder this week, and he looks fantastic against the snow.