Christmas is coming... the goose is getting fat.

No goose here, just me. Being home sick with a wide assortment of homemade, not by me, Christmas cookies is a sparkpeoples nightmare. But the holiday and the end of the cookie supply are both within sight. Thank God.

I am so looking forward to Christmas Eve. The two little ones are participating in the Mass. For a few hours their focus will be off of Santa, and his pipeline to the American Girl store.

Yesterday was the first day I breathed more than I coughed. Finally, I got some Christmas shopping and cooking completed. For shopping, I have never spent as much as I did yesterday at the grocery store: NEVER. It was staggering. And for the cooking, my stove top looked like an advertisement for Le Crueset. Every burner going, even the stove. Recipes laid out at their specific station, surrounded by ingredients to be added next. The compost bowl overflowing as I eyed the 15 inches of snow that blanket the backyard between me and the bins. Why did we move them so far from the house? I even contemplated tossing the veggie waste into the trash. But all those wonderful egg shells and coffee grounds are so good for the garden... I'll truck them out later this morning.

Today is more food prep and dare I say, more shopping, in addition to wrapping and more cooking. The fruit for the Christmas pudding has been bathing in rum this night... And I dreamed about homemade crackers. But somewhere tucked in amongst the wanna dos and the gotta dos, I might just head out for some skiing. Santa and REI brought an early Christmas present: new skis to replace my beloved broken old ones. They were on sale. Maybe I'll ski down to the compost bins.