Finding My Christmas Spirit

Christmas is going to be very, very slim at our house this year. We can't even afford a tree, never mind decorations. There's a very good reason for it -- we bought new property for the Love Your Pet Expo Sanctuary for Special Needs Animals. Fixing it up to make it safe and comfy for the critters is taking every nickel and every drop of credit we have left. We are sacrificing our Christmas splurging for their sakes, so finding my Christmas Spirit was a bit of a challenge.

Trying to get in the mood, I went looking for the Christmas mugs. I thought I knew right where they were, so I headed for the den/storage room. I dragged out the box labeled "kitchen" that I knew I had packed when we left Oregon. When I opened it, there were some of our daughter's things. Evidently, we unpacked the box long ago, then she filled it with her stuff, so no mugs (and no Christmas Spirit). 

I recognized one more box that said "Coffee Maker."
I just knew the mugs would be there. It was way in the back, with heavy bins stacked in front. I was exhausted by the time I got it out. I opened that box, and guess what I found -- a Coffee Maker -- WHAT WAS THAT THING DOING IN THERE? Anyway, no Christmas mugs, which was really disappointing, but I did find the CD player, 
and I knew right where to find the Christmas CDs, so that was a nice surprise that cheered me up a little. (The rest of my search was done with my favorite songs of the season playing in the background.)

Next, I looked for the mugs in the shelving unit. No Christmas mugs, which was a bummer, but I did find a grow light I thought was gone forever. I really needed another light for my indoor garden, but I couldn't afford it. Now I'd have all the light I would need to grow veggies inside this winter, but I still wanted those mugs!

Next, I went out to the back porch storage area. No Christmas mugs, but I did find Christmas dishes! They had been in the family for years, passed around from year to year. I had forgotten all about them. I unpacked them, washed them and swapped them out for the regular dishes, so we would be eating from holiday plates for the next month. There was only one thing missing -- the cups. No mugs, no cups -- back to the search. AARRGGHH!

I looked around some more. No Christmas mugs, but I did find two boxes of never-used Christmas lights and a brand new top ornament. Then came the find of the day -- a fancy box of beautiful "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments that our son gave us the last time he moved. I had forgotten all about them, too. I showed all these to Hubby and said I wanted to hang the lights on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree, so I could hang the ornaments on them. It would be a flat, fake thing, but better than nothing. Hubby got a gleam in his eye and jumped right into the project of making me a wood Christmas tree for the wall that would stand out, hold the lights, the top ornament, and The Twelve Days of Christmas. With my painting skills and his carpentry talent, we should have that project finished, tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT!

Finally, I was down to one last place to look, and there were the Christmas mugs, in their box, right where I'd put them, in the linen closet, along with my never-worn Christmas toe-socks from last year. SUCCESS!

If I'd gone there first, I'd have my mugs and nothing else. Now I have everything I need for a very merry Christmas house, without spending a penny, plus Christmas socks on my feet, hot Christmas coffee in my nice big Christmas mug, and I found my Christmas Spirit. Life is good!

Christmas Santa Resting

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY FRIENDS AT OLA AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO STOPS BY TO READ THIS.