Christmassy

After dragging through last week feeling sick, over the weekend I finally mustered some energy for the holiday spirit! We got a Christmas tree on Sunday and decorated it tonight, and that makes such a difference. We always get a live one, so the smell wafts through the house. There's something I just love about a dark room (since we're mainly home in the early morning and evening) with tree lights twinkling off to one side. A silver lining to no longer having any cats is that we will be able to wrap gifts and put them under the tree without fear that all the ribbons will be chewed and later vomited up.

On Sunday we also made good progress on our gift shopping, accomplished through a mix of online purchases and local stops. For once I actually feel we are in pretty solid shape when it comes to our shopping progress, although I still haven't bought a single stocking stuffer. In my family, everyone buys small stocking stuffers for everyone else. Inevitably, I leave it to the last minute and wind up (unimaginatively) buying fancy chocolate bars for everyone. Not that those go uneaten, but I feel I ought to be a bit more creative. With luck and about a month to go-- we are doing our holiday gathering after New Year's Day-- I hope to do a little better this year.

Music Advent, Day 8 (1988)
There's a clear choice today: Kokomo by the Beach Boys. Between 1984 and 1987, my family lived in an actual town called Kokomo, Indiana. Far from the tropical paradise depicted in the song, it is basically a dreary factory town. Not too long after we moved to Wisconsin, this song came out and seemed so odd. Eight-year-old me: Here's a song that's sort of about a town I feel a little wistful about! And yet the town is decidedly unlike the song! Will my new friends think I'm cool because I'm from the town in the song? Etc.